The Micro Four Threads Third

the new 12mm f2 lens looks sick

i have been out of the loop. what lens? can these things focus quickly now?

the contrast-based autofocus on mirrorless cameras is based on the refresh rate of the sensor - how many fps can the sensor deliver to the processor so the processor can detect differences and move the focus in and out accordingly. apparently the new generation of olympus's cameras can do 120 fps and thus autofocus will be very quick in normal situations (still no promises for low light). I think Panasonic has always had this capability.

the new 12mm f/2 lens (24mm equiv) is pretty awesome, has a real manual focus ring with real stops, instead of the weird focus-by-wire setup of previous lenses. it has real dof scales too! they look paltry but at 12mm everything will be in focus.

http://a.img-dpreview.com/news/1106/olympus/12mmsnap-001.jpg

pretty

The new 45mm ƒ/1.8 is intriguing too.

I had a play with the Sony NXE-5N today, and it seems super-sweet. Looks perfect for replacing the tonne of glass and over-sized body I'm carting these days. Anybody got any opinions on them?

(There's also rumoured to be a Nikon mirrorless next week, but with a 2.7x crop! wtf?)

the criticisms I read about the NEX are that 1. menu system completely aimed at newbies, not intuitive at all and 2. the lenses are just ok and 3. the body is super small and thin, but isn't very ergonomic or user friendly? only an extended test run will tell you if these things are tolerable though.

That's been my impression as well, though I've only spent a couple hours futzing with a few display models. I suppose I could adapt, but the bodies felt very awkward coming from my GF1.

Interesting, thanks. The 7 seems better in the UI department; has two dials as well. There's a Zeiss lens coming too.

Whole area seems a bit compromisy right now tbh

so a friend of mine (really) is in the market for something GF1-ish. He's thinking about getting one of those just because I have one, but is there something Better these days?

well samsung entered the market for mirrorless compacts too, and there's the NEX mentioned above. I think the NEX and Samsung have larger sensors than M43 cameras? but personally I would still choose a M43 camera, since the lens lineup is vastly better imo.

or tell your friend to go all in and get an X100, lol

I didn't like the ergonomics of the previous generation NEX cameras - I don't really see the point of such a tiny body when the lenses are still pretty big. Might as well have a grip for the right hand on the NEX at that point. The NEX-7 w/ built in EVF is pretty fascinating, though.

I like the E-PL2 my dad has - with the Panasonic 20mm, it makes a great light/small package. I imagine between the NEX-7 and X100, Olympus will be coming down the pipe with a 'pro' u4/3 that has an EVF in it.

I told him to get the X100 (a fellowship is paying for it), but hes leery of not being able to swap lenses...even tho the gf1 he'd get would just have the prime, so I dunno

Supposedly there's a most enthusiast-friendly followup to the GF series in the pipe, but it's all rumour so far.

People with E-P3s seem to love them, and I've been interested in the G3. It's not much bigger than the GF1, and the EVF would be nice. I'd like to try one to see how improved the sensor really is for low-light shooting.

well it would depend on what his purposes were - if he just wants a smallish camera to document things, and hence isn't too terribly concerned with lens quality or image quality, then probably a GFx or EPx w/ zoom lens would be best? or a NEX w/ zoom lens?

well i think he wants something to build on---like, smallish and documentary, but that can make nice images if/when the time comes

i am also interested in the g3

Sounds like an E-PL3 or GF3 would suit him fine. He'd probably find a great deal on one of the last-generation models. All of the new Olympus bodies, save the E-P3, lack a built-in flash though. Would he mind?

the two wide angle primes look really sweet - 24mm f/2 equivalent?! 28 2.5 is not bad either. the 7-14 is a really sweet lens as well, and the f/4 aperture isn't so important since it's much easier to handhold wides than teles. panny's new 25 1.4 (adapted from the leica designed 25 1.4 for the original four thirds platform) also looks really sweet - a superfast normal is what every system needs.

and if you're a boss bitch you'd get the voigtlander 25/.95 w/ a EVF and get really good at manual focusing quickly

holy balls .95

i'm realizing more and more that i want a VF. i've been dicking around with my Rollei SL35 (ie - just looking at stuff and focusing) and it's reminding me how different shooting with the GF1 is. i love what i can get out of the gf1, but really a lot of the time i'm shooting with it it's from the hip and i just see what comes out later. framing is a secondary concern (esp with post-processing hi-rez images). i should've just pulled the trigger on an OVF

Hey yo, so I just seen some stuff shot on a GH2 (we're talking video here) that looks SICK and am thinking about getting one of these instead of a 7D or 5D. Again this would be for shooting video almost exclusively. I also heard that you can get an older GH1 and hack it to increase the bitrate. Is this true? Any thoughts on these cameras? The 5D seems to be the indie filmmaker/artist's camera of choice now, but I don't see why it has to be. Are these full frame? How are they in low light, etc.?

only certain GH1s can be hacked - I think everything that was lacking in the GH1 was then added to the GH2? not sure.

these are not full frame, otoh Panasonic makes lenses that are optimized for video shooting - silent AF, some other features.

low-light, 5D or 7D would probably kick ass, but the GH2 could probably hold its own.

size wise obviously the GH2 is much more versatile.

dont know of any sites that are reviewing this new video capable generation of stills cameras as video cameras, but I know luminous landscape will sometimes opine about the video capability of a product

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/gh2_discoveries.shtml

This is pretty damning but who knows. Actually it makes me just want to stick to film. Rolling shutter is so ugly:

http://vimeo.com/6894404

what about the panny agaf100

Tell me more

oh snap - gbx has got it

wasn't Sony also supposed to release a video camcorder that could be used w/ NEX lenses?

I kind of feel like the best thing at this point might be like a refurbed GH1 and use the money saved to convert my Bolex gate to super-16 and transfer to HD. I can't see springing for a 5D Mk.II, it doesn't make much financial sense.

xp - there is supposed to be some Sony rival to the 5D, yeah

haha my friend bought a bolex hand-crank and tried to make a film with it. you hear nothing but the bolex in all the scenes

Oh I am a long-time Bolex user and love it, I also don't shoot sync sound though. With that, you either get a silent motor or something that can sit inside a blimp. But trust me the images you can get out of a little clockwork box are fucking unreal if you know what you're doing.

haha it was my friend's first film ever. he got it off CL for like...$250 or $300? one of the lenses is a CCTV lens.

well if the 5d is a stretch money-wise then I'd pass on the agaf100. but it's basically a gh1/2 optimized for video.

if I were gonna make another doc I'd probably go with that tho

why don't you make another doc?

I am trying to make ~myself~ into a doc

aha I see what you did

(=´∀｀)人(´∀｀=)

totally tripping balls over here

if you get a used/refurbed GH1 and you want hacks do some research on which versions are hackable. I'd also look into what the GH2 improved on, might be worth the initial outlay to get access to features of second gen tech

I think I remember what the panny video m43 lenses have: stepless aperture...

adamrl - I'd look at the upcoming Sony A77 dSLR. Full-time AF even in film mode thanks to the pellicle mirror. $1300 for the body.

Coolio, when's it dropping?

any day now - there are already some being sold in Asia, I think

It's a 24MP beast, the already-out A55 has the same 16MP sensor as the Nikon D7000, but I don't know what you're giving up in terms of viewfinder quality/features.

Well the ubiquity of the 5D must come to an end eventually, surely

Whatever the 5D II is replaced with will probably be 50% movie camera, or Canon will come out with a dedicated EOS movie camera or something.

If you buy via Canada (someplace like Henry's), new 5DIIs are under $2k USD, which is pretty crazy.

I did not know that, thank you

Guys reading all these tech sites is making my head spin. What a bunch of bores DSLR nerd are.

So you can basically find a supporting argument for/against any camera you want to buy.

This A77 seems fairly decent though.

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/6666/top_dslrs_compact_interchangeable_lens_cameras_for_video.html

Yeah, the equipment arguments are all angels dancing on the head of a pin at this point, with a couple of exceptions, at least in terms of stills. I don't know anything about video, other than the D700 doesn't have it.

You guys

This is where I announce that I am now the proud owner of a GH2. I got the 14-42 kit lens which I heard is not so hot but have ordered adapters so I can use all my c-mount movie lenses and my Pentax film lens. Isn't it exciting??

I also got fat, fast memory and a Hoodloupe so I'm all pimped out

One thing though - I'm still not sure this thing shoots TRUE 1080P. Supposedly it does in 24P movie mode, but it's hard to find anything that says this for sure.

awesome! are you counting on it to shoot true 1080p?