Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/02/03

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Subject: [Leica] OT Pana GF1 (20 pancake) & Ricoh GRD-III Mark's views now he has a GF1
From: steve.barbour at gmail.com (Steve Barbour)
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 18:21:56 -0800
References: <3C5EC6A5-C9AD-41A5-BBB8-4186905666E2@gmail.com> <4B68563E.2030000@whitedogs.co.uk> <B550EAD5-8780-40BA-B58A-629BBA277F0E@spectare.com>

On Feb 2, 2010, at 9:11 AM, 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


a series of wonderful images, whatever the camera...

proves again it's the photographer who makes the photo,

it's great Jim,


certainly impressive that these are out of the GF1...


Steve


> 
> 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
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> 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.
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In reply to: Message from steve.barbour at gmail.com (Steve Barbour) ([Leica] OT Pana GF1 (20 pancake) & Ricoh GRD-III)
Message from mark at whitedogs.co.uk (Mark Pope) ([Leica] OT Pana GF1 (20 pancake) & Ricoh GRD-III Mark's views now he has a GF1)
Message from jimlists at spectare.com (Jim Laurel) ([Leica] OT Pana GF1 (20 pancake) & Ricoh GRD-III Mark's views now he has a GF1)