GF 1 and/or Sony Alpha Nex-5

[german]

<p>Hi there,<br>

is anybody using the Lumix GF1 for street/documentary photography? HOw is that working? Please let me know. I am interested in said camera. It seems to have great features -- nice 20 mm 1.7 lens, nice sensor, HD video, quite small, raw capture ... but a bit pricey! (But it seems to give us more control than cheaper digital point and shoot cameras.)<br>

I am also interested in the Sony Alpha Nex-5.<br>

Thanks,<br>

G.</p>

 

[SCL]

<p>Here's a link to a site which really delves into the micro 4/3 cameras: www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=146</p>

[Brad_]

<a href= "http://craigmod.com/journal/gf1-fieldtest/">Here is</a> one person's assessment of the GF1 using it in the Himalayas. Nice photos in nice light...

[Ian Taylor]

<p>I just got the GF1 with 20/1.7 & 7-14mm lenses. Initial impressions are great but I haven't had a chance to really test it out. Next week I leave for a big job in six countries, including Nepal, China and India so I will have a chance to really kick the tires.<br>

I think it would make an awesome street camera. The HD video is a major plus too.</p>

[Brad_]

Also... I have three friends that use one regularly for street shooting. They're all very happy with it using

it as a compact camera. Not as a dSLR replacement, but when they want to go light (the sensor is smaller

than in APS-C cams...).

[john_tran14]

<p>Try them out at the store. I just did and I think the Samsung NX-10 is the best of the "mirrorless" cameras now</p>

[andrewg_ny]

<p>I tried out the NEX-5 in the Sony store and was unimpressed with the menus, lack of dedicated controls, etc. Nice that it has a larger APS-C sensor in a very compact body but suggest you try before you buy to see if it suits you.</p>

[panib]

<p>@ Andrew quote ... and was unimpressed with the menus, lack of dedicated controls, etc. unquote<br>

Yeap. Quite strange menu- at first sight. But after one day of digging thru, I love it. It´s almost completely self explaining after a while and you get pretty quickly used to it. After Sony published their firmwareupdate V03 together with an adapter update mid October this mighty dwarf turns into a giant to me. Two out of three softkeys can be customized and you can set your preferences.<br>

With an adapted lense mounted, softkey C switches to MF-support (7x and 14x magnifier), so that you can focus quickly and very ! accurately. <br>

I do not have a Sony lense with the a-mount /e-mount adapter that allows AF. There are some forum inputs that report of slow focussing...<br>

What I like very much with the NEX 5 is the relatively big sensor (APS-C) compared with the much smaller sensor of my Panasonic G1. You can very nicely unsharpen the background (sorry- am German and don´t know the word for ´freistellen´. You´ll know what I mean). This is a very nice feature in videos, too. It looks pretty professional - assumed you use a tripod. Otherwise your videos will look pretty shaky.<br>

I think Sony hit the mark. There will be lots of people that want to get rid of their poor quality pas-cameras. And there will be lots of photographers that are not willing to carry a 20 pound rucksack with their DSLR equipment with them.<br>

I stepped down from a Nikon DSLR and a Panasonic G1 with some good Canon FD lenses to the NEX 5. And I am happy !</p>

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