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

Sanity 5.1 on GX1

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 understand this seems redundant but I need to check before I flash. Sanity 5.1 works well with the GX1? I appreciate your time.
 
+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.

I agree. DR is the main issue that might limit someone. I often do landscapes at the ends of the day, so shadow noise performance is important to me. I use an Oly Pen, but when I had a GX1 I was happy with the camera overall. Fast AF (even with the 20mm), nice ergo, and solid build. The 16MP sensor is good at capturing detail, and noise performance is good. DR falls off as ISO goes up, so the lack DR.
 
I understand this seems redundant but I need to check before I flash. Sanity 5.1 works well with the GX1? I appreciate your time.

Yes, I'm averaging closer to 40 Mbps now with Sanity 5.1 loaded into ptool. Footage to me looks very good and I half speeded some for a little thing I did for my grandson and I was impressed with the motion smoothness during pans -- jello effect aside. Hard to see in this video to some extent because I added some "metallic" special effects (it is for kids, lol). I am by no means a serious video expert but I'm learning.

Supposedly Vitaly is working on manual video control for the GX1 but it isn't out yet.

[video=youtube;RP9YXU8qo84]
 
My new GX1 has arrived, shall replace my GF2, not my LX7. The following picture was taken around 02 AM, with the 14 mm, at 1600 ASA, one half second, handheld. With the LX7 I would probably have less detail, and more grain; but because of the stabilizer, you should not notice my hands trembling. Yet I like the photo. I wonder whether it would be better in black-and-white.

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I am beginning to know my GX1. It is not a giant step from the GF2, but it allows me to use the LVF2 viewfinder which I bought for the LX7. The LVF2 is indeed a giant step from the LVF1 of the GF2. I wonder when/if we shall have very good interchangeable EVFs, and do not have to buy a new one every time we change cameras. I only have the Panasonic 14mm and 14-42mm which came with the GF2 (I bought the kit from Jessops, in the UK, for a very nice price). I would rather have the Panasonic 20mm, the Olympus 45mm, and the Panasonic 14-42X, but this set is expensive.

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I used the GX1 and a hacked GH1 today to cover a hot air balloon festival and I had an "all access" pass. I was able to hang with and film the crew who operate the tallest flyable balloon in the world today. It's called "Patriot" and it's modeled after the space shuttle but it is 40% larger than the actual shuttle.

Stills will be up at some point, but I have a LOT of video footage to process including some great interviews with the owner, pilot and crew of the balloon.
 
Just to keep the GX1 ball rolling. The first picture shows a night march. The shutter is loud enough that one of the walkers looked at me. No fill-flash added

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The second is the inside of a cafe near my place, at around midnight. It was taken at ISO 1250, yet you can perfectly read the small print on the two sheets of paper on the wall, next to the television. Focus was on the waiter, my speed was not enough to freeze him (and I am glad that it was not).

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Nice use of blur in the first! I like it!

As for the shutter -- yes the GX1 is a loud one. It's a loud clack that can grab people's attention.
 
The Panasonic GX1 is a very good camera, especially when combined with the electronic viewfinder (EVF); at 200 USD, I think it is a gem and a bargain. This does not mean that it is perfect. No camera is. The loudness of the shutter is probably my main complaint. My Panasonic LX7 is virtually silent, and I just hope the next GX shall be, as well. Some of the buttons in the rear are flush with the body, and it is difficult to find and press them by touch alone. This is especially unfortunate when you are using the EVF, and I hope the GX7 has proper raised buttons (a nice tactile feedback would be the icing in the cake). And there are other minor complaints. But I would give the GX1 a 9/10 punctuation, and buy it again without even thinking.
 
The Panasonic GX1 is a very good camera, especially when combined with the electronic viewfinder (EVF); at 200 USD, I think it is a gem and a bargain. This does not mean that it is perfect. No camera is. The loudness of the shutter is probably my main complaint. My Panasonic LX7 is virtually silent, and I just hope the next GX shall be, as well. Some of the buttons in the rear are flush with the body, and it is difficult to find and press them by touch alone. This is especially unfortunate when you are using the EVF, and I hope the GX7 has proper raised buttons (a nice tactile feedback would be the icing in the cake). And there are other minor complaints. But I would give the GX1 a 9/10 punctuation, and buy it again without even thinking.

The LX7 has a leaf shutter in the lens, and the GX1 has and presumably the GX2 will have focal plane shutters in the body. You can certainly make them quieter than the GX1, but you'd better figure on using the electronic shutter feature on the GX2 (like the G5 has) if you want quiet. No focal plane shutter is ever going to be really quiet I don't think.
 
The LX7 has a leaf shutter in the lens, and the GX1 has and presumably the GX2 will have focal plasne shutters in the body. You can certainly make them quieter than the GX1, but you'd better figure on using the electronic shutter feature on the GX2 (like the G5 has) if you want quiet. No focal plane shutter is ever going to be really quiet I don't think.

Focal plane shutters are usually noisy, but the level of noise is variable. The Leica M film cameras had a rubberised cloth shutter, and were very low noise - that is why they were allowed in courts/judgments. The Nikon D40 is less noisy than my Nikons FM2 and D200. The Nikon F3 was relatively low-noise. The GX1 has an electronic shutter feature, but it only works for burst firing, with several limitations.
 
Definitely. Comparing the E-M5 to my old GH1 the difference is very noticeable (in favour of the E-M5). My Samsung NX200 has a nice shutter sound as well, not as quiet as the Olympus but still fairly unobtrusive.

Yes, but none of them will come close to the LX7 with the leaf shutter -- not even a Leica. That's what the poster was comparing it too and you might as well forget that, lol.

D7000's I had were fairly quiet and very much so in "quiet mode" that separated the fire and recock shutter movements. But still no comparison to a leaf shutter camera.
 
Certainly not. For a little while I even had the fake shutter sound on my Canon G1X (my first leaf shutter camera in a while) turned on so I could hear when the shutter fired like my focal plane shutter cameras.

I hear a lot of cell phones set up that way as well. Presumably since they all have electronic shutters I guess.
 
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