tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26329220912613825682024-03-08T04:16:13.656-08:00lensistUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632922091261382568.post-41098532121833904272009-12-01T01:05:00.001-08:002009-12-07T10:06:46.651-08:00Guest Review: Panasonic GF1<p>Today, we have a special guest review of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MUAEX4?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002MUAEX4">Panasonic Lumix GF1 with 20/1.7 Kit</a> by Linh from <a href="http://www.typicalmedium.com/" target="_blank">TypicalMedium Photography</a>.  Here’s <a href="http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/10469474_XzM75" target="_blank">a link to the entire sample gallery for this review</a>, whre you can download the full-sized files.  Without further ado, here’s his review: </p> <hr /> <p>The Panasonic GF1 is the third <a href="http://www.four-thirds.org/en/microft/index.html">Micro Four Thirds</a> (MFT) camera from Panasonic.  Its direct competition is the Olympus E-P1 which was released this past summer (and now the E-P2).  So what makes this camera oh so exciting and hard to find?  It's all about size and image quality; specifically, the size to image quality ratio.</p> <p><img src="http://linhnguyen.smugmug.com/photos/726294786_8hMpc-M.jpg" /> </p> <p>I love my DSLR (Canon 40D).  It's fast, the images are superb, it's rugged, did I mention it's fast? But it's also gigantic.  We have pro-sumer P&S cameras like the Canon G11, Canon S90, Panasonic LX3, and Fuji 200EXR that attempt to bring better controls and better-than-ultra-compact image quality to the table.  For me, the image quality from these cameras wasn't enough.  They cost $400+ and I still can't take ISO1600 shots with decent detail.  Don't get me wrong, they do pretty well at ISO1600, but not what I want).  That leaves me with the Micro Four Thirds (m43) system and the hope of keeping the camera relatively small without skimping on the sensor.  These are my impressions and comments on Panasonic's attempt.  For technical specs and ISO comparisons, try someplace like DPReview.</p> <p><img src="http://linhnguyen.smugmug.com/photos/726644682_Fr8We-M.jpg" /> </p> <h3>Initial Reactions</h3> <p>I bought the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MUAEX4?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002MUAEX4">GF1+20/1.7 kit</a> because I wanted a fast compact lens.  It was <a href="http://lensist.blogspot.com/2009/10/gf1-madness-adorama-cancelling-2017-kit.html" target="_blank">a pain to find</a>, but I eventually got one from <a href="http://www.samys.com/" target="_blank">Samy's</a>.  Upon opening the box, I was pleasantly surprised to find the body weighed less than I had expected.  The lens looked a little like a toy with just the number '20' on it, but felt good in the hands.  Not Canon L or Sigma EX good, but not "kit" quality either [Ed: Like the E-P1’s cheap-feeling kit zoom?].  Surprisingly, the camera felt a bit front-heavy with the lens mounted.  It’s not a big concern, but it through me off for a moment.  That feeling has since subsided and I don't even notice anymore. </p> <p>I will preface my next statement with this: I've seen the [higher res] 5DmkII and D300 LCDs in person.  When I turned on the GF1, I was stunned.  I seriously thought it was better than the high-res screens.  Of course it might not be true, but it's a good sign when at first glance it looks like the best LCD I've seen for a digital camera.  The only downside to the LCD is the one that plagues pretty much every LCD: bright outdoor settings.  It works OK, but it tends to get very subjective on how "OK" it is. </p> <p><img src="http://linhnguyen.smugmug.com/photos/726646495_xykFP-M.jpg" /> </p> <p>If you’ve picked up one of those old fixed lens rangefinders, you might feel a little nostalgic with this in hand.  I have a <a href="http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?CanonCanonetGIIIQL17.html~mainFrame" target="_blank">Canonet G-III QL17</a> that’s just a hair thicker.  The Canonet is actually more comfortable to hold at first grasp, but I got used to the GF1 after a day or so.  The 20/1.7 focusing has a bit of a "hum buzz" to me, but it’s not like the Tamron 17-50 buzz.  To be honest, this probably won't bother most people, but I'm a little spoiled by USM/HSM.  The shutter on the GF1 is also pretty loud for something so small.  It is a bit strange since the Canonet is so silent.  I think I psyched myself into thinking "hey, GF1 is the same size, same shutter sound!"  Don't fall into that.  The Canonet’s fixed lens incorporates a leaf shutter, which has the downside of maxing out at 1/500th.</p> <h3>Focusing</h3> <p>Autofocus is big topic.  I've read posts and articles that say the GF1’s focusing speed is like that of entry level DSLRs.  I'm a bit skeptical of that claim because I recall my old 300D Digital Rebel being quicker.  I have not seen the new entry stuff though, so maybe they are slow.  The GF1’s focusing is plenty quick, just not fast action quick.  It has a neat pre-AF mode that tries to focus ahead of time while you’re moving the camera around.  However, going from one end of the AF range to the other is quite slow.  The buzz of the 20/1.7 adds to the perception of speed as well. </p> <p>Focus points are pretty good, but I don't think face detect (on any system) is up to par.  By this I mean it takes a couple of tries for me to get most of the faces.  Maybe my expectations are too high on this.  Tracking mode seems to work very well though once you get a lock.  When manually picking a point, you have several focus area options--from about 1/3 of the sensor area down to a very small precise point.  The bad part is I like to use a small focus point and moving it all over the screen is tediously slow using the 4 way pad.  Tip: hit the trash/delete button to re-center and move if you need to get to the other side of the screen… or just focus and recompose. </p> <p><img src="http://linhnguyen.smugmug.com/photos/726646023_J3N99-L.jpg" /> </p> <p>I find manual focus override to be a bit frustrating.  With my DSLR, I generally set the rear AF-ON button to focus and the shutter button to only release.  If my lens has full time MF, I can fine tune it after AF easily and just fire away.  With the GF1, you have to keep the shutter halfway depressed, and then you can then MF override.  It feels very awkward. </p> <p>In full manual mode, the MF zoom assist feature is a bit inelegant but very useful with the EVF.  The focus-by-wire also needs more than a slight touch to kick in.  It reminds me of early (or even some current) drive-by-wire cars.  The only other gripe I have is it should start the MF assist from when you're picking a focus point.  As it stands, you have to move to your focus point, hit set, and THEN focus.  That extra step breaks your flow.  If you shoot center point focus or focus and recompose, this will be a moot issue.  Overall, the whole focusing system is very usable.  I don't have an adapted lens to see how functional that is, but I'm tempted to find a cheap EOS->m43 adapter (to use my lenses from other mounts adapted to EOS). </p> <p>Lastly, I use the AF lock button on my DSLR to get focus.  I can do the same with the GF1, using the AF/AE lock button.  The problem is that, if you want to re-focus, you have to hit it again to unlock focus and then hit a 3rd time to re-lock focus.  Needless to say, I will not be doing this.  Just an FYI for anyone that might happen to shoot the way I do. </p> <p><img src="http://linhnguyen.smugmug.com/photos/726645681_Tb53w-M.jpg" /> </p> <h3>Misc. Tidbits</h3> <p>Auto-bracketing is nice to have, but you are bound to the preset ranges the camera has defined.  You can take sets of 3, 5, or 7 shots.  Each set can either be +/-1/3 or 2/3 increments, filling out the set.  So 5*2/3 would take shots at 0, +/-2/3 and +/-1 1/3.  Unfortunately, there's no way to define your own set of 0 and +/-1ev only, for example. </p> <p>Intelligent Auto mode (iA) is another feature that reviewers praise.  I personally hate it.  It has given me f1.7@1/30th nearly every time I try to use it.  Even when it changes, it seems locked wide open.  It apparently only boosts the ISO if it detects action to stop.  I have to underexpose the image by over a stop to up the shutter speed.  I wouldn't feel comfortable handing the camera to a random person and switching it to iA.  As it stands, I'm probably going to just make a custom setting for shutter priority and face detect, as usually the biggest concern when other people are using it they will shake it.  I'll just set the ISO based on the setting of the shot.  Yes, I do feel a bit stupid for not understanding iA mode. </p> <p>The battery door is opened by a normal latch, and is tensioned to swing wide open when you unlock it.  Nice touch, but I don't see the need for the auto swing.  You have to manually lock it back down as it does not auto-latch shut.  The side door for the USB/HDMI out is very flimsy feeling.  It is thin, lightweight, and also pops open when lifted.  All this adds to the feeling of "OMG I could snap this off pretty easily." </p> <p><img src="http://linhnguyen.smugmug.com/photos/726646199_Bs8pC-M.jpg" /> </p> <h3>Electronic View Finder / Live View Finder</h3> <p>One of the big questions about this camera is the $200 electronic viewfinder add-on, aka the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002IKLJUU?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002IKLJUU">Panasonic DMW-LVF1</a>.  Yeah, it's expensive as hell, it has lower resolution than the G1/GH1 EVFs, and it's expensive as… oh wait, already mentioned that.  I will say it's pretty usable for MF work.  Maybe not in the really low light situations, but it’s workable.  The EVF is also a big plus for composition and seeing data onscreen (ISO, aperture, shutter, etc.) and bright sunlight shooting.  There were times when testing in sunlight that the LCD was less than OK and the EVF was gold.  Keep in mind that if you use the bordered view for the camera LCD (gives onscreen data it's own space) it will make the EVF view smaller as well.  I use this right now, and it's a little annoying when you try to MF, but I don't do it all that often. </p> <p>I had a chance to use this camera at the <a href="http://www.birchmere.com/">Birchmere Music Hall</a> when <a href="http://www.afinefrenzy.com/">A Fine Frenzy</a> was in town.  The EVF would have been far superior to using a blindingly bright LCD in a dark room.  Sadly, I absentmindedly left the EVF at home.  Instead, I had to rely on the AF and shoot blind. As a testament to the pretty nice AF system, it didn't really fail here.</p> <p><img src="http://linhnguyen.smugmug.com/photos/726645497_NyfNW-L.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://linhnguyen.smugmug.com/photos/726645542_NVu8i-L.jpg" />  <br />Above pic with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DEV95W?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001DEV95W">Silver Efex</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001L8L3JW?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001L8L3JW">Dfine 2.0</a> and some cropping</p> <p>The EVF is a bit of a hassle to carry it around with the camera, and it feels kind of stupid to leave it attached because it could snap off in a bag.  I've been looking for something to hold just the GF1/20/EVF alone, but they are either too bulky or too light.  I settled on the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000932GFA?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000932GFA">Op/Tech D-Small Soft Pouch</a> and I keep the EVF case attached to the neck strap. </p> <p>For you glasses folks: I don't have a problem, but have a fairly weak prescription.  I've read a couple of complaints from folks with thicker glasses that found the EVF useless.  I can actually use it without my glasses pretty well too [there is a diopter adjustment]. Maybe I should get contacts. </p> <h3>Noise / High ISO</h3> <p>I don't have much to say other than I find 1600 pretty usable and 3200 workable for B&W.  Even though this was a huge factor in MFT for me, it's either acceptable or not.  Lucky for me, I really like B&W.  You can see how ISO 3200 looks in color in the following shots.  It's not pretty at 100%, but very workable if you’re not making large prints. These are all straight out of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018VH8S2?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0018VH8S2">Lightroom 2.5</a> with hardly any adjustments:</p> <p><img src="http://linhnguyen.smugmug.com/photos/726647010_JRqWd-M.jpg" /> </p> <p><img src="http://linhnguyen.smugmug.com/photos/726647469_Knkj9-M.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://linhnguyen.smugmug.com/photos/726647903_Uk3w6-M.jpg" /></p> <p> <br /><img src="http://linhnguyen.smugmug.com/photos/726645029_kucvt-M.jpg" /></p> <h3>Conclusion</h3> <p>The GF1 is a very solid feeling camera.  It feels nice and compact in your hands even though pictures make it appear to be only slightly smaller than thee G1 and GH1.  I think the grip could be a hair bigger and the wheel repositioned / resized, but it's not too bad.  The "My Menu" thing really needs to be user definable (a la Canon) instead of just a "Last 5" history.  I easily scratched the paint off the bottom when it was rubbing up against some buckles on my bag.  I understand it's my fault because I'm so used to my K1000 and Canonet, but the GF1’s paint seemed a bit too easy to scuff up.</p> <p>I may have said a lot of seemingly negative things in this review, but keep in mind that I'm a damn picky person. The camera overall is awesome paired with the 20/1.7.  It's easy to stash in my messenger bag so I can bring it with me every day.  The low light performance is better than a G11 or LX3, and it’s not any more cumbersome than those cameras.  The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002IKLJVE?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002IKLJVE">20mm f/1.7 lens</a> is what makes the system for me.  To be able to get the DOF control I can get with this lightweight setup is close to perfect for my needs.  It’s nice to have other lens options available too.</p> <p>Until they figure out how to cram an APS-C sensor into a camera the size of the S90 while keeping the lens quality of the 20/1.7... I will be a very very happy camper.  The Panasonic GF1 + 20/1.7 + EVF have found a new home in my bag.  It is, to put it simply, a fun camera to use. </p> <p>The real question is which lens to buy next =) </p> <p>Note: All sample pictures were straight from Adobe Lightroom 2.5 with very minor adjustments.  Only the A Fine Frenzy pictures were hit with Dfine 2.0 and SilverEfex.  View the gallery (with full-sized files) <a href="http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/10469474_XzM75" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632922091261382568.post-24561001881522071902009-10-29T22:42:00.001-07:002010-03-25T23:38:04.564-07:00The Lensist is now on Twitter<a href="http://twitter.com/thelensist"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; float:left" title="twitter28" border="0" alt="twitter28" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SuqCykp0n2I/AAAAAAAAAMc/kIW9feR8bHc/twitter28.png" width="244" height="244"/></a> <p>Follow us as <a href="http://twitter.com/thelensist">thelensist</a> on Twitter.  The twitter feed will be more than just a list of the blog posts here.  We’ll also be including other thoughts, tidbits or links that didn’t warrant a blog post.  If you just want to be notified of the blog posts, you can add <a href="http://lensist.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">our feed</a> to your RSS reader.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632922091261382568.post-66290536927151923572009-10-12T16:21:00.001-07:002009-10-12T16:22:40.075-07:00GF1 Madness: Adorama Cancelling 20/1.7 Kit Orders<p><span>Adorama just sent this to people who had preordered the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MUAEX4?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002MUAEX4">Panasonic GF1 with 20mm f/1.7 Lens</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002MUAEX4" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> kit from them:</span></p>
<blockquote style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir="ltr">
<p><span>We have been informed by Panasonic that at this time they do not plan to offer this combination of the GF1 camera with the 20 1.7 Lens. (The camera with the 14-45 lens is in stock. We are waiting for deliveries of the 20 1.7 lens to start) Therefore, we regret to inform you that we are canceling your order. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you, and continue to appreciate your business.</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>What happened here? Is this another case of Panasonic's supply troubles, or have they decided to cash in on the 20/1.7s <a href="http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/1295/cat/68" target="_new">good</a> <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/panasonic_20_1p7_o20/" target="_new">reviews</a> by only selling it separately? I don't really blame Adorama here, since they had no idea this would happen when the orders were made.</p>
<p>Hopefully all this hullabaloo over compact cameras with a big sensors and decent interchangeable lenses (or excellent fixed lenses a la X1, DP1, DP2) will inspire other companies (Canon, Nikon, Pentax) to jump into this arena. There have been <a href="http://nikonrumors.com/2009/10/06/it-seems-that-nikon-will-announce-a-x1-clone.aspx" target="_new">unsubstantiated rumors</a> of a Nikon similar to the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NX13QC?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002NX13QC">Leica X1</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002NX13QC" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/>.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632922091261382568.post-73743564345288795522009-09-02T14:34:00.001-07:002009-09-02T14:35:19.240-07:00Panasonic GF1 and the Future of m43<p><span>There's been a lot of exciting news in the non-SLR digicam world lately. Today, Panasonic officially announced the previously leaked and much anticipated GF-1. This is supposed to give us the <a href="http://www.1001noisycameras.com/2009/09/panasonic-reveals-lens-roadmap-for-micro-43rds-three-new-lenses.html" target="_newl">autofocus performance</a> of the G1/GH1 with the tiny size of the Olympus E-P1. Unlike the E-P1 also offers a flash, an electronic eye-level viewfinder (more on that later), and a black finish (in addition to red, silver, and white).</span></p>
<p><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/Sp7k2eyiCbI/AAAAAAAAALI/FBN55NyETSg/GF1k_front_popup.jpg?imgmax=640" alt="GF1k_front_popup.jpg" height="523" width="640"/></p>
<p><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/Sp7k2ouzgVI/AAAAAAAAALM/gXIQr1zwZIs/GF1k_back_LVF.jpg?imgmax=640" alt="GF1k_back_LVF.jpg" height="529" width="637"/></p>
<p>It seems that Panasonic is putting a lot of energy into their m43 offerings... here's a list of the Panasonic-made components of their new system:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<div>Cameras</div>
</li>
<li style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE: none">
<ul>
<li>
<div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FSKDWG?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001FSKDWG">G1 with 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001FSKDWG" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> (~$650)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001WAKSCW?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001WAKSCW">GH1 kit with 14-140mm f/4.0-5.8 HD OIS</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001WAKSCW" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> ($1500)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>GF1</div>
</li>
<li style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE: none">
<ul>
<li>
<div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MUAEX4?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002MUAEX4">GF1 with 20/1.7 kit</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002MUAEX4" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> ($900)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002IKLJUK?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002IKLJUK">GF1 with 14-45mm/3.5-5.6 kit</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002IKLJUK" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> ($900)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>VLF1 clip-on electronic viewfinder ($200)</div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<div>Lenses</div>
</li>
<li style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE: none">
<ul>
<li>
<div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028Y5GKK?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0028Y5GKK">7-14mm f/4.0</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0028Y5GKK" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> ($1100)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS</div>
</li>
<li>
<div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ISKNKA?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001ISKNKA">45-200mm f/4.0-5.6 OIS</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001ISKNKA" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> ($300)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>14-140mm f/4.0-5.8 HD OIS</div>
</li>
<li>
<div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002IKLJVE?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002IKLJVE">20mm f/1.7</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002IKLJVE" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> ($400)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NKM29C?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002NKM29C">45mm f/2.8 Macro OIS</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002NKM29C" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> ($900)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>14mm f/2.8 (<a href="http://www.1001noisycameras.com/2009/09/panasonic-reveals-lens-roadmap-for-micro-43rds-three-new-lenses.html" target="_new">upcoming</a>)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>8mm f/3.5 Fisheye (<a href="http://www.1001noisycameras.com/2009/09/panasonic-reveals-lens-roadmap-for-micro-43rds-three-new-lenses.html" target="_new">upcoming</a>)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>100-300mm f/4.0-5.6 OIS (<a href="http://www.1001noisycameras.com/2009/09/panasonic-reveals-lens-roadmap-for-micro-43rds-three-new-lenses.html" target="_new">upcoming</a>)</div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>It seems that Panasonic has ceased development of new 4/3 (non-micro) cameras and lenses and put all their beyond-P&S energies into m43, so I'm excluding the existing 4/3 lenses (which don't AF as well when adapted anyway). The above list also doesn't include any of the Olympus m43 products. It's clear that Panny intend to make their system 'self-sufficient'. With all these nice prime lenses being announced, adapting M-mount rangefinder lenses to m43 cameras seems to be less and less relevant.</p>
<p>Sure, some of the lenses will be very expensive ($900 for the Leica 45/2.8 macro... ouch), but the prices don't seem as bad if you think of this as your <strong>primary</strong> camera system. A lot of enthusiasts (like myself) have mentally relegated m43 to 2nd-tier status behind DSLR systems. Sure, the m43 system has a long way to go before it will give us the flexibility of Canon or Nikon's vast array of lenses, flashes, and other accessories, but how many users out there actually use anything more than a handful of lenses (or just the kit lens + popup flash)? I love my Canon speedlights, but 90% of my DSLR shooting is done without them (and with 3-4 of my lenses).</p>
<p><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/Sp7k2w4JEYI/AAAAAAAAALQ/-NIBQspbK6g/GF1k_top.jpg?imgmax=640" alt="GF1k_top.jpg" height="342" width="640"/></p>
<p><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/Sp7k3IeJb4I/AAAAAAAAALU/hJcnpWgjXec/45_2.8_macro.jpg?imgmax=640" alt="45_2.8_macro.jpg" height="526" width="640"/></p>
<p>A GF1 (or heck, even a G1) with a 3-lens 14/2.8, 20/1.7, and 45/2.8 kit (EFoV of 28/40/90) would be very sweet. Of course just a 2-lens 20/45 GF1 kit will set you back $2000 if you want to shoot at eye-level ($200 for the EVF). The non-Leica-branded 14/2.8 will likely be considerably less than $900, but the kit still pushes my price barrier for such a camera. This would all still cost less than a single 5D Mark II with no lens, but it's apples and oranges. It would be hard for me and many existing DSLR shooters to give up the high-ISO performance, great optical viewfinders, and extremely snappy performance that come along with those higher-end DSLR systems.</p>
<p>But <a href="http://lensist.blogspot.com/2009/05/know-your-users-micro-four-thirds.html" target="_newl">as I've said before</a>, m43 isn't necessarily for us enthusiasts (at least not exclusively). Panasonic themselves say they want to appeal to 20-30yr old 'active women' with the GF1. That explains the name ("Hey, maybe I should get my GF one.") The big questions that remain are:</p>
<ol>
<li>How good will the external viewfinder be? We already know a lot of photographers refuse to buy a camera at this price without an eye-level finder. We also know that the external EVF isn't nearly as good as the excellent ones in the G1 and GH1.</li>
<li>Will the not-particularly-serious-but-serious-enough-to-want-something-more-than-a-P&S crowd want to spend $900 on a digicam when entry level DSLR kits with the same or better image quality are selling for $300 cheaper?</li>
</ol>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632922091261382568.post-26355549441174035452009-08-16T15:09:00.001-07:002009-08-16T15:17:27.313-07:00E-P1 vs G1 Focusing Speed Comparison<p>I recently borrowed a friend's Panasonic G1 and did a little comparison with the Olympus E-P1. Here's a video (taken with the <a href="http://lensist.blogspot.com/2009/07/powershot-love-sd880-sd780-and-sd960.html">SD880</a>) of the test. Kit lenses were used on both cameras.</p>
<p><object xmlns="" width="500" height="405"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/T9d4lVizWwc&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"/><param name="wmode"/><embed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/T9d4lVizWwc&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" width="500" height="405" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></p>
<p>As you can see, the G1 focuses quicker and quieter than the Olympus. When switching lenses around (not shown in the video), the G1's 14-45 seems to focus a bit faster on the E-P1 than does the Oly's own collapsible 14-42. Likewise, the Oly lens on the Panny body also focuses faster, but not as fast as the Panny lens on the Panny body. Most of the speed of the G1's focusing does come from the body.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632922091261382568.post-68427788921690279342009-07-28T18:14:00.001-07:002009-07-28T19:13:09.576-07:00Powershot Love: SD880, SD780, and SD960<p>Ever heard the old saying, "the best camera is the one you carry with you"? Recently, I went on a trip to Australia with two great Canons: the much-discussed <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G5ZTMM?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001G5ZTMM">EOS 5D Mark II</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001G5ZTMM" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/>, and the often-overlooked <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G5ZTO0?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001G5ZTO0">PowerShot SD880IS</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001G5ZTO0" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/>. Many dismiss the jpeg-only, point-and-shoot, compact, volume-selling SD series as less-than-serious tools for photography. They lack the manual controls and build of certain Ricohs, the RAW capture of Canon's own G10, and the big sensors of the Sigma DP2. What the SD series cameras do have, is TRUE pocketability. I've seen forum posters saying they can fit an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CGSYL2?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002CGSYL2" target="_new">E-P1 with 17mm pancake lens</a> in their pants pocket. I don't know what kind of MC Hammer pants these people wear, but that sounds silly. The portability advantages of the more serious 'compact' cameras over a semi-pro DSLR are certainly there, but they still can't be easily slipped into a small pocket.</p>
<p><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/Sm-tlGPviSI/AAAAAAAAAK8/MFsZ52A1Gsw/canon-powershot-sd880-is-digital-elph-camera.jpg?imgmax=400" alt="canon-powershot-sd880-is-digital-elph-camera.jpg" height="304" width="400"/></p>
<p>Aperture and shutter priority modes are somewhat useless in cameras with sensors this small. Av mode is typically used to control depth-of-field, but you get almost limitless DoF at all but the closest focusing distances. The lenses on cameras this small don't even have true bladed adjustable apertures like those we see in larger format lenses. As for shutter speed control, the camera does have an "action" mode if you want to keep shutter speeds up, and it only uses smaller apertures if the shutter speed at the larger aperture will already be extremely fast. You can also manually set the ISO higher if you think the camera is giving you too-slow shutter speeds to capture action. There is, of course, easy to access exposure compensation, which is enough for the majority of photographic tasks.</p>
<p>The main feature that sets the SD880 apart from its siblings is the 28mm equivalent field-of-view on the wide end of its zoom range. Most SD-series Canons only go as wide as ~35mm.</p>
<p>Here are some examples of what the SD880 can do with a little help from Lightroom:
<br/><br/>
(click the photo to see the full-sized version)</p>
<p><a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p925040845.jpg" target="_new"><img src="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p925040845-3.jpg" style="DISPLAY: inline" height="435" alt="Chinese Friendship Gardens" width="580"/></a>
<br/><br/>
<a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v6/p1027527044.jpg" target="_new"><img src="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v6/p1027527044-4.jpg" style="DISPLAY: inline" height="630" width="472"/></a>
<br/><br/>
<a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v6/p637024056.jpg" target="_new"><img src="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v6/p637024056-3.jpg" style="DISPLAY: inline" height="435" width="580"/></a>
<br/><br/>
<a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p599166362.jpg" target="_new"><img src="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p599166362-4.jpg" style="DISPLAY: inline" height="630" width="472"/></a>
<br/><br/>
<a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p737644132.jpg" target="_new"><img src="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p737644132-4.jpg" style="DISPLAY: inline" height="630" width="472"/></a>
<br/><br/>
<a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p586377944.jpg" target="_new"><img src="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p586377944-4.jpg" style="DISPLAY: inline" height="630" width="472"/></a>
<br/><br/>
<a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p538368068.jpg" target="_new"><img src="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p538368068-3.jpg" style="DISPLAY: inline" height="387" width="580"/></a>
<br/><br/>
<a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p708256166.jpg" target="_new"><img src="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p708256166-3.jpg" style="DISPLAY: inline" height="435" width="580"/></a>
<br/><br/>
<a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p16548671.jpg" target="_new"><img src="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p16548671-4.jpg" style="DISPLAY: inline" height="630" width="472"/></a>
<br/><br/>
<a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p156172604.jpg" target="_new"><img src="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p156172604-4.jpg" style="DISPLAY: inline" height="630" width="472"/></a>
<br/><br/>
Let's compare this last photo to a similar shot taken with the 5DmkII:
<br/>
<a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p83698992.jpg" target="_new"><img src="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p83698992-3.jpg" style="DISPLAY: inline" height="387" width="580"/></a></p>
<p>Here's a side-by-side (click for 100% crops):
<br/>
<a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p383220062.jpg" target="_new"><img src="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p383220062-3.jpg" style="DISPLAY: inline" height="400" width="580"/></a></p>
<p>Forget for a moment that the SD880 shot is tilted, a crop, and not particularly well composed. I've increased the contrast and saturation of the 5D Mark II shot a bit to bring it closer to the SD880 one. There are still significant differences in post-processing. At 100% view, the difference isn't too huge. Sure the SLR technically has massive image quality advantages, but the SD880s size and cost are both about 1/14th those of the 5DmkII + 35L.</p>
<p><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/Sm-tlayXSdI/AAAAAAAAALA/9fGjzAgMqTc/canon-powershot-sd780-is-digital-elph-camera.jpg?imgmax=512" alt="canon-powershot-sd780-is-digital-elph-camera.jpg" height="500" width="333"/></p>
<p>Unfortunately, the SD880 seems to be discontinued and the only people left selling it are asking very high prices. This brings me to two 720p HD-shooting alternatives, the slim <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001SER47Y?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001SER47Y">SD780</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001SER47Y" style="BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none !important; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none !important; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none !important; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none !important" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> and the wide-angle-capable <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001SER47E?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001SER47E">SD960</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001SER47E" style="BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none !important; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none !important; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none !important; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none !important" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/>. At 18.4mm, the SD780 is the thinnest of the PowerShots. The tradeoff for the slim body is a somewhat slower lens on the wide end (f3.2-f5.8 compared to the SD880's f2.8-f5.8). The SD960 is currently the only other SDxxx camera to feature a wide 28mm equivalent field of view. If you're used to the common SD-series interface, be aware that the SD960 is not the same. There are less buttons, and the menus are structured differently, but the overall usability is still very very good.</p>
<p><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/Sm-tlh133oI/AAAAAAAAALE/GRpvk5pCeps/23642.jpg?imgmax=512" alt="23642.jpg" height="474" width="350"/></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632922091261382568.post-44039343206617170172009-06-24T14:23:00.001-07:002009-06-24T14:26:09.591-07:00Hands-On E-P1 Account From an M8.2 User<p>Brad Herman has posted his <a href="http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=76029" target="_blank">First Impressions on the E-P1</a> over at RangeFinderForum. Brad's a current <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KVNRC6?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001KVNRC6">Leica M8.2</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001KVNRC6" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> and former <a href="http://www.cameraquest.com/olypenf.htm" target="_blank">Pen F</a> user, so he knows the premium compact space pretty well.</p>
<p>The big response to the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CGSYLC?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002CGSYLC">E-P1</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002CGSYLC" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> means <a href="http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=863832" target="_blank">more m43 bodies</a> in the pipeline. My guess is that we'll see a larger body from Olympus, and a smaller body from Panasonic. What remains to be seen is how soon the "big 3" (Canon, Nikon, and Sony) will respond to this format. One "regular Joe" friend of mine says he loves his <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FSKDX0?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001FSKDX0">Panasonic G1 Kit</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001FSKDX0" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> (He came from a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001OTZQUU?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001OTZQUU">Casio Exilim</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001OTZQUU" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/>). He's still on the learning curve, but was able to take good pictures straight out of the box. If more people discover this type of easier, smaller interchangeable lens camera, Rebel and Dxx sales might start to suffer.</p>
<p>It seems like Olympus wants to develop higher-end m43 bodies as well as more affordable ones. That should go a long way towards appeasing non-photographers who think the E-P1 is too expensive or photographers who think it isn't serious enough (mainly due to the lack of an eye-level viewfinder). On one side, I'm seeing plenty of people walking around with superzooms or other non-pocketable non-interchangeable-lens cameras, so it seems like there are plenty of users willing to give up the pocketability of ultra-compacts. On the other side, many "enthusiasts" (including myself) are picking up the E-P1 as a supplement to their larger "main" systems. They're not willing to give up the depth-of-field control, high-ISO performance, accessories, and overall image quality of their current systems. However, if Oly and Panny play their cards right, m43 could become more than a second system for the hardcore gearheads.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632922091261382568.post-91808662500090769612009-06-19T16:10:00.001-07:002009-06-19T16:30:32.785-07:00A Taste of E-P1 AF Speed<p>
<a href="http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid23187984001?bctid=26430876001" target="_new">
<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjwfhXYVDsI/AAAAAAAAAK0/ngDNs_gEodE/ep1review.JPG" alt="ep1review.JPG" height="342" width="542"/>
</a>
<br/>
The E-P1's AF at work (click for video).</p>
<p>I found <a href="http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid23187984001?bctid=26430876001" target="_new">this video review</a> in an <a href="http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1077078&postcount=556">RFF E-P1</a> thread.</p>
<p>Skip to about 2:14 to see the auto-focus system at work. It seems to be faster than the DP2, but quite a bit slower than the G1.</p>
<p>The rest of the camera seems pretty responsive, and write times (at around 4:35) are quick (though we don't know if the reviewer is writing JPEG, RAW, or RAW+JPEG). From what is shown in the video, the controls seem pretty well done. I hope there will be an option to disable the sensor cleaning (for faster start-up times). If it's anything like Canon's sensor cleaning (SSWF is actually supposed to be better), it won't take any longer than it does to aim point the camera at your subject, and it won't clean when waking from sleep mode.</p>
<p>By the way, the video is from <a href="http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=4017&review=olympus+ep1">this page on DigitalCameraReview.com</a>.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632922091261382568.post-1795278122219352632009-06-16T05:08:00.000-07:002009-06-19T17:53:03.761-07:00A Closer Look at the E-P1<p><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjhpQpoNJsI/AAAAAAAAAKw/12gWmldS2zE/loupe.jpg?imgmax=512" alt="loupe.jpg" height="448" width="450"/></p>
<p>The excitement from the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CGSYKS?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002CGSYKS">Olympus PEN E-P1</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002CGSYKS" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> launch is starting to die down, and people are deciding weather or not they actually want the camera. Most of the <a href="http://lensist.blogspot.com/2009/06/pen-is-mightier.html">specs</a> look great, but let's take a closer look. Sure, I haven't used the camera yet, but that never stops some camera pundits (rhymes with Schlockwell) from making 'reviews'. Basically, I'm going to step through what we know about the camera to help myself (and maybe you) decide about pre-ordering it.</p>
<h3>The LCD</h3>
<p>Like it or not, the primary method of interacting with this camera will be the LCD screen. The optical viewfinder for the 17mm lens is a great idea, but it only works with one lens and doesn't let you know what the camera is focusing on. You'll still need to use the LCD to review your photos, use many of the camera's features (in-camera RAW development, etc.) and change your settings. This is why it's so baffling that Olympus chose to use a behind-the-times 230k-pixel 3-inch screen while the competition's screens have AT LEAST twice the resolution. The only reasons I can think of are cost-cutting or battery life. If it's the former, the center of the camera's interface a terrible place to skimp. If the latter, I can't imagine it saves too much power, since the back-light (which is the main power draw) would still be the same size.</p>
<p>Now the LCDs in Oly's DSLR offerings are pretty good as low-pixel-count ones go, so this LCD should still be better than the appalling one found in the DP2 (which has the same pixel count). I recently used a 230k-pixel <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G5ZTO0?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001G5ZTO0">SD880IS</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001G5ZTO0" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> alongside a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G5ZTLS?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001G5ZTLS">5D Mark II</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001G5ZTLS" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/>, which has quadruple the resolution on the same size screen, for a prolonged period of time. While the 5D2's screen is incredibly good, I rarely found the quality 230k-pixel LCD of the SD880 lacking. Initial reports say that the screen is excellent for it's resolution, but viewability (and manual focusing) become very difficult in bright sunlight. Thus, the E-P1's LCD choice is unfortunate here, but I don't think it'll be a deal-breaker.</p>
<h3>Performance</h3>
<p>If the E-P1 is to be the DMD (decisive moment digital) of <a href="http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/blog_index.html">Mr. Johnston</a>'s dreams, it will have to very snappy in operation. I'm not worried about shutter lag, since all the previews say that it's mostly non-existent. Power-up and shut-down times seem good as well. 3fps and a big RAW buffer are also very nice. Since the processor in the camera is very similar to the ones in the latest Olympus DSLRs, we can assume that general camera performance, SD write speeds, etc. will also be very good.</p>
<p>The biggest concern here is the autofocus system. Let's see what initial previewers have had to say:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My time with the camera was too limited to say anything concrete about the autofocus system, except that it was not obviously slow in any way. More testing definitely needed there.
<br/>
- <a href="http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2009/06/the-olympus-ep1-briefly-held.html">Eamon Hickey on T.O.P.</a></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>The E-P1 uses essentially the same focus system as cameras such as the E-620, meaning that it feels sluggish even compared to most compacts (that said, we're playing with a very early IP (initial production) unit here - without the final firmware - so will reserve judgment until we've got the finished product).
<br/>
- <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/previews/olympusep1/page9.asp">DPReview's Preview</a></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>The live view experience is better than on most digital SLRs, but not as good as I've seen. The camera uses the Live MOS sensor to focus (using contrast detection), and it's faster than on Olympus' D-SLRs, but the Panasonic G-series twins and the Sony A3xx series are all noticeably faster.
<br/>
- <a href="http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/olympus/e_p1-review/look-and-feel">DC Resource's Preview</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>I can attest to the fact that the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FSKDX0?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001FSKDX0">Panasonic G1</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001FSKDX0" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/>'s AF speeds are excellent. Not nearly as fast as, say, and EF 85/1.8 on a Canon <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EQ4BVI?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001EQ4BVI">50D</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001EQ4BVI" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/>, but certainly good enough for the vast majority of uses. Panasonic has not passed on the secret of super-fast contrast-detect AF to Olympus, and this might be a killer. Slow autofocus (among other things) is what killed the Sigma DP2 for so many people. From the comments above, the E-P1 will lie somewhere between the DP2 and the G1. That may or may not be good enough. It's important to note that firmware 1.0 (the one at least some previewers used) will not be the final production firmware version. We can only hope that they can considerably speed up AF before release. One silver lining is that contrast-detect AF can be used as AF-confirmation when using manual-focus lenses.</p>
<h3>The m43 Lenses</h3>
<p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjhRRYNZizI/AAAAAAAAAKU/FZlD9pC0cFQ/ep1M-ZUIKO-DIGITAL-17mm.jpg?imgmax=800" title="ep1M-ZUIKO-DIGITAL-17mm.jpg"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjhRRkOMObI/AAAAAAAAAKY/YhFCKCjUDRU/zrtn_001p6520e919_tn.jpg?imgmax=400" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 1px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 1px; BORDER-TOP: #000000 1px; BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 1px" height="298" width="400" alt="ep1M-ZUIKO-DIGITAL-17mm.jpg" border="0"/></a></p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CGSYM6?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002CGSYM6">17mm f/2.8</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002CGSYM6" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> pancake. This is the lens many have been waiting for. A nice 35mm (-ish) FOV and a fast (-ish) lens in a very small package. Many rangefinder people have been excited about the combination of this lens and the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CGSYNA?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002CGSYNA">optical viewfinder</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002CGSYNA" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/>. Unfortunately, the lens isn't all it's cracked up to be. Take a look at <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/olympusep1_preview3/">these samples from DPReview</a> taken with the 17/2.8. Note the massive amount of chromatic abberation in the first photo, which is stopped down to f/6.3. The short lens-to-sensor distance, which typically requires light to hit the sensor at more of an angle, may be the culprit here. More <a href="http://www.olympus-europa.com/consumer/dslr_7045.htm">telecentric</a> designs like those found in the DP2 and most 4/3 lenses tend to have less CAs. <del>None of the 17/2.8 samples I've found are taken with an aperture wider than 6.3.</del> <strong>Update:</strong> there are now a couple shots at f/2.8: <a href="http://a.img-dpreview.com/gallery/olympusep1_preview2/originals/p6160276.jpg" target="_new">This one</a> and <a href="http://a.img-dpreview.com/gallery/olympusep1_preview2/originals/p6160277.jpg" target="_new">this other one</a>. The lens seems reasonably sharp at F/2.8 and very sharp by f/6.3. If a lens is going to be my main walkaround prime, it has to be exceptional, not just pretty good. The latest f/2.8 samples do seem to suffer from less CAs than some of the other samples I've seen, even in the first shot (backlit headshot). There are very few primes for the 4/3 system, and only this one (so far) for m43. The other 4/3 primes, especially the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000TU7I6?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0000TU7I6">Olympus 50mm f/2.0 Macro</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0000TU7I6" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> macro and the expensive <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P1RBL0?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000P1RBL0">Panasonic 25mm f/1.4</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000P1RBL0" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> have excellent reputations, but it seems like the 17/2.8 is not quite there.</p>
<p><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjhRR4JCHWI/AAAAAAAAAKc/YNIr5XnlPsc/olympus-e-p1-compact-lg1.jpg?imgmax=320" alt="olympus-e-p1-compact-lg1.jpg" height="298" width="300"/></p>
<p>The all-important kit lens, the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CGSYLM?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002CGSYLM">14-42mm f/3.5-5.6</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002CGSYLM" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/>. On paper this is very similar to the G1's kit (very good) kit lens. The coolest feature of this lens is its ability to collapse down much smaller than at its shortest focal length. This allows the kit to stay much thinner than the competition. It is still somewhat wider around than the pancake, but impressively compact for a kit lens. The samples from this lens also show far less chromatic abberations than those taken with the 17/2.8. The build quality will likely be like that of other cheap Olympus kit lenses, but that is still better build and image quality than most $100 kit lenses on the market.</p>
<p>Panasonic also has 4 m43 lenses of their own that are all compatable with the E-P1. The ultrawide <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028Y5GKK?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0028Y5GKK">7-14mm f/4.0</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0028Y5GKK" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/>, the G1 kit 14-45/3.5-5.6, the telephoto 45-200/4.5-5.6, and the GH1's 14-140 "HD" lens. All of the current Panasonic m43 lenses other than the ultrawide offer optical image stabilization, but that apparently won't work on the E-P1, which has its own stabilization system. Initial reports on the 14-140 say it's not so great for stills, which isn't surprising given the 10x zoom ratio and the fact that it's focused on videos. Either way, the 14-140 would look very large and unweildy on an E-P1. The 14-45 kit seems redundant given Oly's very similar and smaller kit lens. The telephoto and ultrawide lenses could be interesting options for E-P1 users. They are still large, but offer fields of view not yet available from Olympus... at least not in native m43 mount. As with any new system, lens choices for m43 are currently somewhat limited, especially as far as fast prime lenses are concerned. Enter the adapters...</p>
<h3>"Alternative" Glass</h3>
<p>Since the flange-to-sensor distance of m43 is so much less than other interchangeable-lens systems, almost any lens can be <a href="http://www.cameraquest.com/adp_micro_43.htm">adapted to m43 cameras</a>. There are official and 3rd party adapters covering <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CGSYMQ?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002CGSYMQ">Four Thirds</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002CGSYMQ" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CGSYN0?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002CGSYN0">Olympus OM</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002CGSYN0" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/>, and Leica M, Leica R, Canon FD, and more. Much has been written about using adapted lenses (mostly M-mount as they are smaller than SLR lenses) on the G1. I'd love to try the ZM 35/2, FD 24/2, or even an LTM Jupiter-9 85/2 on the E-P1. Many who have tried it ended up sticking with the kit lens as they didn't like the hassle of stopping down manually, etc, but I think it would be interesting for a while at least. There are, however two HUGE problems with adapted glass on the E-P1.</p>
<p>First and most obviously is the smaller sensor on the m43 cameras. You get an effective field-of-view of a lens with 2x the focal length. Since most adapted lenses will be designed for 35mm film, this will make it difficult to cover the wider end of FoV range. That 35/2 becomes a 70/2, and even an "ultrawide" 15/4.5 becomes a 30/4.5. The flip side of this is that a) you only use the center (usually best) part of the image circle, and b) you can get compact long lenses. A 50/1.4 becomes a 100/1.4 portrait lens with in-body IS and more depth-of-field (given the same framing) than a 100/1.4 on 35mm.</p>
<p>The other problem with manual-focus lenses on the E-P1 is the act of focusing. Since the E-P1 has no viewfinder, you have to hold it out in front of you to see the screen. I have tried manually focusing MF lenses using live-view at arm's length on the 40D and the 5D markII, and it is not fun. It works well enough if you have plenty of time to set up your shot, but otherwise it's clunky. The low-res screen of the E-P1 doesn't help either. The G1's eye-level viewfinder would probably be better for adapted lenses, but Panasonic's cameras don't offer in-body IS and probably won't anytime soon. <del>Fortunately, the E-P1 does offer a feature that zooms in the LCD while you're focusing your MF lenses</del>. <strong>Update</strong>: It turns out that the auto-zoom feature in MF or MF+AF mode only works with lenses that can tell the camera the focus ring is being turned. That means you only get the auto-zoom feature with 4/3 or m43 lenses. You can still magnify the view, but you'll have to flip in/out of the magnified view manually (zoom, focus, un-zoom, compose, shoot).</p>
<p>Neither of these disadvantages apply to (Olympus branded at least) 4/3 lenses, which will all eventually have their firmwares updated to AF with the E-P1.</p>
<h3>Image Quality</h3>
<p>Putting this section near the end of the article may make it seem like I don't care about IQ, but the fact is we basically already know what kind of images we can expect from this camera. The same 12mp sensor has already been reviewed in several cameras (Panasonic G1, Olympus E-620, Olympus E-30) and has proven itself to be a solid performer. 4/3 and now micro 4/3 (m43) have always lagged about 1 stop behind the APS-C crowd in terms of noise control, but new noise-reduction algorithms make ISO1600 seem pretty useable on these latest cameras. Even the ISO6400 shot I saw looked decent, mainly due to the good control of chroma noise. Olympus has a reputation for excellent image processing, and the E-P1 is supposed to have a weaker anti-aliasing filter than the Oly DSLRs (due to the new, more powerful, image processor being able to get rid of moire). The camera will be correcting distortion, but it remains to be seen if it is done in the RAW files or not. Hopefully it will not happen until you process the files. My main concern is some serious shadow noise in the samples, even at base ISO (200), but it may be due to some post-processing issues. I'm not expecting 5DmarkII quality, but it will still be miles ahead of any small-sensored camera.</p>
<h3>Design</h3>
<p><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjhRSHCC5GI/AAAAAAAAAKg/7PHn2Gtp7CE/olympus-e-p1-compact-lg.jpg?imgmax=320" alt="olympus-e-p1-compact-lg.jpg" height="253" width="300"/></p>
<p>The aluminum (top / bottom) and stainless steel (sides) camera comes in white / beige or...</p>
<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjhRSkvnhVI/AAAAAAAAAKk/RvqVYqnwvcE/olympus-ep1.jpg?imgmax=576" title="olympus-ep1.jpg"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjhRS8K9URI/AAAAAAAAAKo/SKpM4CEah2M/zrtn_002p3d5fa16f_tn.jpg?imgmax=400" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 1px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 1px; BORDER-TOP: #000000 1px; BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 1px" height="299" width="400" alt="olympus-ep1.jpg" border="0"/></a></p>
<p>silver / black. Even with the odd-looking extended kit zoom, the camera is very handsome. Olympus is clearly trying to appeal to "step-up" users that I mentioned in my <a href="http://lensist.blogspot.com/2009/05/know-your-users-micro-four-thirds.html">G1 post</a>. Many of the people who don't want the bulk of DSLRs are women, so the more "feminine" looks of the white model were a smart (and nice-looking) move. It's interesting that the E-P1 weighs more than the considerably larger Panasonic G1. This is probably due to the metal build. It is still, however, a decidedly lightweight camera.</p>
<p><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjhRTI-WhTI/AAAAAAAAAKs/1WA761Ngpqs/ep1back.jpg?imgmax=576" alt="ep1back.jpg" height="289" width="530"/></p>
<p>This is evidenced by the familiar P&S-like controls on the rear of the camera. All-in-all, the design seems very well laid out. I'd prefer a 1-front / 1-rear dial configuration to two rear ones, but that's probably nitpicking. Many people are disappointed that there's no black-on-black option. I personally don't care too much, but it would be nice to have I suppose.</p>
<p>The only problem I can see with grip-less cameras is that even a pancake lens sticks out at least 1cm, so the thickness of the camera with a lens is never any less than the thickness at the mount + 1cm. This means that the grip area could always be a little thicker, which would accommodate a larger and longer-lasting battery.</p>
<h3>Buy now, or wait?</h3>
<p>If you've made it through this post still wanting this camera, there's one more issue to think about: more interchangeable lens digital (ILD) cameras set to release sometime in 2009. I say ILD instead of m43 because another similar system is supposed to be coming from Samsung (the NX system).</p>
<p>The Samsung NX system will use larger APS-C sensors with a 1.5x crop factor, so that system might be better for those who mainly want to use adapted lenses. However, the bigger sensor necessitates bigger bodies and bigger lenses, so you aren't likely to see an NX camera the size of the Pen.</p>
<p>Panasonic has announced that their long-awaited and much-hyped 20mm/1.7 will be available this Fall. There will probably also be a smaller Panasonic m43 camera on the way. The word is they started with more conservative DSLR-like design with the intention of getting more Pen-like in the future. The G1 is also a very viable competitor. It's considerably larger than the E-P1, but still a very compact and comfortable camera and very affordable. It would be a good choice for those who insist on an EVF or who like high-res articulating LCDs (which are great).</p>
<p>Olympus itself plans to release an m43 camera with an EVF:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We are now preparing for a future product with an EVF. But for this product [E-P1] we were concentrating on small size.
<br/>
- Akira Watanabe, from a <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/news/0906/09061600watanabeinterview.asp">DPReview interview</a>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The quote does, however, imply that the EVF-equipped Olympus would be considerably larger than the E-P1. It almost seems like the E-P1 and G1 would compliment one another perfectly.</p>
<h3>So, what'll it be?</h3>
<p>Well, the E-P1 looks like a great camera with a couple of flaws. Namely: the low-res LCD and the sub-Panasonic focusing speeds. I almost kept the DP2 with it's WAY worse LCD and WAY slower focusing, and the E-P1 is only $150 more than the DP2. I think the E-P1 is a "buy" for me, so the real question is which kit to get:</p>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CGSYKS?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002CGSYKS">E-P1 + 14-42 kit</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002CGSYKS" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> for $799 or</li>
<li>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CGSYL2?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002CGSYL2">E-P1 + 17mm f/2.8 + Viewfinder Kit</a> <img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002CGSYL2" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" height="1" width="1" alt="" border="0"/> for $899</li>
</ul>
<p>I have some doubts about the quality of the 17mm prime, and f/2.8 isn't really fast enough for me. I'd also like to avoid paying $100 for a viewfinder which will make the camera larger and which I probably wouldn't use all that often. It's too bad that the lenses are $50 when bought with the camera yet $230 when bought alone. I think the 14-42 kit is the best option for now. Hopefully the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 will be good enough to be my fast prime for this lens. Now to find a good M-mount to m43 adapter...</p>
<h3>A Few Links:</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.dpreview.com/previews/olympusep1/" target="_blank">DPReview has their preview up</a>, including 2 sets of samples (one with the 17/2.8 pancake)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/olympus/e_p1-review">DCResource has theirs as well</a></li>
<li>Amin from <a href="http://www.seriouscompacts.com/2009/06/olympus-e-p1-thoughts.html" target="_blank">Serious Compacts</a> has a similar post with his thoughts on the E-P1</li>
<li>I'm not going to list many more links here, because <a href="http://www.1001noisycameras.com/2009/06/pictures-of-olympus-ep1-body-and-lenses-leaked.html">1001 Noisy Cameras</a> has already done an extremely good job of rounding them all up.</li>
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632922091261382568.post-32332951817076106692009-06-16T02:58:00.001-07:002009-06-16T04:58:51.317-07:00The Pen Is Mightier<p><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/Sjd8OuUKSII/AAAAAAAAAJY/A2-cklPkLeQ/ep1front.jpg?imgmax=576" alt="ep1front.jpg" width="530" height="294" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Gussy it up however you want, Trebek. What matters is: does it work?</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/Sjd8OoNR1CI/AAAAAAAAAJc/YUiIcov7SMI/celebrity_jeopardy_connery.jpg?imgmax=512" width="488" height="351" />
</p>
<p>Olympus has mastered the art of the increasingly popular slow leak with the announcement of the new <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CGSYKS?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002CGSYKS">Pen E-P1</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002CGSYKS" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0px; display: none;" alt="" width="1" border="0" height="1" />. Pentax tried to make the "leaked" photos of their new <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028N7442?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0028N7442">K-7</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0028N7442" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; display: none;" width="1" border="0" height="1" />
more illicit-looking, but the build-up and pay-off of the E-P1 announcement has been incredible. The long and frenzied threads over at <a href="http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=75006">RangeFinderForum</a> and the <a href="http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/780502">Fred Miranda Forums</a> are your evidence.</p>
<blockquote style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr">
<p>I've ordered a product like this before (Sigma DP2). Wasted a pretty penny I don't mind telling you and if the Pen's iS
(image stabilization) really works, I'll order a dozen.</p>
</blockquote>
<h3>The M43 Playing Field (with some competition):
</h3>
<p>Now that we have official specs, we can proceed with the inevitable comparisons with Panasonic's G1 and GH1. I've thrown in the
Canon T1i and Pentax K-7 as well, since they represent different levels of the compact DSLR. The DP2 is in there to feel some shame.</p>
<div id="limiter" style="width: 640px; overflow-y: hidden; overflow-x: scroll;">
<table id="comparer">
<tbody>
<tr class="toprow">
<td>
</td>
<td>Olympus E-P1
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CGSYKS?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002CGSYKS"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjeEA5g0Q1I/AAAAAAAAAJ8/_3mi8O2u_Gs/51Hw4y-lmOL._SL110_.jpg" border="0" /></a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002CGSYKS" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; display: none;" width="1" border="0" height="1" />
</td>
<td>Panasonic G1
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FSKDWG?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001FSKDWG"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjeEBAVXXTI/AAAAAAAAAKA/AlICZaYks4Y/51nfCsET%2B1L._SL160_.jpg" border="0" /></a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001FSKDWG" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; display: none;" width="1" border="0" height="1" />
</td>
<td>Panasonic GH1
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001WAKSCW?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001WAKSCW"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjeEBNOdSVI/AAAAAAAAAKE/9ssLfXyZve4/41iZ8UAwujL._SL160_.jpg" border="0" /></a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001WAKSCW" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; display: none;" width="1" border="0" height="1" />
</td>
<td>Sigma DP2
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001W3429E?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001W3429E"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjeEBF2k-uI/AAAAAAAAAKM/Q3X6hUUL0IU/411AJfkzh9L._SL160_.jpg" border="0" /></a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001W3429E" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; display: none;" width="1" border="0" height="1" />
</td>
<td>Canon T1i (500D)
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001XURPQS?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001XURPQS"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjeEBKK4hLI/AAAAAAAAAKI/B3L8R4x0LQk/51THKreO3bL._SL160_.jpg" border="0" /></a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001XURPQS" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; display: none;" width="1" border="0" height="1" />
</td>
<td>Pentax K-7
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028N7442?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0028N7442"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SjeEE6ZUxvI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/iCXrPei8V74/51l3w6fZauL._SL160_.jpg" border="0" /></a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0028N7442" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; display: none;" width="1" border="0" height="1" />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Price</strong></td>
<td>
<p>$800
with 14-42/3.5-5.6 lens (28-84mm EFoV)
$900
with 17/2.8 pancake lens (34mm EFoV)</p>
</td>
<td>$700 (black) or $640 (blue or red)
with 14-45/3.5-5.6 OIS lens (28-90mm EFoV)</td>
<td>$1,500
with 14-140/4.0-5.8 OIS HD lens (28-280mm EFoV)</td>
<td>$650
with fixed 24/2.8 lens (41mm EFoV)</td>
<td>$850
with 18-55/3.5-5.6 IS lens (29-88mm EFoV)</td>
<td>$1400 (est.)
with 18-55/3.5-3.6 WR lens (27-83mm EFV)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Size</strong></td>
<td>121x70x36 mm
+ considerably thinner than and approx 2/3 the volume of G1/GH1</td>
<td>124x84x45 mm</td>
<td>124x90x45 mm</td>
<td>113x60x56 mm
(inc. lens)</td>
<td>129x98x62 mm</td>
<td>131x97x73 mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Weight</strong></td>
<td>410g body inc. battery</td>
<td>360g body inc. battery</td>
<td>385g body only (?)</td>
<td>280g body inc. battery and lens</td>
<td>520g body inc. battery</td>
<td>754g body inc. battery</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Sensor</strong></td>
<td>12.3mp (13.1 actual)
4/3" w/ 2x crop factor</td>
<td>12.1mp (13.1 actual)
4/3" w/ 2x crop factor</td>
<td>12.1mp (14.1mp actual)
4/3" w/ 2x crop factor
+ true multi-aspect sensor</td>
<td>APS-C w/ 1.7x crop factor</td>
<td>15.1mp (15.5mp actual)
APS-C w/ 1.6x crop factor</td>
<td>14.6mp (15.1mp actual)
APS-C w/ 1.5x crop factor</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Video</strong></td>
<td>720p @ 30fps
MJPEG (weak compression)</td>
<td>None</td>
<td>
<p>1080p and 720p @ 30fps
AVCHD or MJPEG</p>
</td>
<td>320x240 only</td>
<td>1080p @ 20fps
720p @ 30fps</td>
<td>720p (or 1080i)
MJPEG (weak compression)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Stabilization</strong></td>
<td>In-body
- not active during filming
+ works with all lenses</td>
<td>In-lens
+ active during filming
- each lens needs OIS</td>
<td>In-lens
+ active during filming
- each lens needs OIS</td>
<td>None</td>
<td>In-lens
+ active during filming
- each lens needs IS</td>
<td>In-body
- not active during filming
+ works with all lenses</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>LCD Screen</strong></td>
<td>3 inch
- non-articulating
- 230,000 dots</td>
<td>
<p>3 inch
+ tilt and swivel
+ 460,000 dots</p>
</td>
<td>3 inch
+ tilt and swivel
+ 460,000 dots</td>
<td>
<p>2.6 inch
- non articulating
- 230,000 dots
- terrible</p>
</td>
<td>3 inch
- non-articulating
+ 920,000 dots</td>
<td>3 inch
- non-articulating
+ 920,000 dots</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Viewfinder</strong></td>
<td>None
(optional hotshoe finder w/ 17mm lens)</td>
<td>Excellent EVF
100% coverage</td>
<td>Excellent EVF
100% coverage</td>
<td>None
(optional hotshoe finder)</td>
<td>Optical TTL
95% coverage</td>
<td>Optical TTL
100% coverage</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Built-In Flash?</strong></td>
<td>No</td>
<td>Yes</td>
<td>Yes</td>
<td>
<p>Yes
(but very slow and weak)</p>
</td>
<td>Yes</td>
<td>Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>AF Assist</strong></td>
<td>Only w/ add-on Olympus flash units</td>
<td>Built-in dedicated lamp
(not flash strobes like many DSLRS)</td>
<td>Built-in dedicated lamp
(not flash strobes like many DSLRS)</td>
<td>None (!)</td>
<td>Yes, but uses annoying flash strobes.</td>
<td>Built-in dedicated lamp
(not flash strobes like many DSLRS)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p>EFoV is short for "equivalent field-of-view". Simply saying 'equivalent' is a bit misleading.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632922091261382568.post-5681366257173986402009-05-08T13:10:00.000-07:002009-05-08T14:08:42.109-07:00Know Your Users - Micro Four-Thirds<p>Mainstream camera companies are pushing entry-level DSLRs "average consumer" as the answer to the mediocre image quality they get with the tiny sensors in their compacts. There's no doubt that these T1is, D5000s, etc. have great image quality, but are they really what these average consumers need?</p>
<p>Let me clarify what I mean by "average consumer". I'm not talking about enthusiasts who want a first DSLR. I'm talking about people, many with families, who want to capture their lives without becoming photographers. Sure, all DSLRs have "green modes" with auto-everything, but they're still essentially scaled back and less-good SLRs. These are great as entry points into vast systems or backups (or travel cameras) for those with higher-end cameras. My first DSLR was a Canon Rebel XTi, and it worked very well for what it was supposed to do.</p>
<p>The problem is that entry-level DSLRs are not necessarily the best tool for the aforementioned soccer-moms and hockey-dads. Let's start with the method of use itself. Many of these users are accustomed to shooting at arms length on their compacts. Optical viewfinders feel uncomfortable to them, and the ones in most entry-level DSLRs are extremely small. Lately, we've seen compact camera features like live-view in SLRs like the T1i and D5000, but these are tacked on and not particularly useful. Autofocus during live-view is either nonexistant or extremely slow, rendering the mode nearly useless for users who don't want to manually focus. Another SLR holdover is a preset number of focusing points. These users will rarely select focus points themselves, so why limit them to 7 or 9 points? Why not have a large-sensor version of AiAF that can analyse the whole scene and figure out what to focus on?</p>
<p>Clearly, some daring new ideas were needed. We're more likely to see daring designs from underdogs who have less to lose (and more to gain) by taking risks. Enter Panasonic and Olympus with Micro Four-Thirds. First out of the gate is the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FSKDX0?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001FSKDX0">Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001FSKDX0" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" width="1" border="0" height="1" />. Now these consumer users can take pictures the way they're used to. A big screen, quick live-view focusing, a non-annoying AF-assist lamp, but with the same image quality as any entry-level DSLR. For up-to-the-eye shooting, the EVF is larger than the competing optical viewfinders. It even has overlays (rather than blinking focus points and symbols at the bottom) just like the rear LCD. The camera is even more compact than the competition and has the same kit lens choices (28-90 and 90-400 equivalents, both stabilized). Panasonic has finally succeeded where bridge point-and-shoots have failed repeatedly. Now we just need that 20/1.7 for indoor shots of the kids.
</p>
<p>Of course I'm not the sort of user mentioned above and neither are most readers here, but the G1 also offers the full range of enthusiast features (RAW, configurability, P/S/A/M modes, etc.) as well. I'm still not sure if the DP2 is a keeper for me, but at the same price (a bit cheaper actually), the G1 is mighty tempting.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632922091261382568.post-38811021124520432552009-05-08T10:37:00.000-07:002009-05-08T10:51:42.137-07:00DP2 Samples GaloreHere's a roundup of other DP2 resources to keep you busy until part 2:
<ul><li><a href="http://www.rytterfalk.com/">Carl Rytterfalk</a> is a big Sigma guy and a very good photographer. He's not inaccurate, but he's careful not to focus too much on the negative points of any Sigma products. He's been posting tons of samples and other information on his blog.</li><li><a href="http://www.pbase.com/sigmadslr/users_dp2">PBase's DP2 group</a> has full-sized shots from 10 photographers (including Carl) for you to view.</li><li><a href="http://blog.yanidel.com/">RFF user Yandiel</a> has started posting samples from his DP2. He also uses an R-D1 and M8, so he'll have an interesting perspective on the camera. Go for the DP2 shots, stay for the great Parisian street shots.</li><li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37976265@N06/">sniki</a>, another RFF user, has posted some samples in his flickr photostream.
</li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632922091261382568.post-80930949331971653142009-05-07T22:28:00.000-07:002009-05-12T12:18:51.361-07:00Sigma DP2 Review Part 1 - Interface and First Impressions<p>Today I received my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001W3429E?ie=UTF8&tag=lensist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001W3429E">Sigma DP2</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lensist-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001W3429E" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" width="1" border="0" height="1" />. This is the first in a multi-part review of the camera. Today I'll be focusing mainly on the interface and some initial thoughts. Be sure to subscribe to my blog to get the latest updates.</p>
<h3>The Body</h3>
<p>The camera is sturdy feeling and completely creak-free. Unfortunately, the buttons on the rear are still labeled with black indentations on black buttons. There are white labels next to the buttons for playback mode. This is contrary to the pre-production photos Sigma released which showed white labels for shooting mode and blue labels for playback mode. Honestly, this isn't a big deal, but it's a first sign of sloppy design from Sigma.</p>
<p>
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgPisp8smFI/AAAAAAAAAHA/xFt7e-frduI/IMG_0355_small.jpg?imgmax=800"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgPiswFhlGI/AAAAAAAAAHE/8VBPTAx45S8/zrtn_006p4736f72_tn.jpg?imgmax=512" style="width: 500px; height: 375px;" width="500" height="375" /></a><br/>
Black-on-Black Buttons... why?</p>
<p>The shutter feel is nice, but the rest of the buttons have a slightly cheap feel to them. They're a bit too springy and don't have the quality haptics of a Canon compact, for example. I guess this is common with compact cameras, but I expected a little better. The manual focus dial has just the right firmness and does not have the problem others have reported about the DP1 where the dial is easy to knock out of place.</p>
<p>The grip is pretty comfortable, although the camera's weight is mostly in the lens, so it will tend to lean a bit to the left. It isn't particularly front-heavy though. Ideally, Sigma would have made the battery larger (we'll see why later) and made the grip part a bit thicker. This wouldn't really add much bulk to the camera since the lens protrudes quite a ways.</p>
<p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgPiteWXOJI/AAAAAAAAAHI/hi_PjszBTm4/IMG_0356_small.jpg?imgmax=800"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgPittCRIFI/AAAAAAAAAHM/a1gn4cmPPPc/zrtn_005n175c5567_tn.jpg?imgmax=512" style="width: 500px; height: 354px;" width="500" height="354" /></a><br/>
The lens extends quite a bit when powered on.</p>
<h3><strong>The Interface</strong></h3>
<p>The new QuickSet button is a smart way to get access to all the important shooting options quickly. You hit the corresponding arrow key to cycle through the options for each setting.</p>
<p>Hit the button once and you get the following settings (QS1):</p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
</td><td><strong>ISO</strong><br/>
Auto<br/>
50<br/>
100<br/>
200<br/>
400<br/>
800<br/>
1600 (only w/ RAW)<br/>
3200 (only w/ RAW)</td>
<td>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Flash Mode</strong><br/>
Normal<br/>
Redeye<br/>
Slow Sync<br/>
Redeye + Slow Sync.</td>
<td><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgPiuVGBRTI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/6qmiXX_LaoE/IMG_0351_small.jpg?imgmax=800"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgPiuodqBqI/AAAAAAAAAHU/T6V2kt_-Am0/zrtn_004p13c0fd50_tn.jpg?imgmax=288" style="width: 250px; height: 183px;" width="250" height="183" /></a></td>
<td><strong>Metering Mode</strong><br/>
Evaluative<br/>
Center Weighted Avg.<br/>
Spot</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
</td><td><strong>White Balance</strong><br/>
Auto<br/>
Daylight<br/>
Shade<br/>
Overcast<br/>
Incandescent<br/>
Fluorescent<br/>
Flash<br/>
Custom</td>
<td>
</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>
Hit it again for QS2:</p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
</td><td><strong>Image Size</strong> (not available when shooting RAW)<br/>
Hi<br/>
Wide (16:9)<br/>
Med<br/>
Low</td>
<td>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Image Quality</strong><br/>
Fine<br/>
Normal<br/>
Basic<br/>
RAW</td>
<td><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgPiv41AMII/AAAAAAAAAHY/0gTT6_ub0GQ/IMG_0352_small.jpg?imgmax=800"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgPiv6Y6dPI/AAAAAAAAAHc/XYotu9AMFIg/zrtn_003n6a9e14ea_tn.jpg?imgmax=288" style="width: 250px; height: 179px;" width="250" height="179" /></a></td>
<td><strong>Drive Mode</strong><br/>
Single Capture<br/>
Continuous<br/>
Self Timer 2 sec.<br/>
Self Timer 10 sec.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
</td><td><strong>Color Mode</strong><br/>
Standard<br/>
Vivid<br/>
Neutral<br/>
Portrait<br/>
Landscape<br/>
B&W (not available w/ RAW)<br/>
Sepia (not available w/ RAW)</td>
<td>
</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>It's nice of Sigma to protect us from poor JPEGs by not allowing us to use in-camera JPEG processing for ISOs 1600 and 3200. These are still created and embedded into the RAW files, but they are not usable. The results from SPP are far better. The fact that you can't shoot B&W or Sepia with RAW files is puzzling. The RAW files do include full-sized embedded JPEG previews, which is nice when browsing images with something like <a href="http://faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm">FastStone Image Viewer</a>, which supports X3F files.</p>
<p>While custom WB mode can be selected through QuickSet, you must go through the main menu system to set the custom value. I would have appreciated a quicker way to set white-balance similar to the method used with the SD880 (one press of the print/share button), but it's not as big of a deal since most DP2 users will be shooting RAW.</p>
<p>There are a lot of other nice touches to the interface. The menu can be used in two ways. Closed mode is similar to most other cameras out there: You simply scroll through a list of settings and hit OK to expand and change that setting. Once you've opened up a setting, you switch to expanded mode instead of going to a seperate screen. In expanded mode, you use the 4 main directional keys to select the value and then hit OK to save it. The "zoom" up and down keys on the upper right of the camera back are used to scroll through the different settings. Hitting the display button (lower-right) gets you back to closed mode, which is quicker for scrolling through the list. This took me a little getting used to, but is quite nice.</p>
<p>
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgPixRkQB0I/AAAAAAAAAHg/krluz-OwxEA/IMG_0353_small.jpg?imgmax=800"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgPixvZPuxI/AAAAAAAAAHk/fZ9F6f2QxKU/zrtn_002p750104fd_tn.jpg?imgmax=288" style="width: 250px; height: 187px;" width="250" height="187" /></a><br/>
Closed Mode</p>
<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgPiy5tLUwI/AAAAAAAAAHo/BWtfI3jy3NY/IMG_0354_small.jpg?imgmax=800"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgPizLpK6wI/AAAAAAAAAHs/c-jEX5b45Tg/zrtn_001n1a86691_tn.jpg?imgmax=288" style="width: 250px; height: 188px;" width="250" height="188" /></a><br/>
Expanded Mode</p>
<p>The menu in shooting mode contains less-used setup-related options like button bindings, bracketing order, auto-rotate, etc. These should really be in a sub-menu, but the cluttered menu is mitigated by the fact that all the important settings are available from the QuickSet system detailed above.</p>
<p>Speaking of setup-options. The DP2 is very configurable. You can set the function of the "zoom" buttons and the L and R arrow keys in each shooting mode (P, S, A, M). By default, the L and R arrows control exposure compensation while the zoom buttons control the main function of the mode you're in (program shift, shutter speed, or aperture). In manual mode, where there is no exposure compensation, the zoom keys control shutter speed while the arrows control aperture. The fact that this is configurable will useful to DSLR users, since competing brands have different ways of handling these controls. Canon SLRs are set up similarly to the DP2 defaults, with the arrow keys being analogous to the round quick-control dial on the SLRs.</p>
<p>You can also control the behavior of the AEL (auto exposure lock) button. By default it just does AEL, but I have it set to Center AF Lock. This can come in handy if you want to take several shots without refocusing. You can also set the button to do both AEL and AFL. You can also pick whether or not you want a half-press of the shutter to perform AE Lock.</p>
<p>Playback mode is also nicely configurable. There is an option to show overexposure warnings, and you can set the OK button to a shortcut. The button can be set to locking/unlocking, marking/unmarking, toggling the exposure warning, or rotating left or right. You can enter playback mode without extending the lens by simply holding the play button for a couple seconds. The camera does have an orientation sensor, which works nicely. Unfortunately you don't get to choose to assign the orientation to files only or to also show portrait-oriented shots sideways. Canon SLRs allow you to do this, which lets you fill the screen with portrait-oriented shots without ending up with unrotated images on your computer. It's a lot easier to turn a camera than it is to turn your monitor. Even most point-and-shoot cameras now make use of the orientation sensor in playback mode to show you the image properly no matter how you're holding the camera. The DP2 lacks this simple feature as well. The most onerous UI mistake on Sigma's part involves zooming in playback mode. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a couple thousand words to explain the issue:</p>
<p>View a photo taken in portrait orientation:</p>
<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgP16luwR4I/AAAAAAAAAHw/gDcP1ICEHXk/IMG_0359.JPG"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgP163vOn9I/AAAAAAAAAH0/8I9naBm5pm8/zrtn_008p14e8953a_tn.jpg?imgmax=512" style="width: 500px; height: 375px;" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>Now zoom in...</p>
<p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgP18sWB3JI/AAAAAAAAAH4/BnpNVuir2jY/IMG_0360.JPG"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgP19VSAMRI/AAAAAAAAAH8/CJk8wRfN3dg/zrtn_007p6863f5f1_tn.jpg?imgmax=512" style="width: 500px; height: 375px;" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>WHAT THE HELL!?! Why would you not use the rest of the screen? Someone at Sigma needs to get fired. This is fixable in firmware, but it's such a stupid issue that it just amazes me. Another thing you may have noticed about these images is that the LCD is quite ugly. It's decently visible outdoors, but the image quality and colors are poor in any light.</p>
<p>All-in-all, the controls are good for a compact, but they still mostly require looking at a screen and a bit of waiting. The DP2 doesn't have the immediacy of dedicated dials like an R-D1 or the lighting fast menu responses of the leading compacts. This camera makes you take your time, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but is something you should be aware of.</p>
<p>First Impressions</p>
<p>These are just some random bullet points. Much more detail to come in the next parts of this review.</p>
<p><strong>Good:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Extremely good per-pixel sharpness (no surprises there)</li>
<li>Almost no shutter lag once focused</li>
<li>Great configurability</li>
<li>Good control scheme for most things (QuickSet, etc.)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Bad:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>LCD is pretty terrible. It's blown away by the SD880s screen.</li>
<li>AF is still quite slow. There should be an AiAF-type mode where you don't have to pick the point manually.</li>
<li>Low-light AF is weak. This camera REALLY needs an AF-assist lamp. What was Sigma thinking?</li>
<li>Some strange or outright wrong UI choices.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Quick Samples</h3>
<p>Here are a few very quickly processed (with Sigma Photo Pro) sample shots. They're mostly devoid of photographic merit, but I was really just playing with the settings. Click for full-size versions with EXIF intact.</p>
<p><a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v7/p110707453.jpg"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgP2Cx8MRzI/AAAAAAAAAIE/Bhum2LsA-go/zrtn_009n5f45ecdc_tn.jpg?imgmax=640" style="width: 600px; height: 400px;" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p99643427.jpg"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgP2K82qTDI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/K1PGTcDxMQI/zrtn_010n78785b41_tn.jpg?imgmax=640" style="width: 600px; height: 400px;" width="600" height="400" /></a><br/>
ISO 3200</p>
<p><a href="http://samn.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p107172206.jpg"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SgP2Ssc3TKI/AAAAAAAAAIY/OgWtLwJuFqk/zrtn_011p406e4c54_tn.jpg?imgmax=640" style="width: 400px; height: 600px;" width="400" height="600" /></a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632922091261382568.post-59062368273855802912008-11-07T13:03:00.001-08:002009-05-08T00:01:10.328-07:00Welcome to Lensist<p><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_z-xiwpHcSck/SRSsjlJxN5I/AAAAAAAAABs/-zu2ZJ3vLnE/s800/fresnel.jpg" style="DISPLAY: inline"/>
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This blog is for the discussion of all aspects of photography. Contrary to what the extremely unoriginal name implies, it will not simply be a blog about lenses.<xhtml/></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0