"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

Tulipone said:
Bought one today from WEX. Initial thoughts....wow. Looking forward to a proper road test tomorrow.
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Let us know how you get on with it, the lens is in a class of its own and well worth the investment :)
 
I only got it to **** Alan off ;)

Going to go out tomorrow and try and find an interesting flood to take pictures of!
 
Tulipone said:
I only got it to **** Alan off ;)

Going to go out tomorrow and try and find an interesting flood to take pictures of!
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You will be spoilt for choice then !
 
I would be interested to know how you think that lens compares to the old Pannie 14-45 in terms of IQ?

arad85 said:
I bought my 12-35 (and 7-14) from DR. Good experience, but I didn't try to return anything....

The 12-35 is on my camera 95% of the time (7-14 the other 5%).
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Anyone got a GH3 yet? Am wondering if it is worth the upgrade for stills shooters or whether it is mainly a camera for video shooters and doesn't offer a lot over the G5 for stills shooters?
 
I don't think it will let you take pictures that are 3x as good....
 
Just got back from a wander around Paxton Pits with the GX1 and new Panasonic 12-35. The lens is incredible. So sharp, so fast and so colourful. I have a number of shots to test the bokeh and I'm not yet too sure how much I like it - Interested in your thoughts.

12-11_Testing_the_Panasonic_12_35_1525.jpg


Original straight out the camera at:http://500px.com/photo/19387939

Afternote: I have also added a set of berries on 500px with aperture priority set. Unfortunately I saved from f11 to f2.8 rather than the other way around. Hopefully this demonstrates the bokeh better (or worse).
 
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IMVHO bokeh is very background and lighting dependant.

A bokeh unfriendly background and / or lighting can make a good lens look bad. So, IMVHO you need to shoot quite a few different shots to decide.
 
Tulipone said:
Just got back from a wander around Paxton Pits with the GX1 and new Panasonic 12-35. The lens is incredible. So sharp, so fast and so colourful. I have a number of shots to test the bokeh and I'm not yet too sure how much I like it - Interested in your thoughts.

12-11_Testing_the_Panasonic_12_35_1525.jpg


Original straight out the camera at:http://500px.com/photo/19387939

Afternote: I have also added a set of berries on 500px with aperture priority set. Unfortunately I saved from f11 to f2.8 rather than the other way around. Hopefully this demonstrates the bokeh better (or worse).
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Interesting - thanks Chris - wasn't expecting to see this much vignette wide open
 
bl0at3r said:
Interesting - thanks Chris - wasn't expecting to see this much vignette wide open
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I had the shade on, but still. I understand bokeh is subjective but what do you think? Everything wide open looks washed out behind the subject. Other pictures it looks more pleasing.
 
Second those comments from Alan on the vignetting, very pronounced.

Regarding background bokeh, I'd love to see another shot with a less cluttered background.
 
Some of the prices on G3 and GX1 bodies are looking quite temping. I'm currently camera less but was looking at spending £400 on a Sony RX100.... When I see a G3 body only for less than £250 though I'm tempted to pick one up. Just not sure how I'd get on with it compared to the OMD I had before, that said it would be nice to be able to use Panasonic lenses without the problems I seemed to encounter on the OMD.
 
Had another play with the 12-35 today and it was indeed the shade that caused the vignetting. I will try with my other lenses but not sure that I have seen something quite as pronounced with the correct shade before.

With regard to the bokeh, I think that I'm just not used to it being quite so pronounced. Trying with different backgrounds I seem to recognise f5.6 as about my norm so just something I'm used to. The IQ is impressive and the build quality makes the kit lens and 45-200 look shabby and cheap!
 
Has anyone got a GH3 yet? I"m tempted by the Lumix Lifestyle 30% cash back offer, which makes the body about £840, still expensive, but a bit more sensible than £1200.

I have the GH2 which i like, but it looks like the GH3 has better dynamic range, and the built in wifi looks like it could be quite handy.

The downsides being the size and cost, i've not seen one in real life, so its hard to quantify how much bigger and heavier it feels in the hand.
 
Tulipone said:
Had another play with the 12-35 today and it was indeed the shade that caused the vignetting. I will try with my other lenses but not sure that I have seen something quite as pronounced with the correct shade before.

With regard to the bokeh, I think that I'm just not used to it being quite so pronounced. Trying with different backgrounds I seem to recognise f5.6 as about my norm so just something I'm used to. The IQ is impressive and the build quality makes the kit lens and 45-200 look shabby and cheap!
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Look forward to some more shots Chris :)
 
sinar said:
Has anyone got a GH3 yet? I"m tempted by the Lumix Lifestyle 30% cash back offer, which makes the body about £840, still expensive, but a bit more sensible than £1200.

I have the GH2 which i like, but it looks like the GH3 has better dynamic range, and the built in wifi looks like it could be quite handy.

The downsides being the size and cost, i've not seen one in real life, so its hard to quantify how much bigger and heavier it feels in the hand.
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That's a good discount, but seems expensive. Some nice tech for video shooters, but for stills I'm not convinced. The difference between the G5 does not seem to justify the price hike either for my kind of photography.
 
ShrubMonkey said:
Look forward to some more shots Chris :)
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I am really enjoying using it so far. It took some doing for me to commit so much cash to a folly, especially as I am so far from producing anything to justify the outlay.

I am learning that I need to calm down and enjoy what I'm doing.
 
bl0at3r said:
:thumbs::thumbs: I struggle to remember this too!
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...I walk away thinking did I check shutter/aperture was appropriate! Often ends in a beating when I look at home on the computer and realise it is not as good as I thought because I didn't think.

I'd put more up here but while I am happy to take critique, I learnt pretty early on that I get irritated by '...it's just a snapshot' type comment without explaining why or what would improve it.
 
Tulipone said:
...I walk away thinking did I check shutter/aperture was appropriate! Often ends in a beating when I look at home on the computer and realise it is not as good as I thought because I didn't think.

I'd put more up here but while I am happy to take critique, I learnt pretty early on that I get irritated by '...it's just a snapshot' type comment without explaining why or what would improve it.
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the beauty of digital - experiment - doesn't cost anything to have a whole bunch of shots very similar but with different settings.

if you like the shot that is all that matters really - i favour 'snapshot' type photos anyway - i'm not a pro and don't care for pro techniques. i just take pictures that i like.
 
Tulipone said:
...I walk away thinking did I check shutter/aperture was appropriate! Often ends in a beating when I look at home on the computer and realise it is not as good as I thought because I didn't think.

I'd put more up here but while I am happy to take critique, I learnt pretty early on that I get irritated by '...it's just a snapshot' type comment without explaining why or what would improve it.
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That's a coincidence that's why I stopped posting too - you're not by yourself there :)
 
ShrubMonkey said:
That's a good discount, but seems expensive. Some nice tech for video shooters, but for stills I'm not convinced. The difference between the G5 does not seem to justify the price hike either for my kind of photography.
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The GH3 is definitely sharper than the G5 with the same lens. I posted a comparison in this forum a couple of days ago. Still not decided whether to get one now or wait...
 
arad85 said:
The GH3 is definitely sharper than the G5 with the same lens. I posted a comparison in this forum a couple of days ago. Still not decided whether to get one now or wait...
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Yeah I saw that too Andy, thanks was good comparison. But still not worth more than double the price of a G5 in my view, just way too much right now
 
I got an email from Panasonic thanking me for purchasing my new G5 today and giving me some handy hints on how to use it. Sadly I haven't bought one.
 
Tulipone said:
I got an email from Panasonic thanking me for purchasing my new G5 today and giving me some handy hints on how to use it. Sadly I haven't bought one.
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I've been getting the same emails... Not much use considering I bought a G3! :lol:

I'm slightly disillusioned with the G3 though. With the right glass, it's capable of some outstanding results but getting the right glass means spending as much money per lens as I would have with my Canon gear and that kind of defeats the point of having it... I may just as well have bought a 60D and used my existing lenses! :shrug:
 
Spiritflier said:
With the right glass, it's capable of some outstanding results but getting the right glass means spending as much money per lens as I would have with my Canon gear and that kind of defeats the point of having it... I may just as well have bought a 60D and used my existing lenses! :shrug:
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Well.. it just goes to show that lenses matter - and you have a far more portable equipment which is capable of the same sort of resolution of the 5DIII - which should beat the 60D handsomely.

I have G5, 7-14, 12-35, 35-100, two batteries and a small carry case (£8 at Aldi which contains everything!). In total it weighs 1.91kg. That's about the same as a 5D2/24-70 on its own and fits in about the same space with a total system cost that is lower. It also produces similar quality in all but the most extreme of situations (or you want super dooper auto-focus tracking, but that will come)....

For most people, I think the advantages are blindingly obvious ;)
 
arad85 said:
Well.. it just goes to show that lenses matter...
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Now THAT'S blindingly obvious! ;)

arad85 said:
...It also produces similar quality in all but the most extreme of situations (or you want super dooper auto-focus tracking, but that will come)....

For most people, I think the advantages are blindingly obvious ;)
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Similar quality is not the same quality... As good as the G3 is for what it does, there's no way I could take it on the hill and shoot low-flying jets with a high keep rate and there's no way I'd use one for a wedding!

In short, I can't take the system as seriously as I do with my Canon gear and as yet, I haven't learnt to trust the G3's abilities in the same way as I do with my 5DMKIII and my daughter's 60D (or even my X10)! :)
 
Seems a bit extreme to me. I get great results at low to middling ISO's with my G1 and legacy prime lenses that cost less than £50. The only issues I have are IQ at the highest ISO's and a lack of dymanic range but this is helped by the in view histogramme to the point that I can nail a G1 shot first time and yet have to take multiple shots with my 5D. Very fast moving objects could be an issue as there's a time lag between reality and the EVF but in real world shooting it's never been an issue for me personally.

Whenever I feel that kit isn't good enough I look at the results others are getting with the same kit... and change my mind :D

This is a 100% crop from a shot of my GF (she'd kill me if I posted a whole image of her :)) The lens + adapter cost £19 :D

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IMVHO my 5D wouldn't and doesn't blow my G1 away as long as the shot is well exposed and at low to middling ISO's.
 
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Spiritflier said:
Similar quality is not the same quality... As good as the G3 is for what it does, there's no way I could take it on the hill and shoot low-flying jets with a high keep rate and there's no way I'd use one for a wedding!
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Low flying jets - that's where you need the tracking - I did say that PDAF isn't there yet - neither are the high performance long lenses.

Weddings, people do shoot them with u4/3. You may not, but that doesn't mean that it isn't possible.

Certainly the CDAF on my G5 is FAR more reliable than the PDAF on the 5D2 for anything but moving objects and I an getting far more keepers with it.

Spiritflier said:
In short, I can't take the system as seriously as I do with my Canon gear and as yet, I haven't learnt to trust the G3's abilities in the same way as I do with my 5DMKIII and my daughter's 60D (or even my X10)! :)
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Well, to be honest, the G3 isn't the best and most usable body. But it will only be a short time - perhaps we are close now. Looking at the pictures I got from the G5 vs the 5D2 vs the few raws I've seen from the GH3, I think I would actually get better images out from the GH3 and the "pro" lenses than the 5D2 and the lenses I had. I'm happier with the images I'm getting from the G5 vs the 7D I had too...

And your use-cases where they aren't suitable isn't the use-cases that 95+% of the population just aren't interested in. In the same way that vinyl isn't dead in the hi-fi world, then FF DSLRs will survive for the purists, but that doesn't mean they are the mass market product. I'm after something high quality and small. I'm happy to pay for it and I don't equate either quality or cost with size ;)
 
woof woof said:
Seems a bit extreme to me. I get great results at low to middling ISO's with my G1 and legacy prime lenses that cost less than £50. The only issues I have are IQ at the highest ISO's and a lack of dymanic range but this is helped by the in view histogramme to the point that I can nail a G1 shot first time ...
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Alan I just got that Sigma 30mm F2.8 and I was testing it on (among others) a G1 : Hmm, a very nice looking combination. You might look into one if the £99 special offer is still going.
I'm not sure about focus accuracy on my G1 though ... need more testing, but the surface finish seems so close, like a real match.
 
Thanks. Those new Sigma's seem to get very good reviews but to be honest I do prefer the faster primes like f1.4/1.8.

The reason that I use legacy lenses (plus a Voigtlander 25mm f0.95) on my G1 is because I don't really like fly by wire lenses with no feel and no markings. The legacy primes however have feel and markings and can be easily set to infinity or any other distance so the camera can then be shot hyperfocally or as Harold Merklinger describes in his "DoF revisited."

I don't normally use manual focus with my 5D unless I'm using my Siggy 150mm f2.8 macro or doing the hyperfocal/Harold Merklinger thing but with the G1 the magnified view makes manual focus relatively easy if slower than auto focus which is usually ok for what I take pictures of and I therefore use manual lenses most of the time on, my G1.
 
woof woof said:
The reason that I use legacy lenses (plus a Voigtlander 25mm f0.95) on my G1 is because I don't really like fly by wire lenses with no feel and no markings. The legacy primes however have feel and markings and can be easily set to infinity or any other distance so the camera can then be shot hyperfocally
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This.

and you get a proper aperture ring on the lens :)
 
chrism_scotland said:
Some of the prices on G3 and GX1 bodies are looking quite temping. I'm currently camera less but was looking at spending £400 on a Sony RX100.... When I see a G3 body only for less than £250 though I'm tempted to pick one up. Just not sure how I'd get on with it compared to the OMD I had before, that said it would be nice to be able to use Panasonic lenses without the problems I seemed to encounter on the OMD.
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Chris, I picked up a G3 body from Wilkinson last month at £200 (after £30 cashback) - really like it so far, the main improvements over my E-PL3 are: 16mp sensor means much nicer results at higher iso's; built in viewfinder is much more convenient than the add on Olympus ones for the Pens; rear thumb wheel much easier to use to change aperture/shutter and exp comp than the tiny rear dial on the Olympus Pens.

For £200 it's a great buy (as I already had a few m43 lenses)- the grip could be a bit bigger and the thumbwheel could too but those are the only niggles so far (oh and eye detect for the evf would be good but I can live without it).

It's still a lot bigger than an RX100 though obviously. :)

The Olympus m43 cameras give great results, but ergonomically I find them poor.
 
The G1 has a great grip and handling particularly for manual-focus old lenses.

Mine sits around with this on mostly ;

butcheryofyash12.jpg
 
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