OM lenses on Panasonic G1

[wellinghall]

<p>Has anyone got experience of using OM lenses with the Panasonic G-1? How do they "fit" together - do they "feel" right</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>Andrew</p>

[godfrey]

<p>Using adapted manual lenses from almost any mount on the G1 is a delight. I use adapted manual lenses in the range from 20 to 100 mm quite a lot on this camera ... Nikkor, Pentax, Olympus, Konica ... and they work extremely well. Olympus OM lenses are, in general, a nice size and weight: they fit the G1 nicely. <br>

 

<p >Some pictures of the G1 with adapted lenses here: http://homepage.mac.com/godders/G1_adapted_lenses/</p>

</p>

[akira]

<p>The fastest and easiest way to attach an OM lens to G1 is combining OM-to-4/3 and Panasonic DMW-MA1 4/3-to-M4/3 adaptors, as Godfrey did, but the cost would be around $300 if you use a quality OM-to-4/3 adaptor.</p>

<p>Olympus may introduce OM-to-M4/3 mount adaptor when Oly will release its own M4/3 system next month, but I don't know for sure.</p>

[godfrey]

<p>The DMW-MA1 cost me $140 and a solid, quality Olympus OM to Fourthirds adapter $32 from Cirrus. That's a good bit less than $300. I bought the DMW-MA1 because I already had a good number of excellent Olympus and Panasonic/Leica FourThirds SLR lenses prior to buying the G1. The G1 is a complement body in my FourThirds kit ... I bought the adapter even before I owned a G1. ;-)<br /> <br /> Another Ebay vendor, jinfinance, is now making 'dumb' FourThirds to micro-FourThirds adapters specifically for those intending to use non-FourThirds lenses on the G1 through the FourThirds mount adapters. These cost $80 apiece. See:<br /> <br /> <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=110376857935#ht_5239wt_1167" target="new1">jinfinance - 4/3 to Panasonic G1 GH1 micro 4/3 adapter</a><br /> <br /> This would cut the price of the two-adapter setup to barely over $100. </p>

[akira]

<p>Godfrey, good for you. Here in Japan, DMW-MA1 cost about the same in your place but the most commonly available OM (Nikon, Pentax K, Contax/Yashica or whatever)-to-4/3 adaptors cost around 15,000 yen (around 150 USD).</p>

<p>I've switched directly from Nikon to Panasonic, so I would skip DMW-MA1 and wait for Nikon-to-M4/3 adaptor. :)</p>

[godfrey]

<p>Buy X_to_FourThirds mount adapters from vendors on Ebay. Good ones run $30-40 apiece (4000 yen). fotodiox, cirrus and jinfinance have all got them at these prices. </p>

<p>Direct micro-FourThirds adapters for other mounts (Canon FD, Olympus Pen, Leica M, etc) seem to be running about $80-130 apiece on average. Since there are so many adapters already available for FourThirds mount, direct adapters for the SLR mounts that are already available for FourThirds will be slow in coming and likely similarly expensive. So the jinfinance 'simple' FourThirds to micro-FourThirds adapter plus a mount adapter for your Nikon F mount is about the same money ... and available now.</p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>Old Canon FD lenses work very well (once you have practised how to zoom in for focusing without removing you eye from the viewfinder). The only issues I have had are<br>

If you shoot into the sun or close to the sun you lose almost all of the contrast - I think this is due to the lack of an anti-reflecive coating on the rear lens element so the light reflects off the sensor, onto the back of the lens and back onto the sensor. this happens only occasionally and is easy to avoid by changing angles.<br>

Focusing without a tripod but with a wide aperture (F1.2 or F1.4) in lowish light is very difficult. Again this is a minor restriction.<br>

The camera produces very good results with the old Canon lenses and I am sure it will be the same with Olympus lenses. I have even managed to get good results with a tilt/shift lens.</p>

[lutz]

<p>Hi, new to this 4/3 world... Is there a chance to control manual focus in live view and/or through the add-on electronic VF with the Panasonic DMC-GF1? I'm very tempted to get that camera if I can use (i.e. focus) both Olympus and Leica M glass. Also, which adapters would be recommended in that case? Thanks, Lutz</p>

[lutz]

<p>Olympus OM glass, that is...</p>

[godfrey]

<p>Certainly, Lutz. Adapted manual lenses are very popular with micro-FourThirds camera users for this reason. The GF1 is no different from the G1, GH1 or E-P1 in this respect. </p>

<p>Olympus is offering an Olympus OM to micro-FourThirds mount adapter, or you can use the two-converter solution I mentioned above. There are several vendors offering Leica M to micro-FourThirds adapters, such as Cosina/Voigtlander, CameraQuest.com and seller "jinfinance" on Ebay. Panasonic is offering a Leica M mount adapter too. </p>

[lutz]

<p>Thanks, Godfrey! I see a Leica M to m4/3 adapter by cirrusadapter for 80 bucks on the 'bay. Are you happy with their adapters' quality?</p>

[godfrey]

<p>I don't have any Leica lenses so I haven't seen Cirrus' adapter for M-bayonet to micro-FourThirds specifically.</p>

<p>My other Cirrus adapter (Olympus to FourThirds SLR) is nicely made, however. I know several people using the Cosina/Voigtländer and jinfinance adapters, they seem to be happy with them too. </p>

[ben_obryan]

<p>I've been using the jinfinance 4/3 to M4/3 adaptor with a modified Konica Hexanon 40mm F1.8 and also pairing that adaptor with an OM to 4/3 adaptor (also from jinfinance). Both work perfectly and are very well made. He sells packages of a 4/3 to M4/3 adaptor with two other mount to 4/3 adaptors - works out to be a good deal.<br>

I'd recommend him - fast, helpful and responsive.<br /><br />Here's another question. Has anyone come across adaptors to M4/3 that are tilt/shift? I've seen them for other mounts but to be able to turn some of my cheap eBay treasures into tilt/shift lenses on a live view camera would be amazing....</p>

[jason_cheng2]

<p>I just received my Konica Hexanon AR to micro four thirds adapter today. It's made by RJ Camera and seems well machined. However when I attach it to my Panasonic G1, I get an error message asking me to "Please check that the lens is attached correctly". I do not get any image displayed either on the LCD or on the Electronic Viewfinder. I have tried setting the camera to Manual Focus but this doesn't make any difference. Changing from Aperture priority to Manual also doesn't make any difference. Is my adapter defective or is there some other camera setting I need to change. The adapter didn't come with any instructions at all. Thanks for any tips.<br>

Jason</p>

[godfrey]

<p>Jason,</p>

<p>Panasonic Lumix G cameras have a lock-out to prevent use if a FourThirds or micro-FourThirds lens is improperly fitted. From the camera's point of view, any non-FourThirds or non-Micro-FourThirds lens is no lens at all. To use adapted manual lenses, like the Konica 40mm, you must disable this lock-out.</p>

<p>- Press the <strong>Menu</strong> button.<br /> - Go to the <strong>Custom</strong> menu, page 5.<br /> - Set the option <strong>SHOOT W/O LENS</strong> to <strong>ON</strong>.</p>

<p>It is fine to leave this option set to <strong>ON</strong> all the time, setting it is a one-time operation.</p>

<p>This is the same for all adapted manual lens mount adapters. </p>