Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/01/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]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. 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 >>> >>> >>> >>> __________________________________________________________________ >>> Make your browsing faster, safer, and easier with the new Internet >>> Explorer? 8. Optimized for Yahoo! Get it Now for Free! at >>> http://downloads.yahoo.com/ca/internetexplorer/ >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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