Gh1 Stills Image

S

sirk

Active member
Hello folks,
So I love the Gh1, I am very content with the video mode. But I come from stills photography and used DSLRs before I got the GH1. The thing is, pictures I shoot with it (stills) just don't look as -good- as with a Canon or Pentax DSLR.

I THINK.

Maybe thats just my fault, and I didn't try to produce good photos yet as much as I did for video but it just -feels- like it is not as good as.

I read reviews about the picture quality and stuff and they all say that the quality is very good, high dynamic range and so on, and actually I cannot say that I think the quality is bad. I also use prime lenses with f/1.4. Of course I get dramatic DOF. But, well, my problem is mostly a feeling.

I just wanted to ask you folks how you find the stills taken with this cam and why the heck Nikon seems to look better (maybe thats because much more people own a Nikon, therefore there are much more beautiful photos. Well try to be objective.)
 
I don't have a trained eye but I've seen some stunners taken on g1 which is pretty much the same as a gh1 yes no? But I look at the picture as a whole rather than pixel peep so that may have some influence in my opinion.

What model canon/nikon/pentax are you comparing the gh1 to? Some people i know swear that certain brands takes better pics than the other. One says canon, the other says nikon, I don't know what to believe sometimes.
 
My friend who is a photography enthusiast (more so than I) complained that the photos didn't "feel like a DSLR" more like a point and shoot. I mentioned this might be because I had the settings turned a certain way to maximize dynamic range, detail, etc. He then took a photo I took with those settings and tweaked it in Photoshop and now really likes the camera, also saying that he could tweak that photo a lot further than any he takes....some of them look really cool too.

A lot of image quality lost in facebook compression sorry, I think it cuts more out of fullsize photos than compressed ones (to a lower stopping point.) will look for a better copy but have to go soon.

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Ben,

I would certaily appreciate if you share your GH1 settings you used. I am looking to better images out of GH1 as well.
 
Stills from GH1, with bulb exposure...
 

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I like the GH1 for stills but they (and Panasonic's cameras in general) do have quite an electronic 'processed' look to them, when viewed at full scale 1:1 compared to a more traditional Canon or Nikon DSLR.

In raw mode however, it is better and the sharpness / detail (depending on lens) is best in class.

I feel the look of a photo has a lot more to do with the lens than the sensor anyway. What F1.4 are you using?
 
I actually love the gh1 for stills, I've been extremely impressed so far - and I come from shooting full-frame on the Canon 5D. I shoot a lot for various stock agencies, so technical image quality has to be *spot* on. And the gh1 hasn't disappointed yet:

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The variable aspect rations are incredibly useful, sharpness and detail is just as good as (and in many cases, better than) most APS-C cameras. I'll say this - the kit glass is no slouch at all. My suggestion is shoot RAW, and you'll be blown away by what you can get from such a tiny package.
 
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Beads hanging on a pink razor scooter
(BTW - I'm thinking of selling this lens, PM me an offer if you want)
 
those are really nice pictures guys! Let me see your best stuff! I'm impressed and waiting for more.
@commanderspike I'm using a canon FD 1.4 SSC. Wonderfull for the price. Bought it for 45€ on ebay with a Canon AE-1 ASLR attached to it ;)
 
here are some stills i took with my GH1. graded in Adobe Lightroom 2. (graded the JPGs as Lightroom can't work with the .rw2 format)

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i know I used the stock lens and a 50mm Canon FD 1.8. I can't remember off the top of my head which lens I used on which shot though! :O I can go back to the raw files and their should be meta data (right?) if you need to know for sure.
 
i think what it comes down to with the GH1, is that if you're a decent photographer and you're shooting in proper lighting conditions, AND you're using the camera properly and to its fullest potential you can come out with a great shot.
 
paulgandersman said:
i think what it comes down to with the GH1, is that if you're a decent photographer and you're shooting in proper lighting conditions, AND you're using the camera properly and to its fullest potential you can come out with a great shot.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that's what it comes down to with *every* camera
 
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