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Getting to know the G3

M

mountainjoe

Member
Just got my G3 from Panasonic Direct - finally!

One of my concerns before buying this camera was whether I would miss the automatic LCD/EVF switchover but I thought it wouldn't be such a big deal as I mainly use EVF mode anyway and don't chimp that much.

What I didn't expect is that the lack of automatic switchover creates an issue with the EVF as follows:

If I leave my camera in my bag ready to shoot (ie camera ON and lens cap removed) and whip it out to take a photo, the EVF will "white out" for a few seconds before you can see anything.

This seems to be a repercussion of the EVF gaining up while in the bag since it sees very little light. Once you pull out the camera into proper light, it takes the EVF a while to gain back down to a viewable level. This creates a significant lag when you sometimes need to shoot something that is moving or a scene that is transient in nature.

This does not happen on the G1 where the camera will automatically switch over to LCD mode when thrown into my bag - so the EVF does not gain itself up.

My guess is Panasonic did not envision this problem happening - that or they simply did not think most folks would run into this or care if they did.

The workaround to this would be to leave the camera in LCD and have to press the EVF button when you need the camera - but this also involves a delay (though maybe less than the EVF issue presents). I suppose you could leave the camera in image preview mode and then only need to half press the shutter release button to get back to the EVF but I am not sure what happens when the camera is left in image preview for an extended period of time - will have to experiment with this...

Anyone else experience this problem? Has anyone thought of a good workaround?

Cheers,
 
M

mountainjoe

Member
TEBnewyork said:
What about sleep mode? Is the camera never going to sleep in your bag?
Click to expand...
Haven't got to that point yet - still shooting at lots of things so the camera hasn't been idle long enough to go to sleep ;-)

The problem would still exist during the interval before going to sleep.

I suppose the easy answer is not to put it in the bag - but sometimes, that is how I work.
 
P

Pelao

New member
mountainjoe said:
Just got my G3 from Panasonic Direct - finally!

One of my concerns before buying this camera was whether I would miss the automatic LCD/EVF switchover but I thought it wouldn't be such a big deal as I mainly use EVF mode anyway and don't chimp that much.

What I didn't expect is that the lack of automatic switchover creates an issue with the EVF as follows:

If I leave my camera in my bag ready to shoot (ie camera ON and lens cap removed) and whip it out to take a photo, the EVF will "white out" for a few seconds before you can see anything.

This seems to be a repercussion of the EVF gaining up while in the bag since it sees very little light. Once you pull out the camera into proper light, it takes the EVF a while to gain back down to a viewable level. This creates a significant lag when you sometimes need to shoot something that is moving or a scene that is transient in nature.

This does not happen on the G1 where the camera will automatically switch over to LCD mode when thrown into my bag - so the EVF does not gain itself up.

My guess is Panasonic did not envision this problem happening - that or they simply did not think most folks would run into this or care if they did.

The workaround to this would be to leave the camera in LCD and have to press the EVF button when you need the camera - but this also involves a delay (though maybe less than the EVF issue presents). I suppose you could leave the camera in image preview mode and then only need to half press the shutter release button to get back to the EVF but I am not sure what happens when the camera is left in image preview for an extended period of time - will have to experiment with this...

Anyone else experience this problem? Has anyone thought of a good workaround?

Cheers,
Click to expand...
Interesting. In the GF1 and attached EVF I have basically the same sat-up, and I don't have this problem. But this is primarily because I work differently. If I am walking around with any intention of shooting I have the camera in hand, usually on a wrist strap. If I do put it into the bag, it's always on occasion when it has enough time to go to sleep.

It would be tedious for me to be constantly reaching into my bag, but of course we each work differently.
 
M

mach330

New member
awesome pix. how's the af? how quick is it compare to other mft? is it that much quicker over the g2? compareable with gh2?
 
ustein

ustein

Contributing Editor
mach330 said:
awesome pix. how's the af? how quick is it compare to other mft? is it that much quicker over the g2? compareable with gh2?
Click to expand...
These wer all shot MF with the 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 43 Olympus zoom (with slow AF). With the picture-in-picture magnification MF is nice.
 
D

Diane B

New member
All really nice. Such a nice eye for finding these insignificant details with stories of their own.

Diane
 
P

Pelao

New member
Uwe,

great shots as usual.

How do you find the handling of the G3?

I handled it briefly (20 - 30 minutes) at a trade show and was able to configure the Fn buttons the way I like them. I liked the camera, and am considering a purchase.
 
ustein

ustein

Contributing Editor
Pelao said:
Uwe,

great shots as usual.

How do you find the handling of the G3?

I handled it briefly (20 - 30 minutes) at a trade show and was able to configure the Fn buttons the way I like them. I liked the camera, and am considering a purchase.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I like the G3 a lot. Except of the missing eye sensor to switch EVF/LCD there is not much to complain.
 
Terry

Terry

New member
I like the plane shot a lot. Looks like the owner is meticulous with maintenance. Hopefully you were able to do some flying....
 
ustein

ustein

Contributing Editor
TEBnewyork said:
I like the plane shot a lot. Looks like the owner is meticulous with maintenance. Hopefully you were able to do some flying....
Click to expand...
This is a fully rebuilt machine from 1943. No flying today, was bit windy.

> Looks like the owner is meticulous with maintenance.

All the ones I know are.
 
C

curious80

Guest
Great shots ustein!

I tried the G3 at a store yesterday and was pretty frustrated by the absence of the eye sensor for switching LCD/EVF. Take a shot, then try to review at the LCD - nops there is no image there. Take a shot then try to change some settings - nops there is nothing on the LCD to allow changing the settings. OK, so I switch to LCD, change the settings, and lift the camera to the eye to take a picture - aaargh there is no view in the viewfinder.

I was fairly interested in G3 but having serious doubts now. Are you G3 users finding that you get used to this explicit need to switch? Looks to me that I can never get used to it and it will drive me crazy!
 
Terry

Terry

New member
curious80 said:
Great shots ustein!

I tried the G3 at a store yesterday and was pretty frustrated by the absence of the eye sensor for switching LCD/EVF. Take a shot, then try to review at the LCD - nops there is no image there. Take a shot then try to change some settings - nops there is nothing on the LCD to allow changing the settings. OK, so I switch to LCD, change the settings, and lift the camera to the eye to take a picture - aaargh there is no view in the viewfinder.

I was fairly interested in G3 but having serious doubts now. Are you G3 users finding that you get used to this explicit need to switch? Looks to me that I can never get used to it and it will drive me crazy!
Click to expand...
One issue can be solved with a menu setting. You can set the camera to LCD for playback. So, as soon as you press the review button it will auto switch from EVF to LCD and a tap on the shutter (taking you back to shooting mode) will take it back to EVF.

As for changing settings, I tend to do that on the EVF and know the buttons by feel. If you do need to take the camera from your eye for all settings you will get a bit frustrated by the lack of eye sensor.
 
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