About to buy a GH1 – please help!

J

Jean Dantes

Well-known member
Hi guys,
I am about to purchase a Panasonic GH1. I have a few questions in regards to accessories, and was wondering if you guys could please help me out?

1. I own a Canon FD 50mm f1.4 lens. Which is the BEST adaptor that I can buy so that it can be used with my GH1?

2. Which is the best SD card for the GH1?

3. I have never used ND filters before. Could someone please direct me to the best ND filters that can be used in accordance with the stock GH1 lens, and the best ND filters that can be used in accordance with my Canon FD 50mm lens?

Thank you for your time! Much appreciated!!
 
1) Ciecio7 adapter on eBay
2) A Panasonic SD card is probably the best. Do not buy Transcend because many users report card errors.
3) You can buy a Cokin P adapter then either buy Cokin ND filters or Singh-Ray or other companies that make ND filters that are compatible with the P system. That will save you a lot of money if you have multiple lenses.
 
Thanks so much for the reply PhilD!

1. Cool, I'll check that adaptor out. Do you know if it has infinity focus? (could you please give me the link to this ebay item too?)

2. I will definitely buy a Panasonic SD card. Is there a certain write speed I should look out for?

3. What is a Cokin P adaptor, and the "P system" in general?

Thanks again!!!
 
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Not to sidetrack the thread too much but I have used the transcend class 6 16GB without any issues.

What issues are people reporting?
 
I've also been using Transcend 8GB cards for many months in a pair of G1 cameras and in my GH1 for a couple of weeks with no issues whatsoever.

Cheers,
 
I believe one of the vendors on this board mentioned that out of 750+ Transcend cards they've sold, only 3 or 4 have been returned. And remember most people don't remember to format the card in camera before using it.
 
Seesh, for SD cards, just buy what's common and cheap. If you're worried, buy a Sandisk or a Lexar.
 
Sandisk Ultra II Class 4 works great! Good prices too. If you have a costco membership and there's one nearby you can pick em up locally for a decent price close to internet...$30 or so for 2 x 4GB cards.

Agree on Ciecio7 adapter...I got my nikon one from Jack Daniel Stanley but I am pretty sure it is a Ciecio7.

For ND filters I am using a Tiffen 62mm thread 0.9 ND filter and plan to get a 0.3 and a 0.6. I also have a step up ring, 52mm to 62mm so I can use it for my nikon lenses, and plan to, at some point, get a step down ring so I can use it with this sigma lens I have that is 77mm (but the glass is closer to 52mm.) I know people prefer the mounts and variable ones and such but this works great for me and is very simple and cheap and you're not committed to buying lots of filters...so far just the 0.9 has been working well for me....I figure if I need to cut fewer than 3 stops I will just stop down...but I will probably pick up a less intense filter @ some point.
 
Jean is in Australia, where Costco is not prevalent. :P

I'm still undecided if a filter holder (like the Cokin, Lee systems) make more sense or screw-on filters are better. I'm using some cheap Hoyas for the time being with the kit till I decide. But for screw-on filters I can highly recommend Hoya SHMCs; very little flaring and ghosting with the SHMC coatings.
 
Thanks to everyone for the feedback!

I will look into all the memory cards suggested. I don't mind what brand I end up with, I am only concerned with getting a memory card that has the correct write-speed.

Can somebody please provide me with a link to where I can purchase a Ciecio7 adapter?

What do you guys think of this adapter:

http://cgi.ebay.com/FD-Lens-To-pana...ries?hash=item3a51580d7b&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Will I have to only buy one set of ND filters for both my Canon FD lens and the stock lens that comes with the GH1? (sorry for the n00b questions, I'm new to this!)
 
I'm using step-up rings on my lenses to get to 77mm then I have a B+W circular polarizer and then a Cokin P holder into which I mount Hitech ND and/or Singh-Ray ND grads. Simple and a whole lot less expensive than outfitting multiple lenses.

Cheers,
 
I have a whole set of NDs myself. Hoya's HMC, pretty cheap but good. They've worked well for me thus far. Oh and I followed the advice of someone on here and got two ND8s (.9 I believe) because actually in full on bright summer sun the double ND8s are needed. Stacking a .9/.6/.3 will probably result in vignetting.

IF I could do it over again I would've picked up the Fader ND that's on ebay for $100. Basically with a twist of a ring allows you to change the ND level to whatever you please. Really cool because it allows for a pseudo manual iris change while you are shooting. Do a search for Fader ND on the forums and I'm sure you'll find the link. Sorry don't have it offhand.

Oh and twisting a ring > twisting and replacing delicate filters. Boy that can be time consuming.
 
Thanks yabyum, I didn't even know there were such things as "Fader ND filters". Sorry for this n00b question, but if I have the stock GH1 lens, and a Canon FD 50mm f1.4, what thread sizes am I looking at? I don't mind buying a Fader ND for each lens.

Thanks for link too Ozpeter!

Thanks again to the replies, much appreciated!
 
yabyum said:
Oh and twisting a ring > twisting and replacing delicate filters. Boy that can be time consuming.
Click to expand...

This is where my Cokin set-up shines. I have a ring adapter on each lens and then it's just a snap-off snap-on operation to move the NDs between lenses.

Fader / Vari-NDs are a good fast solution in many situations but they can make the sky shift in colour and lightness when panning / tilting. Ditto for reflections in objects like cars and streets. Gets even more noticeable when handheld and dutching the cam around the optical axis.
 
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