I promised a few weeks ago that I'd sound the alert when this happened: The Panasonic GF1 and 20mm ƒ/1.7 lens combo is back in stock at Amazon. For list price, no premium.
I made the mistake of trying to shoot mine at ISO 1600 in a dimly-lit interior at a Christmas party not long ago. May I just say, "Oops"? But in general I'm really enjoying it. It is if nothing else a whole lotta fun to shoot with.
Mike
It will depend upon the image, of course, but ISO 1600 doesn't look too bad if you hit it with Noise Ninja then convert it to B&W. It may not be the effect you wanted, but something's better than nothing, right?
Posted by: Jeffrey Goggin | Wednesday, 23 December 2009 at 09:14 AM
Mike. Shoot at iso 100 in low light and use the force. I have been amazed at the low light capability at 1/20 of the 20mm. It is a fast lens. I do under expose 1/3 stop as a rule.
And I have used the 45-200 at the same settings and I am not as steady as I used to be. but the images are sharp sharp sharp.
This camera amazes me. Easily as sharp as the sony 900 IS and the tonality is special.
Posted by: Paul Bailey | Wednesday, 23 December 2009 at 09:18 AM
Woo Hoo!!!
Thank you !
Merry Christmas!
Woo Hoo!
Posted by: Terry Moore | Wednesday, 23 December 2009 at 09:45 AM
Yes, I set the auto ISO limit at 800. 1600 starts looking pretty ropey. Great fun little camera though.
Posted by: Julian | Wednesday, 23 December 2009 at 11:31 AM
"It is if nothing else a whole lotta fun to shoot with."
It's funny, but for me that's the number one criteria when it comes to shooting, and that pertains to either the subject or the camera. What better reason is there to be a photographer?
Posted by: Josh Hawkins | Wednesday, 23 December 2009 at 11:31 AM
I shot this image at ISO 1600 with the G1, which supposedly has the same sensor as the GF1, and I'm pretty happy with it:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schani/4113755644/
Granted, I wouldn't want to work with it in color, but fortunately I'm not a color guy.
Posted by: Mark Probst | Wednesday, 23 December 2009 at 11:53 AM
Hey Mike,
You need a Pentax K-x if you're going to try that high ISO stuff. ;-)
ISO 3200
ISO 12800
I regard the latter as an emergency thing, but it's still impressive when one considers that this is pretty much what ISO 800 looked like out of my first DSLR, a Canon D60.
Posted by: Chris | Wednesday, 23 December 2009 at 12:05 PM
I wonder when the body only will be available for those of us who already have the Panasonic lenses?
Posted by: John Mitchell | Wednesday, 23 December 2009 at 12:42 PM
John Mitchell,
Here's the link.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Wednesday, 23 December 2009 at 01:06 PM
It is better to do your own tests, but based on DXOmark data for Pana G1 ISO 800 is last good hardware ISO boost & with good RAW converter you will get better images at ISO 1600 & 3200 via converter push from underexposed ISO 800 images.
But this data is for G1, GH1 may be different.
Also, not all converters are made equal. ACR usually isn't best choice for such tasks.
(My personal preference is Raw Photo Processor (mac only). It is free & results are great.)
Posted by: Doroga | Thursday, 24 December 2009 at 06:09 AM
Indeed, based on how modern DSLRs are doing, I'd have expected the GF1 to be better at ISO 1600, about the only disappointment I have with it. (OK, it should have in-body IS, but I find to my surprise I can take sharp pictures with it and the 20mm at 1/15th.)
I hope that if you find out the reason it seems to be a little behind the curve there, you'll let us know.
(It's probably not Pana's fault, nobody else seems to be doing significantly better with a compact camera.)
Posted by: Eolake Stobblehouse | Friday, 25 December 2009 at 02:32 PM
Happy New Year Mike,
Do the Panasonic Lenses communicate the correction info to the E-P1/2, and visa versa with the Oly Lenses and the GF1?
Greetings from ice caked NW Wisconsin...
Posted by: John Minor | Saturday, 02 January 2010 at 09:42 PM