"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

ukaskew said:
How do you find motorsport with these (presumably mostly the Tokina 300)? Very impressive Rallycross photos on your Flickr, an equivalent 600mm prime must take a bit of planning in terms of angles to shoot from!
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No problem at all! Obviously you have to pre focus, but with circuit stuff that isn't too much of a problem. My hit rate is certainly no worse than when I was using Canon 1 series bodies.

As for using the 300mm, it takes no more planning than using any other lens. The circuits I visit most frequently have you a long way back with heavy duty catch fences between you and the action. The 300mm makes it a doddle to shoot through them.

Cheers,

Simon.
 
Glenn Surtees said:
srhmoto said:
I know some of you use legacy lenses, so I thought I would share my collection.


Canon FD and nFD Lenses by srhphoto, on Flickr[T/QUOTE]

Impressive!

Here's my collection, my legacy lenses are OM Zuiko and I love them.

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Thanks Glenn. Lovely collection of gear!
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Lovelly collection shots.

I was shooting indoors yesterday and had the opportunity to take the same shot just seconds apart with my Rokkor 55mm f1.7 and Zuiko 50mm f1.8 and I was surprised how much faster the Rokkor was as it allowed me to shoot with a consistently lower ISO in aperture priority with auto ISO set... 320 v 400 and 1000 v 1250 are settings I remember in the Rokkors favour. I wouldn't have thought that f0.1 difference would make such a difference.
 
Building up a M4/3 kit sure is fun, so many bargains out there if you know what you're looking for.

I got £400 back from my £600 G5 bundle (cashback and kit lens sold). I also picked up a GF3 / 14mm 2.5 kit for £200 as I wanted the 14mm 2.5 (I absolutely loved that lens last time around). Whilst the GF3 is a little impractical with its lack of controls, it basically cost nothing compared to the price of a 14mm 2.5, and a second body is always useful.

I think that's it in terms of bargains though, the next aim (75mm 1.8) is very unlikely to throw up a good deal as it doesn't even seem to be that common in this country.
 
I just bought a brand new GX1 with a 14mm prime. I'm looking for a decent wide angle zoom. any recommendations?

Thanks,
 
I've got the Olympus 9-18 as a substitute for the expensive Lumix 7-14mm. It's good and worth a try.
 
ukaskew said:
Building up a M4/3 kit sure is fun, so many bargains out there if you know what you're looking for.

I got £400 back from my £600 G5 bundle (cashback and kit lens sold). I also picked up a GF3 / 14mm 2.5 kit for £200 as I wanted the 14mm 2.5 (I absolutely loved that lens last time around). Whilst the GF3 is a little impractical with its lack of controls, it basically cost nothing compared to the price of a 14mm 2.5, and a second body is always useful.

I think that's it in terms of bargains though, the next aim (75mm 1.8) is very unlikely to throw up a good deal as it doesn't even seem to be that common in this country.
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That's a great saving you made there, don't think you'd get anything like that on a 75mm ;)

I had a GF3 previously, great little camera and good for a cheap pocketable solution, especially paired with the 14mm
 
woof woof said:
... just seconds apart with my Rokkor 55mm f1.7 and Zuiko 50mm f1.8 and I was surprised how much faster the Rokkor was as it allowed me to shoot with a consistently lower ISO in aperture priority with auto ISO set... 320 v 400 and 1000 v 1250 are settings I remember in the Rokkors favour. I wouldn't have thought that f0.1 difference would make such a difference.
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Fascinating. So either the Rokkor or the Zuiko is misrepresenting their F-value, or maybe the true 'T' value or whatever it's called is different.
Do the two pictures look exactly the same brightness?
I'd like to see you do the test again on a tripod so the metering can't vary.
 
Yes, the thought of a difference between actual and stated aperture did cross my mind as did the possible effect of the different focal lengths but if anything this should have worked in the Zuiko's favour, a wider scene often metering a bit brighter than a tighter one... maybe.

I think I'd like to do this again a little more scientifically both from the same camera to subject distance and with the framing matched as far as possible. When I do it I'll report back.
 
I've also been searching for a UWA lens too; currently I have the 14mm pancake, along with the 20mm and 45mm. I use the 14mm most of the time as I prefer wide angles - the 45mm produces lovely bokeh so occasionally mix it up and use that sometimes. The 20mm just doesn't have the 'right' angle for me, though it produces superior images to the 14mm.

I still have the 14-42mm kit lens but never use it as the primes produce sharper images, they are lighter, and cover the focal length.

I rented the Olympus 9-18mm for a week over xmas. It's a nice little lens but decided it's not for me; it's quite annoying having to unlock it before each use (could leave it extended but it doesn't fit as nicely in my camera bag), it also annoyingly rattles around with in it's barrel and as I only used it at the 9mm length paying extra for a zoom doesn't seem worth it. Plus it's not great for low light, which I enjoy.

I bought the Samyang 7.5mm but sent it back the next day. The lens hood was already damaged from the cap, the infinity focus mark was off, and just couldn't justify paying the money for it given these badly designed 'features'. I may have just received a bad copy and tempted to buy another from Amazon given their superior return policy though..

I'm also tempted by the 7-14mm, though I suspect it'll be too big (and expensive) considering I just want it for the 7mm end.

The SLR Magic 12mm f1.6 seems to fit the bill, unfortunately not as wide but it has a nice macro feature and is faster. Also it's hard to buy the SLR Magic in the UK, and manual focus only..

It would be lovely if Panasonic or Olympus introduced at 10mm prime f2 or wider :/
 
anthonys said:
I bought the Samyang 7.5mm but sent it back the next day. The lens hood was already damaged from the cap, the infinity focus mark was off, and just couldn't justify paying the money for it given these badly designed 'features'. I may have just received a bad copy and tempted to buy another from Amazon given their superior return policy though..
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Very surprised by that, I've owned various pro grade lens from Canon and Nikon but nothing has come close to the build of my Samyang 7.5mm. The infinity mark was off (as it is on most, I believe), but considering it's a fisheye that was an easy one to ignore.
 
ukaskew said:
Very surprised by that, I've owned various pro grade lens from Canon and Nikon but nothing has come close to the build of my Samyang 7.5mm. The infinity mark was off (as it is on most, I believe), but considering it's a fisheye that was an easy one to ignore.
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Second that, fantastic lens!
 
ukaskew said:
Very surprised by that, I've owned various pro grade lens from Canon and Nikon but nothing has come close to the build of my Samyang 7.5mm. The infinity mark was off (as it is on most, I believe), but considering it's a fisheye that was an easy one to ignore.
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Oh, the dealer said he couldn't guarantee they all didn't have any damage given their design.. said he didn't want to sell me another as seemed hesitant to give a refund if it was damaged again. So I've left it while I decide..

I checked over on DPReview and the consensus there was it was pretty common given the way the cap attaches. I'm tempted to buy another from Amazon given they have a 30 day return policy just to be sure as it does seem like an ideal UWA option!
 
Decided to purchase another Samyang from Amazon; £9 more after delivery than the UK distributor but a better returns policy of 30 days. Figured the 7-14mm Panasonic option was going to be too bulky, and expensive.

Will see if another version has the same damage to the lens hood and update this thread for anyone else considering this lens.
 
Had my first proper play with the G5 today. Aside from constantly double (sometimes triple) pressing the shutter release for every shot it was a joy, the instant AF point adjustment via the thumb wheel was very welcome (the joystick on the 5D annoyed the hell out of me).

I took the 25mm 1.4 for a spin, it has a weird 3D quality I can't really explain, but really like the look of. It seems to separate subjects from the background without excessive background blur. A keeper of a lens for sure...


Kennet and Avon Canal by Harry_S, on Flickr
 
Hi all
Has anyone tried the olympus macro lights on there pens. If so what did you think of them.
 
matt b said:
Hi all
Has anyone tried the olympus macro lights on there pens. If so what did you think of them.
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This is the Panasonic G series thread, so I don't imagine many will have ;)
 
I'll think your find there are lots of olympus users on this thread.
 
Should be renamed [CSC] Micro Four-Thirds Owners Thread, then. Or how about simply [CSC] Owners Thread.
 
Micro Four Thirds makes sense, CSC is far too wide a subject. The OM-D understandably has it's own thread as that's a complex (and very popular) beast.

Although in my opinion it's no hardship to dip in and out of both, even though I don't own an OM-D I find a lot of relevant discussion in there (i.e. recently on the Panasonic 100-300)
 
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I don't think many of us use both brands other than the few who have the OM-D as well as a Panny.
Personally I'd prefer that this thread stays as the Panasonic G series and a new thread could be started for the Olympus Pen series if users of those want it.
 
Does that mean that this thread is only for cameras and not lenses though?

Eg I have a Panasonic 20mm on my Olympus pen ep-l1.

If I wanted to discuss the lens would I post in here / Olympus pen thread / just start a new thread?
 
mike_6480 said:
Does that mean that this thread is only for cameras and not lenses though?

Eg I have a Panasonic 20mm on my Olympus pen ep-l1.

If I wanted to discuss the lens would I post in here / Olympus pen thread / just start a new thread?
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I'd suggest that you post that in a new Olympus pen forum, to mirror this panasonic thread, this is similar to how the forums are split on mu-43.com. We could also start a m43 lens thread too, for general lens discussions, it's up to you :)
 
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j9ksf said:
The Pana/Leica takes some beating as your shot demonstrates
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MPB Photographic have one for £290 at the moment, a steal at that price, I don't think one has ever gone below £350 in an eBay auction.
 
Talking of G-series, I just acquired my first GF1 : like a pocketable G1 with video.
Anyone have experience and knowledge of the video intricacies compared to various Olympus Pens?
 
Ulfric M Douglas said:
Talking of G-series, I just acquired my first GF1 : like a pocketable G1 with video.
Anyone have experience and knowledge of the video intricacies compared to various Olympus Pens?
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Remember you said this is the "g" thread, so don't mention the O word.
 
Anyone any idea how often Panasonic have cashback offers. I know that they've had one that just finished at the end of December. Are they rare or do they come round often?
 
rugeyes said:
Anyone any idea how often Panasonic have cashback offers. I know that they've had one that just finished at the end of December. Are they rare or do they come round often?
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The last two were July-August and October-December. I would hazard a guess at a Spring promotion in March or thereabouts.
 
Ulfric M Douglas said:
Fascinating. So either the Rokkor or the Zuiko is misrepresenting their F-value, or maybe the true 'T' value or whatever it's called is different.
Do the two pictures look exactly the same brightness?
I'd like to see you do the test again on a tripod so the metering can't vary.
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I had another go with the Rokkor f1.7 and Zuiko f1.8, tripod mounted, both from the same distance and with the 55mm Rokkor further away to get the same framing, and the Rokkor consistantly gave lower ISO's or shutter speeds. When set to the same aperture both lenses gave the same readings so it does indeed look like f0.1 really does make a difference :D

I went out today with my G1 and a Rokkor 28mm f2.8. I've mainly been using the 55mm f1.7 so the 28mm made a change. It seems to be a very good lens and detail at 100% seems to be good. It's not as good as the Voigtlander 25mm f0.95, Siggy 50 or 85mm f1.4 but for under £40 it's amazing.

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PS. Any blobs in these pictures aren't dust bunnies but snow.
 
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rugeyes said:
Anyone any idea how often Panasonic have cashback offers. I know that they've had one that just finished at the end of December. Are they rare or do they come round often?
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From my experience they come around often enough that it is worth waiting for the next one unless you really need the equipment at the time (going on holiday for example). They also seem to regularly offer deals such as a free 5 year warranty or free copy of Lightroom etc.
 
anthonys said:
From my experience they come around often enough that it is worth waiting for the next one unless you really need the equipment at the time (going on holiday for example). They also seem to regularly offer deals such as a free 5 year warranty or free copy of Lightroom etc.
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I'm going away next Friday and really fancy upgrading my G1 to a G5. They seem to have come down to £450 for a body only. May get a kit and sell the lens, is it worthwhile?
 
Rugeyes, I have a feeling the G5 price will drop swiftly in a couple of months, since if they have any sense Panasonic will start to stuff the e-M5/e-pL5/e-pM2/GH3 sensor in a new G model just like olympus is doing ... hence the G5's imminent obsolescence to GAS-sufferers.

If only the G5 made use of it's sensor's native multi-aspect ratio (like the GH2) then it'd be the last of its breed and something definitely worth having at a premium price.
 
Ulfric M Douglas said:
Rugeyes, I have a feeling the G5 price will drop swiftly in a couple of months, since if they have any sense Panasonic will start to stuff the e-M5/e-pL5/e-pM2/GH3 sensor in a new G model just like olympus is doing ... hence the G5's imminent obsolescence to GAS-sufferers.

If only the G5 made use of it's sensor's native multi-aspect ratio (like the GH2) then it'd be the last of its breed and something definitely worth having at a premium price.
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It's what I've been hoping for too but Panasonic never seem to do the obvious thing do they? The incremental increases are never that great and I'm not sure they are struggling so much to go for the ultimate in their next model. At 450 I don't think thats bad, in comparison to the prices of soon to be obsolete other panny models. is there any news/rumours out there about a G6?
 
It's definitely worth waiting around for offers. My G5 was £470 with the 14-42 and 45-150 after cashback a few weeks ago. I sold both lens for £250 so ended up with a G5 for £220.

Bargain at that price and certainly a step up from the G3 I had previously, I love the three axis accelerometer for level horizons, couldn't live without it now.
 
The G5 is great, so underrated, handling is miles better than the G3. I got my G5 on release and thanks to lumix lifestyle offer avoided early adopter price hike (got it for around £400), you never can tell with Panasonic
 
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