GF-1 viewfinder

[simonclivehughes]

If it is, it opens up the possibility of using the EVF separately from the camera via an extension cable, which might be cool for some applications.

Cool idea, but it is very unlikely that it is engineered to pass the signals beyond a very, very short distance. There is no reason to over-spec that, especially as it would entail more space and power.

It might not be optimal, but the solution is already present... the LCD.

Cheers,

 

[iainmurray]

Yes, that would be worse

I just read on another forum that that particular person (who had just gotten it today from Ebay/Japan) didn't feel one could MF with the EVF. I've read conflicting reports from others with it, but I suspect it's more about getting used to it. I'm planning to MF plus compose and use AF. I don't expect wonders, just usable.

Diane, I repeat - you won't be disappointed and I am sure your modest expectations will be surpassed. I say that because I, too, didn't have exalted hopes for the GF1 EVF simply because it is small and since I wear glasses to correct chronic short-sightedness, I feared that I would not be able to see the entire frame through the viewfinder (which has been my experience with almost every Leica optical finder). I need not have worried - I can see the whole frame through the GF1's EVF, just as I can with the G1's. Also, the image is clear and smooth (unlike the pixelated EFV on the Richol GX100, which I didn't like at all). And I insist that yes, you can manual focus through it. The magnification works just as it does on the LCD, and if I - a nephew of Mr Magoo - can focus with it I'm darn sure you can. Best Iain.

 

[simonclivehughes]

Iain,

Thanks so much for your observations on this. I have the EVF on order and should have my GF1 today. I've been following this issue carefully as I can't stand holding a camera out in front of me. I was pretty convinced that the EVF would work given the fact that we were able to focus quite nicely with the Digilux 2 which had an EVF fairly similar in resolution.

Cheers,

 

[Streetshooter]

Is there a way to turn off the info in the finder?
Just wondering if ya can get a clean view.
Don

 

[RonSmith]

This all sounds very encouraging. :thumbup:

I should have my GF1 in the next week, and my EVF who knows when, but I am looking forward to using it with my Leica M lenses, as I have been doing with my G1.

As long as the image in the EVF is clear enough to be able to obtain sharp focus with manual lenses, it will be fine. I don't plan to use it to display slide shows for my friends.

 

[iainmurray]

Is there a way to turn off the info in the finder?
Just wondering if ya can get a clean view.
Don

Yes, you can turn off the information in the EVF, just as you can in the LCD itself. In fact, they both work together.

 

[iainmurray]

Iain,

Thanks so much for your observations on this. I have the EVF on order and should have my GF1 today. I've been following this issue carefully as I can't stand holding a camera out in front of me. I was pretty convinced that the EVF would work given the fact that we were able to focus quite nicely with the Digilux 2 which had an EVF fairly similar in resolution.

Cheers,

Thank you, Simon. I hope you will be as contented with the EFV as I am. Iain.

 

[Diane B]

All good. Thanks so much for elaborating. I wish they would show up in the US, but patience is a virtue---isn't it???? LOL.

Diane

 

[Ranger 9]

The magnification works just as it does on the LCD, and if I - a nephew of Mr Magoo - can focus with it I'm darn sure you can.

The great thing about the G1's internal EVF is that its sharpness and pixel count are so high that usually you can focus manually without resorting to the magnification (or at least I can.) I shot all the photos in this post using this technique, and think I pretty much nailed the focus on all of them -- with an f/1.1 lens -- so I'm reasonably confident in it.

How do you think you're doing with the GF1 EVF when you don't use the focus-assist feature? If you haven't tried it, maybe you could experiment a bit when you get the chance...?

The thing that interests me most about the GF1/EVF combo is the fact that the EVF tilts; I can think of a lot of situations in which holding the camera at chest level and looking down into the EVF (as you might do with a DSLR and right-angle finder attachment) would be handy and/or comfortable. If the EVF is good enough to allow manual focus without magnification when used this way, that would be a big point in the GF1's favor for me.

 

[barjohn]

I just received my EVF and here are my first impressions. The image is much better than I expected based on the specs. The resolution is good enough that you (I) must strain to see the pixels. I have looked at other EVFs like on the Canon Super Zooms and there the pixels are clearly evident, here they are not. The color and brightness appear to be very good and the information display matches the rear LCD. The diopter adjustment worked well. MF appears to be fairly easy both at first level magnification and second level. The tilt feature is super! All in all I am more pleased than I expected to be. While I no longer have my G1 to compare the two side by side, it appears to be very close and it is quick. The black out is identical to the rear LCD, which is a blink with auto review off. It isn't as high a resolution as the back LCD but from a practical standpoint it is close. The only time I see any LCD delay and I see the same delay on both the viewfinder and the rear LCD is in continuous shoot mode shooting RAW + JPG L, until the buffer is empty the LCD staggers (jumps from image to image) well behind where it is optically pointed. In single shot mode it is ready to go faster than I am.

Bottom line I think most of you will really like it and a few of you won't. I like it an it appears that it will do what I need it to do.

 

[simonclivehughes]

Good to hear, John, thanks!

Cheers,

 

[barjohn]

One more thing I just discovered. In very low light (f1.7, 1.6 sec exposure level) there is no real visible noise in the viewfinder and the image as seen through the viewfinder is much brighter than the image seen with the naked eye. It is almost like color night vision goggles. My memory could be playing tricks on me but my recollection on the G1 was that the image became very noisy and the color washed out to almost B&W. On this VF the color is reduced in this low light but still very visible. With the E-P1 in this low light level the noise level on the LCD was so bad as to make it barely viewable at all. Even at 5x magnification the noise is not sufficient to keep one from MF the lens. At 10x it is more visible but not to the point that I couldn't MF the lens.

If I am wrong on the G1, someone pipe in and correct me.

 

[Terry]

John,
I'm not sure if you are making use jealous or impatient. Waiting for mine to arrive but I have some time to wait as I didn't want to order from Japan.

terry

 

[Diane B]

John,
I'm not sure if you are making use jealous or impatient. Waiting for mine to arrive but I have some time to wait as I didn't want to order from Japan.

terry

Jealous :scry:--I decided after I said patience was a virtue earlier--that it isn't :ROTFL: :ROTFL:

 

[RonSmith]

Both.

 

[simonclivehughes]

Jealous :scry:--I decided after I said patience was a virtue earlier--that it isn't :ROTFL: :ROTFL:

Yes, maturity is sooooo boring... I want it NOW! :cussing:

Ciao,

 

[nei1]

A quote from the photographyblog review-
"Manual focus users need not apply though, as the resolution of the live view finder isn't high enough to allow for accurate focusing - thankfully the rear LCD screen is much better for this. Another downside of the GF1's EVF accessory occurs indoors in low light, as it has to "gain-up" to produce a usable picture, resulting in a noticeably grainier picture. Compared to the fantastic high-resolution electronic view finders of the G1 and GH1, this optional accessory trails in a rather distant last place."


http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/panasonic_lumix_dmc_gf1_review/

 

[barjohn]

Yes I read that blog but I have to disagree. I was a little wary in ordering it because of that particular blog post. I had the G1 and I had the E-P1 and while my recall on the G1 is from further back, I remember that in very low light it was very noisy though the scene was much brighter. It was the same on the rear LCD. However, compared to the E-P1 it was fantastic as the E-P1 screen in low light was unusable due to the high noise level. I was pleasantly surprised when I got the GF1 (before I got the EVF) at the low noise on the LCD in low light. The EVF has even surprised me more. I went to a camera store to look through an EVF for a different camera that had similar specs on resolution and the large pixels were very obvious so that was what I was expecting. I thought at the time, not very good, not sure if I can use this to MF but at least I can use it to frame when the LCD is washed out. Thus, I was greatly surprised that this EVF looked nothing like that. Sure it has pixels but they are tiny and the image very closely matches what you see on the rear LCD for quality. I think the G! viewfinder is probably larger and that may make it a little easier to use. I will be interested to read what some of you find when you get yours, especially those of you with a G1 or GH1. It could be my old brain isn't working as well as it should be.

 

[Ranger 9]

This guy doesn't like it either. And he has a blog! Everybody knows that the World Internet Council doesn't allow you to have a blog unless you are really smart and knowledgeable. So he must be right...

 

[Diane B]

This guy doesn't like it either. And he has a blog! Everybody knows that the World Internet Council doesn't allow you to have a blog unless you are really smart and knowledgeable. So he must be right...

I just read the blog--Ah--well, those of us that use the G1's very very good EVF know that often the colors are 'off'--that really doesn't bother me one bit. I already know what the colors are (and know the image will be 'correct'--whatever that is)--and I use a VF for composition and focusing. I'll have to see about the 'tunnel' vision, but mostly people who have used the G1 EVF have reasonably good things to say about the GF1 EVF--and those that have never used it don't.

I came from a 5D--and have used 1.6x bodies for years before the last 4 with the 5D. I didn't expect to 'like' an EVF but when I first tried it thought it was 'usable' and I'd compromise for the size/weight of the G1. Since then--I've learned to actually love the EVF. I miss it when I shoot with the 5D LOL. Who woulda' thunk?!? So--I'm much more likely to be open minded about the GF1's EVF because of my first dealings with the G1's. I DO NOT expect the same quality, but I am betting I can MF with it.

And--of course Ranger 9 is right---if you have a blog you HAVE to be smart and knowledgeable--and RIGHT. And--if you post a lot and have lots of cameras (or have had over the years, though you never keep one long), you must be the best person to opine about the GF1---of course (a reference to another forum--bad, I know, but I'm just tired--TIRED, I say, of reading things that seem more written to get attention than be useful :banghead:

Ah, rereading that last paragraph, I realize that's totally out of character for me on a forum--well, sometimes it just slips out :ROTFL::ROTFL::ROTFL: