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David Pogue on the Panasonic GI

OK, now I´ve come to p. 72 in the manual, and there it is:

"∫Move the AF area easily while taking pictures
When the [DIRECTAFAREA] (P108) in the [CUSTOM MENU] menu is set to [ON] while
[Ø] is selected, it is possible to move the AF area directly with 3/4/2/1.
It is also possible to change the size of AF area by rotating the front dial in the screen to
set the position.
•[SENSITIVITY] (P80), [Fn BUTTON SET] (P31), [AFMODE] (P70), or [WHITE BALANCE]
(P77) cannot be set with 3/4/2/1. Make the setting with the quick menu (P30)."

So that´s it. Once Direct Af area is selected, the 4-way controller is dedicated to it. The functions normally assigned must be reached via the quick menu.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Per, Sorry for the cryptic post. Now, try the same thing with the focus set to MF.

When you hit the menu/set button, it magnifies the area to the full screen so that you can make use of that function for precise focusing! An astounding feature.:)

Under my settings, with AFC or AFS this does not work. Mine has been in MF most of the time.
 
Yep, it works! And, by rotating the front wheel, one can get even more magnification.

My newly discovered favourite is the AF+MF option (bottom of Custom Menu p 3). When activated (and AFS set), the camera can focus, and while holding the focus (via half press, or AF lock), I can turn the focussing ring on the lens. Voilà: enlarged view, and a chance to fine-adjust focus manually, just like the best Canon and Nikon lenses (only far easier to really see what´s sharp). Invaluable when shooting portaits, and AF gets the ears sharp instead of the eyes...

Afraid we´ve taken this thread far from David Pogue now...:rolleyes: But, at least it was you who made the original post...
 

Brian Mosley

New member
Per, Vivek - if you'll add your observations to our G1 diary you can be sure that our report will reach the widest possible audience... not only here but to our 1000+ report subscribers.

I was out today with the G1 and E-3, just about to write up the experience for our team review, but here are some snapshots for GetDPI

Panasonic G1 + 14-45 OIS
1/50s f/8.0 at 14.0mm iso100


Bottom right corner crop 1:1


Centre crop 1:1


Olympus E-3 + ZD 9-18mm
1/125s f/6.3 at 9.0mm iso100


Bottom right corner crop 1:1


Centre crop 1:1


The 9-18 right corner crop is a bit disappointing to be honest - I think it's out of focus rather than being soft. Here's another example.

E-3 + ZD 9-18
1/160s f/6.3 at 10.0mm iso100


Bottom right corner crop 1:1


And finally, the G1 from the same position :

G1 + 14-45mm OIS
1/320s f/8.0 at 14.0mm iso100


Bottom right corner crop 1:1


Kind Regards

Brian
 

scho

Well-known member
Brian,

Very nice comparison shots of the G1 with the E-3. Did you shoot these in raw and process with SilkyPix? The next version (available in a few days) of Raw Developer will have support for G1 raw files if you want an alternative raw processor.

Carl
 

Terry

New member
Brian,

Very nice comparison shots of the G1 with the E-3. Did you shoot these in raw and process with SilkyPix? The next version (available in a few days) of Raw Developer will have support for G1 raw files if you want an alternative raw processor.

Carl
Hi Carl...
I saw your post over at DPReview on the G1. It is nice to be able to put names together when I looked at your picture link and realized you had posted over here.
 

scho

Well-known member
Yep, it works! And, by rotating the front wheel, one can get even more magnification.

My newly discovered favourite is the AF+MF option (bottom of Custom Menu p 3). When activated (and AFS set), the camera can focus, and while holding the focus (via half press, or AF lock), I can turn the focussing ring on the lens. Voilà: enlarged view, and a chance to fine-adjust focus manually, just like the best Canon and Nikon lenses (only far easier to really see what´s sharp). Invaluable when shooting portaits, and AF gets the ears sharp instead of the eyes...

Afraid we´ve taken this thread far from David Pogue now...:rolleyes: But, at least it was you who made the original post...
Per,

Thanks for pointing out the AF+MF option. Very nice for fine tuning AF and it works well.

Carl
 

scho

Well-known member
Hi Carl...
I saw your post over at DPReview on the G1. It is nice to be able to put names together when I looked at your picture link and realized you had posted over here.
Hi Terry,

Yes, that was me. Have you settled in on the west coast now or are you back in NY again?

Regards,
Carl
 

Terry

New member
Hi Terry,

Yes, that was me. Have you settled in on the west coast now or are you back in NY again?

Regards,
Carl
I'm back in NY until tomorrow morning :ROTFL:. I will be bouncing back and forth through the end of the year. I did manage to find an apartment last weekend which I get mid December so I won't be really "settled" until the holidays. I've lived in SF before so it isn't a brand new city to me.

I hope you are enjoying your G1. Perhaps on Sunday I will be able to get out and shoot for a bit.

terry
 

Martin S

New member
Thanks Per for the clarification. It would seem more logical if once the focus position was in place, a simple press of the set button would fix it, and return the regular functions of the 4 way controller.
But such are the little idiosyncrasies of a new camera body.

Hope to do some shooting today if doesn't rain too often.

Thanks again.


Martin
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Per, Vivek - if you'll add your observations to our G1 diary you can be sure that our report will reach the widest possible audience... not only here but to our 1000+ report subscribers.
Brian
Brian, As is evident from this thread, I am not all that good at spelling out things clearly. I am yet to get a larger print out of the camera manual. Please feel free to quote any of my posts from here if you feel that would be useful. As such, I have my plate full with my projects.:)
 

Brian Mosley

New member
Brian,

Very nice comparison shots of the G1 with the E-3. Did you shoot these in raw and process with SilkyPix? The next version (available in a few days) of Raw Developer will have support for G1 raw files if you want an alternative raw processor.

Carl
Thanks Carl, I shoot RAW and process in Silkypix before finishing scaling/sharpening in LightZone... I'm OK with Silkypix for now, at least until Bibble V5 is released.

I imagine Qimage Studio will also support the G1 before long.

Kind Regards

Brian
 

Brian Mosley

New member
Thanks Vivek - maybe you can add a post to our team review with details of your converter project in due course? that would be very interesting!

Kind Regards

Brian
 
Per, Vivek - if you'll add your observations to our G1 diary you can be sure that our report will reach the widest possible audience... not only here but to our 1000+ report subscribers.
...
OK, my comments are up now. Hope you don´t think it´s too long and rambling....:rolleyes:

If it´s OK, I may write a follow-up once I get some more experience with the camera.

At least I have to say that this is NOT a typical "soccer mom´s camera", as has been stated somewhere; it is quite feature-rich and complicated to master (soccer mom:s, please forgive me if this sounds condescending; I use the term in the same figurative way as it was originally used).
 
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V

Vivek

Guest
It certainly is more than a P&S camera. The EVIL focusing (though it is first generation in a camera with interchangeable lenses) is bound to give a serious competition to the range finder cams with quite shutters.

Manual focusing accurately isn't as fast as a range finder (not surprising) but when time is not the factor, accurate (manual) focusing is possible.

Brian, As I said, I will post the adapter report here. We can mirror it in your site.
 

Martin S

New member
I just finished my first series of images (admittedly an overcast, almost rainy day).

The images were all autumn colored leaves. I was quite surprised that the colors were quite natural, and the image required almost NO post processing. Not like Canon!! The images were shot in RAW, opened in Silkypix, converted to tiff, opened in CS3, and printed. Silkypix is certainly a powerful program, but with a very different user interface as compared to CS3, or Lightroom. So for now, I will use simply use it to just crop, and then convert to tiff prior to export into (the more familiar) CS3, or Lightroom.

The images were sharp, and at ISO 400 had only a small amount of noise, even at 100%.

The only disappointment is the f 5.6 aperture at the telephoto end of the zoom range. I guess that some compromises had to be made for the lens size, and cost.

I will continue to shoot since the forecast for tomorrow is better.

Martin
 
I just finished my first series of images (admittedly an overcast, almost rainy day).

The images were all autumn colored leaves. I was quite surprised that the colors were quite natural, and the image required almost NO post processing.
Yes, I have the same impression. The colour rendering comes close to that of my Digilux 2 (and that´s top marks in my book, indeed). The bokeh of the kit lens isn´t up to Leica standards, however...

The images were shot in RAW, opened in Silkypix, converted to tiff, opened in CS3, and printed. Silkypix is certainly a powerful program, but with a very different user interface as compared to CS3, or Lightroom. So for now, I will use simply use it to just crop, and then convert to tiff prior to export into (the more familiar) CS3, or Lightroom.
...
Carl wrote he does the same thing. That´s what I planned to do initially, but the 16 bit tif´s are just too big to do it with every image. Are you saving in 8 or 16 bit? And, if you stay with 8 bits, do you feel the improvement over camera jpeg´s is enough to be worth the extra work?

Boy, do I look forward to Adobe supporting the raw´s....:rolleyes:
 

Martin S

New member
Per

I work with 16 bit tiff's. I want to avoid any clipping with the conversion to 8 bit.

This camera is a joy to use. It seems to handle very much like a P+S, but has DSLR type results.

Still a bit to learn with the menu selections, but I think that I have them selected.

I hope to use the camera a lot more tomorrow (Sunday). Telephoto lens, and 4/3 adapter will in the U.S. available soon.


It sems like the Leica to m 4/3 converter will be available in late Dec. Now, that sounds like a real interesting possibilty.

Martin
 
Per

I work with 16 bit tiff's. I want to avoid any clipping with the conversion to 8 bit.

This camera is a joy to use. It seems to handle very much like a P+S, but has DSLR type results.

Still a bit to learn with the menu selections, but I think that I have them selected.

I hope to use the camera a lot more tomorrow (Sunday). Telephoto lens, and 4/3 adapter will in the U.S. available soon.


It sems like the Leica to m 4/3 converter will be available in late Dec. Now, that sounds like a real interesting possibilty.

Martin
OK, guess I have to bite the sour grapes and make room for the big tif´s...:(

Indeed, it is mostly a nice camera to use (except in the cold...). But I´d really like a faster lens! I wonder if the Oly 50/2 Macro is one of the 4/3 lenses that will auto-focus properly with an adapter? If so, that would be a VERY useful complement to the 20/1.7 pancake that´s coming up.
 
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