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Checked out the GF1 @ Yodobashi today

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Phil Knall

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I stopped by Yodobashi Camera at lunchtime today, and they finally had the GF1 on display!

3 units (2 20mm kits of which only one had battery, 1 with the Macro) on a special display in the camera-specific store, and one in the general one that was so well hidden within the myriads of other cameras I had to ask where it was.

Generally, I was surprised it didn't get a bigger display, especially since the general store has "Lumix Fair" flags all over the outside - maybe something bigger is planned and didn't get done in time? Kind of a pity, didn't garner the attention it deserves.

My purely subjective impressions:
(+) nice and solid feel, felt a bit lighter than the E-P1

(-) but looks chunkier from above because of the slightly curved top plate on the E-P1

(+) very fast AF with the pancake (almost as fast as a "regular" DSLR, and fast enough for any event I can imagine) - mind you it was a brightly lit store though.
(+) nice, hi-res lcd

(-) lcd is smaller and a tad more reflective than the E-P1's (a nuisance when taking near waist-level shots, which I enjoy doing with the E-P1)

(-) EVF felt very lo-res, and had a bad refresh rate (which might be because of the fluorescent lighting). I wouldn't be inclined to use it.

(-) The grip wasn't as nice as I thought, especially on the glossy white finish. I like the E-P1's better (obviously a matter of personal taste)

(+) the flash construction is ingenious, feels very solid, and got a lot of attention from people trying it out. (lots of oohs and aahs)

I also tried out the 20mm pancake on my E-P1, it's pretty much flush with the bottom of the camera when installed, but does look very big compared to the Oly pancake. I felt that it focused slightly faster - zoomed "down" from a certain point and stopped pretty much instantly at the proper spot, without the excessive-feeling "hunting" that the Oly lenses do.

Still on the fence on whether to get the pancake - detracts a lot from the retro appearance of the E-P1 and makes it look larger and kind of unwieldly. Will have to check out the (rather hastily taken) pictures tonight and see how the quality is.

Anyone else played with the new toys today?
 
Phil Knall said:
Still on the fence on whether to get the pancake - detracts a lot from the retro appearance of the E-P1 and makes it look larger and kind of unwieldly.
Click to expand...


--
-CW

よしよし、今日も生きのいい魂が手に入ったな
 
Thanks for the illustration. Again, just my personal opinion. It doesn't have the same "natural part of the camera" feel that the silver Oly pancake has. (and I really dislike the grey ring with the big gold mm lettering between lens and mount)

Here's one I took, obviously not set up as nice as yours (hurried lunchbreak, several people eyeing me suspiciously...)

 
Brian Mosley said:
Appreciate your impressions... did you get a sense of how well the LCD was visible from extreme angles - important for waist level shooting.
Click to expand...
It looked just as good as the E-P1's, plus the added resolution. However, it looked more reflective to me, didn't allow quite the same angle (I was wearing a white shirt).
 
I picked up the 20mm F1.7 pancake lens this morning and have it mounted on my GH1.

I agree that it focuses quicker than the Olympus pancake lens with less hunting. Quick shots around Akihabara show are very sharp with minimal purple fringing.

It's a little noisier than I expected and the focus motor noise -will- get picked up by the GH1's internal microphone in a quiet environment.

But overall very happy with this lens. I should have played with the GF1 too... but I was so excited about the pancake lens that I forgot about the camera!
 
Phil Knall said:
I also tried out the 20mm pancake on my E-P1, it's pretty much flush with the bottom of the camera when installed, but does look very big compared to the Oly pancake. I felt that it focused slightly faster - zoomed "down" from a certain point and stopped pretty much instantly at the proper spot, without the excessive-feeling "hunting" that the Oly lenses do.

Still on the fence on whether to get the pancake - detracts a lot from the retro appearance of the E-P1 and makes it look larger and kind of unwieldly. Will have to check out the (rather hastily taken) pictures tonight and see how the quality is.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that part. Interests me a lot as I feel it's making the 17mm 2.8 redundant even if these 3 millimetres will probably be missed.
 
Phil Knall said:
Thanks for the illustration. Again, just my personal opinion. It doesn't have the same "natural part of the camera" feel that the silver Oly pancake has.
Click to expand...
It doesn't look like the greatest matchup externally... is the focus silent? Maybe the linear motor (or whatever Panny is using with these m43 lenses) caused the increase in diameter?
Phil Knall said:
(and I really dislike the grey ring with the big gold mm lettering between lens and mount)
Click to expand...
I think the first images I saw were of the lens mounted on the GF1 "gray/silver" body and I thought "nice match there, but what about the rest?"
Phil Knall said:
Here's one I took, obviously not set up as nice as yours (hurried lunchbreak, several people eyeing me suspiciously...)
Click to expand...
Well "my" setup was just lifted from the dc.watch preview last week ;)

--
-CW

よしよし、今日も生きのいい魂が手に入ったな
 
Phil Knall said:
I also tried out the 20mm pancake on my E-P1, it's pretty much flush with the bottom of the camera when installed, but does look very big compared to the Oly pancake. I felt that it focused slightly faster - zoomed "down" from a certain point and stopped pretty much instantly at the proper spot, without the excessive-feeling "hunting" that the Oly lenses do.

Still on the fence on whether to get the pancake - detracts a lot from the retro appearance of the E-P1 and makes it look larger and kind of unwieldly. Will have to check out the (rather hastily taken) pictures tonight and see how the quality is.
Click to expand...
It's really amazing, those Panasonic guys do have a talent for making things that are only slightly bigger (63mm diameter / 25mm thickness vs. 57mm / 22m) look muuch fatter. I do hope that the gain in IQ and versatility makes up for the esthetic loss (I did cancel my Oly 17mm order in favor of the fat Panny..). Or you need one pancake for going out and one for the real low light and DOF control situations..

Does the Panny pancake stick out at the bottom of the E-P1? Hard to tell from the pictures.
 
Brian Mosley said:
Why it has to have so much plastic around the lens element? that's one fat pancake!

Thanks for the illustration.
Click to expand...
-- You probably already know why and in a previous posts I believe you indicated wanting to try the 20/1.7 on your EP1? Most reviewers are predicting that the 20/1.7 having higher IQ not to mention better build and isn't it plastic all around the 14/2.8 too?

In your comments on another thread on this forum you noted in your opinion that AF speeds (slower) on EP1 were 75% related to the design of its kit lenses and only 25% correctable in firmware software. Well those design compromises were for the sake of size and form factor for the EP1, so don't criticise Panosonic for not going the same route while at same time lamenting the lack of higher grade and faster lenses from Oly.

The 1.5 stops faster lens on the 20/1.7 lens as compared to 17.2.8 would require a lens element roughly 150% larger in area for one reason but not the primary one? Secondly the 20/1.7 has a larger faster focusing motor which takes more space. A third reason would be economics keeping the outer barrel size roughly the same for most of Panys m4/3 compact lenses. Surely a Oly quality lens of similar speed would be of similar size.

safaridon
 
Probably the mechanism for the in-len IS too.
 
Some or none of your thoughts may be true. You can see the largest lens element (only a fraction of which is hidden by the lens structure) and there's no obvious reason that the lens diameter has to be so large. The reasons may be related to engineering, to economy or even styling, but short of facts theories are just guesses.

--
BJ Nicholls
SLC, UT
 
BJN said:
Some or none of your thoughts may be true. You can see the largest lens element (only a fraction of which is hidden by the lens structure) and there's no obvious reason that the lens diameter has to be so large. The reasons may be related to engineering, to economy or even styling, but short of facts theories are just guesses.
Click to expand...
-- Not sure which post you are referring to in the above but maybe mine. Pany may also be using a uniform larger diameter for economic reasons so potential future fast primes down to F1.4 could also fit into the same barrel size. Even at present sizes these m4/3 lenses are smaller than their 4/3 counterparts.

safaridon
 
nniko said:
Does the Panny pancake stick out at the bottom of the E-P1? Hard to tell from the pictures.
Click to expand...
I couldn't tell for sure either as they all had that alarm collar, but it looked that way, by a mm or two. One of the clerks told me it would, too. Not a dealbreaker for me, but definitely a nuisance.

Oh btw, I asked the clerk about a hood, and he confirmed that there is none included or available for this lens!
 
The E-P1 + 20mm will be a killer combo. Doesn't seem to be any thicker than the 17mm.
 
Bryan Biggers said:
Well, I'd still like to get one anyway ha. Somehow I was under the impression that all MFT Panny lenses had IS.
Click to expand...
Panasonic mFT lenses are:

Lumix G Vario 7-14/4
Lumix G Vario 14-45/3.5-5.6 ASPH OIS
Lumix G Vario HD 14-140/4-5.8 ASPH OIS
Lumix G 20/1.7 ASPH
Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45/2.8 ASPH OIS
Lumix G Vario 45-200/4-5.6 OIS

Four out of six aint bad. ;-)
Bryan Biggers said:
... Probably not really needed too much on a lens of that focal length and as fast as it is.
Click to expand...
Yup.
--
Godfrey
http://godfreydigiorgi.posterous.com
 
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