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Anyone here use the Panasonic 20/1.7 with their Pen?

Discussion in 'Olympus Cameras' started by chylld, Jan 13, 2010.

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  1. chylld

    chylld Mu-43 Regular

    160
    Jan 13, 2010
    PEN + Panasonic 20/1.7; UPDATE: bought! First impressions

    As eluded to in my earlier post I'm in the hunt for the perfect m43 combo, which I think might just be the E-P2 with the Panasonic 20/1.7 pancake lens.

    Does anyone here use this combo? How's the AF speed?

    Edit 26/1: Picked up my E-P1 and 20/1.7 today! First (very positive) impressions here.
     
    chylld, Jan 13, 2010
    #1
  2. chylld

    chylld Mu-43 Regular

    160
    Jan 13, 2010
    chylld, Jan 13, 2010
    #2
  3. Brian Mosley

    Brian Mosley Administrator Emeritus

    2,998
    Dec 15, 2009
    Brian Mosley, Jan 13, 2010
    #3
  4. Streetshooter

    Streetshooter Administrator Emeritus

    5,137
    Dec 15, 2009
    Phila, Pa USA
    I use the Pen 1 with the 20 and it's THE street camera.
    I will update the firmware tonight but won't post my excitement for fear of being called a hobbyist.......
     
    Streetshooter, Jan 13, 2010
    #4
  5. jgranseth

    jgranseth New to Mu-43

    2
    Jan 8, 2010
    Oslo, Norway
    Hi guys! My first post to this forum ;)

    I'm in the same boat as you chylld.. I'm looking to buy the e-p2 and I'm also planning to pair it with the panny 20mm f1.7. So.. any comments on this combo would be welcome ;)

    I'm all new to the m43-world, so any advise here would be great!
     
    jgranseth, Jan 13, 2010
    #5
  6. chylld

    chylld Mu-43 Regular

    160
    Jan 13, 2010
    Excuse me while I rant a little.

    From all the research that I've done (and from my short experience with the GF1 + 20/1.7) the E-P2 + 20/1.7 is the best m43 combo out there. (Once it gets the same AF performance boost that the E-P1 just did.)

    The killing point for the GF1 is that it doesn't have in-body IS, and most probably never will because Panasonic puts IS into (some of) its lenses, so developing an in-body IS will be largely redundant, if it works at all. The 20/1.7 is a fast lens yes, but in my use (lots of casual indoor snaps) I still got quite a few blurry shots as the camera hit ISO800 and started slowing down.

    I'm most likely going to get the cheapest E-P1 I can find since the E-P2's improvements mean nothing to me. The E-P2's EVF is fantastic, but I want a compact camera that I don't have to hold to my eye. Also your subjects won't notice you so much if you shoot from the hip :)

    /rant

    Welcome btw! :biggrin:
     
    chylld, Jan 13, 2010
    #6
  7. Bikenut

    Bikenut Mu-43 Rookie

    11
    Jan 10, 2010
    Ireland
    EP1 and 20mm.....is cool.

    I use this combo for indoor and nightime lowlight handheld shooting. I find it awesome due to two factors....my type of shooting, and camera stabilization. I shoot static (cityscapes) or semi-posed subjects (restaurant/bar shots) mostly. The camera stabilization and this fast lens lets me shoot at very low ISOs keeping my IQ at a higher level.

    I had the GF1 before the EP1, which I enjoyed. But I found that I would be using ISOs of 800 and 1600 on a lot of occasions, which was pushing my IQ to the limit with this type of camera. With the EP1....I find that a lot of my shots now are in about the ISO200-400 range which are far better, IQ wise.

    The new firmware has increased focus speed too which is now a bonus. The only way I can describe the experience now is that before, you felt that the EP1 was no quicker than the P&S experience of a G10 (and at times even slower!). Now I don't get that feeling anymore and you feel it is a step up from a P&S now. It is a lot more responsive and sure.
    But it still isn't as fast as a GF1....so one will need to decide on their priorities first. For my type of shooting, I discoved that the EP1 offers more benefits to me with camera stabilization. Others will find the faster AF of the GF1 will offer them more benefits.
    It's also worth noting that there is an Olympus promotion on in Europe at the moment where they are given away a free flash (FL14), which I availed of. This offer runs until February, I think.
     
    Bikenut, Jan 14, 2010
    #7
  8. PeterB666

    PeterB666 Mu-43 Top Veteran

    780
    Jan 14, 2010
    Tura Beach, Australia
    Peter
    This is my main lens on the E-P1 and yes, it is a lot quicker after upgrading the E-P1 to firmware v 1.2

    Before upgrade, 1.0 to 1.2 seconds on S-AF, after upgrade around 0.6s!!!!

    Nice!
     
    PeterB666, Jan 14, 2010
    #8
  9. jgranseth

    jgranseth New to Mu-43

    2
    Jan 8, 2010
    Oslo, Norway
    thanks for your thoughts guys :)
    the slower AF will be no problem for me as the e-p2 will be my 2nd cam.. for action and fast moving stuff i will use my slr :)

    But does the e-p1 have faster AF than the e-p2 now?? or are the improvements already incorporated into the e-p2's firmware?

    Bikenut: do you have any more info on the free flash??
     
    jgranseth, Jan 14, 2010
    #9
  10. PowderDave

    PowderDave Mu-43 Rookie

    11
    Jan 21, 2010
    Manchester, UK
    Not got the EP-2 I'm still enjoying the EP-1, but it works a treat with the 20/1.7
    Really sharp, very quick to focus, manual focus is very bright too and much easier in low light.
    Not sure it looks as nice as the 17mm thought on the silver body.
     
    PowderDave, Jan 21, 2010
    #10
  11. chylld

    chylld Mu-43 Regular

    160
    Jan 13, 2010
    Thanks, I just bit the bullet and ordered an E-P1 w/ 20/1.7 :)

    It will look a bit funny, and probably even funnier with the retro leatherette kit I ordered!
     
    chylld, Jan 21, 2010
    #11
  12. Brian Mosley

    Brian Mosley Administrator Emeritus

    2,998
    Dec 15, 2009
    I don't think it will look funny - what colour E-P1 have you ordered?

    This is a killer combination... the E-P2 will be nice for legacy lens focusing, but the E-P1 is unbelievably well matched with this lens.

    Cheers

    Brian
     
    Brian Mosley, Jan 21, 2010
    #12
  13. chylld

    chylld Mu-43 Regular

    160
    Jan 13, 2010
    Yeah through my own research, the E-P1 is the best value digital back for legacy lenses, where "legacy" implies new leica M-mount glass :) (currently eyeing a Zeiss 50/2....)

    Ordered a silver E-P1. Maybe I'll chrome the grey ring of the 20/1.7 to match??
     
    chylld, Jan 21, 2010
    #13
  14. BBW

    BBW Super Moderator Emeritus

    6,229
    Jan 13, 2010
    Near "Playland" outside of NYC, NY, USA
    Ah, an aftermarket chrome, eh?:biggrin:
     
    BBW, Jan 21, 2010
    #14
  15. Brian Mosley

    Brian Mosley Administrator Emeritus

    2,998
    Dec 15, 2009
    The silver E-P1 is beautiful - I'm only half tempted to apply the leatherette kit... the camera works so well 'bare' so to speak. :smile:

    Cheers

    Brian
     
    Brian Mosley, Jan 21, 2010
    #15
  16. chylld

    chylld Mu-43 Regular

    160
    Jan 13, 2010
    I think the black E-P2 is the best visual match for the 20mm... but I can't justify spending the extra money just for the looks and a viewfinder that tbh I'll rarely use!

    The E-P1 does work well barenaked, but for some reason I'm really digging the full retro look. Maybe it's cos it makes it look more like a Leica :p
     
    chylld, Jan 21, 2010
    #16
  17. chylld

    chylld Mu-43 Regular

    160
    Jan 13, 2010
    My E-P1 and 20/1.7 arrived today!! :)

    First impression: Heavy :) Second impression: AF speed. Even with the E-P1 running firmware 1.0, the AF with the 20/1.7 is pretty much the same as the GF1. Updated it to firmware 1.2, and *drum roll* ... it's still pretty much the same! Which means it's plenty fine enough and all of that internet talk about the E-P1 having slow AF is thankfully largely rubbish. (At least with this lens.)

    In a near-pitch-black room however, the E-P1 struggles to lock focus just like my D90 + 28-75/2.8. The GF1 would lock focus here without a problem - that I have to concede.

    BUT! Image stabilisation is the reason why I switched from the GF1 to the E-P1 and the Olympus does NOT disappoint! Every single one of my photos (and I've taken almost a hundred so far) is pin-sharp. Of the first 100 of my GF1 photos (same lens, same environment), 29 showed camera shake.

    There were 2 hot pixels on the sensor though - I was a bit worried but then found out that the camera has in-built pixel re-mapping. Simply told the camera to do its thing, and it found the pixels and fixed them! Unbelievable.

    The E-P1 is also much much nicer to hold - the rubbery grip on the front and the larger bulge at the top right of the back surface means you don't have to hold the camera with much strength. Only downside is the camera strap which gets in the way more often than not, but if I can't get used to it I'll simply take it off.

    Now to ebay off the 14-42....
     
    chylld, Jan 25, 2010
    #17
    • Like Like x 1
  18. BBW

    BBW Super Moderator Emeritus

    6,229
    Jan 13, 2010
    Near "Playland" outside of NYC, NY, USA
    Congrats on your new camera and wonderful lens! Very exciting! :yahoo:
     
    BBW, Jan 25, 2010
    #18
  19. chylld

    chylld Mu-43 Regular

    160
    Jan 13, 2010
    Couple of quick pics of my new toy! (Well it would be rude not to...)

    20100126-1020031.
    20100126-1020033.
     
    chylld, Jan 25, 2010
    #19
    • Like Like x 1
  20. hohoho

    hohoho Mu-43 Regular

    170
    Jan 24, 2010
    Tokyo
    I don't have this lens. I've also never used any M43 camera/lens combination for more than a couple of dozen photographs. (As explained in another thread, after taking that number on my brand new G1, I half destroyed it. It's now on its way back to the factory.)

    But I'm surprised about worries about focusing time for street photography. 20mm is short enough for considerable DoF outdoors in the daytime. Why not just set it at 3 metres or whatever (depending on the place and your style) and bang away?
     
    hohoho, Jan 25, 2010
    #20
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