Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/01/11

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Subject: [Leica] more on the GF-1, the finder, and a portrait of an artist
From: steve.barbour at gmail.com (Steve Barbour)
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:34:52 -0800
References: <9F07836ED74F1C42AA69DFBAF8A1E2F137850B2540@MBX1.asc.local> <416D29F0-B9C1-4A0D-9A8A-C6113682D23D@frozenlight.eu> <93D7E0DE-A562-4DA0-9017-2631D3F0B9F0@gmail.com> <p06230922c76e948087de@[10.0.1.7]> <717297.5435.qm@web45202.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> <A9190637-E41D-4A69-97E7-0FE9FD6AA2B8@comcast.net> <48E97022-FCA7-4994-A8B0-2D0ABD8321FE@gmail.com> <A4463304-C558-4873-B2BA-7F80523B97D1@comcast.net>

On Jan 11, 2010, at 10:03 AM, Richard Taylor wrote:

> Steve - Right.  GF-1, 20mm pancake lens, 35mm Voightlander optical finder, 
> single point autofocus only.  Use it like a rangefinder camera:  put the 
> desired focus point in the center of the optical finder, half press the 
> shutter, wait for the lens to go zzzzttt, reframe and shoot.  I find that 
> this process is at least as accurate on average in dim light as an M 
> rangefinder and about twice as fast.  The optical finder is from 
> Cameraquest.   
> 
> I use my Leica lenses on the G-1, manually focus and frame in the finder, 
> look above the camera to shoot in any kind of dynamic situation.  My 
> favorite lenses on the G-1 are the 28 Summicron and 50 Summicron, though 
> since I got the GF-1 and 20mm lens, the G-1 has been sitting in a drawer.  
> With f2.0 lenses I generally don't bother with the focus magnifier.


great helpful response, thank you...


Steve


>  
> 
> Regards, 
> 
> Dick
> 
> 
> 
> On Jan 11, 2010, at 12:13 PM, Steve Barbour wrote:
> 
>> 
>> On Jan 11, 2010, at 7:16 AM, Richard Taylor wrote:
>> 
>>> Joe - I know you were asking Henning, but since I have both, I thought 
>>> I'd comment as well.  I got the GF-1 specifically so I could use an 
>>> optical finder with the Lumix 20mm pancake lens.  It's a great 
>>> combination.  You can't easily use an optical finder on the G-1.  I use 
>>> the G-1 with my Leica lenses, use the EVF for focus and framing, and 
>>> open my left eye to decide the moment of exposure. 
>>> 
>>> They're both great cameras but enough different in use to have both.
>> 
>> 
>> so GF1, Pana 20/1.7, optical VF, sounds wonderful...assume only for auto 
>> focus...
>> 
>> 
>> do you use any Leica M lenses with manual focus? what's best in that 
>> situation?  where did you get the optical VF,  
>> 
>> Dick...?  which one? 
>> 
>> 
>> thanks,
>> 
>> 
>> Steve
>>> 
>>> Regards, 
>>> 
>>> Dick
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Jan 11, 2010, at 7:15 AM, joe leung wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Dear Henning,
>>>> 
>>>> I have the G1 and love it's EVF. Is GF1 so much better than the G1 as 
>>>> to warrant trading up?
>>>> 
>>>> Best Regards,
>>>> Joe Leung
>>>> (Still in Hong Kong)
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> ________________________________
>>>> From: Henning Wulff <henningw at archiphoto.com>
>>>> To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
>>>> Sent: Sun, January 10, 2010 4:38:55 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [Leica] more on the GF-1, the finder, and a portrait of an 
>>>> artist
>>>> 
>>>> It's quite easy to focus manually. With the latest software you can set 
>>>> it to magnify the image with one press of the multifunction wheel, so 
>>>> you do that when you focus and then touch the shutter button lightly to 
>>>> get back to composing. It's really quite quick and smooth. You can do 
>>>> it fairly decently with the back screen as well as the electronic 
>>>> viewfinder. The EV is fairly coarse, so while focussing is actuall 
>>>> quite easy and possible, it doesn't give you the confidence a higher 
>>>> resolution screen would give. The coarseness of the screen might be 
>>>> related to the size of the viewfinder, since the better viewfinder of 
>>>> the Olympus EP-2 is a lot bigger, making the camera fairly clumsy in my 
>>>> opinion. Neither are as good as the electronic viewfinder in the G1, so 
>>>> if you're mainly interested in using an electronic viewfinder you're 
>>>> probably best off getting the G1, which with lens isn't any bigger than 
>>>> the GF-1 with electronic viewfinder in every dimension, and
>>>> you get a better and integrated viewfinder and a swiveling LCD.
>>>> 
>>>> I use the 20/1.7 (since October) mostly with the GF-1 with the VC 
>>>> mini-28-35 finder, and sometimes Leica lenses from 35 on up. The 
>>>> shorter lenses haven't produced satisfactory results, and now that I 
>>>> have the 20 haven't been as important.
>>>> 
>>>> I especially like the 50 ASPH; easy to focus, high speed and a good 
>>>> portrait length without being too big. The 75/1.4 is also excellent, 
>>>> but starts being a bit of a handful. The interesting thing is that as 
>>>> you stop down, the view through the viewfinder doesn't get darker but 
>>>> the dof increases.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> On Jan 9, 2010, at 10:20 AM, Nathan Wajsman wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>> Wonderful, Kyle. By coincidence, I received my GF-1 today and have 
>>>>>> tested it a bit this afternoon, inside a bar and on the street. Very 
>>>>>> pleasant indeed. I got it with the 1.7/20mm lens too, but I also have 
>>>>>> the M-MFT adapter, so tomorrow I will test it with my M lenses.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> this all sounds like a very attractive combination, especially with 
>>>>> the Pana 20mm 1.7 lens. If you use it with the electronic viewfinder, 
>>>>> adapter, and manual focus M lenses, how easy is focussing through the 
>>>>> viewfinder? compared to the LCD screen ? Is focussing easy enough to 
>>>>> attract people who care to frequently use their leica M lenses with 
>>>>> manual focus?
>>>>> 
>>>>> thanks,
>>>>> 
>>>>> Steve
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>>> Nathan
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Nathan Wajsman
>>>>>> Alicante, Spain
>>>>>> http://www.frozenlight.eu
>>>>>> http://www.greatpix.eu
>>>>>> http://www.nathanfoto.com
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Books: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/search?search=wajsman&x=0&y=0
>>>>>> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
>>>>>> Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> On Jan 9, 2010, at 5:44 PM, Kyle Cassidy wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I'm finding the GF-1 with the 20mm f 1.7 an awesome ... really, 
>>>>>>> substitute for what I used to use my Leica for. Though it gets noisy 
>>>>>>> at 400 asa, the lens is fast enough and sharp enough that I'm 
>>>>>>> finding it not difficult to shoot in relatively low light situations 
>>>>>>> at 100 or 200 ASA and for on-the-fly portraits, it's been fabulous 
>>>>>>> -- two photos of the painter John Ennis (www.johnennis.com)
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> http://www.kylecassidy.com/lj/2010/john-ennis-1.jpg
>>>>>>> http://www.kylecassidy.com/lj/2010/john-ennis-2.jpg
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I really like having JUST A CAMERA in my _pocket_. It seems when I 
>>>>>>> leave the house with the Leica d700 I'm always thinking "well, I 
>>>>>>> need to take the 85 1.8 because it's an awesome lens. but it's too 
>>>>>>> telephoto for a lot of stuff, so i'd better take a mid range zoom. 
>>>>>>> Oh, and heck, the room might be crowded, so I'd better bring the 
>>>>>>> fisheye, cause it's small and all. Heck, if I'm bringing that I 
>>>>>>> should bring a flash, and I can't bring the flash without the cable, 
>>>>>>> because on camera flash blows......" and now my back hurts.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> The electronic viewfinder (i wanted to do a macro through the lens 
>>>>>>> but it's not in the cards) isn't a gimic -- its really useful. I 
>>>>>>> MUCH MUCH MUCH prefer shooting through a viewfinder to using the 
>>>>>>> screen on the back of the camera, i'd consider the finder part of 
>>>>>>> the camera (i.e. don't get one without the other). it's a low 
>>>>>>> resolution LCD but it's fine for composing, you know what the scene 
>>>>>>> looks like (if you forget, just open your other eye). i don't think 
>>>>>>> an optical finder will work nearly as well, because you have your 
>>>>>>> exposure and FOCUS info in the electronic finder as well and you 
>>>>>>> needs that. you can also change the angle of the finder and look 
>>>>>>> straight down into it if you'd like, useful for shooting straight up 
>>>>>>> or around corners (you can totally hold the camera around a corner 
>>>>>>> and look through the finder -- i don't know why you would, but you 
>>>>>>> can).
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> it's surprisingly loud. the shutter goes off with a "CLICK" you can 
>>>>>>> feel, seriously, it's like a tiny mousetrap went off inside the 
>>>>>>> camera. by default focus is also acknowledged by a chirp (you can 
>>>>>>> turn off sounds).
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> and it's FAST, like a lot faster than i can wind and shoot a leica 
>>>>>>> (you can probably kick it's butt with a rapidwinder, but you won't 
>>>>>>> accidentally stab yourself in the leg with this one. This really is 
>>>>>>> the digital LikaLeica I've been waiting for.  It just needs a couple 
>>>>>>> of stickers.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I am totally listening to Led Zeppelin IV right now.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> kc
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>>> 
>>>> -- 
>>>> *            Henning J. Wulff
>>>> /|\      Wulff Photography & Design
>>>> /###\  mailto:henningw at archiphoto.com
>>>> |[ ]|    http://www.archiphoto.com
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
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>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Leica Users Group.
>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information



In reply to: Message from kcassidy at asc.upenn.edu (Kyle Cassidy) ([Leica] more on the GF-1, the finder, and a portrait of an artist)
Message from photo at frozenlight.eu (Nathan Wajsman) ([Leica] more on the GF-1, the finder, and a portrait of an artist)
Message from steve.barbour at gmail.com (Steve Barbour) ([Leica] more on the GF-1, the finder, and a portrait of an artist)
Message from henningw at archiphoto.com (Henning Wulff) ([Leica] more on the GF-1, the finder, and a portrait of an artist)
Message from olivegm3 at yahoo.ca (joe leung) ([Leica] more on the GF-1, the finder, and a portrait of an artist)
Message from r.s.taylor at comcast.net (Richard Taylor) ([Leica] more on the GF-1, the finder, and a portrait of an artist)
Message from steve.barbour at gmail.com (Steve Barbour) ([Leica] more on the GF-1, the finder, and a portrait of an artist)
Message from r.s.taylor at comcast.net (Richard Taylor) ([Leica] more on the GF-1, the finder, and a portrait of an artist)