(no subject)
Finally sold my 17mm lens :D Only one bet for the starting price of 29,500, but oh well... Combined with the 6,500 I got for my wide converter, I had almost enough (minus about 2000) for the Panasonic 200 f1.7. Thusly, I ran out to Yodobashi and got one!!
And took some pictures before going home too :)
I don't want to type it out again, so I'll just paste what I wrote on dpreview:
The blue-and-grey box contained the lens, warranty slip, instruction sheet, and a simple soft pouch. As others have stated before, there is no hood included. When I asked a Yodobashi employee (who are generally very well informed about their product), he told me it was built in a way so it didn't need one. Time will tell, I guess, and I can always get a generic 46mm screw on.
I took some pictures around Shinjuku before I headed home, and my initial impressions (which you can check out here: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1041&thread=33071042) about this lens were confirmed:
This camera & lens combination is awesome for my style of shooting.
Things I liked:
(+) The construction feels solid and very smooth. Focus ring has just the right amount of tension.
(+) It does *not* stick out past the bottom of the cam. It has a good millimeter of space, I'm able to tilt the camera forward when flat on the table.
(+) The f1.7 aperture range helped me get better speeds, resulting in sharp images in less tries than I was used to.
(+) The IQ is amazing. I haven't quantified this of course, but it feels like it renders sharper than the 17mm.
Things I didn't like:
(-) The lenscap. It's very thick compared to the super sleek olympus slimline caps, and adds another 4-5mm to the lens length, and the camera doesn't slide into the bag compartment as smoothly anymore as it did with the 17mm :( Also, it's much harder to set on straight (I am fairly clumsy, would make a great beta-tester ;)) With the Oly cap, I'd just push it against one side of the thread, and then fit the other with the button depressed. This doesn't work as easily with the Lumix lens, making me a bit insecure about not having it on straight and having it come off when brushing against something. (I do like the clean front design btw)
(-) The visual design. It looks ok on the GF1, but it's a real clash with the E-P1, especially when viewed from above or from the side. I cannot stress enough how much I dislike the grey ring with the huge gold lettering between the focus ring and the mount.
(-) The focus motor is notably louder than the Oly 17mm.
(-) Tested in my dimly lit room, I was surprised to find that the AF did not improve notably compared to the Oly with updated Firmware.
(-) The lens maker and Model does not carry over in EXIF. This is a major gripe for me. (I manually added these in the samples)
(-) Strong bluish fringing in white/black contrasty areas. Check out the sample pictures.
(All with E-P1 + 20mm f1.7, IS1 on)
ISO 200, f1.7, 1/250
This one should tell you about the effective DOF. The banners were about 1m apart, I was standing about 50m in front of and below the first.
ISO 200, f1.7, 1/100
Kinda regret not choosing a larger aperture on this one, then again I might not have been able to handhold it.
ISO 200, f1.7, 1/8
This one has some very strong blue fringing in the top left area - It was a pure white-black contrast area.
ISO 200, f1.7, 1/8
In case you're wondering, here's one with a flare.
ISO 200, f3.5, 0.3
And lastly, a stopped down one:
(also note the aperture "stars")
ISO 200, f5.6, 1/6
I've created a flickr set with some additional shots, as well as full size versions for the pixel-peepers. http://www.flickr.com/photos/55494316@N00/sets/72157622480147710/
My sempai Tsuchiya, whom I assist in the domestic wholesale division, has been out of the office the past few days for the national sports festival, so I've had a ton more work than I usually do... I struggled a bit on Monday, today was a bit calmer. Don't really like being responsible for everything at once, but sometimes I guess I can't help it...
Also, met up with Ryan, an old internet acquaintance, in Akihabara the other day. He's doing JET in Akita, and was only here for the weekend, but it was extremely nice being able to hang out. Spent most of the day geeking out in Yodobashi camera and Super Potato (retro game mekkah!), and I even got him into a genuine Capsule Hotel (okay it was a really nice Capsule hotel)!
So far I've been super lucky with meeting net people in real life... Have yet to meet anyone who is an ass in real life. Oh except for Hiromi, who didn't even say hi ;p
And took some pictures before going home too :)
I don't want to type it out again, so I'll just paste what I wrote on dpreview:
The blue-and-grey box contained the lens, warranty slip, instruction sheet, and a simple soft pouch. As others have stated before, there is no hood included. When I asked a Yodobashi employee (who are generally very well informed about their product), he told me it was built in a way so it didn't need one. Time will tell, I guess, and I can always get a generic 46mm screw on.
I took some pictures around Shinjuku before I headed home, and my initial impressions (which you can check out here: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1041&thread=33071042) about this lens were confirmed:
This camera & lens combination is awesome for my style of shooting.
Things I liked:
(+) The construction feels solid and very smooth. Focus ring has just the right amount of tension.
(+) It does *not* stick out past the bottom of the cam. It has a good millimeter of space, I'm able to tilt the camera forward when flat on the table.
(+) The f1.7 aperture range helped me get better speeds, resulting in sharp images in less tries than I was used to.
(+) The IQ is amazing. I haven't quantified this of course, but it feels like it renders sharper than the 17mm.
Things I didn't like:
(-) The lenscap. It's very thick compared to the super sleek olympus slimline caps, and adds another 4-5mm to the lens length, and the camera doesn't slide into the bag compartment as smoothly anymore as it did with the 17mm :( Also, it's much harder to set on straight (I am fairly clumsy, would make a great beta-tester ;)) With the Oly cap, I'd just push it against one side of the thread, and then fit the other with the button depressed. This doesn't work as easily with the Lumix lens, making me a bit insecure about not having it on straight and having it come off when brushing against something. (I do like the clean front design btw)
(-) The visual design. It looks ok on the GF1, but it's a real clash with the E-P1, especially when viewed from above or from the side. I cannot stress enough how much I dislike the grey ring with the huge gold lettering between the focus ring and the mount.
(-) The focus motor is notably louder than the Oly 17mm.
(-) Tested in my dimly lit room, I was surprised to find that the AF did not improve notably compared to the Oly with updated Firmware.
(-) The lens maker and Model does not carry over in EXIF. This is a major gripe for me. (I manually added these in the samples)
(-) Strong bluish fringing in white/black contrasty areas. Check out the sample pictures.
(All with E-P1 + 20mm f1.7, IS1 on)
ISO 200, f1.7, 1/250
This one should tell you about the effective DOF. The banners were about 1m apart, I was standing about 50m in front of and below the first.
ISO 200, f1.7, 1/100
Kinda regret not choosing a larger aperture on this one, then again I might not have been able to handhold it.
ISO 200, f1.7, 1/8
This one has some very strong blue fringing in the top left area - It was a pure white-black contrast area.
ISO 200, f1.7, 1/8
In case you're wondering, here's one with a flare.
ISO 200, f3.5, 0.3
And lastly, a stopped down one:
(also note the aperture "stars")
ISO 200, f5.6, 1/6
I've created a flickr set with some additional shots, as well as full size versions for the pixel-peepers. http://www.flickr.com/photos/55494316@N00/sets/72157622480147710/
My sempai Tsuchiya, whom I assist in the domestic wholesale division, has been out of the office the past few days for the national sports festival, so I've had a ton more work than I usually do... I struggled a bit on Monday, today was a bit calmer. Don't really like being responsible for everything at once, but sometimes I guess I can't help it...
Also, met up with Ryan, an old internet acquaintance, in Akihabara the other day. He's doing JET in Akita, and was only here for the weekend, but it was extremely nice being able to hang out. Spent most of the day geeking out in Yodobashi camera and Super Potato (retro game mekkah!), and I even got him into a genuine Capsule Hotel (okay it was a really nice Capsule hotel)!
So far I've been super lucky with meeting net people in real life... Have yet to meet anyone who is an ass in real life. Oh except for Hiromi, who didn't even say hi ;p