Panasonic GF-1 to rival E-P1
- Thread starter cliffpatte
- Start date
Mike Hanson
Trying to understand...
cliffpatte
Speed camera anarchist
Hi Cesare
The E-P1 is excellent - just what you would expect from a compact high quality camera with interchangeable lenses. My Nikon D700 still takes better low light photos but then it also takes better low light photos than full sized Olympus cameras. I'm planning to get a small prime lens to go on the E-P1 more or less full time and then it can be my pocketable camera. The kit zoom is OK but experience with using Nikon and Leica optics with converters shows that the E-P1 will come into its own with a small prime lens. The new Lumix-Leica which is rumoured to come out at the same time as the new Lumix m4/3 camera might be worth considering or Olympus's own pancake lens.
The E-P1 is excellent - just what you would expect from a compact high quality camera with interchangeable lenses. My Nikon D700 still takes better low light photos but then it also takes better low light photos than full sized Olympus cameras. I'm planning to get a small prime lens to go on the E-P1 more or less full time and then it can be my pocketable camera. The kit zoom is OK but experience with using Nikon and Leica optics with converters shows that the E-P1 will come into its own with a small prime lens. The new Lumix-Leica which is rumoured to come out at the same time as the new Lumix m4/3 camera might be worth considering or Olympus's own pancake lens.
vln
Shuns mooks. And MQA.
The panasonic looks interesting, I certainly prefer cameras in black rather than silver.
However I do not think that including a flash is a good idea because they are mostly not very good and if you are serious about flash photography, then you will be using a good external one anyway.
I wonder what the "Big Two", Canon and Nikon have up their sleeves WRT this? Will, say, the successor of the Canon G10 or the Nikon Coolpix P6000 (two "serious" compacts) also go the micro four thirds/interchangeable lens route?
Samuel.
However I do not think that including a flash is a good idea because they are mostly not very good and if you are serious about flash photography, then you will be using a good external one anyway.
I wonder what the "Big Two", Canon and Nikon have up their sleeves WRT this? Will, say, the successor of the Canon G10 or the Nikon Coolpix P6000 (two "serious" compacts) also go the micro four thirds/interchangeable lens route?
Samuel.
Mike Hanson
Trying to understand...
I'll admit that the flash on my Canon G9 doesn't perform exceedingly well, but it's better than nothing. It's a pocket camera, so the whole point is to have everything in your pocket. I would apply the same stipulation to the E-P1.
I've actually been surprised at the flash performance out of my Canon XSi, but when it pops up it's much further from the lens.
I've actually been surprised at the flash performance out of my Canon XSi, but when it pops up it's much further from the lens.
cliffpatte
Speed camera anarchist
You need to try the E-P1 Cesare, the AF speed is not a problem IMO. The pricing of the E-P1 and the GF-1 are set so as to not steal too many sales from the Oly DSLR range and the GH-1
£750 doesn't seem so much when you look at the price of the latest Canon G series camera or the GRD3
£750 doesn't seem so much when you look at the price of the latest Canon G series camera or the GRD3
It's tempting until I think about how much I'll get for my G1, which has a better viewfinder in the camera and a flippy screen. On the other hand I could fit that GF1 in a coat pocket with the 20/F1.7 on it, I can't take the G1 anywhere without it being a pain in the arse. Sticking a pancake on the G1 would help but it'd still be too big.
I might have to sell, I might not, arghh!!
vln
Shuns mooks. And MQA.
It seems that Ricoh will join the fun:
http://photorumors.com/2009/09/02/r...on-a-compact-camera-based-on-pentaxs-k-mount/
Things get interesting!
http://photorumors.com/2009/09/02/r...on-a-compact-camera-based-on-pentaxs-k-mount/
Things get interesting!
hamish_gill
pfm Member
its early days for this micro four thirds and even earlier for the small bodied (what the format was really designed for) models. i think at the mo users are still paying for the R&D so i suspect prices will fall 2nd and 3rd gen
the efv on the panasonic is a clincher for me, i was seriously thinking about how i could afford the panny when i read the release write up on dpreview last night!
the big issue for me is the smaller sensor ... as a fully subscribed voightlander/leica/epson r-d1 user it would have been nice to have been able to use my manual lenses even in the same way they work on the epson (1.5x) ... for now, il stick to the epson i think - it might be showing its age.. but it still takes pretty good photos!
when the prices come down and the range of lenses increases ... i think thats when, realisticly, il be putting my hand in my pocket.
as for ricoh... i got one word for you - reliability.. a word i fear ricoh have not quite grasped
epson did all this interchangable compact thing even before leica started ripping people off years back http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/epson-rd1.shtml if they made this camera sub £1000 these days, and actualy told people about it, it could do really well i recon! (as long as you dont miind manual focus and a manual shutter cock mech)
the efv on the panasonic is a clincher for me, i was seriously thinking about how i could afford the panny when i read the release write up on dpreview last night!
the big issue for me is the smaller sensor ... as a fully subscribed voightlander/leica/epson r-d1 user it would have been nice to have been able to use my manual lenses even in the same way they work on the epson (1.5x) ... for now, il stick to the epson i think - it might be showing its age.. but it still takes pretty good photos!
when the prices come down and the range of lenses increases ... i think thats when, realisticly, il be putting my hand in my pocket.
as for ricoh... i got one word for you - reliability.. a word i fear ricoh have not quite grasped
epson did all this interchangable compact thing even before leica started ripping people off years back http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/epson-rd1.shtml if they made this camera sub £1000 these days, and actualy told people about it, it could do really well i recon! (as long as you dont miind manual focus and a manual shutter cock mech)
You are right of course - speculating about how the camera feels without having touched one isn't really the done thing. It's not like I have particularly fast autofocus with my rolleiflex ;-)
I still think the price is steep, but then i'm thinking of it as a second camera to go with my DSLR. If it is the only camera you were to buy it becomes more reasonable I guess.
Cesare