Samples from E-P1 plus Zeiss 50mm ZF f/2

[peterm1]

I received the Fotodiox Nikon to 4/3 and Panasonic 4/3 to micro 4/3 adapters today and immediately put my Zeiss 50mm ZF f/2 makro on the E-P1 using them. I have posted samples at the following url (one of the samples is from the 28mm ZF f/2).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35213554@N08/sets/72157621255230580/

I am extremely impressed by the E-P1 with these lenses. These were all JPEGs taken with little knowledge of how to use the E-P1 (I still have a lot to learn regarding how the various menus work). Manual focusing with these lenses is a breeze with the magnified live view, although it's not easy to always get to the screen where you can activate the magnified live view (I would have to scroll through the screens using the Info button, and then press the OK button on the screen where the green focusing square appears). With the kit lens, I just set my fn button to activate manual focus and the screen would automatically enlarge when I was focusing, but I couldn't do this with the Zeiss manual focus lenses.

I am thinking about getting the Voigtlander 20 or 40 pancake lenses for a more compact setup....

I have a feeling my D700 may be sitting in a closet for a while...

Peter

 

[Terry]

Huh! Silly me I should have kept my 40mm pancake lens that I had for Nikon. What a gem of a lens.

 

[sc_john]

Peter,

Thanks for posting ZF samples. I also recently purchased E-P1, and have ordered a RayQual Nikon-M4/3 adapter, specifically for using my ZF28 and ZF50 with E-P1. From your samples it looks like the "Zeiss look" (color, contrast, "dimensionality") come through on the E-P1.

LOL about your menu comments; I'm having the same issue. I think the E-P1 is more complex to set-up than a Nikon D3!

John

 

[ddk]

A Question?

How difficult or easy is manual focusing with the EP-1 and fast moving targets like children compared to a d700 or other dslrs?

 

[peterm1]

I shoot my active seven year old daughter a lot, and for when she is running around I much prefer using AF (either the kit lens or my Nikon D700). The problem is that when you use manual focusing with a non-AF lens on the E-P1 and magnify the view, it's takes a second to focus, plus you have to push a button to zoom out again to see what your framing looks like. It's a bit easier with the kit lens, since it automatically zooms in for manually focusing.

However, if my daughter is far enough away and I am stopped down a bit so I have more depth of field, I can shoot her running around even with a manual focus lens (within limits). I have to say, I never used face detection before and it works great with the kit lens in AF mode.

I just ordered the Voigtlander 40mm Ultron f/2 to use on the E-P1 - it should make a great portrait length lens in a really nice small package. Plus I can use it on my D700 when I want the smallest possible set up (could be good for street shooting).

I was also looking at the Voigtlander 20mm pancake, but the mediocre reviews, high price, and lack of AF is steering me in the direction of the Oly 17mm pancake.

Peter