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Panasonic Lumix G5/6 questions


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I'm seriously considering ditching my Canon 550D DSLR bodies and lenses and swapping to Panasonic Lumix G5 (or G6 when available) and some micro 4/3rds lenses.

 

Reasons for this are

  1. I'm fed up with inaccuracy of phase AF on my Canon gear (Lumix appears to have very fast accurate contrast detect AF)
  2. Increased system portability

Are there any Alamy contributors using Lumix G series?

Which micro 4/3rd lenses do you recommend?

Any QC issues?

Any issues I should be aware of (my usual workflow is shoot in RAW, convert in LR4, edit in PSE to produce Alamy JPG)

Any comments on Lumix GH series versus G series - are they worth the extra cost/size/weight?

 

I mainly shoot landscape and some wildlife with occasional macro shot for Alamy. You can see the sort of images I submit by clicking on the Images link on extreme left.

 

Mark

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Mark

 

I shoot with a a G5, I've had it since late last year.  It's now that camera I take whenever I travel for a day or several days - its a real feather weight.  I only have 2 lenses at the moment - the Panasonic 14-42 and 45-150 kit lenses.  Not in the same class perhaps as my Nikon FF lenses, but they seem plenty good enough to pass QC.  I've had about 400 images accepted since I started using it. I generally shoot RAW below 320iso outdooors and max of 800iso indoors (markets etc).  The indoor shots I generally down sample to 24MB  and as I say, no problems with QC to-date after some noise reduction in LR.   I generally shoot a up to f8 outdoors as the smaller sensor helps with DoF andithe image stabilisation can be handy if no movement.  Indoors, I've been shooting close to or at max aperture and the 14-42 is still sharp enough for QC (not tried the 45-150 indoors).

 

I'm a travel shooter mainly and generally the Viewfinder OK for this (it's nearly as big as my Nikon D700).  However, not so good for moving subjects and can be a little difficult in really contrasty conditions - I'd have a question mark if I were doing a lot of wildlife shooting.  VF not bad enough to prevent picture taking, but not as good as a FF viewfinder.  However, I reasoned that when the conditions are OK (which is most of the time), the Viewfinder is probably better than a small optical on a crop frame.  Focus very quick on still subjects which covers most of my shooting, but I'd question it's ability with moving Wildlife.

 

Hope this helps

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I still use a G2 and have done for the past 2.5 years. Never had a image fail QC from the camera. What I love about it is the size and the fact you don't look like a professional when out and about.

 

Mostly I use the kit lens 14-42 and also have a Olympus 70-300.

 

Remember there is a 2x crop when looking at lenses.

 

My workflow is RAW to Aperture, save as JPG, send to Alamy.

 

Dave

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Many thanks for your replies. It's reassuring to hear that the results are good enough to pass QC.

 

How do you find the AF focussing accuracy, is it reliable?

 

I'm considering the G6 with 14-45mm (or 12-35) and 45-150mm (or 45-175) lenses.

 

I note that the thread entitled  "M43 as a replacement system" contains a similar discussion. Oops - I didn't realise what M43 stood for until recently!

 

Mark

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Ha, I didn't realise M43 meant that either until reading your post. I thought it was a camera called M43!

 

I find the focusing fine but not tried shooting moving targets etc... I tend to shoot landscape or street stuff.

 

The 14-45 is suppose to be better than the 14-42 but I had trouble finding one at the time.

 

The other thing to look at (as a second body) if the GF range, it is basically the same but in a compact and takes the same lenses. I thought of getting a GF2 to compliment my G2 and then no doubt I would always have a camera with me.

 

Dave

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Thanks for the idea - I've got a Canon G15 which I use as my "carry all the time" camera. But, it would be useful to have both cameras from the same system, especially if the one could also backup the other by swapping lenses. I suppose a GF body with the pancake 14-42 might be sufficiently "pocketable"

 

I also note the latest ACR 8.1 converter already supports the G6, wow that was quick!

 

Mark

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