Hi first post. I recently joined the m4/3 bandwagon with the G1. Being a Nikon D300 owner I wanted something small & light that i could take with me all the time, either in a large coat pocket or a small bag, the Slingshot 100 being perfect for this camera. Well after having the G1 for a couple of months now im very impressed with it image quality, upto ISO 800 images are great, in fact even at iso 1600 isn't all that far behind my D300, but ISO 1600 isn't something i use alot & most of my shooting is done outdoors in good light. The EVF was something i was worried about but the quality is good it's actually superb using it outside and the view you get from it is massive, also being able to see the histogram in the VF is very useful. I've already invested in 2 more lenses, the superb 20mm F1.7 & the handy 45-200mm I already had the 14-45mm as that came with the camera. One thing i have to say about the 14-45mm is how good the build quality is for a kit lens, ie quiet, fast focusing, built in IS & the front end doesn't rotate Nikon standard 18-55mm IS lens pales in comparison, also the 14-45mm image quality is great aswell sharp with good detail & contrast, very impressive from a kit lens. Also i find the 20mm F1.7 being one of the best primes i used to date, the 35mm F1.8G, 50mm F1.4D & the 85mm F1.8D i have with my D300 doesn't even come close the 20mm.. this lens outperforms the lot of them. I just hope Panasonic release more primes in the future mainly a 40mm F1.4 for portraits, but also would love a wide angle one aswell something like a 12mm F2.0. Now onto the 45-200mm great lens ie give me 400mm, but i do find it slightly soft at 200mm but nothing abit of sharping won't solve in Lightroom, but build quality is good same as the 14-45mm & quiet focussing to. Basically i rate this lens easily a good as Nikon 70-300mm VR, but advantage being it's alot smaller & cheaper to boot aswell, im not really one for telephoto lenses, but the 45-200mm will come in handy at some point & images are sharp upto around the 150mm mark. It's got to the point now, were im actually considering selling my D300 kit as i've not used it since getting the G1 and using some of the money to fund the 7-14mm lens which going of what i've seen on flickr ect is another superb lens. Overall im very pleased with the G1, it does basically everything i need in a much smaller lighter take anywere package. Also looking forward to what Panasonic have got coming our way in the future with both new bodies & lenses.
Razer I take your points and the G1 is a nice camera and the 14 45 not a bad kit lens, but I feel that you have been hard on the D300 IMHO the D300 is a great body, has a much better built quality than the G1 with a greater range of facilities and options - the D300 is a well thought out camera. For the money the Nikon 18 55 VR - it is only £110, is one of the best lenses around in every respect - I would say image quality is as good as, or better, (but I am no expert), than the Panny 14 45 and it is only half the price The 70 300 VR is really good and the Nikon primes are of excellent quality. There are loads of good/great Nikkor legacies out there, that can be used with the D300, for not much money. The size of the G1 is a major plus, especially when mated with a "pancake" - but IMHO Panasonic and the G1 have still some way to go to get near Nikon At this time, I cannot see me forsaking my D300, (or indeed not keeping on the Nikon path) - but the M4/3 system is a great complement, (just as a Canon S90 or Lumix LX 3 is), to the existing DSLR systems. it is "horses for courses" - but personally if I had to choose either - I would choose the Nikon system - (and I am a great enthusiast for M4/3) but I have used Nikons since the F cameras - so I may be bias Just my opinion
Welcome to the home of m4/3rds Razer, and thanks for a nice perspective on the G1, couldn't agree more - and with it being discontinued, there's never been a better time to grab one at a bargain price! Please upload some images to your Gallery and show us a part of your world when you get the chance? Cheers Brian
I'm a very new user of the G1 myself. I'm glad you like it (I do too) and its lenses. Like BillNUK I'm really surprised by what you say about the Nikkor lenses. (Or are they really called Nikon these days?) BillNUK defends them but then adds: I haven't used a Nikon since around the time of the F3 so I really don't think I'd be biased. I'd guess that if any lens from anywhere (Panasonic, Leica, wherever) far surpasses a set of recent prime lenses from Nikon (or Canon, or Pentax, or Leica, or Minolta er I mean Sony, or Zeiss), then something has gone wrong with that set. I mean, unless you're examining the edges and corners of lenses wide open or near it, or perhaps have stopped down beyond what the lenses are designed for (or, excuse me, are a measurbator), the primes are all pretty good these days -- optically, if not always mechanically or ergonomically. Has something got knocked out of alignment, maybe?
Nothing wrong with the nikon lenses im just finding the output from the 20mm prime to be better than my nikon primes i must have a really good copy, when i get time i'll post some images from it. The 14-45mm is no match for either my 17-55mm F2.8 or my 16-85mm for that matter, but for budget glass i think it easily outclasses the Nikon 18-55mm IS & proberly Canon,Sony's and maybe Olympus 14-42mm which i've heard is also a pretty decent kit lens. The G1 is basically is 95% there to a DSLR, i agree the D300 is a much better camera moreso if your into Sport or Action shooting but it also a much bigger and weighs alot more to. As i do alot of fell walking & hiking weight becomes a problem moreso in Summer, i want the lightest kit possible and the G1 gives me that with image quality which easy as good as most crop sensor DSLR's on the market today, im not bothered about High ISO performance or it's DR rating or it's lack of DOF compared to full frame camera's & i never pixel peep, I want a small camera that takes great images & interchangable lenses the the Panasonic G1 gives me all that. Also i've been reading up on a few other forums like TP & DP review a few of them are giving up on DSLR's and going the m4/3 route be it with either Panasonic or Olympus. And proberly more will follow in the future as the tech get better.
