"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

[Malfis]

It's a bit late if you've ordered it but...

I've had two of these, the original and the MK2 that came along after a few years. On the positive side I liked the focal length and it's sharp enough and very compact too and on an RF style body it makes for a compact camera and lens combination. On the negative side you can get banding at higher ISO's (and this is lens related even though it's hard to understand why...) and I'm not sure it's suitable for focus tracking... but check that as I think there's an issue with tracking or video or something like that but I can't remember exactly what the issue is but it's something that never bothered me as I don't use tracking or shoot video. The lens is also relatively slow to focus but this was never much of a real world issue for me.

Anyway, I changed mine for an Olympus 17mm f1.8. You could also take a look at the excellent Olympus 45mm f1.8.

And another point.

The GX8 can unfortunately induce shutter shock when used with some lenses and this shows up as a slight blurring or even a slight double image and usually manifests at shutter speeds of something like 1/80 to 1/250 or so. It might be worth reading up on this issue before you invest too much in lenses to make sure that you avoid lenses that can manifest the issue.

The issue can be avoided by using the electronic shutter but this can cause rolling shutter effects and banding under some artificial flickering lighting. Sadly there doesn't seem to be a list of affected lenses so it's best googling for feedback on any lens you're interested in using on your camera.

I only have one micro four thirds lens which seems to be affected, the otherwise excellent 14-42mm mega OIS and amazingly my old Minolta Rokkor 50mm f1.2 is affected too.

I'm rather angry about this issue and personally I think that Panasonic should be ashamed of themselves especially as they knew about this issue for years and continued to sell affected body and lens combinations as kits. I think a few people at Panasonic need nailing to something over this issue. If it didn't exist I'd have probably bought a GX8 years ago.

That's true the 20mm can't be used with continuous autofocus in photo or video mode, only AFS or manual focus.

Thanks for the replies.

I am aware of the 'shutter shock' issue, but at the moment am relaxed about it as the various work arounds on 'type of shutter' selection apparently are supposed to cure the problem. I've read other reports that say the problem only occurred with a particular batch of cameras.
The general reports on the camera were so good, I decided to go ahead with buying one - so time will tell!

 

[woof woof]

No, the auto selection doesn't cure the problem as all it can do is switch to the mechanical or electronic shutter and the latter can bring its own issues. In some scenarios an affected camera and lens combo is pretty much useless, for example try shooting indoors under flickering artificial light when the mechanical shutter can give you shutter shock and the electronic shutter could give you banding, its a no win situation which renders the camera useless.

I don't believe it's only a batch of cameras either as this has been going on for years with numerous new bodies as they've brought them out and has only been cured by the new shutter mechanism in the latest cameras such as the GX80 etc and is partly why these cameras are difficult to sell used for anything like a good price if they sell at all.

Choose your lenses very carefully and it's not an issue. The problem is avoiding affected body and lens combinations.

 

[Cagey75]

Very nice Christmas shot Sir, liking this one very much.

George.

Thanks George , hope you had a great Christmas

Just an update - the 25mm f1.4 Leica is on back order, so I've ordered the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 ll ASPH.

Reading the reviews of the lens, it looks decent - do you agree?

I was going to get the 20mm but after looking at some reviews decided on the 25mm 1.7 instead. The pancake is just too noisey, and I got the G80 to give video a go too. The 25 1.7 is silent when focusing, or as good as. I'm liking it very much, it's not perfect by any means, it tends to hunt a bit if you aim at something low contrast, at times you have to guide it a little, target distinct differences in contrast, but otherwise for the money i can't fault it. Even at 1.7 it's sharp.

 

[Malfis]

Thanks George , hope you had a great Christmas



I was going to get the 20mm but after looking at some reviews decided on the 25mm 1.7 instead. The pancake is just too noisey, and I got the G80 to give video a go too. The 25 1.7 is silent when focusing, or as good as. I'm liking it very much, it's not perfect by any means, it tends to hunt a bit if you aim at something low contrast, at times you have to guide it a little, target distinct differences in contrast, but otherwise for the money i can't fault it. Even at 1.7 it's sharp.

It’s quite interesting - I read so many reviews on the 20mm f1.7 and I don’t think noisy focusing was really mentioned, only very decent image quality, size, weight etc.etc..
TBH the focal length seems to suit my shooting, so I’ll just have to wait and see how it maps out.
Perhaps I should have found this thread and asked some questions before I started ordering kit!

 

[redlion]

Back when I had the G3 the 20mm 1.7 was great for photos and enjoyed the focal length but for video it got annoying. The Panasonic stuff does lag behind Sony when it comes to video autofocus. I tend to manual focus video but sometimes it's nice to have decent autofocus for certain situations.

 

[Malfis]

Back when I had the G3 the 20mm 1.7 was great for photos and enjoyed the focal length but for video it got annoying. The Panasonic stuff does lag behind Sony when it comes to video autofocus. I tend to manual focus video but sometimes it's nice to have decent autofocus for certain situations.

Fortunately I do very little video. When I do, I tend to use my Panasonic LX100.
For me the GX8 is a stills only camera.

 

[Malfis]

Is anyone using any legacy Pentax glass on their G series camera?
I have some FA, F and M lenses that render lovely images, that could be used with a suitable adapter.
Or is it not worth the effort - just sell them?

 

[woof woof]

Is anyone using any legacy Pentax glass on their G series camera?
I have some FA, F and M lenses that render lovely images, that could be used with a suitable adapter.
Or is it not worth the effort - just sell them?

I don't have Pentax lenses but I do have Minolta Rokkor, Olympus Zuiko and Canon FD lenses and some others and I've used them on my MFT cameras and I'd recommend using these old lenses. Over time my most used legacy lens on MFT has been my Sigma 50mm f2.8 macro but an old Minolta Rokkor 55mm f1.7 was for a time my most used lens on MFT.

If you're really keen on using old lenses I'd recommend the Sony A7 as it's FF and your lenses will be at their intended FoV and they'll perform better than on MFT as although you're only using the better central area of the lens with MFT the additional magnification (x2 crop factor) makes the lenses work harder and if you pixel peep you'll see that the lenses give better image quality when used with a larger sensor.

Old lenses do however IMO remain perfectly useable on MFT especially for normal viewing rather than excessive pixel peeping

For focusing you can use peaking which I find to be good at wide apertures and there's the magnified view for very accurate focusing.

I have some rather expensive Novoflex adapters which are about £100 and I use them with my A7 but the cheap adapters you can find for around £10 or so seem to be perfectly adequate.

For £10 or so for an adapter off evil bay I think you really have to give your Pentax lenses a go on MFT. Even though the focal length effectively doubles and a 50mm becomes a 100mm

PS.
I'm a bit of a fan of some of the older lenses. Modern lenses may be better in any and every measurable way but some old lenses just give a lovely look.

I think you have to try your Pentax lenses....

 

[Cagey75]

Is anyone using any legacy Pentax glass on their G series camera?
I have some FA, F and M lenses that render lovely images, that could be used with a suitable adapter.
Or is it not worth the effort - just sell them?

I just have the one legacy lens ATM, sold the others along with my Fuji gear along with the relevant adapters. It is a Pentax, but under the old Takumar label, an M42 mount 200mm F4. It works great with the stabilization on the G80, and the magnification, which I have set on the left direction pad in manual focus mode. I've compared it to my Oly 40-150 and there's little to know difference in terms of sharpness when stopped down a little. But even at F4 it can produce really nice quality. It's not the easiest lens to use as it is a big chunk of all metal, even the hood, and I'm shooting tiny little birds. Keep meaning to give it a proper go for portraiture.

I plan to buy a few more M42 lenses as they are pretty cheap and there are some gems out there. A 50mm 1.4 wold be nice, there's loads of those to chose from, just need a little research.

 

[CSB]

I tried the Helios 44M4 and Vivitar 28mm f2 Close focus on my G6 when I had it and the GH4 but I found they flare too much compared to the Panasonic 12-35. I sold them in the end along with some other manual lenses as I never used them.

 

[srhmoto]

The only legacy lens I use regularly is my Canon FD mount Tokina 300mm f2.8 ATX Pro. Superb piece of glass

 

[Malfis]

I just have the one legacy lens ATM, sold the others along with my Fuji gear along with the relevant adapters. It is a Pentax, but under the old Takumar label, an M42 mount 200mm F4. It works great with the stabilization on the G80, and the magnification, which I have set on the left direction pad in manual focus mode. I've compared it to my Oly 40-150 and there's little to know difference in terms of sharpness when stopped down a little. But even at F4 it can produce really nice quality. It's not the easiest lens to use as it is a big chunk of all metal, even the hood, and I'm shooting tiny little birds. Keep meaning to give it a proper go for portraiture.

I plan to buy a few more M42 lenses as they are pretty cheap and there are some gems out there. A 50mm 1.4 wold be nice, there's loads of those to chose from, just need a little research.

I recently bought an M 50mm f1.7 (k mount) on the Bay for £20 - what a beautiful manual lens, superb quality. You’ve just got to keep your eyes open to pick them up in the right condition and price.

 

[Cagey75]

I tried the Helios 44M4 and Vivitar 28mm f2 Close focus on my G6 when I had it and the GH4 but I found they flare too much compared to the Panasonic 12-35. I sold them in the end along with some other manual lenses as I never used them.

I had the Helios 44-2, flare was part of it's charm, you can produce some really nice effects by manipulating it to your liking. Shooting away from the sun I found it pretty sharp, especially stopped down a little. I would never try to replace a modern lens with one, they are more a side kit jobby

 

[woof woof]

I posted this a while back but the unhelpful artificial light probably not helped by the light coming in through the window bothered me so I played with a mono conversion in Nik filters.

The colour version and then the mono one follow, the picture was taken with my GX80 and Olympus 17mm f1.8 at f1.8, ISO 1,600.

 

['F-Stop']

Scooby our Bengal taken on my new GX80 which was a Christmas present from my wife. Resized but nothing else, straight out of the camera jpeg....

 

[BJP]

Giving up with DSLR and big telephoto bird photos , I'm too lazy to do it properly , plumbed for a GX80 with 12-32 kit and got a 30mm Macro for Chrimbo.

Two with the Macro lens

 

[J H Foto]

Feeding Nuthatch
View attachment 117348

 

[BJP]

Anybody know the reason why the GX80 ISO has a 200 min setting ?

 

[Malfis]

Anybody know the reason why the GX80 ISO has a 200 min setting ?

I didn't realise the minimum ISO was 200. I've checked the reviews on the camera and that is correct - don't know why!

 

[Bobsyeruncle]

It has the option to go to iso 100 extended.

 

[BJP]

It has the option to go to iso 100 extended.

Thanks Robert , I didn't know of that option , just Googled Extended ISO , I think I understand

 

[Malfis]

It has the option to go to iso 100 extended.

Looking at the owners manual it appears that extended ISO is available as long as you are not in Intelligent Auto or Movie modes.

 

[michael23]

wolf moon g7 by Michael Johnson, on Flickr

 

[woof woof]

Anybody know the reason why the GX80 ISO has a 200 min setting ?

I think it's something to do with getting better higher ISO performance. I could be wrong but I think I read that somewhere.

I do find a base of 1/200 annoying but thankfully with the use of the electronic shutter to enable faster shutter speeds it's still possible to shoot at wide apertures in good light.

 

[Malfis]

I just have the one legacy lens ATM, sold the others along with my Fuji gear along with the relevant adapters. It is a Pentax, but under the old Takumar label, an M42 mount 200mm F4. It works great with the stabilization on the G80, and the magnification, which I have set on the left direction pad in manual focus mode. I've compared it to my Oly 40-150 and there's little to know difference in terms of sharpness when stopped down a little. But even at F4 it can produce really nice quality. It's not the easiest lens to use as it is a big chunk of all metal, even the hood, and I'm shooting tiny little birds. Keep meaning to give it a proper go for portraiture.

I plan to buy a few more M42 lenses as they are pretty cheap and there are some gems out there. A 50mm 1.4 wold be nice, there's loads of those to chose from, just need a little research.

You mentioned the legacy Pentax lens.
I bought a GX8 last week, with the intention of a full switch after many years with Pentax.
Today the Pentax K to MFT adapter arrived - just taken a few shots with an F 28mm f2.8 and SMC 50mm f1.7 and they are excellent - those distinctive colours and contrast are all there.
I am chuffed to beans and can now quite happily sell my K3ll and non manual lenses!

 

[Cagey75]

You mentioned the legacy Pentax lens.
I bought a GX8 last week, with the intention of a full switch after many years with Pentax.
Today the Pentax K to MFT adapter arrived - just taken a few shots with an F 28mm f2.8 and SMC 50mm f1.7 and they are excellent - those distinctive colours and contrast are all there.
I am chuffed to beans and can now quite happily sell my K3ll and non manual lenses!

Good stuff, I think many underestimate old MF lenses. Sure, there's some iffy ones, but with a little research there's many a gem to be had for cheap.

 

[Malfis]

Good stuff, I think many underestimate old MF lenses. Sure, there's some iffy ones, but with a little research there's many a gem to be had for cheap.

The SMC (M) 50mm f1.7 is very highly rated on the US Pentax Forums Lens Reviews - I paid £20 for it on eBay a couple of months ago!
I'll post some images when I get around to using the lens - possibly on my upcoming holiday to South Africa.

 

[CSB]

If anyone is frustrated with not being able to see raw files from Panasonic cameras as thumb nails in Windows 7 or 8, I've found a free program called Sage Thumbs which fixes the issue. I can finally see my GH4 raw thumbnails from within Windows file explorer! Hope this helps someone:

SageThumbs or download from Source Forge

 

[CSB]

Any Panasonic 100-300 owners using the Roesch tripod collar?

 

[On the Huh]

Can anyone please tell me if there's a third party version of a DMW-FL360L Flash unit? Something a little cheaper than Panasonic, but works OK with TTL etc. Cheers.

 

[Malfis]

Can anyone please tell me if there's a third party version of a DMW-FL360L Flash unit? Something a little cheaper than Panasonic, but works OK with TTL etc. Cheers.

I was doing some research myself the other evening prior to buying a flash for my new GX8 - the Meike MK320P seems to be well recommended. Amazon have it at £59.99

 

[gcogger]

Can anyone please tell me if there's a third party version of a DMW-FL360L Flash unit? Something a little cheaper than Panasonic, but works OK with TTL etc. Cheers.

The Nissin i40 is a decent, fairly powerful, and small flash that works well. IIRC the Meike flash does not zoom so, if you need to fire straight ahead to achieve maximum range, it won't do very well. It's a minor point, though, and I could be wrong!

 

[HarveyM]

Any Panasonic 100-300 owners using the Roesch tripod collar?

Yes. I have this collar which I was lucky enough to buy secondhand for £40. It's beautifully made and lives in my Mk 1 lens all the time, well worth getting hold of one.

 

[Cagey75]

I got the Godox TT350o which has TTL and HSS in a very neat little package. I just need to get the X1T trigger for it to really get the best from it. I find it gives sufficient light for indoor group shots, I still have my old YN-560 if I need more power. I have also tested the Godox as a master and it does fire the YN560 in sync, which is great

 

[J H Foto]

Long tail tit

 

[Malfis]

The Nissin i40 is a decent, fairly powerful, and small flash that works well. IIRC the Meike flash does not zoom so, if you need to fire straight ahead to achieve maximum range, it won't do very well. It's a minor point, though, and I could be wrong!

It is £90 more than the Meike, though, for the price of a zoom.
I suppose ‘you pays your money, and you takes your choice’.

 

[CSB]

Yes. I have this collar which I was lucky enough to buy secondhand for £40. It's beautifully made and lives in my Mk 1 lens all the time, well worth getting hold of one.

Thanks for the reply. I've been looking for a second hand one but no luck so far, so I emailed the guy who makes them in Germany but not had a response yet.

 

[gcogger]

It is £90 more than the Meike, though, for the price of a zoom.
I suppose ‘you pays your money, and you takes your choice’.

Absolutely - just putting more options out there They've gone up in price a bit since I bought mine!

 

[BJP]

Are there any other brands of lens other than Olympus that fit the Panasonic Gs and if so dual IS ?

 

[mikew]

Fairly sure you will only get Dual IS with Panasonic lenses.

Are there any other brands of lens other than Olympus that fit the Panasonic Gs and if so dual IS ?