"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

JohnMcL7 said:
If you're going to post such ignorant drivel, don't quote my post as part of it as you clearly haven't read any of it and don't have a clue what you're talking about. You can't even buy a video camera with anything close to the specification of the GH1 without spending vastly more money, while it has some disadvantages for video (as does any video camera) it has plenty of strengths as well. I did actually buy a decent Canon HD video camera but it's spent most of the time gathering dust, I didn't like its tiny sensor, I didn't like the controls, I didn't like the lack of lenses and I didn't like the fact it took up a slot in my bag that meant losing a lens. Hence I now get extensive use out of the GH1 for video as it works well in that role.

John
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JohnMcL7 said:
No, it's not a handle on video that only I have - if you paid any attention to the market (rather than post the tired, outdated and blinkered view of video on cameras) you'd notice that there's considerable interest in video particularly in the professional SLR market. Perhaps you should share your opinion with the 'idiots' who used a Canon 5D mk II to film one of the episodes of 'House' as clearly they should have been using a video camera for video?

I could post a lot of ifs and buts about video cameras as well (tiny sensor, very poor low light performance, no DoF control, no changeable lenses at the same level) which my your logic means you shouldn't use a video camera for video either I guess. At least I took the time to try and post some detailed reasoning rather than your waste of space comment that video is no good on cameras which frankly amounts to little more than trolling and in particular had no relevence to any of the points to the post you quoted hence I'd rather you hadn't quoted in the first place. I'm not saying everyone must use video on cameras but I see no point in posting if you're not going to post anything at all of use aside from you just don't like it.
John
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John, please think before you post, your approach is somewhat abrasive.

Let's keep it friendly.
 
Yes, always been a friendly happy forum lets keep it that way, we just have to accept other peoples thoughts and ideas whether we agree or not does not matter...

So lets all be friendly and happy:)(y)
 
Hacker said:
John, please think before you post, your approach is somewhat abrasive.

Let's keep it friendly.
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Your idea of keeping it friendly is calling my approach 'abrasive' when I've taken the time to try and explain the advantages and disadvantages of the GH1's video (which I thought plenty about) but you find it absolutely fine for someone to just pointlessly slate video on SLRs with no evidence or reasoning?! That's quite strange and to be honest that post doesn't fit with my definition (or indeed the dictionary definition) of 'friendly' nor my definition of 'useful', I'm really surprised people are ok with that particularly when you're telling me I need to 'think more about my posts' having given considerable thought to my posts and noticing a distinct lack of thought in the post that replied to and quoted my own.

John
 
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JohnMcL7 said:
The main advantage of AVCHD over MJPEG is the compression, at similar quality levels an AVCHD encoded video file should be considerably smaller as it can compress the video further without reducing quality. The GF1 in MJPEG mode I believe is limited to around eight minutes whereas an EU GF1 in AVCHD mode should be able to hit the 30 minute limit (no limit for non-EU cameras). So AVCHD offers you smaller file sizes and longer recording times but it's more difficult to view and edit.

It's going to depend on your usage as to which is the better one to use, with memory cards coming back down in price at the moment storage space isn't so much of an issue so if you're happy with the mjpeg mode so far then you may be as well sticking with it unless you're in a situation where you need to be able to record for as long as possible.

John
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Thank you John for your very concise answer. I have been very happy with the mjpeg mode, but just wondered if I was missing out on something.(y)
 
hillwalkinggirl said:
Thank you John for your very concise answer. I have been very happy with the mjpeg mode, but just wondered if I was missing out on something.(y)
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You're definitely right to check as you don't want to be missing out although one point to bear in mind is that AVCHD vs mjpeg can vary depending on the camera (such as the GH1 which out of the box has more AVCHD modes which aren't available in mjpeg) which means it's also worth checking on any other cameras you're making the choice on.

John
 
grum said:
Oh and btw - I can also recommend Canon FD lenses. The 50mm 1.4 is really nice, I picked one up for £50, and the 50mm 3.5 is great for Macro.
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I'm really interested in trying some Canon FD lenses, could you tell me what adapter you're using and how you like it? Any problems with focusing to infinity, I think my Nikon adapter is slightly off.

Regards,
Nick.
 
I just got the 100-300mm lens here too, and have been pleasantly suprised with the quality of handheld shots. I think this one was at max focal length, the surfer was a looong way away :)


P1020619 by Jimwah, on Flickr
 
Jimwah said:
I just got the 100-300mm lens here too, and have been pleasantly suprised with the quality of handheld shots. I think this one was at max focal length, the surfer was a looong way away :)
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Have you/did you have the 45-200? Im curious to hear how the two lenses compare.
 
Danny_Two said:
Have you/did you have the 45-200? Im curious to hear how the two lenses compare.
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No not yet, but my girlfriend has a blue G1 with the 14-42mm and the 45-200mm on order, hopefully it'll arrive in a few days and we can see how they compare to my 14-45mm and 100-300mm :)

Old Nick, I also got an FD adapter (on Grum's recommendation), it was from eBay seller named cam2_uk who shipped from the UK, although I find I have to pull back a little from the limit to get it infinity focused. I've had great fun playing with a 50mm 1.8 Canon lens, which I think makes for really nice potrait shots.
 
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grum said:
5189672004_fa2199ebf8_b.jpg
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Love the framing on this. Nice shot.
 
Jimwah said:
Old Nick, I also got an FD adapter (on Grum's recommendation), it was from eBay seller named cam2_uk who shipped from the UK,
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Thanks, I'll have a look, how's the build quality?

although I find I have to pull back a little from the limit to get it infinity focused.
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That's exactly what I have to do with my Nikon adapter and Micro-Nikkor 55mm, took a bit to get used to as I've not really done much manual focusing before. My previous camera was a Panasonic FZ28, and the manual focusing system (with a tiny little joystick thing) was awful, so I almost never used it.

Nick.
 
I got my FD adapter from a seller called szkacha on ebay - quality seems fine and it focuses to infinity - think it might need turning back a little tiny bit too. I find the focus rings on old lenses tend to be a lot nicer to use than on modern AF lenses.

That 100-300mm shot looks promising.

adrianday said:
Love the framing on this. Nice shot.
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Cheers!

Not sure if I should show this yet as it's not properly finished, but I made a photography site - all taken with the GF1/G1.

www.grahamwynnephoto.com
 
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grum said:
Nice sharp pics again Oldboy - 20mm?

Thanks Barbara - was rather pleased with the spider shot actually :)

Here's a couple of the growing little Lord Montague the Magnificent - aka 'Biscuit'.

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Wonderful light, Graham.. absolutely gorgeous shot. (y)

Edit: just seen the paw on the left.... has it been pasted in?? :D
 
Jimwah said:
I find I have to pull back a little from the limit to get it infinity focused.
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I found this with my OM lens adapter too. A bit too late, after messing up half of a batch of potentially great sunset shots. Focus looked fine on the lcd but back on the PC it obviously wasn't.

Anyway, to make life easier I fixed it. Using a set of digital vernier calipers [can be bought for around £17 now] I measured the length of the lens front to back at infinity. Then I focused on something distant, carefully removed the lens and remeasured. There was 0.25mm difference. I scavenged around the house looking for something this thick to make a suitable spacer and found a bit of card. I removed the lens bayonet mount from the adapter and cut the card to fit between bayonet mount and adapter body. The OM 1.8 now focuses perfectly at infinity.
 
Hi

I notice panasonic have a 14mm lens out now has anyone used that and the 20mm.

Does it mean death of 20mm? The price difference is only 10 pounds, put a spanner in the works was saving for a 20mm now don't know what i'm saving for :)
 
Nadeem said:
Hi

I notice panasonic have a 14mm lens out now has anyone used that and the 20mm.

Does it mean death of 20mm? The price difference is only 10 pounds, put a spanner in the works was saving for a 20mm now don't know what i'm saving for :)
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No, the 20mm is much brighter than the 14mm and will always be popular.
 
Nadeem said:
Hi

I notice panasonic have a 14mm lens out now has anyone used that and the 20mm.

Does it mean death of 20mm? The price difference is only 10 pounds, put a spanner in the works was saving for a 20mm now don't know what i'm saving for :)
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Why would the 14mm spell the death of the 20mm? They are different ranges for a start and the 20mm is f1.7 opposed to the 14mm f2.5. They will both co-exist together.
 
Nadeem said:
Hi

I notice panasonic have a 14mm lens out now has anyone used that and the 20mm.

Does it mean death of 20mm? The price difference is only 10 pounds, put a spanner in the works was saving for a 20mm now don't know what i'm saving for :)
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The 20mm, you know its good you've seen the results(y)
 
grum said:
I got my FD adapter from a seller called szkacha on ebay - quality seems fine and it focuses to infinity - think it might need turning back a little tiny bit too. I find the focus rings on old lenses tend to be a lot nicer to use than on modern AF lenses.

That 100-300mm shot looks promising.



Cheers!

Not sure if I should show this yet as it's not properly finished, but I made a photography site - all taken with the GF1/G1.

www.grahamwynnephoto.com
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Very nice site Graham, and some great shots with the G series on there.:clap:
 
grum said:
Not sure if I should show this yet as it's not properly finished, but I made a photography site - all taken with the GF1/G1.

www.grahamwynnephoto.com
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Thats looking stunning, great pics on there.
Cant wait to get shut of this pc and get an iMac. Going to try using the video side of the GF1. The quick play last christmas in the snow was pretty good, just panansonic software is dire.
 
Thanks for all the comments folks :D

Quite chuffed with it I have to say - was fairly easy to set up too. Alan I didn't find uploading too much hassle, though I don't have much to compare it to. I did buy the photocrati template for WP, then customise it.

Robb - iMovie and my iMac work well with the GF1 video. I am getting into making some videos with work at the moment - good fun.

Tried another moon shot tonight with the 45-200mm, earlier this evening it looked huge but it seemed to have got smaller by the time I got out :thinking:

5202192529_421aa1df4b_b.jpg
 
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Had this GF-1 with Pancake lens 20mm for about three weeks now, had a few days in the Lake District with it last week, first real session with it.

I'm quite impressed with this pocketable camera, especially indoor shots without a flash. Three I took a few days ago one landscape on Lake Windermere the other two indoors at Lakeside Motor Museum all on auto setting, I was too lazy to faff about until I get used to manual settings.

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Nice pictures Frank especially the bike one..

Keep showibg us more..
 
Thanks Oldboy, lightened my load by changing from Canon 40D and various lenses cos they were getting too heavy for me, this little gem of a camera is great and allows me to keep snapping.
 
grum said:
Have we all given up on our Panasonics then? :)
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Not been out for a while TBH but I have not lost interest in mine.

I'd still like to take a landscape shot like you though..!
 
Crop of my little mate..

Applied a little softness to the skin and tried to highlight and sharpen the eyes but only so much you can do with a jpeg. Left the slobber in because it's cute :)

5214271260_9792c496ea_z.jpg
 
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I'm still learning with my GF1.

I usually use my 20D in aperture priority or manual and was using my GF1 the same way but I've recently shifted to shutter priority with auto ISO for low light shooting to keep the shutter speed above the 1/30 that the GF1 seems to love. I haven't been running any noise reduction as whole images seem perfectly acceptable to me.

Anyway... f1.7, 1/100, ISO 1250, seems to have plenty of detail and acceptable noise.

minster1-1.jpg


I might be off to Kazakhstan soon and have been thinking of taking my GF1 and LX2 and leaving my beloved 20D at home.
 
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Nadeem said:
Hi

I notice panasonic have a 14mm lens out now has anyone used that and the 20mm.

Does it mean death of 20mm? The price difference is only 10 pounds, put a spanner in the works was saving for a 20mm now don't know what i'm saving for :)
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No, as mentioned above the two lenses compliment each other well. The 14mm has the advantage of offering a wide angle whereas the 20mm gives a more 'normal' view as well as the faster aperture. The 20mm also appears to be better optically than the 14mm although the AF on the 14mm as it doesn't grind slowly back and forth as the 20mm does when focussing.

I bought the 14mm when it came out here and been pleased with the purchase it's made the GF1 a lot more useful, previously I didn't like taking it out on its own with just the 20mm as the lack of wide angle could be very limiting. Now however it's easily possible to have the GF1 with one pancake lens in one pocket and the other pancake lens in another pocket and switch between the two as needed.

John
 
woof woof said:
I might be off to Kazakhstan soon and have been thinking of taking my GF1 and LX2 and leaving my beloved 20D at home.
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Those are some pictures I'd like to see. I've long wanted to go to some of the countries ending in -stan. Except the two obviously dangerous ones.
 
My girlfriend is working there and flies backwards and forwards and the plan is to join her there for a couple of weeks. Dunno if I'm keen to head off into the mountains to shoot as there are bears and wolves about. I'll post some shots if I go, and survive.
 
The thing to remember is while you're being eaten then keep snapping away. There'll be evidence of your demise, and hopefully some great shots too.
 
At least both cameras are well built with metal bodies and so may survive a wolf / bears digestive tract. Still, I suppose that I don't have to outrun the wild life, just my girlfriend.
 
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