A party taken with my E-PL1 & Konica 57mm f1.4

A party taken with my E-PL1 & Konica 57mm f1.4, some with flash, some without flash, mostly at f2.0 or f2.8. The ones without flash was at either ISO1000 or ISO 1200, while with flash, it's at ISO200.

 

There was also a skit involving Oktoberfest and brewering. This was in a backyard, so there was very little light. I shot it at ISO1200 at f2.0, no flash and I have to say the Konica Hexanon f1.4 did a commendable job! There was some PP in Lightroom, too

 

And finally, a good old-fashion cream pie eating contest. All taken with flash.

There was 4 people competing, but two of them ended up throwing the pies at each other and chasing each other around w/ the pie. The last guy ended up losing to the girl, haha! The prize was a big gulp from Das Boot =D

 

Thanks! I really like the 57mm! It can be challenging to focus in low light, just because the LCD on the E-PL1 gets grainy, though.

I also noticed that sometimes, especially on f2.8 or larger, I can't get a sharp clean focus with maximum detail. Is it because the 57mm is not as sharp on the open end as it is on other f-stops?

What's the best f-stop to get the best balance of shallow DOF/bokeh and sharp, contrasty details?

 

So how are you counter-acting the softness besides stopping down a bit? Do you still rely on the LCD or did you get an EVF?