"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

I've mostly been a prime user but all the MFT zooms I have have impressed me for one reason or another, the tiny 14-42mm kit lens being one of them as it's tiny, has a nice zoom range and is sharp from wide open. These other longer range more expensive zooms would be more useful but come at the cost of size and weight but they're practical and versatile and only have two real weaknesses for me, low light and limited DoF. I do see them as potentially being really good day out and holiday lenses especially when pared with a fast prime or even when pared with another compact MFT camera and lens, like my GX80 with a zoom and GX9 with a prime.

I'm probably just window shopping but these good zoom range lenses do look good if you have another lens for low light and shallow DoF when those are abilities you want :D
 
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woof woof said:
The Online Photographer is giving the GX9 and 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens a road test. In this piece he's talking about the lens but promising to talk about the camera later.

https://theonlinephotographer.typep...nic-gx9-and-12-60mm-f35-56-review-part-i.html

I use my GX9 mostly with the Oly 17mm f1.8 but sometimes the 12-35mm f2.8. My GX80 usually has the 100-400mm, 45-150mm or 14-42mm G Vario (the tiny one) on it.

I can see the appeal of the 12-60mm but it's bigger than the 14-42mm so I don't think I'll get one but I just wondered if anyone has any experience with the 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 or the f2.8-4 version or also the 14-140mm f4-5.8?

Here they all are on cameras...

View attachment 282373
Click to expand...

I've got the 12-60mm f2.8-4 and think it's excellent in all respects.
 
Hi

I've got a GX80, came with the 12-32mm, I wanted more zoom so got a 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 ... feels nicer than the smaller kit lens, better balanced.

However, I'm not using it much, but I must, it's a good lens. I have ambitions to use the 12mm end after years of zooming in on stuff. I want to improve my composition or at least experiment with different compos like portrait-orientation landscapes with FG focus.

Anyway, my two favourite lenses, currently, are the pana 25: 1.7 and the pana 45-150 variable.

I also have the pana 100-300: too big & heavy for my liking, although it's small for what it is. Gets little used.
 
I caught this family (quickly getting away from me) on the lake near my house. Normally I would lose interest in just photographing their 'rear ends' :giggle:

However there is a symmetry about this picture I find very pleasing, what do you think ?

Incidentally, can anybody tell me what sort of water fowl they are please ?

G90 & Pan 100-300 MKII


P1000358_ducklings1-X2.jpg
 
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They're not foul at all, they're fowl and probably mallards. Although the mallard drakes can be pretty foul fowl as they gang-bang the ducks.
 
A very damp sparrow after a morning bath on a cool and very overcast June morning!

G9 with PL 200mm f2.8 (large crop)
1/1000th @ f2.8, ISO 640.

A rather damp sparrow.jpg
 
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I needed to photograph some documents today as we don't have a scanner so I picked up my GX80 and mounted my Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8. I've used this lens for this purpose before. Anyway, as I was putting everything away I snapped this, quickly with eye detect on, f2.8, 1/80 and ISO 5,000 under artificaial lighting and with the TV on. Both artificial lighting and TV's can in my experience lead to difficult lighting but this is ok.

H58fWuQ.jpg


There's grain if you pixel peep but to be fair I spent seconds on this and more time could yield a cleaner result. I haven't and almost certainly wont print this but I bet it'd make a good sized print.

The point is one I've posted before, sometimes I use this kit and I shock myself at how good it is. f2.8, 1/80 and ISO 5k and it's a perfectly usable picture taken under challenging lighting with a camera that's a fraction of the size of my old 5D. The 12-35mm f2.8 is a bit of a lump but not so much as an equivalent lens would be on the 5D :D
 
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^ ^ ^
I really must try increasing the ISO more in situations like this. I tend to manage the exposure by settling for a slower speed. Slower than 1 sec and I have to switch from electronic to mechanical shutter on my GX80.
 
That was 1/80 which is bordering on way too slow for people for me but she was sat still watching TV and almost posing so I got away with it but for less posed pictures I'd be looking at a minimum of 1/160-1/250 or there abouts depending on what they're doing, faster if I can and maybe only dropping it a bit if the ISO goes truly stratospheric. My thinking is that there's a trade off to be made between motion blur and noise and for whole pictures a bit of noise maybe isn't going to be too much of a problem whereas a bit of blur may be more noticeable.

Just about electronic and mechanical shutter. With my GX7 I used to get banding under flickering lighting but I think Panasonic must have done... something... and now it's much less of an issue for me. Maybe they haven't done anything but I do think I'm largely banding free these days for whatever reason. I have mine on either electronic or auto, electronic for silent and auto for when the shutter noise wont be an issue and when I trust the camera to make the right choice :D

PS.
I said I almost certainly wouldn't print that snap above but I've looked at it since I took it and it's growing on me as I think it's a nice casual picture and captured a nice little moment. It might or might not get printed but it certainly wont be heading to the bin and will be looked at again as it's going in my Family Pictures folder and will be appearing in a slideshow now and again which isn't bad for an unplanned picture just snapped before I put everything away after photographing documents :D
 
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Nothing special from me just a snap and a curio.

This is the curio...

hPlKYab.jpg


I didn't know I'd taken this and it is afaik a product of Panasonics lightening fast focus. I was looking at pictures on the back screen and when I came to download them I had this extra one. I must have pressed the shutter button without realising and it's taken a pretty nice picture of a mug of tea. It's very nearly perfectly level and I couldn't have done better myself, it's even grabbed the cup rather than the purse in the foreground. Photography is getting too easy :D

Now the snap. She was talking to her mam on the computer and I grabbed this quickly with face detect.

XcyhvRF.jpg
 
Just a heads up. I'm shortly going to be listing all my Panasonic gear as I intend to remain simply Olympus. The items concerned will be:
Panasonic G9 and Leica 12-60mm f2.8-4.0 (and grip)
PL 100-400mm
Lumix 7-14mm f4
PL 25mm f1.4
I'm keeping the Leica 200mm with 1.4 t/c

Just in the process of getting realistic prices before I list.
All the items are mint, boxed and under 12 months old.
 
Malfis said:
Just a heads up. I'm shortly going to be listing all my Panasonic gear as I intend to remain simply Olympus. The items concerned will be:
Panasonic G9 and Leica 12-60mm f2.8-4.0 (and grip)
PL 100-400mm
Lumix 7-14mm f4
PL 25mm f1.4
I'm keeping the Leica 200mm with 1.4 t/c

Just in the process of getting realistic prices before I list.
All the items are mint, boxed and under 12 months old.
Click to expand...

No interest here as I went Fuji in the end, however you might want to try getting an instant quote via https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/
 
I agree, the Leica 200mm is a truly fantastic lens, I'm keeping it to run alongside my Oly 300mm Pro.
I've got a decent bid from MPB on the G9 and 100-400mm and it may well be less hassle than trying to sell here. Everyone seems to want to 'steal' the items!
 
Malfis said:
I agree, the Leica 200mm is a truly fantastic lens, I'm keeping it to run alongside my Oly 300mm Pro.
I've got a decent bid from MPB on the G9 and 100-400mm and it may well be less hassle than trying to sell here. Everyone seems to want to 'steal' the items!
Click to expand...
I'm considering a PL 100-400mm, although it might be a bit too early for me, but I know at least one other on the Oly thread mentioned they were looking for one. I'll watch the classified with interest :)
 
Great session Tuesday evening for Butterflies.

Female Marbled White Butterfly. No cropping to image.
Panny G80/12-60mm/250D close up filter, shot at 49mm. Handheld, AF, Jpeg.
f/5.6, 1/100, ISO 640. Time - 9.01pm!...sun was setting.

Female Marbled White Butterfly, at sunset. No cropping. by Tort Man, on Flickr
 
Hi I've just bought some FOTGA extention tube from there:

FOTGA AF Automatic Macro Extension Tube for Olympus Panasonic Micro Four Thirds M4/3: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Shop FOTGA AF Automatic Macro Extension Tube for Olympus Panasonic Micro Four Thirds M4/3. Free delivery and returns on eligible orders.
www.amazon.co.uk

Sadly I've tried both tube individualy and with both my lenses and I get an error message;
"The lens is not attached properly. Do not push lens release button while the lens is attached"

FOTGA tube DG FT1.
Did I get the wrong stuff, am I doing something wrong or are they not working?

Thanks
 
Did you read the product reviews on Amazon? I did so I spent the money on Kenko tubes.
 
Lemaildetom said:
Wow beautifull photo! I don't know close up filter, what have you got and what are the pro/cons compare to extension tube and raynox?
Click to expand...
Thanks for the comment.
I use both canon 250 an 500D close up filters. These filters are easier to use, than the Raynox 250/150's, because the magnification on the 250D/500D is not as great as the Raynox lens. I only really use Raynox lenses, when im shooting much smaller subjects. For larger Butterflies, i use 12-60mm with Canon 250D close up filter/lens. For smaller butterflies, i will use 45-150mm with 500D close up filter/lens. Dont confuss the much cheaper basic close up filters (you can buy for very little money) with these Canon 250D/500D achromat close up filters/lens, these Canons are far superior, an their price(over £50 each) reflects this.
Whilst i also have extension tubes, an Raynox lens, i prefer to use the Canon achromat close up filters, when it comes to shooting my butterfly images. Ive spent a decade experimenting with what works best for me( for butterfly images) so at this moment in time, this is what i utilize.

Another example then. The Dark Green Fritillary is a large butterfly, so its the 12-60mm coupled with the Canon 250D close up filter.
Panny G80/12-60mm/250D close up filter, shot at 42mm. Handheld, AF, Jpeg.
f/8, 1/500, ISO 500. Shot at 7.11pm. Image is not cropped.

Dark Green Fritillary Butterfly. No cropping. by Tort Man, on Flickr
 
Testudo Man said:
Thanks for the comment.
I use both canon 250 an 500D close up filters. These filters are easier to use, than the Raynox 250/150's, because the magnification on the 250D/500D is not as great as the Raynox lens. I only really use Raynox lenses, when im shooting much smaller subjects. For larger Butterflies, i use 12-60mm with Canon 250D close up filter/lens. For smaller butterflies, i will use 45-150mm with 500D close up filter/lens. Dont confuss the much cheaper basic close up filters (you can buy for very little money) with these Canon 250D/500D achromat close up filters/lens, these Canons are far superior, an their price(over £50 each) reflects this.
Whilst i also have extension tubes, an Raynox lens, i prefer to use the Canon achromat close up filters, when it comes to shooting my butterfly images. Ive spent a decade experimenting with what works best for me( for butterfly images) so at this moment in time, this is what i utilize.

Another example then. The Dark Green Fritillary is a large butterfly, so its the 12-60mm coupled with the Canon 250D close up filter.
Panny G80/12-60mm/250D close up filter, shot at 42mm. Handheld, AF, Jpeg.
f/8, 1/500, ISO 500. Shot at 7.11pm. Image is not cropped.

Dark Green Fritillary Butterfly. No cropping. by Tort Man, on Flickr
Click to expand...

I think i was silly to buy rings, I'm thinking to use my panasonic 42.5mm but close focus is already 0.31m which is already pretty close. Only with very static object I can hope to get any closer.
I like the 100-400 but at 400mm the depth of field is so shallow at 1.3m that I don't think getting any closer would be helping! I will try posting a couple of recent picture I took.
 
Lemaildetom said:
Hi I've just bought some FOTGA extention tube from there:

FOTGA AF Automatic Macro Extension Tube for Olympus Panasonic Micro Four Thirds M4/3: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Shop FOTGA AF Automatic Macro Extension Tube for Olympus Panasonic Micro Four Thirds M4/3. Free delivery and returns on eligible orders.
www.amazon.co.uk

Sadly I've tried both tube individualy and with both my lenses and I get an error message;
"The lens is not attached properly. Do not push lens release button while the lens is attached"

FOTGA tube DG FT1.
Did I get the wrong stuff, am I doing something wrong or are they not working?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Never heard anything from the seller despite 3 messages. So I raised a claimed and got the money back from amazon.

So I decided to follow tesdudo man advice because most of what I shot is pretty big for macro and manage to get a canon 250D close up for £19 on ebay

Canon 250D 52mm Lens for sale | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Canon 250D 52mm Lens at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!
www.ebay.co.uk

Also got a kenko step up ring 37mm to 52mm so I can try the 250D on my pany 42.5 f1.7 for £6.99
I'm not serious about macro it's just something nice to be able to grab if you spot something nice in the garden.

I'll let you know if it works for me!
 
Hi guys .... I'm thinking of selling my Panasonic 100-300, like new but the grips don't look new. Like all Panasonic lenses, the rubber attracts dust. So what's a good, safe cleaning method? Hoover, cotton buds, wet/dry, soap, alcohol?

I've just looked at one MPB have for sale "Excellent" but not looking that good. Maybe there's no easy method. https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equi...o-100-300mm-f-4-5-6-power-ois-ii/sku-1005527/
 
d00d said:
Hi guys .... I'm thinking of selling my Panasonic 100-300, like new but the grips don't look new. Like all Panasonic lenses, the rubber attracts dust. So what's a good, safe cleaning method? Hoover, cotton buds, wet/dry, soap, alcohol?

I've just looked at one MPB have for sale "Excellent" but not looking that good. Maybe there's no easy method. https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equi...o-100-300mm-f-4-5-6-power-ois-ii/sku-1005527/
Click to expand...

Well I'm thinking of buying one, is it the original model or the mkII ?
 
d00d said:
Hi guys .... I'm thinking of selling my Panasonic 100-300, like new but the grips don't look new. Like all Panasonic lenses, the rubber attracts dust. So what's a good, safe cleaning method? Hoover, cotton buds, wet/dry, soap, alcohol?

I've just looked at one MPB have for sale "Excellent" but not looking that good. Maybe there's no easy method. https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equi...o-100-300mm-f-4-5-6-power-ois-ii/sku-1005527/
Click to expand...

Hoover with soft brush attachment, stubborn dust can be removed by dabbing with masking tape.
Those sticky paper roller things that remove animal hair from surfaces are excellent too
 
d00d said:
Hi guys .... I'm thinking of selling my Panasonic 100-300, like new but the grips don't look new. Like all Panasonic lenses, the rubber attracts dust. So what's a good, safe cleaning method? Hoover, cotton buds, wet/dry, soap, alcohol?

I've just looked at one MPB have for sale "Excellent" but not looking that good. Maybe there's no easy method. https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equi...o-100-300mm-f-4-5-6-power-ois-ii/sku-1005527/
Click to expand...
Buy some slime.
All the dust will stick to it and it reaches into all the grooves etc.
 
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Anyone using the GX80, GX9 or G80 for video shooting? How good is the autofocus on them and what sort of lenses are you using? How good are they for manual focus for time want more control?
 
TVRTim said:
Well I'm thinking of buying one, is it the original model or the mkII ?
Click to expand...
Good luck with finding one Tim. Mine is rarely used, but I'm afraid I'll miss it when it's gone. So unless I'm feeling flush and fork out for something like, well, the Leica 50-200 is currently in my dreams ..... :) .... I'm hanging on to it.
 
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