Testing the G1. Tips?

[Rawfa]

I just got a Pana G1 test unit that I will keep for a few days and I was hoping for some quick advice on how to maximize it's potential so that I can get everything I may out of it. One doubt that I have straight away is how to use manual lenses with it. I've put a pentax 50mm on it via adapter and the camera told me to check if the lens was well locked or something like that.

 

[kevinparis]

rafa

dont have a g1 .. but do recall people saying that you have to set a menu to say 'don't confirm lens' or something when you are using manual lenses

cheers

K

 

[Terry]

First up you need to go into the menus and the one with a C and a wrench (for custom setup). The last option on the last page you need to set "shoot without lens" to "on".

This will allow you to use whatever lenses you want. No need to set it back to off. The camera knows what to do. To manually focus the lens, go to MF and then you are in manual focus. If you hit the left arrow key you can move the focus point around. then when you hit the center (menu/set) you will have an enlarged view of the focus area to fine tune your focus.

Do you have the manual with the camera. At the beginning this will be useful.

 

[m3photo]

Re: Manual Lenses

Press the Menu button and on the left there are several icons, go down to the second one (it's a C with a spanner) called the Custom Menu look for "Shoot W/O Lens" which is at the very end on "page" 5. Click it to "On". You can then forget about it because it won't affect the kit lenses, but it must be on for the camera to accept third party lenses such as your Pentax.
For manual focus assist press the left arrow then the Menu button in quick succession, it's clumsy at first but then you almost roll your thumb across the two buttons without hardly thinking about it. Remember to open up the diaphragm for precise focussing and then stop down to whatever you're using, otherwise you're focussing "stopped down" and apart from a darker viewfinder it's not going to be that exact.

Terry beat me to it. Naturally, she says "wrench" where I say "spanner" but you get the idea!

 

[Jonathon Delacour]

...To manually focus the lens, go to MF and then you are in manual focus. If you hit the left arrow key you can move the focus point around. then when you hit the center (menu/set) you will have an enlarged view of the focus area to fine tune your focus.

Do you have the manual with the camera. At the beginning this will be useful.

Am I correct in assuming that for manual focus legacy lenses, it doesn't matter whether the Focus Mode Dial is set to AF-S, AF-C, or M? I use Leica M-mount and Pen F lenses almost exclusively with my G1 and can't see that the Focus Mode Dial setting makes any difference with these lenses. I've always thought that its main purpose is to allow one to manually focus the AF Panasonic and Olympus lenses.

Also, a PDF of the manual can be downloaded from this link. Just enter "DMCG1K" into the Enter Model Number field and click the Search button.

 

[Terry]

Hey Jonathan - my bad. I haven't put a MF lens on the G1 in a while.

 

[Jonathon Delacour]

Hey Jonathan - my bad. I haven't put a MF lens on the G1 in a while.

Terry, I wasn't suggesting any "badness" on your part. I was more wondering whether -- as a newbie G1 user -- I'd missed something, given that I haven't put an AF lens on my G1 in a while.

Well, that's not strictly true. I did use the 14-45 kit zoom in order to figure out the G1's menus and controls when I first got the camera. And I put it back on again briefly a couple of weeks ago then immediately realized how much I hated it. In fact, in the forty years since I first started photographing, I can't recall a lens I've disliked more than the Panny 14-45.

I do have very high hopes for the 20/1.7 and the 45/2.8 though. And perhaps the 14/2.8 that's on the roadmap. Those three lenses might persuade me to spend some of my time in AF-land. But not all of it.

 

[lcubed]

Am I correct in assuming that for manual focus legacy lenses, it doesn't matter whether the Focus Mode Dial is set to AF-S, AF-C, or M? I use Leica M-mount and Pen F lenses almost exclusively with my G1 and can't see that the Focus Mode Dial setting makes any difference with these lenses. I've always thought that its main purpose is to allow one to manually focus the AF Panasonic and Olympus lenses.

if the focus mode isn't set to MF, you can't invoke the manual focus assist with legacy lenses by
hitting the left arrow, then the center button.

 

[monza]

Actually, the focus mode can be set to any setting if there is a legacy lens on the camera. Pressing left arrow, then center button will activate the focus assist.

 

[Jonathon Delacour]

if the focus mode isn't set to MF, you can't invoke the manual focus assist with legacy lenses by
hitting the left arrow, then the center button.

Well, on my G1 -- with Pen F, Leica M, or Nikon F lenses mounted -- manual focus assist can be invoked ("by hitting the left arrow, then the center button") no matter what option is selected on the Focus Mode Dial.

I suspect what you mean is what I said in my earlier comment, that the MF setting on the mode dial is used to enable manual focus for AF lenses. In which case, it can be invoked either via the left cursor button or by rotating the focusing ring on the lens.

Ah, monza got there first.

 

[Rawfa]

Thanks guys. 2 more questions.
1 - How go I get the LCD monitor to display exactly what the photo will be like? At the moment I can adjust iso, shutter and the image on the LCD is always the same.
2 - How can I make the light meeter be "always live". At the moment I only get readings when I half press the shutter button, but I want the light meeter to be constantly updating the reading as I move the camera or adjust the settings.

 

[Terry]

Thanks guys. 2 more questions.
1 - How go I get the LCD monitor to display exactly what the photo will be like? At the moment I can adjust iso, shutter and the image on the LCD is always the same.
2 - How can I make the light meeter be "always live". At the moment I only get readings when I half press the shutter button, but I want the light meeter to be constantly updating the reading as I move the camera or adjust the settings.

1. The screen will gain up so that isn't what you need to rely on. You really need to turn on and use the histogram. But also get yourself familiar with the white vs. yellow histogram. When it is white the camera is capturing what you see but when you dial in EV etc the histo will turn yellow. A bit of reading up on this will be useful to you. While you may think it silly that the screen gains up, in some low light situations you will be happy.

2. It isn't always live like you said. I don't know any cameras that are or you would be eating batteries and your camera would go nuts as you carried it around pointed it in all different directions.

 

[Rawfa]

So, there's no way to use the LCD like you do when you're shooting with a compact? A "what you see is what you get" type of deal? With such an amazing LCD like this there has to be a way to set it to work like this. Since this is trial unit I don't have a the manual but I'm going to look for a PDF around to see if it is possible to get it to work like this.

 

[Terry]

The pdf link is above in this thread.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean. Yes you can use the LCD like you do when using a compact. The scene as a whole will be what you see is what you get. The LCD is not going to alter the shadow vs highlight area although the LCD will keep the scene brighter so you can see on the LCD what's going on. Can you better describe the issue you are having?

 

[Rawfa]

What I mean is that with the E-P1 you can select if you want the camera's lcd to be always bright so you know what's going on or if you want the light to be "exactly" like it is (if you point the camera to a dark place it will show you dark, if you move it from that place to a lighter place it will show you lighter). So far with the G1 the lcd is always bright no matter where I point it. I went over the PDF and I could not find anything, but I’m sure there has to be a setting to change this. Does anyone know?

 

[Rawfa]

I think I've got it. Could it be this?:

"[LCD MODE]
These menu settings make it easier to see the LCD monitor when
you are in bright places.
[OFF]
„ [AUTO POWER LCD]:
The brightness is adjusted automatically depending on how bright
it is around the camera.
… [POWER LCD]:
The LCD monitor becomes

• The brightness of the pictures displayed on the LCD monitor is increased so some subjects
may appear differently from actuality on the LCD monitor. However, this does not affect the
recorded pictures.
• The LCD monitor automatically returns to normal brightness after 30 seconds when recording
in Power LCD mode. Press any button to make the LCD monitor bright again.
• If the screen is difficult to see because of light from the sun etc. shining on it, use your hand or
another object to block the light.
• The number of recordable pictures decreases in Auto power LCD and Power LCD modes.
"

 

[Rawfa]

Nope...tried it over lunch and this is not it. I'll try to film the G1's LCD with the E-P1 to show you.

 

[pellicle]

why not just take some photos with it?

 

[Vivek]

What was this thread about, Rafa?

 

[Rawfa]

What was this thread about, Rafa?

It was about love but it's quickly turning into hate. Hahaha just kidding, fellas. It's always love with me.