agentlossing
All-Pro
- Real Name
- Andrew Lossing
I do love infinity shots with large aperture settings like these. Making distant objects seem 3D and jump out of the picture is something few lenses can really do.
It’s the manual focus lenses that seem to render those results and for me the Nokton 58mm achieves that the best. They’ll be other lenses that achieve the same of course. But the lens has got to be good. I suppose shooting like that could be a good way of testing a lens. Seeing how those F0.95 lenses cope would be interesting, but no one seems to do that.I do love infinity shots with large aperture settings like these. Making distant objects seem 3D and jump out of the picture is something few lenses can really do.
My friend has the V2. I always liked the way it felt in my hand. The grip is plenty big for the weight. With the 18 (50 mme-ish) it’s a very small package.Just for grins, I modeled my former X-T2 + XF 18mm. the 1 V2 + 11-27.5mm, and X30. Even with the lens, the 1 V2 is only slightly deeper and weighs slightly less than my X30. For some time now, I've been leaving the X-T2 at home and carrying only the X30 on bike rides. If the 2/3" sensor X30 can produce pleasing images, then I'm betting the 1" sensor 1 V2 will do at least as well. I might have to start posting in the "Dead Camera Walking" thread.
Compact Camera Meter
Compare unlimited number of cameras with lenses, see how compact or bulky a camera is and sort by height, width, depth and weight.camerasize.com
Mine arrived today. I'm amazed how small it looks and feels in person. It almost makes the X30 look large. My 11-27.5mm lens arrives tomorrow.My friend has the V2. I always liked the way it felt in my hand. The grip is plenty big for the weight. With the 18 (50 mme-ish) it’s a very small package.
That's what she saidI'm amazed how small it looks and feels in person.
Very interesting tread this, comes along with some GAS, a bit of curiosity and a bit of hunting as such.
For me, it is somewhat about size. I somewhat kept shooting film with the Canon EOS620, supplemented with a digitial PS untill 2004 or 5. Somewhat is quite describing, I didnt shoot much film mainly some rolls when going places I though would be worthy dragging the bag around, primarily on vacations and/or trips but seldom left the house without the little 3MP Konica in a belt pouch on any given day.
In 06 I didnt bother schlepping the SLR around, but felt a bit constrained with the Konica, so I sprung for a Canon Powershot. Bad research left me with the S3, instead of the G7, after giving the sales clerk the precise order of "I would like the latest model powershot, please" and the G7 was released the week over, so reading reviews and not remembering the name of the model was a bit naff, it also didnt end particulary well, the camera may very well still be hanging on the birch branch I put it on while having lunch up in the mountains.
Then I bought an Ixus, and yet another Ixus for going off to foreign shores for a couple of tours. Had my eyes set on the the Powershot G10, but my colleague and me managed to rile us up into some sort of GAS/camera frenzy on some silent nights and I ended up with the then fresh Pentax K7, it had all I was keen on in a system, relatively small house at about 850 grams, IBIS and weather sealing along with the accompanying two weather sealed lenses 18-55, 50-200 kit zooms and the large Pentax flash. When push came to show, it was a bag kit and hence not much used- mainly trips and vacations. For the most parts, I just stuck that little, and worn Ixus into my pocket and called it a day, warts and all, but eyeing up the Fujis hard, but was leery toward it due to cost/benefit. In some dark corner of my brain I was somewhat keen to get going on photography again, but on the other hand, I wasnt to keen to spend on something which may or may not happen as such (getting back into it).
A friend of mine, which I share other hobbies with and a keen and gifted photographer in his own right was into M43 and keep harping on about it, he had also restarted with a Pentax, but got onboard with the K5.
I did snigger at him quite a bit, but started looking into it. I must admit having read "Sensor is sized about the same as the old 110 film" and having had a sorry excuse of a camera in that format way back then, I wasnt overly keen. Then Olympus released the Pen-F, in silver it was probably the most beautiful camera I had seen in more than two decades, so finger oogling it whilst oohing and aaahing, and drooling left me off for a cooling off periode and I then bought a GX7 in black and after some months and a couple of thousand pictures with the GX7, I got a GX8, also in black, with the GX7 taking second chair. I have rather large hands and the GX7 was a smidge on the tiny size for my frying pans. When I got the GX8, I also looked at the GM5, but it was just to tiny. I can somewhat fit the GX7 with the 35-100 on, the 12-32 and the Meike 35 in the palm of my hand.
After a year and a half with both cameras, I sold off the GX7 when it still held some value and ran the GX8 alone for a period, awaiting the release of the GX9, it came and was not was I anticipated so I keept going with the GX8, but added bits on the lens side, keeping to the "classics" in the system, the Lumix 12-35 and Oly 40-150 pro F:2.8s as well as the PL8-18 plus some primes and the lumix kit kombo of 12-32 and 35-100.
I bought the Oly 40-150 10 days or so, before the firm confirmation of the release of the PL50-200, after having gotten in a paralysis by analysis between the Oly and the Lumix 35-100 f:2.8 and holding that for a couple of years. The oly is very nice and rightly deserves its classic spot, but for me, it was just to big to bother with. Took it to Kenya on safari and it worked there but carrying it on the off-chance of it seeing use wasnt something I did.
Bought the G9 in 2019, never looked back. Sold the Oly and the Panasonic 100-300MkI to finance the PL50-200, managed it without loss by buying them second hand and ditto with the PL50-200, have also bought a second hand PL12-60, so managed to wrangle myself into a rather large small sensor system, the battery grip for the G9 is not helping either but thats for special occasions and the 2hand cost of it was about 30$ more than just an OEM battery, which came with grip so it wasnt a big deal to jump aboard. Got a bit of gas this January and found some stellar deals on 2hand stuff, the GX9 in a bundle wich leaves me something about $150 out of pocket for the house, when the rest is flipped, a GX1 with the 14-42PZ, which is in the black when the lens is flipped.
The GX9 came with the OEM handgrip, and after horsing around with it a bit, I think the GX8 will find its way out of my ownership, along with an assortment of accumulated lenses, and an Olympus TG6 allocating the take of the sales towards other camera gear, I am somewhat keen on the PL25 MkII and possibly one of 42.5s as well as a 1.4X TC for the 50-200.
If and when there may be another safari, I will probably get the PL100-400, I really cant see it my line-up before that, and depending on circumstances, the TC may do the trick, I felt the lack of reach on some occasions with the Oly 40-150 with 1.4TC.
So that leaves me with the following line-up
Bodies:
GX1, clunker camera no worries, would like a LVF-2 to round it off. The one I bought have the dreaded screen delamination going on, so may pick up another one without it, its doesnt really matter as the cost is about 4 big mac deals.
GX9, possibles camera. The add-on grip and large eyecup really transforms it and makes the use of heavier lenses possible, strip of those accessories, slip on a pancake and it fits in a jacket pocket , good nr 2 house when the G9 does the heavy (lens) lifting.
G9, all around workhorse, cant really fault it, the house with the PL line-up from 8-200mm weighs in at less than 2 kilos, and fits in a reasonable small bag.
Lenses: PL 8-200, solid weatherproofed all-round performers, all I can ask for in reasonable sized packages.
Lumix 12-35MkII weatherproof, tiny for what it is, equally at home on the GX9 either with or without accessories and as well on the G9 for premium performance while carrying less than 1 kilo. May stand in for the PL12-60 if telephoto is the primary task for any outing.
PL15mm and 20mm MkII tiny primes.
Lumix 12-32 and 35-100 kit, tiny zooms, OIS for the GX1, tiny travel set for the GX9.
Oly 60 Macro, specialty lens, for digitialising slides and photos from the family archives from the start of 20th century and upwards. Bugs, flowers and other tiny stuff if I should get the urge for such.
Yes, I think I have arrived, the system gives me what I want for the forseeable future, for general purpose photography and it has come of age, so to speak, the only thing I know that I am loosing out of on these houses are the Live view, and it could have been nice, but then again, I have managed to live without it for four decades, so I guess I will manage that for the foreseeable future.
If the M43 system pack it in, I would probably get another set of houses and leave it in the box until the house I have now packs it in, and I could see myself drifting into the Leica CL universe somewhere down the road for that, but then again that would probably be Leica CL3 or 4...
The only system I am properly curious about as of now, is the Fujifilm Medium format, but I cant really see that happening based on cost/benefit combined with wallet size.
I may have a look at the Ricoh GRIII, or look for something along those lines in the small belt pocket segment.
Tried the Oly TG6 last year but found that wanting. Just recharged the batteries for the Canon S95 from my late father and will give that another spin, wasn't to happy with that the last time around but found it in a drawer so why not give it another chance?
I blame you lot and that Burling fellow on youtube for that, and mostly David Thorpe for the M43...
Cheers, if you have made it so far.
It does have a power zoom switch but I have never used it - since it also has both a manual zoom ring and a manual focusing ring. I've only used the manual ones. The other cool thing about the lens is, it has what Panasonic used to call O.I.S. - aka Optical Image Stabilization - which gives stabilization to images taken with the lens, even or especially if one is using it on a camera body without internal stabilization.Would that be the Power zoom, Miguel?
I have dabbed a bit with the 14-42 one of those and even though it it proper puny, it is something there I am not entirely fond of. I have horsed around some with the 45-150, it was one of the lenses that came with the GX9, and I decided to let that go as well, even though it could be handy, the 35-100 kit is just that little bit smaller, even though the extra reach could would probably be nice. I think I will list that quite late, I tend to list stuff consecutively, not in bulk anyhow, so it may stick around for a bit.
It's not the first time I've mentioned this, but I believe there's a missing player in the compact digital field, and it's something with a 40mm-equivalent lens. I was reading about a book Stephen Shore put out called American Surfaces, which I really need to buy now, and which if I read correctly, is mostly or all photos done with a Rollei 35. I have a photo book by a photographer from another forum which is all black and white Rollei 35. And I mainly used the Ricoh 500G on a trip a couple of years ago. What those have in common is that they have a 40mm lens in a really compact body. And a ton of cameras of a certain era were 40mm or very close to it. I love the focal length, I think it gets some of the best shots out of me, forces me to think creatively. And while I love my GR I would go nuts if a 40mm version got announced. There's a purity of a kind to carrying a camera with a 40mm lens. It seems very naturally, but is just right enough to concentrate the photographer on the subject, whether you like it or not. I know there are 35mm options, but there's a difference between a 35mm and a 40mm and I don't want to crop later. I want to HAVE to shoot the frame at 40mm.
Just chalk that up to the fact that nothing's perfect, I guess.
Not to sure about the different versions of OIS, I know some of the latter lenses has gotten an upgrade and combined with the IBIS gives the full effect of stabilisation, with the later houses. It could possibly be that there are zoom options going through the house, but there are no external zoom button on the MkII of the 12-35 I have.The original or V1 of the 12-35mm f2.8 Lumix lens also has O.I.S. built in - but not 'Power OIS' - so it can only be zoomed manually. V2 of the 12-35 I believe has the power option built-in to it. I think you said you have the v2 version of the lens? If so, it probably has a little power zoom - which goes from W (Wide) to T (Telephoto). For people who shoot video, this is useful. For people who don't, like me - well, let's just say, I've never used the 'Power' zoom feature on my 45-175mm lens.
If I remember, Panasonic also makes a fixed f2.8 version of the 35-100mm zoom - which is bigger than the truly tiny one - but has higher optical quality. The big advantage of it, though, was always having a faster fixed aperture - which made it more versatile...but bigger and pricier too.
I find it funny that there was a period of time where the fixed-lens compact scale- and rangefinder-focusing consumer market was all 40mm, or very close to it (the Konica C35 I had for a little while was 38mm I think, some Minoltas were 42mm), because I feel like it's such a valuable focal length, and I know there are others, like you, Miguel, who feel the same - but it's harder to find now. Some formats have well-loved 40mm lenses, others do not. I was a big fan of the Panasonic 20mm too, though I do think ~40mm in 4:3 format is a bit different than on 3:2, but it's close enough to still offer the good stuff.Thank you for the reference to the Stephen Shore book, Andrew... I'm going to have to look for it. For quite a few years, my little Rollei 35 was, literally, the ONLY camera I was using and its 40mm field-of-view always felt to me like the best of many worlds, just wide enough to take in many things, but closer enough to the class 50mm to feel more normal. If this forum offered the opportunity to click on both Informative and Agree at the same time, I would have clicked on both, after reading your post.
Continuing to reflect on what you said, it's clarifying a few things for me - including the fact that, for a number of years, my favorite mu43 lens was the 20mm Lumix. I used it for years on several timy Lumix siblings (a GM5 and a GM1) and, like my analog Rollei 35, it always just felt right. I wound up giving the lens to a good friend, a fellow photographer who was in need of a faster and smaller lens - and subsequently discovered I missed it more than any other lens I had previously owned. Finally, I came to my senses, so to speak, and bought another copy, which now lives permanently on my Pen F.
But you're really right: there is a world of difference between 35mm and 40mm. (Of course, there is another world of difference between 28mm and 35mm... but let's save that for another time)