Panasonic G2

Does anyone on the site use their's anymore? Mine has been relegated to the shelf since my GX7.

Owen

Owen wrote:

Does anyone on the site use their's anymore? Mine has been relegated to the shelf since my GX7.

Owen

Funny, I have been using my G2 a lot more lately after my GH3 decided to stop working. I could use my G3 but I prefer the handling of the G2 with more controls and better grip.

G1 had always been on my active list (had batteries charged and ready to go anytime) even a few later models (GF3 by the insurance compensation, GX1 a true upgrade, GX7 but was occupied by my wife) were bought after its accidental diving in a river.

One day (last year?), I picked it up for a short trip expected for a happy reunion.... What, couldn't go beyond ISO400? Why was it so heavy? Couldn't fit in my reduced size camera bag bought for GX1/7? No video? Lack of this and that? After returned home, it was cleaned, packed and displayed in the cupboard together with other retired cameras forever....

Owen wrote:

Does anyone on the site use their's anymore? Mine has been relegated to the shelf since my GX7.

Owen

Yes.

Why not? It still takes nice snaps.

BTW, I couldn't even give it away for free when I got my Pen F.      

Lena

Owen wrote:

Does anyone on the site use their's anymore? Mine has been relegated to the shelf since my GX7.

Owen

Why else would you have bought the GX7?

I used my G2 the last 4 weeks again, while my GX7 was in repair (thumb wheel didn't work any more).
I was amazed how great this old body is to handle, better than all other Panasonic bodies I know (G1, G3, Gx7) and much better than the EM5ii too,

Peter

I just sold it half a year ago for a new G7. It served me really well for 5 years!

I upgraded the G2 to G7. The G2 is the first camera, I wasn't able to sell, not even for

$ 100.00, I tried for a long time on Craigs and Kijiji. I had it for 5 years and it served me well. I dicided to keep it, in case the new one needs a repair. So far, I never had any camera repaired, lets hope my luck keeps up.

Teri

A very comfortable camera that I still use from time to time in good light with bigger lens.

F.

I just bought one yesterday on eBay! There was an auction from the Canadian camera shop Henry's (I think it's like Adorama and B&H in Canada, I only know of it due to the many reports of US DPR members buying from it when the USD-CAD exchange rate was favorable) that I had been watching for a few days. Like Adorama they offer 3 months of warranty with their used gear and they graded it and had extensive photos of its condition. It has barely been used: they listed the shutter count as just over 700 shots and it only has some light marks on the plastic body!

Anyway the highest bid was about $51, so I waited till the last half hour and then I set my maximum bid to $180 (based on other G2's on eBay without warranty I determined that this was about what it was worth to me) and the eBay bidding proxy automatically kept me on top. Going into the last minutes I was the highest bidder at $91, which is what I finally bought it for! Of course I still had to pay the shipping costs of $17, but still I feel like I got a great deal and this being my first eBay auction, I must admit it was a bit of a thrill too :-D.

I do not feel like buying a random used camera out of warranty without knowing even the shutter count and I could only find G1's and GH1's in my price range, which would have been an option, were it not for their front mounted dial. And I must say I think the touch screen is a very nice bonus feature, I expect it to be very useful for selecting the position of the AF rectangle. And after watching some videos of the menus on YouTube I might even use it for selecting the exposure parameters sometimes!

Now you may wonder why I decided to buy a G2 in what's almost 2017 ;-). The reason is that I have been wanting to upgrade from my XZ-1 1/1.63 inch compact camera for more than a year now. I have considered many different types of cameras and many different systems (I think all of them in fact! Canon EOS M, Canon EF(-S), M4/3, Sony E-mount, Fujifilm X, Sony A-mount, Nikon 1, Pentax Q, Nikon F, in order of how likely it was that I would have picked them from most likely to least likely ). I thought I had finally decided on a refurbished Canon EOS M3 when there was a great deal for one and it ticked virtually all of my boxes, but my order was cancelled because the kit I wanted turned out to be out of stock. After that I began to wonder again, whether I should still go for the M3. Due to an unexpected purchase, my budget also shrank a bit and I would be unable to purchase the EVF-DC1 accessory that was a must for me due to the frequent very bright sunlight in my new location :-). I decided to look for a cheaper option and naturally I was attracted to M4/3 again (M4/3 has always had a strange attraction to me, maybe it is because I have owned both Panasonic and Olympus cameras in the past or that I like that the lens mount has two OEM lens manufacturers. And the size definitely is a pro for me too).

My body of choice for M4/3 would be the GX85 because it finally implements an EFCS that eliminates shutter shock, has an EVF built-in and overall is a very nice body in my opinion. But obviously it is way too expensive for me right now. Going cheaper within M4/3 meant either going Olympus or buying a (potentially) shutter shock affected body or both. While I would really like to buy an E-M10 for example, the quality control problems that they seem to have scared me away in the end. So Panasonic it was. Within my price range were the G1, GH1, G2, G3 and G5 of the cameras that came with an EVF (yes, I could have bought a GF1, GF2 or GX1 and a LVF-2, but that would just have been silly cost wise). I decided to go for a cheaper body, so I could spend more on a lens and still have enough money left to buy a decent case to protect my investment. After all I am only buying this body as a temporary body until I can afford a more modern one. Because of this only the G1, GH1 and G2 were left and the G3 and G5 seem to be badly affected by shutter shock anyway, so they weren't that high on my list regardless of their prices. Because of the position of the dial on the G1/GH1, I decided on the G2. I have decided to pair the G2 with the Olympus 12-50 mm kit lens because of its affordability currently and its zoom range and dust sealing/internal zooming design. Yes, I know an Olympus lens will not be stabilized on an old Panasonic body, but to be sure to avoid shutter shock, I will not be shooting in the shutter speed range where IS is effective in this focal range anyway. And when I will be shooting below 1/30 s, I will use my tripod. And on top of all this, shutter speeds will be high anyway due to the bright sunlight over here generally, at least if I want to avoid diffraction. So why limit myself to Panasonic lenses? That said, I will of course when the time comes to upgrade to a newer body only consider those that are equipped with IBIS. But for now I will make do with this setup and I think it will still be a major improvement over my XZ-1 IQ-wise, while providing me with an EVF, a touch screen interface and a worry-free experience when visiting dusty environments!

Jurre van Wouw wrote:

I just bought one yesterday on eBay! There was an auction from the Canadian camera shop Henry's (I think it's like Adorama and B&H in Canada, I only know of it due to the many reports of US DPR members buying from it when the USD-CAD exchange rate was favorable) that I had been watching for a few days. Like Adorama they offer 3 months of warranty with their used gear and they graded it and had extensive photos of its condition. It has barely been used: they listed the shutter count as just over 700 shots and it only has some light marks on the plastic body!

Anyway the highest bid was about $51, so I waited till the last half hour and then I set my maximum bid to $180 (based on other G2's on eBay without warranty I determined that this was about what it was worth to me) and the eBay bidding proxy automatically kept me on top. Going into the last minutes I was the highest bidder at $91, which is what I finally bought it for! Of course I still had to pay the shipping costs of $17, but still I feel like I got a great deal and this being my first eBay auction, I must admit it was a bit of a thrill too :-D.

I do not feel like buying a random used camera out of warranty without knowing even the shutter count and I could only find G1's and GH1's in my price range, which would have been an option, were it not for their front mounted dial. And I must say I think the touch screen is a very nice bonus feature, I expect it to be very useful for selecting the position of the AF rectangle. And after watching some videos of the menus on YouTube I might even use it for selecting the exposure parameters sometimes!

Now you may wonder why I decided to buy a G2 in what's almost 2017 ;-). The reason is that I have been wanting to upgrade from my XZ-1 1/1.63 inch compact camera for more than a year now. I have considered many different types of cameras and many different systems (I think all of them in fact! Canon EOS M, Canon EF(-S), M4/3, Sony E-mount, Fujifilm X, Sony A-mount, Nikon 1, Pentax Q, Nikon F, in order of how likely it was that I would have picked them from most likely to least likely ). I thought I had finally decided on a refurbished Canon EOS M3 when there was a great deal for one and it ticked virtually all of my boxes, but my order was cancelled because the kit I wanted turned out to be out of stock. After that I began to wonder again, whether I should still go for the M3. Due to an unexpected purchase, my budget also shrank a bit and I would be unable to purchase the EVF-DC1 accessory that was a must for me due to the frequent very bright sunlight in my new location :-). I decided to look for a cheaper option and naturally I was attracted to M4/3 again (M4/3 has always had a strange attraction to me, maybe it is because I have owned both Panasonic and Olympus cameras in the past or that I like that the lens mount has two OEM lens manufacturers. And the size definitely is a pro for me too).

My body of choice for M4/3 would be the GX85 because it finally implements an EFCS that eliminates shutter shock,

Sorry to disappoint you, GX85 has a new design shutter but no EFCS. Its dslr form factor brother, G85 does offer EFCS supporting up to 1/2000".

has an EVF built-in and overall is a very nice body in my opinion. But obviously it is way too expensive for me right now. Going cheaper within M4/3 meant either going Olympus or buying a (potentially) shutter shock affected body or both.

Shutter shock is not a must and if you don't use the best lenses for the sharpest result, we might not notice its existence. It is also very combo dependence. 14-45 & 45-200 on G1 I hardly find evidence of shutter shock. GX1, a highly suspicious one, I rarely noted it also. 14-140 M2 on GX7 does show shutter shock easier (from my wife's experience a noticeable difference on e and m-shutter, but still not every time for me. Might also highly shooter related).

Since shutter shock never mean blurry (mostly slightly more soft than one without shutter shock), it should be better test on a tripod to eliminate any possible non relating factors to find that tiny difference...

While I would really like to buy an E-M10 for example, the quality control problems that they seem to have scared me away in the end.

Those are just a matter of small %.

So Panasonic it was. Within my price range were the G1, GH1, G2, G3 and G5 of the cameras that came with an EVF (yes, I could have bought a GF1, GF2 or GX1 and a LVF-2, but that would just have been silly cost wise). I decided to go for a cheaper body, so I could spend more on a lens and still have enough money left to buy a decent case to protect my investment. After all I am only buying this body as a temporary body until I can afford a more modern one. Because of this only the G1, GH1 and G2 were left and the G3 and G5 seem to be badly affected by shutter shock anyway, so they weren't that high on my list regardless of their prices. Because of the position of the dial on the G1/GH1, I decided on the G2. I have decided to pair the G2 with the Olympus 12-50 mm kit lens because of its affordability currently and its zoom range and dust sealing/internal zooming design. Yes, I know an Olympus lens will not be stabilized on an old Panasonic body, but to be sure to avoid shutter shock, I will not be shooting in the shutter speed range where IS is effective in this focal range anyway. And when I will be shooting below 1/30 s, I will use my tripod.

Dear friend, shutter shock (if there) won't be eliminated by a tripod.

And on top of all this, shutter speeds will be high anyway due to the bright sunlight over here generally, at least if I want to avoid diffraction. So why limit myself to Panasonic lenses?

If have not bought 12-50 yet, might be better looking for 14-45 which is OIS, and more recommended by members than 12-50. BTW, a weatherproof lens on non weatherproof G2 is meaningless.

That said, I will of course when the time comes to upgrade to a newer body only consider those that are equipped with IBIS. But for now I will make do with this setup and I think it will still be a major improvement over my XZ-1 IQ-wise, while providing me with an EVF, a touch screen interface and a worry-free experience when visiting dusty environments!

On G2, I might keep ISO low for better result. Enjoy your new toy.

First of all thanks for taking your time to reply. On the GX85 having an EFCS: I checked it and you are correct, my mistake, the shutter shock problem was eliminated by the new shutter design without an EFCS. Not that I'm really bothered by this, as long as it is guaranteed that I would not encounter shutter shock with that body ;).

Regarding using tripods not eliminating shutter shock: I know, but from what I have read shutter shock has never been spotted at 1/20 s or 1/10 s or below or above 1/400 s. And when I will mount the G2 to my tripod I will be shooting at 1/10 s or longer shutter speeds anyway for lowlight landscapes and additionally the lack of IS at these slow shutter speeds will not matter then.

I have considered the 14-45 mm like you suggested, but in the end decided that I will buy the Olympus for its range, price for a new copy and internal zooming design. I am not planning to use this combo in the pouring rain ;), but I still believe the dust sealing (to which the internal zoom further contributes) will be useful, because the lens will not suck in dust and this also helps avoid the G2's sensor getting dust on it in dusty conditions.

Thanks for your advice on keeping the ISO low, I know that the 12 MP sensor lacks the better high ISO performance and DR of the newer 16 and 20 MP sensors, but I still believe it will be a major improvement over the small 1/1.63" CCD sensor in my XZ-1, of which the design reportedly dates back to 2009!

Again thanks a lot for spending some of your time providing me with useful advice!

Thanks for your advice on keeping the ISO low, I know that the 12 MP sensor lacks the better high ISO performance and DR of the newer 16 and 20 MP sensors, but I still believe it will be a major improvement over the small 1/1.63" CCD sensor in my XZ-1, of which the design reportedly dates back to 2009!

Again thanks a lot for spending some of your time providing me with useful advice!

It will be much better, no contest at all. In fact, I think the 'bad' low light performance of the old 12mp sensor is overrated.  It's true, that at ISO1600 you can get nasty results sometimes, but it depends on the circumstances as well. However, I found that post-12mp-era cameras rises ISO much quicker than the old ones, and when I reach ISO1600 with my old cam, I am at 2500-3200 with the new one already.

Also, I found that the old Pana cams have beautiful rendering (G2 included). I prefer them to the 16mp era cams. The GX8 with the newest 20mp sensor seems to have a very good tonal response with smooth transitions, though.

So I think that you will be served by the G2 very well. Get some high quality primes (20mm f1.7, 15mm f1.7, 25mm f1.4, 45mm f1.8 or 42.5 f1.7 OIS), and enjoy photography!

Yes - I use a G2 regularly - why not?

So many enthusiasts think that they must have the latest camera, and will probably end up with a camera which tells them what to take photographs of!

Seriously though, the G2 does everything one needs, and more besides.  I use mine with Olympus lenses - the 12-40 f2.8 Pro, 75 mm f1.8, and the 12 mm f2.0.  I simply do not feel the need to spend money on a new body, which will not add anything useful to my repertoire.

I picked up my G2 the 24th from one of the 3(!) USPS locations I visited, but that's another story :-D... Suffice to say it surprised me by coming early, according to Canada Post tracking it was supposed to arrive tomorrow, which was already a pleasant surprise in itself, because eBay listed between the 28th and January 6. So of course I spent a few hours making it ready for use, I set every possible menu option just like how I wanted it and tested as much as possible without a lens.

Today I picked up the Olympus 12-50 mm EZ in a local camera store (I had originally ordered it at Adorama, but they cancelled the order because they did not trust the card, not feeling like wasting any time trying to solve that, I ran to Amazon which offered it at the same price, but ended up cancelling my order as well after a few-hour delay naturally...). They listed the 12-50 mm as costing $149.99, but after CA sales tax that became $194.99 (the salesman told me the State of California calculates sales tax *before* the (in this case $350! ) rebate due to widespread abuse of calculation after rebates with "free" cell phones). In the end I didn't save anything, but at least I got me 12-50 mmtoday without too much of a hassle :-D.

I tested the lens quickly to check that I at least did not get a total lemon, this did not go very smooth to be honest because I had never actually used neither the G2 for taking actual pictures nor any other ILC. The first hassle was of course getting the lens mounted :-|, I can tell you, I am very glad I did not go for the 20 mm pancake, because I have a feeling I would grab for my future 45-175 mm a lot more then and that would be awful. Maybe it will get better with practice, I am after all a bit clumsy, but it is a nightmare to get the thing mounted securely and I am a bit (probably unnecessarily) worried about damaging the sensor. I will definitely watch some YouTube videos on how to do it properly, because it is definitely harder than I thought...

Anyway, the next issue was navigating the exposure options of the G2, because I had obviously never done this before luckily I at least found out quickly how to raise the ISO value, which was rather necessary indoors with the unstabilized lens (to be honest I am looking forward to a future upgrade to a G85 with IBIS even more now when the price comes down a lot).

While on the topic, I must admit I was a little bit disappointed testing out the G2 indoors after dark with its new companion. In hindsight this was to be expected, because the lens of my XZ-1 was much brighter after all and I could not expect the larger size of the 12 MP M4/3 sensor to completely make up for this. Together with the lack of the IBIS (yes, you read that correctly, AFAIK the XZ-1, rather uniquely for a compact, does feature sensor based IS instead of the more common OIS) of the XZ-1 and the need to any possible shutter shock (I will be thoroughly testing my combination for this in the future), this resulted in less than stellar output. When I activated the built-in flash though things got a lot better, I have to admit I never used the flash on my XZ-1 ever. So that seems like a decent solution for the few times I will use it indoors. Outdoors this will be all be much less of an issue in sunny California or so I predict :-D. For those remaining edge cases like sunsets or night skies I have my excellent travel tripod which completely negates the lack of IS or the problem of the shutter shock SS range.

Tomorrow I will be doing some proper testing outdoors In the meantime I will be looking up how to switch my 12-50 to e-zoom, I at least want to have the option, and how to properly mount a M4/3 lens...

Loga wrote:

Also, I found that the old Pana cams have beautiful rendering (G2 included). I prefer them to the 16mp era cams. The GX8 with the newest 20mp sensor seems to have a very good tonal response with smooth transitions, though.

That is great to hear! Especially since I might skip the 16 MP era of cameras anyway, just saw the G85 is still 16 MP though, really thought it had the 20 MP of the GX8, the GX85 not having it I understand, but isn't the G85 the flagship? Anyway it will take a good while before the G85 or its successor enter my price range, so I will hopefully be enjoying the G2 for quite a while :-D.

So I think that you will be served by the G2 very well. Get some high quality primes (20mm f1.7, 15mm f1.7, 25mm f1.4, 45mm f1.8 or 42.5 f1.7 OIS), and enjoy photography!

Don't know about buying expensive (for me at least, except for the 20 mm) primes just yet, see my rambling about changing lenses :-P. I have been obsessively browsing eBay (now that I cannot look at bodies or walk-around lenses anymore ) looking for the best deal on a 35 mm Fujian C-mount lens though ;-), I think it would be nice to toy around with when I am in a particularly creative mood, especially considering the low DoF possible compared to my 'kit' zoom.

Yes - I use a G2 regularly - why not?

So many enthusiasts think that they must have the latest camera, and will probably end up with a camera which tells them what to take photographs of!

Seriously though, the G2 does everything one needs, and more besides. I use mine with Olympus lenses - the 12-40 f2.8 Pro, 75 mm f1.8, and the 12 mm f2.0. I simply do not feel the need to spend money on a new body, which will not add anything useful to my repertoire.

While I like your spirit, I personally find it hard to believe you never miss having IBIS while only using your G2 with Olympus lenses!

Jurre van Wouw wrote:

Loga wrote:

Also, I found that the old Pana cams have beautiful rendering (G2 included). I prefer them to the 16mp era cams. The GX8 with the newest 20mp sensor seems to have a very good tonal response with smooth transitions, though.

That is great to hear! Especially since I might skip the 16 MP era of cameras anyway, just saw the G85 is still 16 MP though, really thought it had the 20 MP of the GX8, the GX85 not having it I understand, but isn't the G85 the flagship? Anyway it will take a good while before the G85 or its successor enter my price range, so I will hopefully be enjoying the G2 for quite a while :-D.

For the 1st generation Pany sensor or its later modified version, from G1 until G3(?), don't expect to push ISO high. For G1 I limited it to ISO200 and GF3 (the last generation of 12Mp Pany sensor) I would say usable up to ISO800 and better be within ISO400... So figure out for G2 (of course the perception in noise might be different among people).

Without lens OIS, the limitation to shoot consumer grade lenses (f/3.5 and so) under poor lighting condition without a tripod could be imagined. Back to G1 & 14-45, I needed to lean on firm support (handrail / tree/ column/ table etc) in order to get as slow as 1/8" ~ 1/10" under that 2~2.5 stops stabilization. For G1 & 14 f/2.5, I could hardly go below 1/15":-( .

BTW, G85 is never Panny's flagship although it has a lot of goodies its aged bigger brother GH4 does not have. I regard G85 be the test bed of the forthcoming GH5. But won't expect any major price cut as G85 is still a new model. GX85 is under big discount recently having most features of G85. In terms of IQ both G85 and GX85 are very close to each other as they share the same sensor.

16Mp has been in the market for a long time (in mirrorless' terms), but there were a huge advance along the years of development from better micro lens design, new IC design and now removal of AA filter etc. If you are not going to print large, it could basically satisfy a lot of general need. When you compare G2 and GX85/G85, you would shock to see the big difference there. At least true when I looked at images from GX1 (1st generation 16Mp Pany Sensor) vs GX7 (GX85 a step ahead than GX7).... 

So I think that you will be served by the G2 very well. Get some high quality primes (20mm f1.7, 15mm f1.7, 25mm f1.4, 45mm f1.8 or 42.5 f1.7 OIS), and enjoy photography!

Don't know about buying expensive (for me at least, except for the 20 mm) primes just yet, see my rambling about changing lenses :-P. I have been obsessively browsing eBay (now that I cannot look at bodies or walk-around lenses anymore ) looking for the best deal on a 35 mm Fujian C-mount lens though ;-), I think it would be nice to toy around with when I am in a particularly creative mood, especially considering the low DoF possible compared to my 'kit' zoom.

Changing lenses is a highly personal matter. Many might not like to change lens for no special reason. So they might better stay with super zooms like 14-140 M2 as a single lens solution.

In fact, changing lenses is not difficult at all. Think:

1. press the lens lock,
2. screw and pull the lens out,
3. match the red dot of the mount and the lens, push in and screw new lens to lock.

How long it will take? 1 or 2 sec? Of course if you have the right assistance (like a shoulder bag, having all lens front and back cap removed in advance, a spare space to keep the exchanged lens etc would shortened a lot of time for the job. Backpack would just discourage me change lens  ).

Like gun battle of cowboys, more practice would perfect your skill.

Yes - I use a G2 regularly - why not?

So many enthusiasts think that they must have the latest camera, and will probably end up with a camera which tells them what to take photographs of!

Seriously though, the G2 does everything one needs, and more besides. I use mine with Olympus lenses - the 12-40 f2.8 Pro, 75 mm f1.8, and the 12 mm f2.0. I simply do not feel the need to spend money on a new body, which will not add anything useful to my repertoire.

While I like your spirit, I personally find it hard to believe you never miss having IBIS while only using your G2 with Olympus lenses!

Enjoy shooting.

Don't know about buying expensive (for me at least, except for the 20 mm) primes just yet, see my rambling about changing lenses :-P. I have been obsessively browsing eBay (now that I cannot look at bodies or walk-around lenses anymore ) looking for the best deal on a 35 mm Fujian C-mount lens though ;-), I think it would be nice to toy around with when I am in a particularly creative mood, especially considering the low DoF possible compared to my 'kit' zoom.

Great. Completely enough to take great photos. I also started with a Canon FD 50mm lens (f1.4 and then f1.8), and I took this with it at f2.8:

Humle Panasonic GF2 + Canon FD 50 f1.4 @f2.8

Don't be fooled by IBIS, high ISO, and exotic lenses Enjoy your G2!

Loga wrote:

It will be much better, no contest at all. In fact, I think the 'bad' low light performance of the old 12mp sensor is overrated. It's true, that at ISO1600 you can get nasty results sometimes, but it depends on the circumstances as well. However, I found that post-12mp-era cameras rises ISO much quicker than the old ones, and when I reach ISO1600 with my old cam, I am at 2500-3200 with the new one already.

After coming across this old topic again, I have now, years later (and many nice pictures from my G2 (and XZ-1) later ), figured out why:DxO comparison of G2, GH3, GX8

In other words, massive inflation of ISO values; the GX8 says it is at 6400, when in fact it is barely above 3200 (3400). So when comparing in DPR's studio comparison tool, you should basically pick 3200 for the G2 and 6400 for the GX8, and then suddenly the difference is not all that great anymore. Meanwhile, I am planning to purchase another cheap body this year for use with a 45-175 mm or 45-200 mm II (absolutely torn between them, so it'll come down to which one has the lowest price on sale ). The G6 is attractive, but I might just end up buying a second G2 (commonality has its advantages as well). Either way, I am not in a rush to buy a 20MP body; I'd rather spend the money on a 20 mm f1.7 (or even a used 15 mm f1.7 perhaps :D). I'd love to join the IBIS club, but at this point Panasonic IBIS-enabled bodies are simply still too new and expensive for me, and I am still (perhaps even more since my 12-50 mm needed repair shortly after purchase due to a decentered lens element, which took ages) wary of Olympus bodies with their build quality issues. And so the G2 lives on for me!