GF1 can also do video, just not 1080p I think - it has a dedicated video button which is more convenient than the video mode on the E-P1s dial. 720P is still pretty great - I shot this at my local coffee shop...sure it could look way better if I knew the first thing about post processing video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjvPKCMkW1Y
IMO the main advantage of a M43 system over a compact DSLR system is the portability. the shutter sound, although different than the mirror slap, can be just as obtrusive - IIRC you did a lot of people photography in Africa, so that might be worth considering, how obtrusive you want to be. the responsiveness is a little worse than even an entry-level DSLR (at least in the E-P1's case) - the GF1's supposed to be better. AF is almost as good or as good as an entry-level DSLR - but certainly won't be as fast as a top of the line Canikon.
also think about lens choice - at the moment I think there's only one killer lens out there right now for the M43 system and that's the Panasonic 20mm (40mm equivalent). however, the AF speed is not as fast as the 14-45, although it's still pretty fast. Panasonic and Olympus have released lens roadmaps and there's a 14mm (28mm equivalent) coming from Panasonic next year. NB prices for M43 stuff is still pretty inflated - for the price of a GF1 kit with 20mm you could easily get a secondhand DSLR with maybe 2-3 good lenses.
I think if you can afford to wait, next year's going to bring a lot of new stuff - if rumors are to be believed, other manufacturers are going to get into the mirrorless, large sensor compact camera market, which will drive prices down all around. as it stands right now, I think the GF1 is the best iteration of all the good things about M43 - portable, responsive, great image quality (if you process from RAW - its JPEGs leave a lot to be desired).
― 囧 (dyao), Sunday, 13 December 2009 05:12 (fourteen years ago) link
hmmm
thanks for the info! i'm only paying for part of this thing, as it is gonna be a xmas present from the fam. i AM mostly interested in people pictures, and will likely do everything RAW by default. i had fun with the pics i took this summer, and learning the ins and outs of processing actually appeals to me.
the lack of a viewfinder kinda annoys, but i guess the external one is ok?
― being being kiss-ass fake nice (gbx), Sunday, 13 December 2009 22:47 (fourteen years ago) link
ah actually the external one is pretty lame compared to the one built in to the G1/GH1 and the external one for the E-P2! maybe Panasonic will release a better one in the future?
one thing I forgot to mention is that the E-P1/E-P2 both have in-body image stabilization - basically the camera moves the sensor to compensate for any shaking of the camera. lets you shoot with a slower shutter speed - of course it won't help if your subject is moving, but it's great for still life, especially nighttime shots.
lol unfortunately nobody's released a "dream" M43 camera yet that has everything - yer gonna have to pick yer poison. I think the following links will be germane to your decision:
DPReview real-world comparison between GF1/E-P1DPReview focusing speed comparisonThom Hogan's GF1 review/E-P1 comparisonMike Johnston (online photographer) compares the two part Ipart II
in the end it's gonna be six of one, half dozen of the other. no matter which you get I think it'll be fine for people photography - people will just think you're using an oversized digicam, not a real professional SLR. hope it works out for you!!
― 囧 (dyao), Monday, 14 December 2009 01:35 (fourteen years ago) link
GF1 Fieldtest
sounds like it was written by a panasonic pr rep. but whatever
― 囧 (dyao), Thursday, 17 December 2009 03:02 (fourteen years ago) link
Got the GF1 today, 20mm lens. And then dropped it on the pavement within the first hour.
By the time I got it light was gone for the day, so not a lot of fieldtesting. But it's a very pleasing device so far.
― This part of the sentence is even dumber. (lukas), Friday, 18 December 2009 22:02 (fourteen years ago) link
congratulations! share some pics when you get it up and running. look at it this way: you got the camera's first nick out of the way, now you don't have to be paranoid about it anymore. I dinged my E-P1 within the first three days
― 囧 (dyao), Saturday, 19 December 2009 06:40 (fourteen years ago) link
these are all using the iA mode
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2679/4201596047_77e565f386_b.jpgshould have used exposure bracketing on this one. blown out highlights in outdoors shots will be common, apparently.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2802/4201598971_04dd00989d_b.jpgyou may have heard that it snowed yesterday in nyc
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2662/4201609787_6607b823b0_b.jpgthis trip to the airport was such a failure i have to go back tomorrow
― This part of the sentence is even dumber. (lukas), Monday, 21 December 2009 03:37 (fourteen years ago) link
those look good! yeah I usually shoot at -0.3 EV, although if you shoot with the live histogram and dedicate a dial to changing exposure you can keep blown highlights in check
― =皿= (dyao), Monday, 21 December 2009 05:22 (fourteen years ago) link
..>~pending~<..
― into the young coconuts (gbx), Thursday, 7 January 2010 22:26 (fourteen years ago) link
btw what do you guys know about using an optical viewfinder (eg voigtlander) with the GF1? i've heard some say the 35mm is the best, others the 40mm
(for use with 20mm pancake, obv)
― into the young coconuts (gbx), Thursday, 7 January 2010 22:27 (fourteen years ago) link
http://www.flickr.com/photos/atto77/4208165691/in/photostream/
guhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
think i'm gonna do this
― into the young coconuts (gbx), Friday, 8 January 2010 00:57 (fourteen years ago) link
I have a 35mm viewfinder with the 20mm pancake - I like it fine. I think the 35mm is better because you can see outside the 'edges' of the shot like in a rangefinder. however you won't know what you're focusing on/need to prefocus before you shoot.
― Player is killed, but they are resurrected, and the 45 Revolver glow gold (dyao), Friday, 8 January 2010 03:08 (fourteen years ago) link
read somewhere that the trick is to just listen for the autofocus to stop and then go with god
― into the young coconuts (gbx), Friday, 8 January 2010 04:37 (fourteen years ago) link
GF1: i spend a decent amount of time locking the AF and then re-framing, so that's a scary strategy for me.
― This part of the sentence is even dumber. (lukas), Friday, 8 January 2010 04:44 (fourteen years ago) link
i like ppl/editorial pics the best, and am kinda seat of the pants anyway, so firing away thru the OVF and checking the results later seems like it'll be a strategy that'll work for me
― into the young coconuts (gbx), Friday, 8 January 2010 17:00 (fourteen years ago) link
:D :D :D :D
― into the young coconuts (gbx), Saturday, 9 January 2010 01:18 (fourteen years ago) link
so excited
― into the young coconuts (gbx), Saturday, 9 January 2010 01:19 (fourteen years ago) link
♫ i own a camera ♫
― into the young coconuts (gbx), Saturday, 9 January 2010 01:41 (fourteen years ago) link
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1389/1409492639_7867164d6b.jpg
― joe, Saturday, 9 January 2010 01:44 (fourteen years ago) link
waaaay too excited about this
― into the young coconuts (gbx), Saturday, 9 January 2010 02:07 (fourteen years ago) link
I can promise you one thing: you'll annoy everyone around you by having the thing glued to your hand for the next few weeks. I'm still in that phase a month later. Good times.
― This part of the sentence is even dumber. (lukas), Saturday, 9 January 2010 05:36 (fourteen years ago) link
congrats gbx!
― into the young coconuts (gbx), Saturday, January 9, 2010 1:00 AM (13 hours ago) Bookmark
pro tip: for this kind of shooting, turn on multi-spot AF and face detection. it'll automatically focus on whatever faces are present
― Player is killed, but they are resurrected, and the 45 Revolver glow gold (dyao), Saturday, 9 January 2010 06:18 (fourteen years ago) link
and gbx, post pics! i love seeing what i could theoretically someday achieve.
― This part of the sentence is even dumber. (lukas), Saturday, 9 January 2010 06:55 (fourteen years ago) link
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4257598663_03901b6523_o.jpg
― into the young coconuts (gbx), Saturday, 9 January 2010 18:46 (fourteen years ago) link
l-r: broek, gonna get an adaptor for that zeiss lens, <3
― into the young coconuts (gbx), Saturday, 9 January 2010 18:47 (fourteen years ago) link
Ooh, what's the Zeiss lens on the Rollei? Is there a QBM-micro4/3 adaptor already out there? You might have to stack and go with QBM-M42-micro4/3.
I have an M42-mount Zeiss 135mm for my Canon (M42-EOS adaptor) and it's great.
― Michael Jones, Saturday, 9 January 2010 21:29 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah, i think i need two adaptors, so it'll be ungainly for sure
but it's a zeiss planar 1.8/50mm
― into the young coconuts (gbx), Sunday, 10 January 2010 00:08 (fourteen years ago) link
that's a canonet right? what's wrong with it
― Player is killed, but they are resurrected, and the 45 Revolver glow gold (dyao), Monday, 11 January 2010 03:28 (fourteen years ago) link
film advance lever broek :(
also, got a leatherette kit for my lumix and it's pretty fly imo
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/4298169921_05fc4f1b03.jpg
― mage pit laceration (gbx), Saturday, 23 January 2010 22:35 (fourteen years ago) link
nice looking skin gbx! I've got one for my E-P1 as well.
new E-PL1 has canon G11 proportions:
http://olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/images/product/1501/epl1_camera_hand.jpg
― dyao, Wednesday, 3 February 2010 10:58 (fourteen years ago) link
unfortunately no new primes announced, but that 9-18 looks interesting
― dyao, Wednesday, 3 February 2010 10:59 (fourteen years ago) link
whoah that thing is dinky!
― and Watt (gbx), Wednesday, 3 February 2010 15:52 (fourteen years ago) link
Damn, they're talking only $600 for the kit, too. So I guess ~$1k for the body plus one of the primes...
― smashing aspirant (milo z), Thursday, 4 February 2010 05:59 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah but it sounds like making "manual" adjustments might be a PIA
― and Watt (gbx), Thursday, 4 February 2010 06:17 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah this camera is not really aimed at 'serious' photogs
― dyao, Thursday, 4 February 2010 09:50 (fourteen years ago) link
I keep on getting an urge to buy one of these cameras every time I open this thread - I really should stop reading it!
― treefell, Thursday, 4 February 2010 10:38 (fourteen years ago) link
Possibly disagree on not being aimed at serious photogs - even without easy manual adjustments, it might be an ideal carry camera for when someone doesn't want to bust out the SLR and big-ass zoom.
I'm looking for a small camera, either in the Ricoh GR-D III range on up the Panny/Oly 4:3s - I'm always in spots where I wish I had a camera, but the D700/50 combo is pretty difficult to be casual with and I can't afford a $10k M9 in this lifetime.
― smashing aspirant (milo z), Friday, 5 February 2010 06:48 (fourteen years ago) link
The EP-2/VF would be a good option - even though AF sucks, you can zone focus and go hyperfocal when there's enough light - but I read that it resets the focus point every time you turn it off/on.
― smashing aspirant (milo z), Friday, 5 February 2010 06:49 (fourteen years ago) link
you can set it not to reset (it's how I keep my panny 20mm set). the real problem with that setup is that there is /no/ focal scale, on the lens or in the camera - no digital scale at all. so you always, always have to guesstimate, which is a real pain. one alternative would be using the digital body with a manual lens with a real focus scale. but then you'd have to do some real-time calculations since the focus scales are set up for 35mm film, and you'll need to compensate for the smaller circle of confusion/etc. of m4/3
― dyao, Friday, 5 February 2010 07:39 (fourteen years ago) link
so I was an idiot and left my GF1 on a kitchen table in Ireland. a friend is posting it to me. obviously she doesn't have the proper plastic caps to remove the lens and then seal the camera and the lens properly.
is it best for her just to keep the camera intact and wrap it with lots of bubble wrap? or is there some risk that impact will ... ? i assume there's some reason the camera gets shipped with the lens off.
dammit.
― idm@hyperreal.org (lukas), Wednesday, 7 April 2010 22:23 (fourteen years ago) link
lots and lots ofbubblewrap
― drink more beer and the doctor is a heghog (gbx), Wednesday, 7 April 2010 22:31 (fourteen years ago) link
makes sense. ok, i'm breathing again, thanks.
― idm@hyperreal.org (lukas), Wednesday, 7 April 2010 22:45 (fourteen years ago) link
keep the camera intact and use lots of bubble wrap and padding, it'll be fine
― armando white (dyao), Thursday, 8 April 2010 01:59 (fourteen years ago) link
What's the lens? If it's the 20mm, it'll definitely be better left on there, well padded. In fact, unless it's some huge zoom, I think it'll be fine anyway.
― Michael Jones, Thursday, 8 April 2010 08:29 (fourteen years ago) link
20, yeah. My friend says she has things taken care of. Let go and let God.
― idm@hyperreal.org (lukas), Thursday, 8 April 2010 17:39 (fourteen years ago) link
Camera misplaced/lost/stolen/fell out of bag/???? on Friday night while out with old pal and at a party with strangers.
Totally gutted.
― rapping about space and shit, floatin’ around in an orgy of screen savers (gbx), Thursday, 29 April 2010 02:20 (fourteen years ago) link
dude :( it'll probably turn up in a few days, try calling back.
else look on ebay for GF1s being sold in MN w/o accessories
I almost left my e-p1 on a bus in thailand, some guy gave it to me just as I was stepping off the bus.
― I Think Ur a Viking (dyao), Thursday, 29 April 2010 02:59 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah i've been keeping my eyes peeled on CL and ebay, and have been pestering everyone i know about it's whereabouts
:((((((
― rapping about space and shit, floatin’ around in an orgy of screen savers (gbx), Thursday, 29 April 2010 03:22 (fourteen years ago) link
feelin you
― idm@hyperreal.org (lukas), Thursday, 29 April 2010 05:46 (fourteen years ago) link
Oh, man, what a nightmare. Do you have contents insurance that covers lost/stolen items outside the home?
― Michael Jones, Thursday, 29 April 2010 10:19 (fourteen years ago) link
Yeah tbf I could have treated mine better, will try not to make that mistake with the next child.
― lukas, Tuesday, 27 April 2021 01:36 (three years ago) link
My kids have fully functional DSLRs from 2003-05. Granted, they don't actually care to use them much (I bought the eldest an EF-S 24/2.8 four years ago and that's a great lens! Pah), but I picked up a couple of third-party batteries, so they should keep going for a bit.
The received wisdom I'd heard was that something else would give out on a camera before the shutter mech reached the end of its natural life, regardless of what it was rated for, but that hasn't been my experience. My 300D shutter packed in around the five-year mark (still in a drawer, dead), and my 40D started misfiring around the same age (replaced the mech, later sold). Fine in other regards. My 6D is still going strong after 107k actuations (nearly 8 years old), but top dial is a bit sticky now.
(I bought an absolutely battered X-T1 secondhand in 2018 too... that occasionally has card errors, but it does look like it was dragged across concrete at some point in its life. More disappointing was having to get the 27/2.8 pancake repaired; focus motor gear issue. Only three years old. You kind of hope the lenses at least last decades).
― Michael Jones, Tuesday, 27 April 2021 17:23 (three years ago) link
Haven't had a shutter mechanism fail yet, but I'm sure it will happen eventually with all the use I get from my bodies. An underrated benefit of modern bodies with usable electronic shutter — prolonged mechanical shutter life.
― Millsner, Wednesday, 28 April 2021 07:00 (three years ago) link