m 4/3 dilemma

[Musicman]

I've been finding myself increasingly looking for a lightweight alternative to my 5D when I can't or don't want to lug it about.

The initial idea was a small 'go anywhere' camera that could stay in my work bag most of the time and also come out to play when I'm out with the family. Currently, an old Olympus XA loaded with Ilford XP2 is doing that duty, but I'm rather wedded to proper controls on a camera (I often like to shoot in manual mode) and the instant results attractions of digital are somewhat compelling.

The Fuji X100 is a lovely proposition and I think I could live with a fixed 35mm FoV, but I don't have the best part of a grand spare for this role.

Now, Park Cameras have both the G1 and GF1 bodies available for £199 new, which is leaving me sorely tempted to jump in and try out m4/3 for not a lot of money. A quick scout on eBay reveals I can pick up a Panny 14-42 for around £100, which would get me a working system for about £300, which I can afford.

However, I also have a fair sized collection of Canon FD lenses that it would be very tempting to try with m4/3. This leaves me with something of a dilemma. The G1 is a larger body (somewhat running counter to the original proposition of something highly portable) but it does have a decent EVF, which, by all accounts, would make manual focusing with legacy glass a lot easier than using the rear screen on the GF1. And it appears to be still a bit smaller than my Canon A-1, which is reasonably portable.

I suspect I really need simply to decide what my priorities are - compactness or using my FD lenses - but I'm wondering if anyone here has experience of using legacy lenses on either or both the G1 (or similar bodies) and GF1, or has a view on the practical difference in the size of the two bodies? Any other opinions also welcomed

There's the option of waiting for the EP2 or EPL-2 to get cheap or something better to turn up in an affordable price range, but I can't see either happening in the near future.

 

[Smeghead]

Bear in mind that the GF1 also has an EVF available for it, though it's fairly expensive.

On my EP-1, there's a zoomed in live view option, which makes manual focus lenses a lot easier to use. I'm pretty sure the Panasonic cameras have a similar feature. However since there's no way to have a one-touch button to activate it, it does mean you have to faff about with the options to get it to come up, so it's not really great if you're planning on taking sports shots or similar.

 

[woof woof]

My GF1 activates the 10x zoom when you move the focus ring. I think there's a menu option to select it but once it's selected it should come on when you move the focus ring without the need to fiddle with anything else.

Don't forget there's a huge 4/3 thread on this very forum...

 

[Smeghead]

My GF1 activates the 10x zoom when you move the focus ring. I think there's a menu option to select it but once it's selected it should come on when you move the focus ring without the need to fiddle with anything else.

That's only on modern lenses. Obviously manual focus lenses have no electronics, so how is it going to communicate with the body and say "I'm focusing now, use the zoomed liveview to help the person focus"? It can't, you have to do everything manually.

 

[woof woof]

Ah, I see.

 

[BacktotheFuji]

Just remember that once you've stuck an FD lens on the front, the camera becomes large once again And don't forget the crop factor which will give a 100mm field of view from a 50mm lens.

 

[Musicman]

Bear in mind that the GF1 also has an EVF available for it, though it's fairly expensive.

Yep. Not far off the price I'd be paying for a body and it's quite low resolution compared with the G1 and recent Oly EVFs. I see conflicting reports about how good it is for establishing critical focus.

Don't forget there's a huge 4/3 thread on this very forum...

Yes, I've been dipping into it before I posted.

Just remember that once you've stuck an FD lens on the front, the camera becomes large once again

Yep. The Canon FDn 35mm and 28mm f/2.8 are pretty compact, though.

I have plans afoot for a 20mm f/1.7 for street work when I have the cash. I could see the flip screen on the G1 being handy for that... I've a couple of TLR film cameras that don't have the same 'I'm taking a photograph' obviousness when you're looking down.

And don't forget the crop factor which will give a 100mm field of view from a 50mm lens.

Well aware of the 2x crop factor. I have everything from FD 17mm f/4 through to a 70-200 f/4 [yes, they're both quite chunky]. I'm rather looking forward to the prospect of a 100mm f/1.4 or 270mm f/2.0 equivalent.

 

[AJQS]

That's only on modern lenses. Obviously manual focus lenses have no electronics, so how is it going to communicate with the body and say "I'm focusing now, use the zoomed liveview to help the person focus"? It can't, you have to do everything manually.

Once MF mode is engaged, or AE lock with it set to AF is engaged on a 'modern lens' the left buton activates focus assist (the zooming in) instead of changing focus mode/point. With w legacy lens attached it's permanently set to MF, so pressinbg the left buttonb activates MF assist. (All on GH1, I thing G series has adifferent button for it, but it'll behave the same)

GH1 and 14-45mm covers pretty much all my needs most of the time. I'd like to add a 9-18mm m.Zuiko at some point too though.

As for size, the GH1 body is the same size as my Pentax Super A, but the EVF sticks out a bit more (or rather the eye cup does) on the Panny, making it overall bigger. With 14-45mm on the GH1 and 50mm SMC on the Pentax it's even stevens for size. The GH1 is mostly plastic so weighs hardly anything. All geared up with lens battery and tripod mount it weighs in under 750grams. It's very portable, though not pocketable. I find it a great imprvement over my Oly E520, and that was hargely large, and was itself better than my old Nikon D40.

IQ with a GH is fantastic, on G or GF it's not as good but is still way ahead of any compact/bridge.

I say do it.

 

[Musicman]

Thanks for all your thoughts.

Well, I had a brief play with a G10 while I was buying a couple of other bits in a local shop this afternoon (it was the only m4/3 camera they stocked) and decided that I like the form factor, but its lo-res EVF was not for me. As it's essentially the same as the add-on EVF for the GF1, I kind of ruled that out.

However, I found a good deal on Amazon for the G2 14-42 kit (£391) and considered that video could be a useful addition for occasional use and I reckon I prefer the rear positioning of the click wheel control to that on the G1.

Fingers crossed, I should have it in my hands tomorrow evening.


e2a:

Next up... an FD-to-m4/3 adapter.

I have my eye on one of these which has an interesting design which obviates the problem with the Fotodiox-style ones with the pin to engage the iris lever being too easily mis-aligned during mounting, leaving the aperture mechanism stuck wide open.