Some shots from my new Panasonic GX1

[Scottish Steve]

Hi all<br>I got the GX1 a few days ago and am very pleased with it. I didn't look at the OM-D or NEX-7 as they are too expensive; something about the PENs left me cold- I didn't even look at them, though I know they are capable cameras. I did check out the NEX-5N and hated it. But as soon as I picked up the GX1 it felt right- how I'd&nbsp;hoped the LX5&nbsp;would be&nbsp;before I picked it up in the shop. The interface, build and image quality of the GX1 is good-&nbsp;I adore the creamy Leica Monochrome and can't wait to check out the results with a sharper lens. This is a camera with a very sensible design to it, leaving&nbsp;nothing out but keeping things as simple as possible, with oodles of contact points and great customability. You do have to Exp. Comp by about 2/3 of a stop in&nbsp;most situations. Good thing is this is quite consistent and has none of the 'overcooked' mids of&nbsp;recent Nikon offerings. If you're not using too high ISO, Silkypics can bring things back to proper exposure without any noticeable degradation if you forget to compensate and for static or portrait shots, Manual mode is a breeze.&nbsp;The AF is, for all intents and purposes, instant, and accurate, though please be aware that the metering, which is very good on the whole, cannot keep up&nbsp;when, for instance, swinging the body up from the hip to shoot a candid against a summer sky. The Chinese use of parasols helps in this respect. The focus-tap feature is ludicrously simple and effective. I doubt I'll want to go back to press-press-pressing&nbsp;tiny buttons again.&nbsp;Here are some recent shots

[Bolaberlim]

Great shots! I'm a fan of the format myself, although I went the PEN route. I had the exact same reaction to the Panasonics you did to Pens. It's not my thing. That's why there's variety, right? In any case, m4/3 is IMO the best format for walk around cameras. They have serious image quality in a small package! When the GXQ was released it was way ahead of the PEN cameras, now that the OM was released, it's ahead of the panny. At this rate, in a couple of years we'll have cameras that are able to outperform any current SLR. Impressive!

[Scottish Steve]

Did you look at the GX1 itself? The GF3 left me cold also. I just did a test print-run of 6 shots at 13.5 by 18 inches @240dpi. Very clean with no artifacts due to resolution inadequacy. I am quite certain that exhibition size 15 by 20 will pose little problem. (I know it's supposed to be 16 by 20 but its so close only a sychophant would have a problem with that.)
Have you any experience with the difference in image quality going from 240 to 225? I was confident enough from what I've read to go from 300 to 240, (which nearly caused an international incident in the print shop BTW), but am wondering about going to 225 rather than using software to upres.

[Bolaberlim]

Did you look at the GX1 itself? The GF3 left me cold also. I just did a test print-run of 6 shots at 13.5 by 18 inches @240dpi. Very clean with no artifacts due to resolution inadequacy. I am quite certain that exhibition size 15 by 20 will pose little problem. (I know it's supposed to be 16 by 20 but its so close only a sychophant would have a problem with that.)
Have you any experience with the difference in image quality going from 240 to 225? I was confident enough from what I've read to go from 300 to 240, (which nearly caused an international incident in the print shop BTW), but am wondering about going to 225 rather than using software to upres.

I did, the body is online with the GF1, which in my view has a better body than the GF2 or 3. The form is just not my thing. I have big hands, and I prefer longer bodies so that some of my grip will come from the palm of the hand and not just the finger tips. On the Ep-3 I do one hand photos with no problem, I preset my aperture using Aperture priority and I'm good to go, if needed I can twirl the right up wheel to change aperture with no problem. Perfect for the times when I am holding my daughter's hand :) . I use the 14mm pancake which I think is panasonic best lens. The 20mm is sharper but has slow AF and is more expensive, the 14mm is cheap, has great IQ, fast AF, and is really small. Best bang for buck ever! And 28mm is just the right focal distance for me. So I feel the PEN is a lot more appropriate for me. Plus it looks awesome! :)
I never do prints that big, so have never done a higher resolution. I am changing decor in my living room this summer, so will try some larger prints. I'll let you know how they turn out. As you can see I'm pure amateur!

[Bolaberlim]

I do miss a viewfinder though... will probably buy one, but truth is, it looks horrible....

[Scottish Steve]

I get your logic. You must feel comfortable with such a tactile object. I am of course looking for a better lens right out of the block- got the power 14-42mm and the ghosting issue at full zoom with shutter speeds of < 1/320 is an issue, though otherwise it's not bad at all. I'm a bit annoyed I can't turn the shutter sound off as yet (might be just me but it still clicks even with mute on-it's a nice sound, very meaty, but several times I've had unsuspecting subjects turn round and go "What the hell?" just after I've taken their picture.) which seems bizarre when they're touting a silent zoom as their flasgship. Slow AF on the 20mm is pushing me to the "Leica" 25mm f/1.4. This is a "very desirable lens" (www.photozone.de) with fast AF. The form factor of the 14mm is great but just a little too wide for me and the barrel distortion is very bad by all accounts. Ideally I'd like a Leica 18mm but it's of course not available. I strongly urge you to get some big prints done. It really hits home the quality of your camera and makes your pictures seem 'real'. This shot was not photoshopped in any way and came out at 13.5 by 18 inches absolutely perfectly. It's the view from my friend's balcony and she was thrilled when I presented her with the print last night.

[Scottish Steve]

Whoah. Harsh! It's not as eye-straining as this at 50% view and over, honest. And I did straighten it before printing.
I also find no viewfinder liberating and love a fixed screen. Makes it less of a technogizmo and more of a rangefinder. Just my feeling.

[Bolaberlim]

Barrel distortion can be corrected, in fact, in the GX1 it's corrected automatically. True it's not an optical correction, it's pure digital, but does it really matter? The 25mm is a sweet lens, but way out of my price range. The 14-42 with power zoom, is very well suited for video, and I believe the silent and smooth action of the zoom is meant for video purposes. it's not like manual zooms make any noise when zooming in and people notice them... The shutter sound however could be an issue for stealth photos. I've seen a shutter comparison between a 7D and GF1, and the GF1 was actually louder. I don't know about the GX1 though. It didn't seem really loud to me, but it's different trying it in a busy store than in a quiet place.

Have you tried going into the shutter menu and disabling the sound? Or did you just go to the beep menu to remove the beeps? It seems the Mute was for the beeps instead of shutter.This is from a LX2 but it should be pretty similar I think...

[Bolaberlim]

I really like this photo, seems like there's a bit of distortion there too, but I really don't like perfect shots. Imperfection is not boring, and it sometimes brings something unusual to ponder...

[Scottish Steve]

It needs a tiny bit straightened (done in full-size version but not changed in the small one for web), but I don't think there's much distortion. Though I have had to slightly correct a couple of shots in the last week or so despite the camera doing its best and this is from a lens with much less distortion than the 14mm. It's something I've noticed with a few MFT lens reviews in fact, hence the Leica purchase in the medium term. The in-camera correction/lens combo of my D5100/AF-S 35mm f/1.8 G DX seems a lot more reliable. I find this annoying with MFT lens manufacturing- it's like they've decided it doesn't matter, but they're not cheap enough to justify this attitude.