"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

Thank you Barbara. I have now used a wireless remote to trigger my SB800 and it worked fine with it being in manual mode of course. I ma not sure whether it was you that made the comment about learning more about off camera flash but the Strobist movement if you havent already come across it offers a lot of useful information.

http://strobist.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/lighting-101.html


Best

Peter
 
Hi I'm brand new to the forum but really excited to be here - well in a normal way anyway!

I have a number of portrait projects in mind and keep reading about the need for a 50mm lens to shoot with. I have the Lumix G1 and love it as it works for me and I am getting comfortable with its capabilities but I have an 14-45 Lens and can't seem to find a 50mm for the G1 anywhere. Doe anyone have any suggestions for a good lens that would work with the G1?
 
Who's telling you you need a 50mm lens?
There's an excellent (and quite cheap) 45mm/f1.8 for MFT that is ideal for portraits.
There's also the 75mm/1.8 which is superb... but more expensive.
 
Hey Andy thanks for the advice - most guides that I have read to portrait photography seems to say 50mm lenses are best.

Do you know if the lenses you refer to are compatible with the G1? Where can I check them out?
 
Many people think that the best focal length for portraits are something like 85 to 135mm in FF speak so for MFT that's 43 to 70mm or there abouts. Personally I've never really followed that.

The 45mm f1.8 is a nice lens but another and cheaper way to do it is with an old manual lens and adapter. You could get a manual 50mm f1.8 for around £20 or a f1.4 gor around £60 or so, an axapter is under £10.
 
Love my 1.8 45mm on the G3:

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Peter said:
Thank you Barbara. I have now used a wireless remote to trigger my SB800 and it worked fine with it being in manual mode of course. I ma not sure whether it was you that made the comment about learning more about off camera flash but the Strobist movement if you havent already come across it offers a lot of useful information.

http://strobist.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/lighting-101.html


Best

Peter
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Glad it's working OK. I've been using the strobist site for a while now and I agree there is some very useful info. I like the on assignment bits best. Very useful to see how they went about doing the shots. I also find some of the videos on You tube good too.
 
Anyone got their hands on a GM5 yet? And/or the new 35-100mm lens as I fancy one for my GM1 :naughty:
 
Could anyone recommend a lens for taking candid shots of kids & family indoors with the Lumix G3? I currently have the 14-42 and 20mm. The 20mm is permanently attached to the G3 but doesn't always delivery clean sharp shots indoor. I am exploring getting a flash but would prefer to get natural shots. I up the shutter speed to around 160/250 and shoot 1.7 but the shots are always dark, not overly sharp even though the ISO is 800/1600. The 20mm also is slow to focus or causes blurred shots. Any help? Using my Fuji XF1 in similar conditions can produce some good results so a bit :thinking:
 
redlion said:
Could anyone recommend a lens for taking candid shots of kids & family indoors with the Lumix G3? I currently have the 14-42 and 20mm. The 20mm is permanently attached to the G3 but doesn't always delivery clean sharp shots indoor. I am exploring getting a flash but would prefer to get natural shots. I up the shutter speed to around 160/250 and shoot 1.7 but the shots are always dark, not overly sharp even though the ISO is 800/1600. The 20mm also is slow to focus or causes blurred shots. Any help? Using my Fuji XF1 in similar conditions can produce some good results so a bit :thinking:
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If the shots are dark and don't match the scene then maybe you've got some sort of exposure issue?

Apparently the 20mm f1.7 isn't the fastest lens, maybe you could take a look at the Oly 25mm f1.8?
 
redlion said:
Could anyone recommend a lens for taking candid shots of kids & family indoors with the Lumix G3? I currently have the 14-42 and 20mm. The 20mm is permanently attached to the G3 but doesn't always delivery clean sharp shots indoor. I am exploring getting a flash but would prefer to get natural shots. I up the shutter speed to around 160/250 and shoot 1.7 but the shots are always dark, not overly sharp even though the ISO is 800/1600. The 20mm also is slow to focus or causes blurred shots. Any help? Using my Fuji XF1 in similar conditions can produce some good results so a bit :thinking:
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The trouble you're having here is that indoor lighting is generally of low level and poor quality, giving colour casts and requiring high ISO. Even though you're against using flash because you want "natural shots" I'd advise getting a flash that can bounce off the ceiling. Direct flash looks awful but bounce flash generally looks naturalistic because the light comes from above. When you think about it there's no difference in artificial light from a ceiling bulb or bounce flash - except bounce flash is far better quality light.

As to which flash to get - a good question, and one which I'm pondering myself. The first thing to try would be a bit of white card in front of the built-in flash to bounce it. I've had fairly decent results with this quick-n-dirty method. But really you'll need a dedicated flash unit with a rotating head. Can anyone recommend a decent one without breaking the bank? The Panasonic ones are pricey.
 
One of the Metz flashes would be my recommendation or, if size/weight is the main priority, the Nissin i40.
 
View attachment 26409 Snapped up one of these from Wilkinson cameras in that Black Friday c0ck up that they made. Might have to sell it on though as I've just gone and bought a new 55" 4k ultra TV too :runaway:
 
Well apparently, if you purchased a camera from them they would let you buy this lens at half price...but I never bought a camera :banana:
 
gcogger said:
One of the Metz flashes would be my recommendation or, if size/weight is the main priority, the Nissin i40.
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The Nissin i40 looks very good. Thanks for bringing to my attention. Shame I can't use the flash with a Nikon DSLR and Micro Thirds as there are different models.
 
'F-Stop' said:
Well apparently, if you purchased a camera from them they would let you buy this lens at half price...but I never bought a camera :banana:
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It wasn't actually a mistake...you'd have got the lens for £125 if you'd added a camera (I know as I tried those options in the basket). I picked up the 15mm f/1.7 lens myself for £250 and am very pleased with it.

Anyhow, I see you're selling yours now...would have been nice to have passed the saving on tbh.
 
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sdb123 said:
...would have been nice to have passed the saving on tbh.
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I guess I was browsing the right shop at the right time. I'm selling at a reduced price to what it would cost anyone who buys it from any shop but I'm quite happy to keep it for my own use if nobody wants it.
 
'F-Stop' said:
I guess I was browsing the right shop at the right time.
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Again...there wasn't as pricing mistake. The lens went out of stock (unsurprisingly), so I signed up for an e-mail alert and on Sunday morning got notification it was back in stock (at £249). I paid for it and it was delivered on the Tuesday. The lens was in and out of stock (at the cheaper price) until Wednesday morning. :)

For anyone on the fence, I highly recommend the lens...a slightly unusual focal length but you get used to it quick enough.
 
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Too close to the (widely available used and cheap) 14mm f2.5 for me.

f1.7 is always going to be sexier than f2.5 but 28mm's were very often f2.8 so I'm happy enough.

Apart from the aperture what's the advantage of the 15mm f1.7?
 
'F-Stop' said:
Well for me the lens actually fits on the camera without protruding from the bottom (I'm using a GM1) which both the 14mm and 20mm do.
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Ah. Given the price difference that's something I'd put up with :D
 
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