Beginner Must haves to get started?

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Ashley
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Hi :)

I managed to get myself a good deal on a Panasonic G7 today in the sales, it came with two lenses and a free bag, i was wondering what other 'must haves' to get me started and make life a little bit easier?

I have a couple of SD Cards but going to get on Amazon now and see if i can find some on offer and a card reader.

But i was thinking of more batteries? If so any to avoid or any that are recommended?

I'm going to be on the lookout for a small gorrilla pod type thing and some cleaning things like the dust blower!

Any lens worth buying for around £50 or under?

Thanks :)
 
Slow down on the lenses - you have 2 already!

I'd be thinking more about how to make photographs and what you might do with them - what the end purpose might be.

To be serious, camera and lenses are only half of the equation - the other half is processing software and the machinery it runs on, including display.
 
Slow down on the lenses - you have 2 already!

I'd be thinking more about how to make photographs and what you might do with them - what the end purpose might be.

To be serious, camera and lenses are only half of the equation - the other half is processing software and the machinery it runs on, including display.

Thanks :)

I have a very good computer that i built myself, the monitors are also good but mainly gaming so will likely be changed in the future, probably next year along with a new graphics card.

Can you recommend any batteries?
 
Thanks :)

I have a very good computer that i built myself, the monitors are also good but mainly gaming so will likely be changed in the future, probably next year along with a new graphics card.

Graphics cards aren't used *so much* for image processing, and almost any half-decent card is good enough.

Consider investing in image development software - pretty much essential to get the best from your images - and factor in time to learn to use it. Many use Adobe Lightroom, but also consider On1 PhotoRaw 2019 or DXO Photolab. These last 2 have 'black friday' discounts available today. I'd suggest doing this before buying tripods, filters etc.
 
Graphics cards aren't used *so much* for image processing, and almost any half-decent card is good enough.

Consider investing in image development software - pretty much essential to get the best from your images - and factor in time to learn to use it. Many use Adobe Lightroom, but also consider On1 PhotoRaw 2019 or DXO Photolab. These last 2 have 'black friday' discounts available today. I'd suggest doing this before buying tripods, filters etc.

I have started learning photoshop in their trial but dislike the subscription, i am quite liking the look of DXO though, I will have to download the trial!
 
I have started learning photoshop in their trial but dislike the subscription, i am quite liking the look of DXO though, I will have to download the trial!

You don't need 'Photoshop' (Lightroom is correctly called Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, but operates differently). Download the trials for both that and Photoraw & have a play.

DXO tends to be more automated, so will take a software stab at what it thinks is the best processing for your image, but can be slightly awkward to get exactly the adjustment you want, though it's moved on in recent years. I have versions of all 3 on this machine (LR, Photoraw & DXO) and can & have used all of them for image development. IMO Lightroom is still best, but the others are very close and any of them can deliver professional standard images.

Mkae use of the various video tutorials available to learn. There are lots around, and it's one of the strengths of On1 that they produce a LOT of videos with methods, tricks & tips.
 
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I had a Panasonic G7 and I think it's a little sports car of a camera but I'm sorry to say that it has a flaw and it's that at certain shutter speeds when using the mechanical shutter the camera can induce shutter shock with some lenses which can appear as a slight blurring of the image or even a slight double image. I can't remember what the affected shutter speed range is but it's something like 1/80 to 1/250 sec. One "fix" is to use the electronic shutter which eliminates shutter shock but comes with two potential issues, rolling shutter effect with some subjects and the potential for banding under some flickering lighting.

I was never bothered by rolling shutter effects but banding under artificial lighting indoors was an issue for me as in that scenario I'd be using a shutter speed smack in the affected range and the mechanical shutter was therefore unusable due to potential shutter shock and using the electronic shutter wasn't an option due to potential banding. The issue therefore effectively rendered the camera unusable under some lighting when fitted with some lenses. For outdoor shooting however the electronic shutter was an effective work around for me.

I don't want to appear to be trying to put anyone off the G7 but I do think it is important to be aware of this issue so that if users think they may run into the issue they can consider using shutter shock immune lenses or think about possible work arounds. As to what lenses are affected, I can't say for certain but if I'd recently bought a shutter shock affected body I'd research what lenses could potentially be affected.
 
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I don't want to appear to be trying to put anyone off the G7 but I do think it is important to be aware of this issue so that if users think they may run into the issue they can consider using shutter shock immune lenses or think about possible work arounds. As to what lenses are affected, I can't say for certain but if I'd recently bought a shutter shock affected body I'd research what lenses could potentially be affected.

Seems to not be unusual in M43 cameras. Our Oly EM10 MkI has terrible shutter shock using the mechanical shutter on both the compact kit lens and 40-150 - I'd assume the kit lens was junk until I went to electronic shutter & discovered it could take a sharp image.
 
...
Any lens worth buying for around £50 or under?

Thanks :)
Actually yes.
These camera work superbly with an adapter and old manual 50mm prime lenses.

Find a pentax/cosina/olympus/etc from the old SLR days, buy a ten quid adapter from that to m4/3rds, enjoy.
 
Seems to not be unusual in M43 cameras. Our Oly EM10 MkI has terrible shutter shock using the mechanical shutter on both the compact kit lens and 40-150 - I'd assume the kit lens was junk until I went to electronic shutter & discovered it could take a sharp image.

I think some of the Oly's have EFCS (electronic first curtain shutter) which could mitigate shutter shock to a degree or indeed eliminate it. My Panasonic cameras haven't had that. I have it set on my Sony A7 and I haven't found a downside in years of ownership.

The kit lens I have is the shutter shock affected 14-42mm Mega OIS, the really small one, and I initially thought it was a piece of junk until I tried it on another camera and found that it's actually quite good.
 
I think some of the Oly's have EFCS (electronic first curtain shutter)

I'd assume the kit lens was junk until I went to electronic shutter & discovered it could take a sharp image.

:)

It's a REALLY CRAP design fault, bordering on unfit for purpose though, and someone deserves a good slapping for releasing such a heavily flawed camera device. Yes, it still makes me angry.
 
:)

It's a REALLY CRAP design fault, bordering on unfit for purpose though, and someone deserves a good slapping for releasing such a heavily flawed camera device. Yes, it still makes me angry.

You mean the clunky mechanical shutter is a design fault, and a serious one, rather than the electronic first curtain? EFC should cure it, and the only significant downside to that is rolling shutter effects - basically wonky images when panning.
 
Hi :)

I managed to get myself a good deal on a Panasonic G7 today in the sales, it came with two lenses and a free bag, i was wondering what other 'must haves' to get me started and make life a little bit easier?

I have a couple of SD Cards but going to get on Amazon now and see if i can find some on offer and a card reader.

But i was thinking of more batteries? If so any to avoid or any that are recommended?

I'm going to be on the lookout for a small gorrilla pod type thing and some cleaning things like the dust blower!

Any lens worth buying for around £50 or under?

Thanks :)

No need for a lens yet.

Also depends on what you want to photograph.

I'd recommend a good polariser regardless.

If you are doing landscape/seascapes a good tripod & maybe some filters.

A filtered rocket blower thing....
 
I think he meant that he didn’t expect to hear his new camera might have shutter shock.

You're probably right, but better to know now than spend ages wondering what he's doing wrong when his pictures come out looking inexplicably soft seemingly at random.
 
You mean the clunky mechanical shutter is a design fault, and a serious one, rather than the electronic first curtain? EFC should cure it, and the only significant downside to that is rolling shutter effects - basically wonky images when panning.

I think I read somewhere that there's some technical reason why the shutter shock affected cameras couldn't have EFCS... can't remember what it was, but I'm pretty sure there's a technical limitation... If anyone is interested maybe Googling could get them to the answer.
 
Well, this seems to have gone well.

Sorry if I've upset you. I do think it's well worth knowing any technical limitations of your gear so that you can at least avoid them or find workarounds. Forewarned is forearmed etc.
 
:)

It's a REALLY CRAP design fault, bordering on unfit for purpose though, and someone deserves a good slapping for releasing such a heavily flawed camera device. Yes, it still makes me angry.

To release product with this issue is IMO disgraceful but to then bundle affected cameras with susceptible lenses is IMO completely and utterly shameful. I can't believe they didn't know what they were putting in boxes and selling to people.
 
I can't believe they didn't know what they were putting in boxes and selling to people.
But isn't this how commerce works? It's hardly a social service. It's about putting cash into shareholders' pockets.
 
But isn't this how commerce works? It's hardly a social service. It's about putting cash into shareholders' pockets.

Have you ever worked for a company that knowingly shipped kit with a known issue like this? In over a decade of product development and compliance with companies in UK, Europe, USA and the far east I never ever came across anything like this. It's not how responsible businesses operate because if they p!ss too many customers off they wont have a business at all.
 
But isn't this how commerce works? It's hardly a social service. It's about putting cash into shareholders' pockets.

No, it isn't - it's how businesses go under (unless they're Apple) by losing the trust of their customers, knowingly shipping defective goods.
 
No, it isn't - it's how businesses go under (unless they're Apple) by losing the trust of their customers, knowingly shipping defective goods.
So all the firms that have ever sold me crap have ceased trading? News to me!
 
I've been alive for a long time - that's how I know. Yes, of course it sucks, but it's part of how the business world runs. There are few, if any, ivory towers left these days.

We're getting a little off-topic here, but do you consider operating an ethical business to be working in an ivory tower?
 
So all the firms that have ever sold me crap have ceased trading? News to me!

Are you 5 years old? To think this was started by me posting what I thought would be helpful advice on an issue I ran into and thought that the OP might also encounter.

I'm outa here...
 
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I bought an Olympus EM1 that had shutter shock issues, real bargain and came with the 12-40 lens.
Took it back for a refund, ended up with a later Panasonic with a design that cures 95% of the issue
 
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