I'm starting to think that there's some special sauce in the Panasonic 20 F1.7 because you can achieve a nice, subtle 3D effect when it's shot wide open from a certain distance, say 5 to 6 feet. Here, this fellow is pretty sharp from head to toe while the background has a delicate soft focus. If you look at the grab bar above his head you can see that the depth of field a handful of feet deep, from his elbow, across his body, and a bit beyond. This is a very workable DOF for these kinds of shots. And it helps that the lens is sharp even wide open.
I also like the rendering of his houndstooth coat, including the wrinkles in his sleeve. At 100% there is a little splotchiness along the back, near the bottom, in the shadow. It's could be a little moire coming through.
Panasonic GH2 with 20mm F1.7 @ ISO800, F1.7, 1/125
I also like the rendering of his houndstooth coat, including the wrinkles in his sleeve. At 100% there is a little splotchiness along the back, near the bottom, in the shadow. It's could be a little moire coming through.
Panasonic GH2 with 20mm F1.7 @ ISO800, F1.7, 1/125
John
ReplyDeleteGreat blog and photos. I question - have there been many (any) situations where you really wish you had the K-5?
Lee
Great question, Lee. I've made some references to the K-5 while using the GH2, which you can find by searching for "K-5" or clicking here.
ReplyDeleteI'll try to post more thoughts on this in the coming week.
Thanks again...john
K5 or GH2? I am agonising over the choice; don't have the luxury of having both but I already have a G1 kit and some Pentax glass! I have tried a K5 and it was wonderful except I had focus issues so it has gone back. I am trying to decide t go for another one or plump for the GH2. I'm not really interested in video. If there is an IQ improvement for stills and the EVF is better over the G1 then that might be enough but there's more to all this than straight image quality.
ReplyDeleteA camera that is maybe easier to hold, easier to focus manually, has no BF/FF issues, has that lovely swivel LCD that can even be placed horizontally and used as either a waist level finder or placed in INFO display mode a substitute for the K5 top LSD.
It's tough and I suspect the 14-140 Panny zoom is better stablelised than the K5 in-body (though the latter wins for all lenses).
I also find closing one eye and squinting through a OVF a bit of a strain on the closed eye too.
Anyway, enough of me rabitting on. I guess I just need to try a GH2 and see.
Best wishes
Lee
Nice shot, timeless! Almost a filmshot from the fifties. I want the GH2 but am unsure whether or not to buy with stocklens 14-40. What do you think of that lens? (as a runaround lens)
ReplyDeleteJeroen
Jeroen,
ReplyDeleteThe 14-140 is nice but slow. Most useful outdoor with a lot of light. Struggles everywhere else, and the small apertures eliminates any chance of DOF control. If I wasn't shooting video I'd probably sell it. There are rumors of a ~5x zoom thats F2.8-F3.5. It may be worth seeing if that comes out. Fast zooms is the big hole in the M43 lineup, but at the end of the day, I'm just more of a primes shooter.
Thanks, John. I should have mentioned my lenses are picked for filming.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the little guy, the 14-42? It's only 100 euro's extra...
By the way, I have just bought a set of primes: 3 Carl Zeiss Jena and 3 Meyer Optiks, from 20mm to 135 mm, all prepped for film. (gearless, handmade focusrings, fotodiox adapters for my Canon 550D)I look forward to mount them on a GH2.
What are in your experience the best adapters for the GH2?
thanks again,
Jeroen