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They don't complain about the IQ, they complain that it's $400... but that seems like a pretty fair price for such a good lens.Originally Posted by sevendhappy
They don't complain about the IQ, they complain that it's $400... but that seems like a pretty fair price for such a good lens.
Yeah that's the biggest complaint, but some also complain there's no distance scale, no bayonet mount hood and that the focus ring sucks (becomes harder to turn as you apply more pressure).
I'll agree on the scale. I don't need it on the lens itself, but it would have been very nice to know which way to turn the focus ring to focus closer or further. As it is now you have to watch the LCD and see if it's getting better or worse. On the 20 it's an issue because if you want to MF at wide apertures DOF is thin. On the 7-14mm it's the same issue only for landscaping in super low light when you can't get it to AF it'd be nice to be able to hyperfocal the damn lens.
firmware update?
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I'm hoping that they do an on-screen distance scale like on the X1.
yeah, that'd be perfect for me.
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those have noise reduction and probably shouldn't... I like the 3200 grain look over the detail robbing NN look.
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Ouch, yeah. I'd play up the noise instead of ineffectively reducing it. Grain looks better than noise boogers.
Noise boogers. lol
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So Ben, how much do you find yourself shooting with the GF1 these days?
“Sharpness is a Bourgeois concept.” -- Henri Cartier-Bresson
I'm falling down on the job here...
never, you want it?
seriously, check here: http://pad2010.benjacobsen.com/browse/1
that's my PAD for 2010 and I've tagged the cameras this year... I have 30 shots with the GF1 from the month I got it. I basically used it for a month straight LOVING the size and the convenience, but then I used the D700 for a few things and the IQ drew me back in. Personally, I deal with carrying my D700 with me everywhere. The GF1 is really for video and for when I CAN NOT bring the D700 due to size. So it's great for skiing or sailing or maybe dinner out, but I only use it when the size is a restriction. My issue is above 800 ISO the IQ falls apart and in our house you really need 1600 at 1.7. So it's just a stop too slow/noisy but it bugs me.
I'm honestly on the fence about it -vs- the s90 again. When I was using it, yes it blows the s90 away in terms of IQ, but now that it's been put to pocket use only, does the IQ difference really matter? For $900 it's a lot to pay for a massive P&S (how I use it). Yes there's a IQ gain, but do I care for what I'm using it for? s90s are now ~$350 refurbed.... For now I'm keeping it for it's video alone really. 720p is a lot nicer than the VGA crap the s90 offers. If canon were to make a 720p or better s90 version today I'd be very tempted to switch back.
I'm hoping the 14mm 2.8 changes my mind, but that's a few month out and another ~$400 I'll have to spend.
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Are you using LR3 yet, Ben? ISO 1600 is waaaay better with the new processing.
If you decide you really don't want it, maybe... my issue is, this would be the perfect trip to JUST take the GF1 and 1 or 2 lenses. I wouldn't have to check a bag, as I could just put the GF1 bag/stuff in my bookbag and carry that on with my small suitcase. OR, I could check the suitcase and just carry on one bag and have more legroom... I don't find the 5D with the Tamrac bag and the lenses I'm taking cumbersome, but for street shooting/other sorts of NYC stuff, it would be nice to have a small, unobtrusive camera. I'm just not sure if I'd use it, or if it would end up sitting around like yours after the shine wore off.
OTOH, Hanna has expressed interest in using it, and it could potentially replace her P&S, which she mainly just uses for video, anyway.
“Sharpness is a Bourgeois concept.” -- Henri Cartier-Bresson
Mark - how long are you going to be gone? You could borrow mine most likely. Unfortunately I only have the 20mm and the Voigtlander 40mm f/1.4. Seems like you'd want either the 7-14 or 9-18 as well.
no, and that's one of the MAJOR reasons I haven't sold it yet. I've heard great things (not just from you, but you're the biggest influence) and that one step could make it awesome for me/us as I really just need 1600 to look close to what 800 does with LR2...
when I flew to TX with ALL my **** (and lighting crap) I had one backpack carry on with my clothes and lighting gear then my TT UD30 stuffed to the gills with the camera. Can't you do something similar with your tamrac pro 5 and a carry on for your clothes? After having a kid for as long as we have (and you too) traveling alone seems SO easy now.
get one, return it if you don't like it? If you'd mentioned this yesterday, I could have shipped mine to your friends today and it would have been waiting for you tomorrow...OTOH, Hanna has expressed interest in using it, and it could potentially replace her P&S, which she mainly just uses for video, anyway.
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I could do that, sure--I don't really NEED the backpack, but it makes things a bit easier so it's going. I agree that it's super easy. I'm taking our smallest suitcase and it's not even full.when I flew to TX with ALL my **** (and lighting crap) I had one backpack carry on with my clothes and lighting gear then my TT UD30 stuffed to the gills with the camera. Can't you do something similar with your tamrac pro 5 and a carry on for your clothes? After having a kid for as long as we have (and you too) traveling alone seems SO easy now.
This is a good idea, but for something like this I'd really need to see how it would go long term. That, and I'm not really ready to drop ~$900 on one after this trip, a new water heater, and paying my federal taxes. Also, in 2 weeks Sony will announce their contenders, and they have a 35mm equivalent f/1.4 lens, so I'm kind of waiting to see what Sony brings to the table.get one, return it if you don't like it? If you'd mentioned this yesterday, I could have shipped mine to your friends today and it would have been waiting for you tomorrow...
“Sharpness is a Bourgeois concept.” -- Henri Cartier-Bresson
wait, wut, I thought it was a 16mm 2.8? (so the FL you mentioned just not the aperture). But yeah, I wouldn't doubt with an APS-c sensor in it, it has potential. Tokina makes their 11-16mm in their normal mount, but this might have a new mount....
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I just thought it was a faster lens.... I remembered incorrectly. Still interested, though.
“Sharpness is a Bourgeois concept.” -- Henri Cartier-Bresson
yeah, but by the time it's out the 14mm will be out for the GF1, so I'll have 2 FL options in pancakes (crucial for these bodies IMHO) and one will be fast... I'd live the sony on it's sensor size alone, but they need to develop the lenses a lot more first. So in a year or two they could be a real player in this market... I'm very curious to see how noisy their sensor is as it's bigger, but sony isn't know for great noise handling.
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yeah, me too. That's why I'm just going to wait and see. I don't need/don't want to buy a GF1 right at this moment anyway, so I can just watch how things play out.
“Sharpness is a Bourgeois concept.” -- Henri Cartier-Bresson
The Sony 16mm looks like it will be really stretching the definition of "pancake" as well.
muffin?
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yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, today is a gift, that's why it's called the present.
Here's a rumored shot of the NEX with the 16mm (and their weirdo optional flash that doesn't use a standard hotshoe mount)...
Been shooting mostly foodporn with mine at restaurants for food bloggers:
Interiors
More random shots
Finally got around to prepping some photos. These are from our yearly "August Birthdays" weekend. Shot a lot with the 14-45mm, which is a pretty sweet little lens for what it is.
in that second shot, Al's hair looks like Elias'!
and in the second to last one, is that 2 of the 3 generations?
nice shots as always though Sam.
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Hah - as much as Jen probably wishes his hair would go red, that's just due to the light filtering through plastic...in that second shot, Al's hair looks like Elias'!
Yep, that's my nephew (who was visiting with one of my sisters from Texas) and my dad. To get an idea of how huge my family is - the gal cutting Al's hair is my niece (from a different sister who's out in California), and her daughter is the one in the B&W. She was visiting with her three kids. We Bennett's do babies pretty well.
Thanks man. Must admit prepping these shots made me miss the D700 a bit. Really crappy RAW headroom on the GF1, so I ended up losing a lot of highlights that the D700 could have recovered. I could underexpose the shots to make up for it, but that means more noise.nice shots as always though Sam.
On the positive side, pretty happy with the 14-45mm. Obviously can't get very shallow DoF, but it's reasonably sharp and the bokeh's nice enough.
Last edited by Idjiit; 08-10-2010 at 09:23 AM.
Yep, that's my nephew (who was visiting with one of my sisters from Texas) and my dad. To get an idea of how huge my family is - the gal cutting Al's hair is my niece (from a different sister who's out in California), and her daughter is the one in the B&W. She was visiting with her three kids. We Bennett's do babies pretty well.
yeah, I'm from a small family, Nikki's not. It's soooo hard/funny for me to try to learn all the connections. Who is who's sister/brother/cousin etc. Family parties with them have no fewer than 20 people all related.
yeah, I know exactly what you mean. The GF1 is a killer camera to use/shoot with, but for me I was never completely happy with the results, but like you, I've been spoiled by my big camera. It's tough to find a P&S that doesn't annoy me. But it's funny, looking at your shots, the IQ/processing doesn't bug me at all, I think you're just being too hard on yourself because you know they could be better with your better camera, but so what? Would you have shot half of these if you were lugging your D700 that day?Thanks man. Must admit prepping these shots made me miss the D700 a bit. Really crappy RAW headroom on the GF1, so I ended up losing a lot of highlights that the D700 could have recovered. I could underexpose the shots to make up for it, but that means more noise.
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Yep - it's the reverse for us. Jen's an only child, so my family is just bizarre to her. There's not many people left on her side of the family - just her mom, two cousins and their kids (4 total).yeah, I'm from a small family, Nikki's not. It's soooo hard/funny for me to try to learn all the connections. Who is who's sister/brother/cousin etc. Family parties with them have no fewer than 20 people all related.
Yeah, but the thing you don't see is what goes into getting that quality. I have to do a lot of gradient filtering and even brushing to get highlights where I want them. And if you see a B&W shot, most likely it's because the highlights were unrecoverable - that kind of thing plays okay in B&W but looks terrible in color, imo.
Well, that's the thing. There are quite a few shots that I simply wouldn't have gotten with my D700 because the angles are much more difficult to get looking through a viewfinder, but from this particular weekend most of my "Top 20" are pretty conventional. There's only a couple shots I probably wouldn't have taken because where I would have had to been would have either discouraged me from taking the shot, or would have taken too much time to get into position, thus missing the shot:
Arm outstretched over table...
Again, arm outstretched over a long coffee table...
It's a no win situation for me, really - you can't get the performance of a FF camera in a compact, AF package. But right now the convenience factor outweighs the quality factor of the D700. Just need to hope that with time sensor tech will get to the point where there's less compromise.
Elias is the first on both sides for us for our parents, but there are 3~4 "cousins" (of what degree I couldn't tell you) around Elias' age...
but if you didn't would WE notice? And not a bunch of photo geeks sitting around computers, I mean your normal audience?Yeah, but the thing you don't see is what goes into getting that quality. I have to do a lot of gradient filtering and even brushing to get highlights where I want them. And if you see a B&W shot, most likely it's because the highlights were unrecoverable - that kind of thing plays okay in B&W but looks terrible in color, imo.
what about pointing and shooting with the D700 in those cases? I've learned that getting lucky with a wider lens on the DSLR got me some of my favorite shots. Just point and shoot and hope for the best. The GF1 helped me do this a lot more honestly, because you DO get so used to shooting at arms length, but that works about half the times "blind" with the big camera for me as well.Well, that's the thing. There are quite a few shots that I simply wouldn't have gotten with my D700 because the angles are much more difficult to get looking through a viewfinder, but from this particular weekend most of my "Top 20" are pretty conventional. There's only a couple shots I probably wouldn't have taken because where I would have had to been would have either discouraged me from taking the shot, or would have taken too much time to get into position, thus missing the shot:
yep, I go back and forth as well. Carting around the big camera just gets old. I'd love a MFT or even P&S that was rugged with at least s90 performance (I know you prefer thinner DOF). I've had a few close calls recently with water with the DSLR....But right now the convenience factor outweighs the quality factor of the D700. Just need to hope that with time sensor tech will get to the point where there's less compromise.
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Probably not, but I didn't get to where I am by setting my expectations low. My photography has improved across the board over the years because I'm beholden to my own standards, not my audiences.
For what it's worth, here's an example of a shot I decided to process as B&W instead of color due to the yellowing that occurs around the blown highlights on her face and arms. It was overexposed by about a stop, but I'm pretty confident the D700 would have been able to make this work in color. I greatly prefer doing work in color.
When I started shooting I did a lot of shooting using the focus scale and shooting at arm's length. It obviously works, but your keeper ratio is very low. The GF1 is perfect for me because I can have that sort of freedom, but get a really high keeper ratio. This is partially because of the Face Detect focusing which works fantastically well and the fact that I can use the LCD for framing - even at steep viewing angles. So even while I may not be able to judge focus at those angles, I can still get a good sense of how I'm framing. That's pretty important with the GF1 because I want to shoot as tightly as possible to keep DoF shallow. And then needless to say, the Face Detect allows me to shoot without using the LCD at all, just eyeballing the framing by looking at the angle of the camera in relation to the subject.
it's more the posterization than the coloring that makes it noticeable for me.
as for arms length and DSLRs, yeah, framing was key because it also determined of the AF worked or not. I'd do it with the center point (even on the D700) just because it had the best odds of landing on the subject. But when it missed I'd either miss AF, crop something important, or both.I never could get face detect to be consistent enough for me/Elias with the GF1 though. I think maybe my kid is more hyper than Al or Isaac? Either that or my timing sucks -vs- yours and Marks.
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yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, today is a gift, that's why it's called the present.
Using the center point like that with a FF camera is a recipe for disaster unless you're really stopped down - and if you're doing that, you're missing out on a major characteristic of FF, in my opinion. If I'm shooting with the D700, I'm probably shooting at 50mm @ f/2 and I want the eyes sharp:as for arms length and DSLRs, yeah, framing was key because it also determined of the AF worked or not. I'd do it with the center point (even on the D700) just because it had the best odds of landing on the subject. But when it missed I'd either miss AF, crop something important, or both.
No, there's definitely a limit to what the GF1 can capture. Action typically requires pre-focusing and timing, continuous focusing or luck - the GF1 blows in the continuous focusing department. So far I've done okay, but it will be interesting to see if as Al gets older whether I'll find myself gravitating back to the D700. But as you've seen, I shoot a lot of different age groups within my family and I haven't been really frustrated yet.I never could get face detect to be consistent enough for me/Elias with the GF1 though. I think maybe my kid is more hyper than Al or Isaac? Either that or my timing sucks -vs- yours and Marks.
nice will, but when she sleeps so should you.
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yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, today is a gift, that's why it's called the present.
This could be cool. Not cheap, but cool.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/10/p...-style-with-t/
$2200
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yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, today is a gift, that's why it's called the present.
hahahaha thats awesome!
Taken with the 45-200mm...
P1120611_wm by Sam Bennett, on Flickr
Last edited by Idjiit; 08-15-2010 at 01:03 PM.
You know, i gotta say that my keeper ratio in terms of AF with the GF1 is so incredibly high. I don't know if its the increased DoF or what, but its very rare for me to toss a shot because the focus is out. Such a satisfying cameera to shoot with for people shooting.
Seriously good stuff!
Alright, I know you guys are probably getting sick of her, but here's one last shot of Ella, this time with the 20mm.
Went to NYC this weekend, ate at Restaurant Aquavit & Colicchio & songs, got some good shots in
Last edited by kayone; 08-23-2010 at 12:22 PM.
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