Micro 4/3 My new (old) camera arrived: Panasonic GX1

entropic remnants

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John Griggs
I picked one up since they are so cheap. It will be hacked with ptool and Sanity 5.1 parameter set and used for both still photography and where I need video with higher motion quality.

It's been in my signature for a couple of days now, but it really just got here. I've gotten really used to and become a fan of certain aspects of Panasonic's ergonomics and image qualities.
 
Nice! I really like their ergonomics too, if the sensor had been up to OM-D level or thereabouts in terms of high ISO, and if the jpeg engine had a bit better reputation, I might have gone for one. Enjoy it!
 
Nice! I really like their ergonomics too, if the sensor had been up to OM-D level or thereabouts in terms of high ISO, and if the jpeg engine had a bit better reputation, I might have gone for one. Enjoy it!

Well, I have an E-M5 also, lol. Best of both worlds.
 
Pleased to report that the ptool hack for the gx1 firmware and the Sanity 5.1 parameter set works GREAT. I'm getting peak bit rates in the 46 Mbps range and averaging north of 31 Mbps on just a pan around my work shop -- values per the open source MediaInfo program.

That's better than twice what it does out of the box. Very nice.
 
>> I'm getting peak bit rates in the 46 Mbps range and averaging north of 31 Mbps on just a pan around my work shop -- values per the open source MediaInfo program. <<

Could not understand a word, but I hope at least it's not a medical condition :) Congratulation on new camera!
 
One extra advantage of the GX1 is being able to use the same viewfinder of the LX7. I have the GF2, and its image quality is not bad at all; but its optional viewfinder is poor, and I would say you gain one extra stop by going with the GX1. I find the ergonomics of the three cameras - LX7, GF2 and GX1 - very good, I would not be surprised if they had been jointly conceived with Leica. Finally, at the current price, you cannot go wrong: Panasonic may launch a better GX2, but it shall be more expensive - and I may be wrong, but I do not think that the OM-D is an order of magnitude better than the GX1 as far as image quality is concerned.
 
One extra advantage of the GX1 is being able to use the same viewfinder of the LX7. I have the GF2, and its image quality is not bad at all; but its optional viewfinder is poor, and I would say you gain one extra stop by going with the GX1. I find the ergonomics of the three cameras - LX7, GF2 and GX1 - very good, I would not be surprised if they had been jointly conceived with Leica. Finally, at the current price, you cannot go wrong: Panasonic may launch a better GX2, but it shall be more expensive - and I may be wrong, but I do not think that the OM-D is an order of magnitude better than the GX1 as far as image quality is concerned.

I have to agree. The E-M5 has one main advantage: dynamic range. It has approaching 2 stops at base ISO over the GX1. However, if you go look at DXOmark, you see that the advantage pretty much is insignificant by the time you hit ISO 800.

I'm actually surprised more fuss hasn't been made about the Panasonic sensor when it came out. I really like the G3/GX1 and G5/GH2 sensors. For the most part, I don't feel like I'm losing a lot not shooting the E-M5. If it wasn't for the E-M5's IBIS, it might be on the block and I might be thinking about a GH3 instead. But for now at least, the E-M5 stays -- it has certain advantages I don't want to lose.
 
I'm actually surprised more fuss hasn't been made about the Panasonic sensor when it came out. I really like the G3/GX1 and G5/GH2 sensors.

I think there was a fair amount of "fuss" over that sensor at the time. There was minor disappointment that it didn't quite match the GH2, but overall it was still the second best m43 sensor out there at the time, and a pretty close second at that. It enticed me to try a G3 despite really not liking the GH2 I'd had previously. Turned out I didn't much like the G3 either, but it wasn't because of the sensor (nor was it with the GH2)...

-Ray
 
I think there was a fair amount of "fuss" over that sensor at the time. There was minor disappointment that it didn't quite match the GH2, but overall it was still the second best m43 sensor out there at the time, and a pretty close second at that. It enticed me to try a G3 despite really not liking the GH2 I'd had previously. Turned out I didn't much like the G3 either, but it wasn't because of the sensor (nor was it with the GH2)...

-Ray

Yes, camera handling is a very personal thing. That's why there are so MANY designs, lol.
 
Given that you like panasonic ergo (I do also!), you'll get on fine with it. I like the grip ad overall feel. I eventually sold mine, because my style of photography often relies on shadow pulls of landscapes and also long exposures. So I benefit from the Oly(Sony) sensor. I got along well with the GX1.

Heck at these prices I've been tempted to pick one up!
 
My impression of the GX1 sensor was that it had very limited highlight headroom, noticeably less than the older GH1. Other than that it seemed pretty good, but I've never tried one at high ISOs.
 
Just two taken with a GX1 + 14-42X. At full resolution (which I cannot show here) the details of the foliage are amazing.

_1000793_sc.jpg



_1000822_sc.jpg
 
Always loved the GX1 handling....even though the overall versatility and sensor of the E-M5 is superior I believe, the handling and feel of the GX1 i still miss. If the Oly had a right hand side grip like the GX1 I never would have forked out the $240 for the add-on grip.
 
Yup. Even if one is shooting jpgs, Panny's image processing has consistently allowed a bit more noise in the image so that more detail is preserved. It's not a shortcoming - it's a philosophy.

+1
The GX1/G3 sensor is very close to the OMD's one in terms of noise performance. Just a tad more color-noise, but very good detail.
Where it falls short, is in dynamic range: if that's what you're looking for, the Sony sensor is really superior.
The other downside of the GX1, for me, is the clunky shutter.
For the rest, I believe it's got a more dependable focusing system than the Oly, but this is a very personal and possibly controversial opinion.
All in all, at these prices, the GX1 is a must-buy.
 
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