Panasonic 4/3

I've always had a fascination for the Panasonic 4/3 range. This consisted of two cameras, the L1 and L10 and four lenses made and designed in conjunction with Leica. The 14-150mm Zoom, 25mm f1.4 prime and two 14-50mm zooms, one f2.8-3.5 and the other f3.8-5.6. I've used an L1 and its Leica version the Digilux 3.





These are "bricks" of cameras. Only 7.5MP but capable of excellent results.


However I've always been more interested in the lenses.








In a recent post talking about the 14-150mm zoom- http://soundimageplus.blogspot.com/2010/10/zoom-that-breaks-rules.html I mentioned the 14-50mm f3.8-5.6 lens and that I knew virtually nothing about it. I've since tracked down a review of the lens and the L10 camera it was bundled with at:-
http://www.photozone.de/dslr_reviews/401_panasonic_lumix_dmc_l10 
where it got a good review. Then yesterday while having a look at the website of a second hand dealer I use I saw they had an L10 and this lens at a very good price, and realising the karma of the coincidence I am seriously considering trying it out. Assuming it hasn't been bought already expect to see some samples soon.


D

The Zoom that breaks the rules

Because I like to write about a variety of cameras and lenses here, what won't be apparent is that for the majority of times that I go out to take pictures I have been using the same camera and lens combination. Ever since I bought the Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm f/3.5-5.6 Asph. OIS its been my lens of choice, usually paired with a Panasonic GH1, with which it works very well. I do use it occasionally with my Olympus E-P2, but I find the GH1 produces slightly better results in terms of sharpness and control over CA and fringing. 

For those interested in technical data, there's an old review of it at:- 

http://www.photozone.de/olympus--four-thirds-lens-tests/455-leica_14150_3856

As the review indicates, it is made in small quantities, and whether its even being manufactured any more is open to question. Made originally for Panasonics foray into 4/3, which didn't last long, it was part of a very small lens range for these cameras that Panasonic developed with Leica. 

In addition to the 14-150mm there are three others. The Panasonic 14-50mm f2.8-3.5 Leica D Vario Elmarit, and the Panasonic 25mm f1.4 Leica D Summilux both of which I have owned and are superb. There is also a Panasonic 14-50mm f3.8-5.6 Leica D Vario-Elmar, which I must admit I know virtually nothing about.

Since Panasonic and 4/3 have come to a dead end because of the development of m4/3, these excellent lenses are somewhat stranded. They can obviously be used on Olympus 4/3 camera bodies and on m4/3 via an adapter. There are however some problems. The Panasonic 14-50mm f2.8-3.5 Leica D Vario Elmarit, which is the oldest lens in the range, having been part of the L1 / Digilux 3 kits doesn't AF on the Panasonic G series cameras. Its not compatible with the contrast AF system. It does however AF on the Olympus Pens. 

In terms of quality its as good as the 14-150mm, but Panasonic don't seem to either want to or be able to issue a firmware update that makes it AF on their m4/3 cameras. If you are prepared to put up with MF then it can be used on the G series cameras.

The Panasonic 25mm f1.4 Leica D Summilux is a beast. Its huge, and almost as heavy as the 14-150mm. I used one and liked it very much, but then Panasonic brought out the 20mm f/1.7 and I much preferred that in terms of size and useability. 

None of these 4/3 lenses are particularly fast in terms of AF and the 14-150mm is no exception. However its not particularly sluggish either and is generally faster than its given credit for. Its nowhere near the performance of the Lumix 14-140mm  lens or the Olympus 14-150mm M.Zuiko but both those lenses, while decent performers, are some way off the Vario-Elmar in terms of sharpness.

I've used superzooms from Nikon, Canon, Sigma, Tamron, Panasonic and Olympus in the past and none of them come close to the Vario-Elmar. I've written before about how its like having a series of prime lenses. Its not 100% perfect as the review above indicates, but probably the closest thats available currently. Superzooms are supposed to be compromises and be about convenience over ultimate quality. The 14-150mm Vario-Elmar tears up the rule book in this regard being both convenient and super high quality. 

I get the same image quality from it as I do from my 20mm f/1.7 or my m-mount lenses. I can get this without having to change lenses or manually focus. While its not the smallest or lightest lens (Its 535g) it does eliminate the need for me to carry anything else. I do occasionally take out additional lenses, but most of the time just carry this fitted to my GH1. This gives a combined weight of around 900g. When you consider that a Canon 7D body only is virtually the same weight , it gives me an incredibly versatile outfit that I can carry for hours at a time.

One of the reasons I am waiting impatiently for the GH2 is to be able to use this lens on it. If its as good a camera as I'm hoping it will be then combined with the 14-150mm it could / should? produce superb results, and to a large extent take care of the majority of my needs. There are many occasions when AF is a great help, and much as I love using my M9 and the results it gives, I tend to use it mostly on trips when I will have the time to work with it. I also love the convenience and ease of one camera and one zoom lens and feel the GH1/14-150mm combination gives me the best options to gear ratio. I use it particularly when I'm exploring new terrain and have no idea of what to expect. Having that wide-angle to telephoto range in one lens means that I can quickly move between the two. I find this very useful in changing light. Those who photograph in the UK are well aware of days when the sun hides behind the clouds most of the day and only occasionally appears, usually to dramatic effect. Sometimes you have to work very quickly and thats when a one-zoom outfit proves its worth.

It is without doubt my most useful lens and the one that I use the most and I can see myself using it for the foreseeable future. I can't really see where a rival to it is going to come from. 

Words - D

Images - D & A

Weather

We get a lot of weather in the UK. Not particularly extreme, except on rare occasions, but our temperate climate and the influence of both the gulf stream from the ocean and the jet stream in the high atmosphere can make our weather unpredictable to say the least. After a lovely May and June, with lots of warm sunshine, July was disappointing, mainly dull and humid and August has been almost a total washout. More like October most of the time. August is the big holiday month here and coincides with the school holidays, so its been particularly disappointing for many families, for whom this is the only opportunity for a break.


There will I'm sure be people blaming this on climate change, but in truth its always been like this. Those of us with long memories take a somewhat philosophical attitude to the British climate, and learn to go with its "eccentricities". 


Last week was very wet!! This included a spell of three days of continuous rain. I felt trapped in my loft, and the constant pounding on the roof was starting to get to me. I thought, think positive, and decided to take some pictures of the never ending downpour.




















This didn't cheer me up much, though I liked the ones with fill-in flash capturing the raindrops in flight. Yesterday it cleared up for spell of brighter weather, and the sun actually put in an appearance, though there was a lot of cloud about again. 


In the evening I heard the rain on the roof again and my heart sank. However I got up to close the balcony window in my loft, and it suddenly stopped. It had lasted for less than a couple of minutes at most. Looking out the window I saw this.





I raced to get a longer lens and took this shot. 





It was sunset and there was an incredible pink glow at the bottom of the rainbow. For so little rain it was an amazing sight. It eventually turned into this.





I've never taken a picture of a rainbow against a sunset sky so this was a first. To have it happen outside the window of my home was amazing, as was the vibrance considering it had only rained for such a short time. 


So yes, the British weather is incredibly frustrating and requires a lot of patience, but then it does things like this and I realise that if you wait, wonderful things can appear.


Words - D
Images -D & A

Depth of Field

Micro Four Thirds and maximum depth of field.

In the article Can a small sensor really produce a decent picture I was "reminiscing" about how the 2/3" sensor on my 2001 Olympus E-10 allowed me to produce images like this:-

On the smaller sensor the 9mm lens on the Olympus produced an image that is "equivalent" to the field of view obtained from a 35mm lens on 35mm/full-frame but with the extreme depth of field that a 9mm lens can produce.

After writing this, and more or less discounting the possibility of modern small sensor compact cameras being able to provide the quality images that I wanted, I began to realise that I may already have the means to create similar images.

What I was looking for was the following. An image that has extreme depth of field, with everything from a few inches to infinity in focus. This should not involve the use of an extreme wide angle lens and should have the look of a 28mm or 35mm lens on 35mm/full-frame to minimise distortions. It should be possible to achieve this hand-held for portability, and also allow reasonably fast shutter speeds and the lowest possible ISO setting. I also wanted to be able to shoot multi-image panoramic stitches.

Most of the time when Depth of Field on Micro Four Thirds cameras is discussed it is usually about the perceived "problem" of the difficulty in achieving minimum depth of field. Because of the 2x crop factor of the sensor, lenses become wider. A "standard" lens on 35mm/full-frame is 50mm. On m4/3, a "standard" lens is 25mm. A 25mm lens will give more depth of field at every aperture than a 50mm lens, thus making the effect of "isolating" an in-focus subject from an out-of-focus background more difficult to achieve, and requiring the use of wider apertures.

However this "problem" becomes an advantage when you are seeking to maximise your depth of field. To obtain the view of a 28mm lens on 35mm/full-frame you need a 14mm lens. A 14mm will give more depth of field at every aperture than a 28mm lens. 

The settings for the poppies/ferry picture above were 1/160th sec at f11 ISO 80. I wondered if using f16 or f22 with a 14mm lens on m4/3 would give me similar results. However using f22 brings problems. Lower shutter speeds are required, and there is the problem of diffraction which means that f22 often produces softer results than wider apertures such as f5.6, f8 or f11. 

A few tests indicated that to achieve the results I was after I would indeed have to use f22 most of the time. So what camera/lens could I use? My lens testing had indicated that my Leica Panasonic Vario-Elmar 14-150mm zoom had the best results at f16 and f22. The small advantages that the Panasonic GH1 sensor possesses in terms of dynamic range would make it my best option. The articulated screen would also prove very useful as I intended to use some low angles. 

I therefore went off to my local canal, which I knew would provide me with a suitable environment to try this out.

The results were very pleasing. I would have liked the lens to be able to focus a little closer ideally but the results were as sharp as I hoped. Not as crisp as the lenses optimum apertures but with a little photoshop sharpening very acceptable. I was able to use the mega OIS image stabilisation on the lens to cope with the lower shutter speeds that were required and found that 1/25th sec was about the lowest I could go to keep the images sharp and minimise subject movement. I did have to raise the ISO occasionally, to cope with the light though I kept this to 400 ISO maximum. In several instances I was able to use ISO 100 for minimum noise. I did manage a few multi-image panoramic stitches, but these proved difficult due the close proximity of some of the subjects.

All in all a successful experiment and I was happy that I could get the results that I wanted using equipment I already have. The images I was able to produce are very much what I was after and give further credibility to the notion of m4/3 as an excellent option for landscape photography.

There is a set of these images, at larger sizes, on my flickr photostream at:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45203414@N06/sets/72157624537368638/

Four Thirds

I very much like the idea of the 4/3 four-thirds format. Either in standard or micro 4/3 configurations. I like the image format as being often more useful than the 35mm based 3/2 ratio.
I also like the small size and low weight of the cameras.
I've put together a small outfit with an Olympus E-420 + a Leica Digilux3 with Zuiko 9-18, 25mm pancake and 40-150 lenses. I bought the Digilux3 with the Elmarit 14-50 F/2.8-3.5 which is a superb lens & have since added a Summilux 25mm F/1.4. All the lenses can also be used on my GH1 with my Panasonic 4/3 > m4/3 adapter.
I love using the E-420 & it works very well with the 25mm pancake. The Elmarit 14-50 also feels very nice despite its size as its not a particularly heavy lens. The E-420 images are slightly too soft for my taste however due to a heavy-ish AA filter. However there is nothing there that is not fixable in Photoshop.
More later when I get to use this outfit a bit more.

Vario-Elmarit-D 14-50/2.8-3.5 ASPH OIS on G1

A SHORT LENS STORY.
Just posted a set of pictures taken with a G1 fitted with a Leica/Panasonic Vario-Elmarit-D 14-50/2.8-3.5 ASPH OIS lens at www.flickr.com/photos/29782425@N08/sets/72157618625870652/
I've posted these full size.
THE STORY.
One of the S/H dealers I buy from in the UK had a Digilux3 with this lens at a very attractive price. I had always wanted one but the price here new in the UK was ridiculous. This was being advertised at a price significantly below the current asking price for the lens alone so I decided to buy it.

The camera is very nice but I was primarily interested in the lens, thinking I would use it on the digilux or my olympus E-420.
I was however somewhat underwhelmed. I'd seen rave reviews of this lens. One user even called it the best DSLR zoom in the world!!!

It was good yes, but nothing special on those two cameras. I was about to consign it to ebay when I decided to try it on my G1. It was not my plan to use it on that camera as theres no autofocus & its very big & heavy for the camera.
When I looked at the resulting images, to say I was impressed, is an understatement. God this thing is sharp. Wide open its just magnificent. This is Nikon 24-70 F/2.8 territory. Theres some barrel distortion but overall its incredibly impressive. As good as my Nikon primes & Voigtlanders.
This teaches me two things -
1) Don't make hasty decisions
2) The sensor on the G1 is really special.

I know it tends to negate the idea of a G1 system being small and light but when I get images this good its going to be an outfit I'm going to use a lot. Together with an Olympus 40-150 zoom I've just bought it should be a nice combination & still WAY lighter than what I'm used to.