Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/02/03
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I really enjoyed your gallery - I'll bet the prints are pretty good too!
I'd love to see a print of the young monks meditating.
At the moment, I don't intend to try M-mount lenses with the camera. I'm
hopeful that the 20mm is all I'll need. At least for the time being anyway.
Mark Pope,
Swindon, Wilts
UK
Homepage http://www.monomagic.co.uk
Blog http://www.monomagic.co.uk/blog
Picture a week (2010) http://www.monomagic.co.uk/index.php?gallery=paw/2010
Picture a week (2009) http://www.monomagic.co.uk/index.php?gallery=paw/2009
(2008)
http://www.monomagic.co.uk/index.php?gallery=paw/2008
Jim Laurel wrote:
> Totally agree with you, Mark. I took one of these little beasts with me to
> Burma as an M9 backup, but it ended up logging as many frames as the M9!
> Truly a delightful little camera with great lenses.
>
> http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/3708140154/photos
>
> I always loved the CL and the Olympus Pen, and the GF-1 is very much a CL
> + Pen hybrid brought into the 21st century. One of the most intriguing
> things to me is the concept of the lenses carrying around optical
> corrections in firmware. I've already gotten some firmware updates for my
> M4/3 lenses. I wonder what Barnack would have thought of being able to
> update lens designs with software?
>
> I used the Voigtlander adapter to mount M lenses, and it worked very well.
> Stick to 35mm and longer, though. I did not have very good results with
> 28mm and wider.
>
> -Jim
>
>
> On Feb 2, 2010, at 8:43 AM, Mark Pope wrote:
>
>> Having just taken delivery of a GF1 with 20 Pancake lens, my initial
>> thoughts are that I am going to get along famously with this camera.
>> Likes:
>>
>> - overall build quality
>>
>> - size - not too big, not too small. Perfect for Goldilocks :-)
>>
>> - ergonomics - it didn't take too long to suss out where everything was.
>> Why though does a camera need a 196-page manual (see below...)
>>
>> - optical quality - which is what really matters isn't it? The first few
>> prints that I have made are nice an sharp and the colour rendition is
>> excellent (according to Karin, whose colour vision is much, much better
>> than mine).
>>
>> - autofocus - the face-detection and follow-focus features work very well
>> indeed.
>>
>> Dislikes:
>>
>> - the battery/SD card door feels a bit flimsy. It spoils an otherwise
>> very nicely made camera.
>>
>> - vertical pictures are not auto-rotated when imported to Lightroom. I
>> subsequently discovered that this feature which is known as the
>> 'direction detection feature', isn't supported with the 20mm pancake
>> lens. Not a deal-breaker, but as I like to shoot portrait format quite a
>> lot, it's an annoyance.
>>
>> - more modes than you can shake a stick at. I think the camera was
>> dipped in Complicatonite. There are scene modes: 17 of them, plus the
>> usual Program, Aperture priority, Shutter Priority, manual, movie,
>> intelligent auto, two custom modes and one with an artist's pallette,
>> which I have no idea about. Then there are the flash modes (which I
>> haven't looked at yet). This little camera is very a la mode! In
>> short, I think it, like many other cameras of Japanese origin, is too
>> complicated. Features have been added for three reasons: first because
>> the marketers think it's a good idea, second because the opposition do it
>> and third because they can.
>>
>> In terms of physical size, the body is roughly the same size as a Ricoh
>> GR1 (film compact) with the lens retracted. The 20mm lens is quite a big
>> lens and does add considerably to the bulk of the camera (it's not really
>> pocketable) but the balance is nice.
>>
>> For me, the biggest advantage of the GF1 is definitely the 4/3 sensor.
>> I've used it up to ISO 800 and produced some pleasing prints. Yes, they
>> are noisy, but whether the noise is acceptable is a personal thing.
>>
>> Overall, then I think it's a smashing piece of kit. I haven't tried an
>> optical finder yet: that's on its way thanks to Nathan.
>> Is it better than the GRD III? Probably. Whilst the Ricoh is now in its
>> third generation, I feel that the small sensor will still be a limiting
>> factor in its overall image quality. I have heard that Panasonic are due
>> to bring out a 14mm pancake lens, giving a field of view equivalent to a
>> 28mm. Now that will be an interesting combination!
>>
>> I hope you find this useful. Pictures to follow, probably when I post my
>> PAW on Friday.
>>
>> Best wishes
>>
>>
>> Mark
>>
>> Mark Pope,
>> Swindon, Wilts
>> UK
>>
>> Homepage http://www.monomagic.co.uk
>> Blog http://www.monomagic.co.uk/blog
>> Picture a week (2010)
>> http://www.monomagic.co.uk/index.php?gallery=paw/2010
>> Picture a week (2009)
>> http://www.monomagic.co.uk/index.php?gallery=paw/2009
>> (2008) http://www.monomagic.co.uk/index.php?gallery=paw/2008
>>
>>
>> Steve Barbour wrote:
>>> I'm wondering with the recent interest in the Panasonic GF1 with the
>>> 20mm pancake lens and an external optical VF, has any used/compared this
>>> to the Ricoh GRD-III with its 28mm lens and the optional external
>>> viewfinder...
>>> I 'd be very interested to hear your thoughts, reactions, comparisons,
>>> appreciated,
>>> Steve
>>> _______________________________________________
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>
>
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