is the 20mm 1.7 that people use on the GH1 the same as the GF1 kit lens?

T

tikigod19

Well-known member
Hi all,

I've just bought a GH1 and considered buying the 20mm 1.7 lens but wondered if someone could someone clarify a point about the lens...

on dpreview.com there is a picture of the (smaller) GF1 with the GH1's 14-140 lens on it and it says...

"Using the adaptor, the G1 can mount the full range of legacy Four Thirds lenses. However, its smaller size can result in combinations that are less well balanced than would be the case with Four Thirds DSLRs."

Now I have a GH1 and was considering buying a 20mm 1.7 panny prime. I then saw its only slightly more with the GF1 body so thought i might buy it as a more handy body. However now after reading that a converter might be needed to use the 14-140, could someone confirm that the 20mm 1.7 that comes with the GF1 is the same as the 20mm 1.7 that people generally buy for use with the GH1?

Many thanks in advance

edit: Ive just noticed it says "the G1 can mount the full range of legacy Four Thirds lenses" and not MICRO four thirds... so now I suppose my question is.. is the 20mm f1.7 micro four thirds and therefore will it fit to both the GF1 and GH1 without an adapter?
 
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Correct the GF1 and the GH1 have exactly the same mount, therefore the lenses are interchangeable.


It's a fantastic len get it :)
 
the question is it worth the £200 or so extra for the GF1 body... seems like a nice carry around camera to have when I don't want to take out the GH1! What do you think?
 
They're actually pretty close in size. I'd just pick up the lens. GF1 is gonna depreciate pretty fast and they're not much different in size really and take basically identical photos so you'll probably just end up using one.
 
thanks Ben, it was my fear that I'd end up using one. Perhaps I'll research the size difference a bit more and go into a local store to compare before I buy either the 20 or the 20 + GF1. I thought it was a bit smaller than it obviously is.

However, it seems the 20 is a worthwhile purchase on its own? I usually wouldnt consider a 20mm prime as I think I'm saying the wider the lens the more likely you are to lose your narrow depth of field which other than low light use is the point in a prime?
 
The point of a prime is good image quality. The 20mm f/1.7 is crazy sharp at critical focus, even wide open, and is capable of plenty shallow DOF, particularly if you're close to your subject. Here's a wide open shot of mine, still image:
4565417254_382af145e2_z.jpg
 
looks fantastic. I never knew they were meant to be particularly crisper than other lenses, I thought it was all about the DOF.
I'd be interested to see some more 20mm samples, when i google I seem to find the same web gallery and they're all relatively wide f16 shots with only a couple of f1.7
 
20mm pancake is nice... but mine doesnt look like a pancake anymore. a stack of rings and filters...

- 46mm cheap uv filter (removed the glass... forcefully)
- 46 to 52 step-up ring
- 52mm tiffen black diffusion fx #3 filter
- 52mm fader nd filter

the first two rings are on it always. the diffusion filter for video. the nd filter during bright sunny day. the fully "loaded" pancake is about the size of my nikkor 50mm 1.4 ai-s without an adapter. haha. pics look darn good without the filters.

but AF speed isnt fast. gh2 demo showed much faster AF.

MF... the focus ring diameter is bigger than canon fd 50 1.4's. from the closest focus to infinity, its like 360 rotation. i wish panny updates the lens firmware to cut to 180.
 
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I bought my 20mm the same way, by purchasing it as part of a reduced price GF1 kit. (Also, because when I bought the GF1, it was much easier to get the combo than the 20mm alone)

Even though I had the GH1 first, and I bought the GF1 just for the lens, I have used the GF1 a ton of times since. The overall size may not be much different but the flat form factor of the GF1 makes it much easier to carry along and I find the build quality to be higher than the GH1 - it simply feels sturdy enough to throw in a bag and drag everywhere.

For the price difference (20mm price alone versus the extra cost of 20mm plus GF1 body) it has been a no brainer for me - I would do it again.

tikigod19 said:
the question is it worth the £200 or so extra for the GF1 body... seems like a nice carry around camera to have when I don't want to take out the GH1! What do you think?
Click to expand...
 
I really dont see the value of owning both GH1 and GF1. GF1+ EVF is almost as big as GH1. I was never a fan of viewfinder. But after realizing 20mm pancake is pretty darn good option at the focal length for m43 w/o vignetting, I often use EVF instead of LCD to squeeze out last bit of bigger framing. e.g. taking a video on my friend sitting on a table in a crowded restaurant. the evf stabilizes a bit, too.
 
The GF1 can be significantly more compact than the GH1 when used with extremely compact lens - the Lumix 20mm and 14-45mm zoom, but also a wide variety of petite C-mount lenses. However, the GF1's sensor is noticeably noisier than the GH1 in low-light conditions. This makes GF1 better suited as a point-and-shoot rangefinder than as a video camera.
 
stonebat said:
20mm pancake is nice... but mine doesnt look like a pancake anymore. a stack of rings and filters...

- 46mm cheap uv filter (removed the glass... forcefully)
- 46 to 52 step-up ring
- 52mm tiffen black diffusion fx #3 filter
- 52mm fader nd filter

the first two rings are on it always. the diffusion filter for video. the nd filter during bright sunny day. the fully "loaded" pancake is about the size of my nikkor 50mm 1.4 ai-s without an adapter. haha. pics look darn good without the filters.

but AF speed isnt fast. gh2 demo showed much faster AF.

MF... the focus ring diameter is bigger than canon fd 50 1.4's. from the closest focus to infinity, its like 360 rotation. i wish panny updates the lens firmware to cut to 180.
Click to expand...

I really like the focus diameter...360º is pretty good for manually focusing video slowly and steadily.
 
stonebat said:
I really dont see the value of owning both GH1 and GF1. GF1+ EVF is almost as big as GH1. I was never a fan of viewfinder. But after realizing 20mm pancake is pretty darn good option at the focal length for m43 w/o vignetting, I often use EVF instead of LCD to squeeze out last bit of bigger framing. e.g. taking a video on my friend sitting on a table in a crowded restaurant. the evf stabilizes a bit, too.
Click to expand...

GF1 viewfinder attachment also sucks.
 
tikigod19 said:
looks fantastic. I never knew they were meant to be particularly crisper than other lenses, I thought it was all about the DOF.
I'd be interested to see some more 20mm samples, when i google I seem to find the same web gallery and they're all relatively wide f16 shots with only a couple of f1.7
Click to expand...

If you're shooting a wide subject like a landscape you get pretty sharp across the board at f/1.7 which is nice...it means you can get wide shots with "deep DOF" (not actually deep, just no subjects in foreground) which means you can use it wide open for wide coverage at night...assuming you're actually far from your subject.
 
Yeah, agree (though not a huge difference for me), I use GF1 as stills only when I want something small and use the GH1 for video.

lpowell said:
However, the GF1's sensor is noticeably noisier than the GH1 in low-light conditions. This makes GF1 better suited as a point-and-shoot rangefinder than as a video camera.
Click to expand...
 
if i have money for gh1 and gf1, i'd rather get gh2...

btw heres how i use gh1 in run-and-gun style. i took some parts out of r-strap and attached to my good old canon compact camera bag. hehe. thats a pancake with 46mm ring and 46-to-52 step up ring. albeit the bag looks small, it can carry 2 more lenses and ipad/iphone. carbine hook to secure the bag on blue jeans. the camera can easily slide up and down.

photo_002.JPG
 
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LPowell is right, as always -- the GF1's sensor is noisier than the GH1's, so low-light video shooting is tougher. And Ben-B is right, too -- the GF1's EVF sucks, big time. Just awful.

So why did I pick the GF1 over the GH1?

Lots of reasons. I prefer the rangefinder form factor on ergonomic and admittedly aesthetic grounds. The GF1's Japanese build quality is much higher and tighter than the Chinese GH1's -- my GF1's solid as an ingot, built like a brick bit house. Even knowing about the GH1's better sensor and, in the pre-hack days, better range of options for video, holding them both in my hand it was a no-brainer which one I wanted to drop a grand on.

The hacked firmware did much to level the playing field, and I've got some helpers to fill in the blanks. I try to avoid low light shooting but if it's unavoidable, I have Neat Video's NR plugin to save the footage. And thanks to Emm at cheesycam.com I added the $60 eBay LCDVF knockoff that works just as well as the real one and kicks the GF1's electronic EVF to the curb.

I love that the GF1 can go from tiny featherweight Leica-esque rangefinder with the 20mm pancake to pro-grade HD video camera just by slapping Canon FD glass and the LCDVF on it. I'm at peace with its shortcomings vs. the GH1 because taken on the whole it's exactly the camera I want. If I had to do it all over again I'd still choose the GF1.
 
GF1 has better build quality. If you don't need a swivel LCD and a built-in evf, GF1 makes sense.

I'm speculating that future GH and GF models will deviate more and more from each other as GF series gets smaller. but the difference between GH1 and GF1 is... only 3.5 oz. its really nothing.

I gave up on the small factor advantage ever since I got the legacy lenses such as Nikkor 85mm 1.4 ai-s. But GH1 + pancake is small enough to carry around all day. When taking photos, evf is quite useful.
 
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