"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

Nice little fun test Alan. Kind of like the one I did a few pages back. The fist few shots of yours kind of back up one of the conclusions I made about the GF2 vs 1DmkIV. The ease of use can often be as big an issue as the end result IQ. The shot of the penguin you took might be slightly noisier on the Panasonic but that's doesn't really matter if the one from the 5D isn't unusable because of OOF.
Like when I was in London in a museum that wouldn't allow tripods. I could use my GF2 with 14mm lens at ISO1600 handheld which made a bit of a noisy image but had I had my mkIV and it's difference in apertures etc I think I would have had to use a tripod so I wouldn't have even been allowed to take the shot.

I really like the shot of the funicular railway Alan. It took me a while to work out exactly what it was which makes for an interesting image to explore imo.
 
Yup. There is a bit more noise in the G1 shot but all of those shots are brighter than the scene would look to the eye and if they were darkened a little more to actually match the scene the noise would be pushed even more out and of course there's the option of applying more noise reduction than CS5 does by default.

The car lift is at Saltburn, which is one of my fav haunts. Here's a couple of daylight shots.

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On the subject of apertures and low light... I'm not into vid myself but I've read that some vid shooters prefer MFT as for the same FoV to get the DoF they want they'll be using wider lenses and wider apertures compared to full frame, as with full frame they'd be using longer lenses and needing to stop down. So, MFT allows low light shooting with less use of expensive and scene altering lighting. So I've read :D
 
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I might even have been on the car lift thing when I was young. We used to holiday in the Whitby area a lot.

The GH2 is supposed to be very very very good for video with the various "hacks" around that really increase it's data rate and lower noise etc. I have read on several respected video forums that it is THE best video on a SLR type body at the moment. In fact it's even supposed to be on a part with my £2500 Canon XF100 camcorder! Maybe I need to sell that too lol.
 
I had an afternoon at the zoo today and took the G3 and 100-300, I normally take my Canon 100-400 so wanted to see how the Panasonic faired. Being totally honest I was slightly disappointed in it, the AF on the G3 is quick but not quite as reliably accurate as I'd hoped. Looking through my shots this evening I reckon that the percentage of shots that are critically sharp is ~50-60% which is much lower than I get with my Canon set up. Quite possibly issues with my technique as I'm used to using a heavier lens. That said when it nailed the focus the results are very pleasing and the lack of noise at ISO800 is excellent. Any way here are a couple of shots from today and there are a few more on my flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/37669825@N04/sets/72157627767593220/

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this one could have been better, but I was pleased with the result given that it was through glass at 300mm, f5.6, 1/40th

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On that last one maybe you could increase the contrast or shift the levels to bring the face and eyes out a bit?

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You should be able to get rid of that banding effect in the background with a little work.
 
Fabulous shots...I'd be well pleased with those.
 
Janice said:
Fabulous shots...I'd be well pleased with those.
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postcardcv said:
... I was slightly disappointed in it, the AF on the G3 is quick but not quite as reliably accurate as I'd hoped. Looking through my shots this evening I reckon that the percentage of shots that are critically sharp is ~50-60% which is much lower than I get with my Canon set ...
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Which autofocus mode were you using, please?
 
I have that book for my G2 and find it excellent and so much better than the manual. Having previously owned a G1 I would say 90 per cent would be relevant, you just need to ignore the bits about video or the touch screen. Hope that helps.
 
Markp777 said:
I have that book for my G2 and find it excellent and so much better than the manual. Having previously owned a G1 I would say 90 per cent would be relevant, you just need to ignore the bits about video or the touch screen. Hope that helps.
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Thank you so much.... i have just placed my order.. i have also found some good video on youtube that have been very helpfull
 
I received my GX1 yesterday. Wow! Had a few issues finding the actual menu button rather than the qmenu button but now off and running. Decided against the power lens after trying it out. Didn't like the button zoom but was impressed just how neat it was. So I have the standard 14-42 and would have had a 45-200 had the postie actually knocked louder today. So far impressed With the 14-42 and hoping the 45-200 will be as sharp.
 
davvy said:
So you took the plunge Chris enjoy !
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I did - eventually!

Has anyone found a reasonable sized bag to cart their Lumix models around in? Like to have something to protect in transit, keep a spare battery, lens etc but not yet seen anything I like. Just a pocket?
 
Nice new toy Chris. Hope you can post some shots from the GX1 when you get time.

I know what you mean about postmen not knocking. :cautious:


As for bags I too am interested to hear what others use. When I take just the 14mm on the GF2 I like just putting it in a pocket so I have easy access to it. When going on a hike or on a plane for example I wouldn't mind something a little stronger so it doesn't get knocked by the other things in my rucksack. Something that could hold a body, a pancake lens and maybe a couple of the "bigger" lenses would be neat.
 
Tulipone said:
I did - eventually!

Has anyone found a reasonable sized bag to cart their Lumix models around in? Like to have something to protect in transit, keep a spare battery, lens etc but not yet seen anything I like. Just a pocket?
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Might be too big for some of you, but I use a Billingham Hadley Original.They also do a Pro ( bit bigger) and a Small ( well, a bit smaller....)

In mine, I can get my G2 with 45-200, Oly Pen with 14mm and a 14-45 with plenty of room in the front pockets for batteries cards and chargers etc. It has a comfortable shoulder strap and access is quick and easy with the two front clip off straps.

Crumpler do some nice messenger style bags too. I'm afraid I just don't like the black Lowepro and similar make bags.


Allan
 
If you're looking for something simple, I am using a Tamrac 5689 (Pro Compact digital camera bag) for my GF3 + 14-42X. It just about a perfect fit, with the height of the case being a couple of cm's too tall. I was after something as slim as possible, but they also do a 'Digital 2' bag that is a similar size, but has a zipped pocket on the front.
 
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Admittedly today is the first time I have used the GX1 and Apple typically have not got RAW support in Aperture. When looking at JPEGs they do seem over sharpened straight out of the camera. I am sure I can change this somewhere on camera, but did anyone else find this? If I can work out how to add files from Flickr again, I'll add some examples.
 
I love looking at other people capturing beautiful things!!!
 
woof woof said:
On that last one maybe you could increase the contrast or shift the levels to bring the face and eyes out a bit?

You should be able to get rid of that banding effect in the background with a little work.
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thanks for that - I've just had a look and sure enough a quick tweek of levels and contrast improved it greatly... must have been half asleep when doing it before!
 
I took the G3 and 100-300 to Pensthorpe at the weekend to see if the new firmware had made much difference. The one thing I have noticed is that this weekend I didn't suffer with anywhere near as many shots where the AF was just out so perhaps the firmware update to improve OS will in turn help with AF at the long end. Here are a few from the visit...

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So had a day off today, decided it was going to be Ron's Photography Day (tm). Got the D90, tripod, bag of lenses, headed to the hills for sunrise landscapes, got a couple of okay images, but nowt special. Then home for some macro with Tammy 90mm Di, again a few nice ones, but a load of duds. Then out for lunch and a walk along the canal with the GF2 and 14mm... and got a whole bunch of pics I was happy with, and also realised I need a tiny CPL :LOL: A few below...

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postcardcv said:
I took the G3 and 100-300 to Pensthorpe at the weekend to see if the new firmware had made much difference. The one thing I have noticed is that this weekend I didn't suffer with anywhere near as many shots where the AF was just out so perhaps the firmware update to improve OS will in turn help with AF at the long end. Here are a few from the visit...
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Not had a chance to use my lens since installing the new firmware, but these look great, are these straight out the camera?
 
Hi

Just finished my first 2 days shooting with the new GX1 and 14-42 power zoom lens.I was a bit dubious about the lens(never seen or touched one) but decided to go for it anyway.
The combo works great and the power zoom and focus is a doddle to use-just as easy as using a conventional zoom.You can set the zoom speed and I've found that the middle setting works a treat.It really is a "coat" pocketable combo.
The M4/3 makes much more sense to me than the NEX range.It isn't my camera that weighs a ton on my back with my DSLR kit it's all those big lenses.For me it's the small lenses that make the M4/3 kit good.The NEX is let down by the flippin size of the lenses.If I want to carry around lenses of that size I might as well just pick up my normal kit.
Back to the GX1,a cracking little camera.The images are much better than the GF1/GF3 that I've previously owned.They don't get that slightly mushy look that the 12mp sensor can give(nothing wrong with the GF1/3 though).Speed,focus,virtual horizon,AEB is all spot on.The only downside so far for me is that you can't use AEB and the self timer together.I might have missed a setting somewhere that allows that but if I haven't then that's just plain stupid.
Time for a few pictures.
Everything was shot handheld and a 7 shot AEB sequence.The images were then processed to "taste".The GX1 was being used as a point and shoot in tandem with my 5DMK2 for the 2 days.

Ennerdale
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This one is slightly different.It was shot with the beast Canon 17mm TS&E lens to see what that combo could do.Again,handheld 7 shot sequence with no tilt or shift applied.

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Cheers
Gary
 
Great shots Gary. That first one is the pick for me. The lens seems lovely and sharp. Loads better than the previous kit lens.
 
woof woof said:
Lovely shots :)

MFT taking a bashing in other threads with people getting noisy and mushy shots :(

I did another little noise test :) as other people seem to describe experiences so different to mine that I start to think "am I missing all this mush and noise?"

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=4391938#post4391938
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I think some folks are just being plain daft, they are comparing a £875+ camera with older cheaper m43 bodies. Anyway I wouldn't call it a bashing, just as many posts bashing the x100.

Personally I'm waiting for that new Olympus, looking great!
 
IMVHO people just aren't thinking about their settings and shots, that's the only explanation I can come up with that could account for all these mushy and noisy shots that they're getting.

I've not tried a x100 but I've read that many of the initial bugs have been pretty much sorted so maybe the critisism is based on two things, lack of effort to get the best out of it and lack of effort to get over the bugs.

Dunno about the new Oly. I've read that the EVF is just like the existing relatively low res add on but we'll have to wait and see. I think I'll give it another year before looking to "upgrade." The X Pro 1 might be worth a look but I'd also like to wait and see if Panny bring anything out and if they don't maybe my GF1 and G1 may make way for a G3.
 
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Anyone using the oly 45mm with a panny, and if so how'd you find it with the lack of stabilization?

I'm tempted to get one as the panny 45mm is pricey at present... I'm a bit of a VR/OIS obsessive and wonder if 45mm would just be a bit too long for handheld shots :)
 
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