[Doundounba]

....Even the slightest movement gets you out of optimal focus. For MF AF, I've always found OVFI a lot easier to work with, and have always been baffled that claim a magnified view in EV as a big advantage. For me, it just adds an extra step and makes it harder to compose the image.

Well, to each their own, I guess. Even with the K-3, my process for the majority of my (all field, all handheld) macro shots relied on magnified liveview. (One sample at 2:1 here.) Of course, you do need to "pre-compose" the shot in your mind, decide where you want the eye(s) in the frame, and move your magnification zone to the area of the frame that will have the "must-be-in-focus-eye(s)". Then you slowly move the camera until you hit focus and trigger the shutter. That worked much better for me than trying to achieve focus using the OVF, but of course YMMV. Being able to move this process to the electronic viewfinder instead of using the camera's backscreen will help with stability of the camera body and better control of the movement required to hit focus, thanks to the third contact point provided by the viewfinder. That should result in a higher keeper rate than with the DSLR. That's the theory/hope anyway. (Also, with some macro setups - using some manual, reversed, stacked or adapted lenses - the aperture is already closed before the shot is taken, and that can result in an OVF that is very dark since you are shooting flash and setting the aperture to expose properly once the flash fires.)

On the K-3, using the OVF can work better than using liveview (for me) when shooting bursts for focus stacks because the liveview gets very choppy on a K-3 when shooting 8fps bursts, plus critical eye-focus will be achieved through the stacking, and slow and well controlled movement of the camera body is really essential. But I assume that the through-the-EVF burst shooting experience of something like a G9 (or a K-1 Mark II, or G95) is quite improved over the liveview experience of a K-3's 8.3fps bursts, and I hope not too far off from what an OVF DSLR burst delivers...

I've still not actually bought anything yet. Hoping to contribute pictures to this thread rather than words eventually!

[luftfluss]

On the K-3, using the OVF can work better than using liveview (for me) when shooting bursts for focus stacks because the liveview gets very choppy on a K-3 when shooting 8fps bursts, plus critical eye-focus will be achieved through the stacking, and slow and well controlled movement of the camera body is really essential. But I assume that the through-the-EVF burst shooting experience of something like a G9 (or a K-1 Mark II, or G95) is quite improved over the liveview experience of a K-3's 8.3fps bursts, and I hope not too far off from what an OVF DSLR burst delivers...

After having used Pentax DSLR's for 15 years, the G9's 60 FPS burst (electronic shutter) are incredible - actually too fast for me, so I use a slower burst mode. Plus, you don't have to worry about mirror-slap, and if you choose mechanical shutter (12 FPS max) the G9's shutter mechanism is smoother than anything I've experienced with Pentax.

Here's the chart:

[Mbaez]

Ancient Egyptian Art at The MET

Olympus EM1X + PanaLeica 9mm/1.7 at f/2.5

[Doundounba]

After having used Pentax DSLR's for 15 years, the G9's 60 FPS burst (electronic shutter) are incredible - actually too fast for me, so I use a slower burst mode. Plus, you don't have to worry about mirror-slap, and if you choose mechanical shutter (12 FPS max) the G9's shutter mechanism is smoother than anything I've experienced with Pentax.

Note that I am not talking about the raw burst capabilities, but rather the experience of looking through the viewfinder when shooting bursts with mechanical shutter. See for example this discussion. And I'm actually not quite sure how the G9, M1 ii, G95 and others compare in this regard. When shooting 8fps in liveview with the K-3, the image displayed on the backscreen lags progressively further and further behind in time with respect to the image being taken, so you have less and less of a decent idea of where the camera is exactly pointing at as you are shooting. This makes it quite difficult (to say the least) to control camera movement when attempting do do a focus stack by slowly moving the camera while shooting a burst of shots. That's when using the OVF is so much better than liveview.

Of course, none of this applies if you are using focus bracketing on a lens with AF and keeping the camera stationary. Which is something to think about given the soon-to-be Olympus 90mm 2:1 lens...

Also, does anyone know if focus bracketing works with adapted four thirds AF lenses (with a smart adapter)? (Thinking specifically of something like a Sigma 105mm macro in Four Thirds mount...)

[luftfluss]

A couple weeks ago I acquired this:



The GX85 + 2 lens kit was bought "new - open box" from a third-party seller through Amazon. I promptly sold off the 12-32, as I find tiny, retractable lenses too fiddly. The plan is to keep the 45-150 and use it with my Raynox adapters.

The 20/1.7 was also purchased "new - open box" via Amazon, this time Adorama.

Obligatory cat pic from new camera/lens combo...

[luftfluss]

Sigma 56/1.4

[luftfluss]

Sigma 56/1.4

Attached Images

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File Date

 

[northcoastgreg]

Nuthatch:

[hayuata]

E-620 w/ 70-300... ermm there is no mirror here, mhm, yup..

[WPRESTO]

I like the OOF shadow of the tiny little spider (Pany GX8 image, a deep crop from the original image). The trillium was taken with an Oly EM10mII

[luftfluss]

My first, very brief (20 minutes or so) outing with my new Panny 45-150. Some thoughts:

- The GX85/45-150 combo feels cramped, and light... to the extent that I wasn't able to shoot at shutter speeds as low as I thought I'd be able to. Maybe practice will improve that.
- The pretty long minimum focus distance and subsequent maximum magnification is a little frustrating.
- Sharpness seems OK.
- Subject isolation and bokeh are obviously nothing to write home about, but at least so far I haven't seen anything odious in the out-of-focus rendering.

A couple samples...

[3by2]

My first, very brief (20 minutes or so) outing with my new Panny 45-150. Some thoughts:

- The GX85/45-150 combo feels cramped, and light... to the extent that I wasn't able to shoot at shutter speeds as low as I thought I'd be able to. Maybe practice will improve that.
- The pretty long minimum focus distance and subsequent maximum magnification is a little frustrating.
- Sharpness seems OK.
- Subject isolation and bokeh are obviously nothing to write home about, but at least so far I haven't seen anything odious in the out-of-focus rendering.

A couple samples...

Looks like a good combo. I was thinking about the gx85 as a pocketable camera, with one of the pancake 14 or 20's as a potential future purchase.

[luftfluss]

Looks like a good combo. I was thinking about the gx85 as a pocketable camera, with one of the pancake 14 or 20's as a potential future purchase.

I enjoy the GX85-20/1.7 combo as a walk-around kit. Strongly considering adding the Panny 42.5/1.7 to it.

[WPRESTO]

As I remember these are from our Mountain Ash tree

[luftfluss]

OMDS social media team on point...