[pxpaulx]

Cool, curious what EPP price is on GH1 & 14-140 kit combo ???

Thank You!

That is actually one of the ones that isn't a good deal - if I recall it is only about 25% off...but all the discounts are of course off MSRP so after tax (which you have to pay, as panasonic I guess has a presence in all but a couple states) it isn't any better than the current going rates. The discounts are great for lenses though (and high demand items such as the GF1), but they don't stock all of the lenses (not currently the 14-140mm at least) and things are routinely backordered. I got my GF1 at a great time, over the holidays they had extra discounts that I stumbled upon and took advantage of. At the time, after tax and shipping I got the gf1/20mm and 45-200mm for $17 more than the MSRP of the GF1/20 by itself (didn't like the 45-200 and sold it shortly after purchase).

I am going to give the 100-300mm a try as I have recently purchased a mount for my monopod (basic manfrotto pivot head and a dovetail plate holder), and have ordered the GF1 viewfinder (primarily purchased due to washed out LCD in bright daylight which I found somewhat annoying on our vacation) - I've read the VF is handy for the longer focal lengths as well (makes sense) and use of the monopod will also help with steadying.

[johnny9fingers]

I have the E-P2 with Oly 17mm f2.8 ZD and am very happy with the IQ and camera size. There are time I miss my K20, but those memories are fading as I spend more time with the E-P2. The 17mm is a sharp and quick lens. What I do miss and can't forget is how the Pentax primes render a picture. My all time favorite photos were taken with the FA 77mm f1. LTD. I am seriously thinking about getting an adapter and either the 43mm or 77mm. Then there is the 43mm in LTM that would fit with an M mount adapter........
Hmmmmmm.......

John

[pxpaulx]

Well Juu, I have gone with the 7-14mm. The EPP program prices were just lowered to ridiculous levels, so I am going to live without the filter threads and compact size of the forthcoming olympus m.zuiko 9-18mm. I also re-purchased the 45-200mm as the price is really low and I feel like I didn't give it a fair shake - I had ordered the viewfinder last week because of the washed out LCD in bright light, and have read that using the VF with the 45-200 makes it fit the camera alot better. Finally, I also purchased an unused kit olympus 14-42mm from another forum (mu-43). In a week I have gone from a single fixed lens to a full kit, and am pretty excited! Somewhat sad to see my 12-24mm go, but the 7-14mm will still be very compact in comparison, and produces great images from what I have seen. Like I said in my last post, I think that m4/3 is very complimentary to a dslr, and they both definitely have their time and place.

[Samsungian]

Thats my fantasy lens: 7-14mm f4 Panny

I've seen some excellent images with it.
I think GH1 & 14-140mm HD, and 7-14mm would make an outstanding small kit.

Your excitement with 7-14mm inhand could make me push the buy button. Still $1099 at B&H keeps me waiting:

$1189 GH1 & 14-140mm
$1099 7-14mm

together adds up enough coin to make me not impulse buy it.

Well that & all the GH2 leaking specs.
Panny has been openly leaking valuable info & non-existent GH2 looks very appealing.

Congrats on your new system !

[pxpaulx]

Thanks alot! everything probably won't arrive until the end of next week, possibly the week after as they are kinda slow with shipping. I would help you out and buy that setup for you, but I am afraid of getting in trouble for reselling. I already sold the 45-200mm once, so that will be my second one from them - would be kinda fishy if I ordered 2 of the 7-14mm! The GH1 price was also lowered (they lowered everything!). There is a thread at the moment in the dpreview m4/3 forum about the EPP pricing (with specific amounts) if you care to look (I am going to stay away from that over here!)

[juu]

Congrats on your 7-14mmm purchase. I haven't had a single nice day that would fall in a weekend to try my GF1 out outdoors. I also wish I had kept my K100D a bit longer just to see how it compares with my GF1, but somehow it got bought the moment I put the ad in, much to my surprise.

So far I have some concerns about significantly smaller Dynamic Range as compared to the K100D, but perhaps it's just my imagination.

Too bad you cannot buy two (or more) of the 7-14mm... maybe if you wait a month or so? $600 is an attractive price for it

What kind of companies get on the EPP list? If I somehow "obtain" a username I wonder if I can just order or I risk getting in trouble.

[pxpaulx]

The only way to sign up through the EPP program for me was through an internal work website link (I work for a large bank and we probably have commercial business loans or credit accounts for them). I dont think there would be a way to circumvent that! With that said, if you have any friends or family that work for a large corporation or bank you should ask them if they have an employee perks type of program that gets them discounts at select retailers - that is the type of program it falls under.

[juu]

Do you have issues with the limited Dynamic Range of the GF-1? It seems to me that it is much more prone to blow out highlights than my old K100D was and the sky/etc. tones aren't as rich. I shoot only RAW and I downloaded some custom camera colour profiles which help a bit with colours.

I now try to underexpose and then pull up the dark areas on PP. Not sure what else I can do except for waiting for a GF-2 with a GH-1 sensor.

[pxpaulx]

Hey Juu, I agree the DR is probably the biggest drawback - RAW is a must to get usable highlights.

Also, after almost a month and a half of waiting I finally received the 7-14mm, and it is a great lens, nice build and fit with the gf1 (haven't posted anything online yet).

Came looking for this thread to post a couple from yesterday. I managed to score a broken sigma APO 400mm f5.6 (k mount) for $10 yesterday! The AF is broken, and the contacts are not communicating the aperture, but the aperture ring works fine (though it looks as the f5.6 isn't quite f5.6) and the lens still focuses manually (the glass is excellent, but the body is beat to crap - I think whoever owned it hung it from their pack for a decade or so). They also must have ruined the AF by turning the focus with the mechanism engaged, because the screw for the AF motor looks like they took a drill bit to it. Anyway, took these with the GF1, so posting here; not bad for $10 and a first attempt (all at f5.6):







Edit: Finally got the links right! Oh, and monopod was used for all the shots - handheld at 800mm equivalent is pretty much a no-go, too wobbly to frame the subject!

[juu]

Nice pics and seems like a great deal!

I bought the 45-200mm which I have only used for one shot now:


Also I bought the Olympus A-28 0.8x adapter and now I'm reconsidering if I should even buy the m43 Olympus 9-18mm. But probably I will, when the price goes down a bit.

[aruxaru]

Do you have issues with the limited Dynamic Range of the GF-1? It seems to me that it is much more prone to blow out highlights than my old K100D was and the sky/etc. tones aren't as rich. I shoot only RAW and I downloaded some custom camera colour profiles which help a bit with colours.

I now try to underexpose and then pull up the dark areas on PP. Not sure what else I can do except for waiting for a GF-2 with a GH-1 sensor.

Hi Juu,

I too have a GF1 and i was just curious about the custom profiles that you downloaded. Would you be able to point me to a link?

I'm finding the colors not too bad, quite neutral but hoping for a bit more pop.

Thanks in advance!

[juu]

Sorry, I've lost the links but if you search for something like "GF1 camera profile adobe" it should find it. One was named Huelight.

[juu]

A bit tempted by the smaller size and shaved grams of the GF2 but am going to be keeping my GF1.

I think the overall idea of the new camera is good and will attract people to m43 and fight the NEXes. But they should have called it GS2 instead (for "slim") and let the GF2 be a proper rangefinder-style model with a multi-aspect GH-style sensor.

Anyway, I hope it sells well, but I also hope we see a proper GF1 successor soon. And a WR EVIL from Pentax .