Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 
Log in or register to remove ads.

Showing results 1 to 14 of 14 Search:
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 03-10-2023, 01:26 PM  
Micro Four Thirds Club
Posted By Doundounba
Replies: 6,147
Views: 527,440
Here it is! With 12-60mm, 25mm F/1.7, second battery and a little case! And was basically almost the same price as most "naked" bodies I've seen. (Sorry for hurting your eyes with a super crappy phone pic... :o)



So I should be able to go directly from 1.2 to 2.7?

Yikes, that's expensive for a color profile! Maybe once I actually start shooting video I will care. Maybe. :)

Thank you!

BTW, I have confirmed that Pentax LI-90 batteries from the K-3 will power up the G9 happily. However, what are not compatible are the charging cradles, because of grooves on the side of the battery that differ and prevent one manufacturer's battery from slotting into the other's charging cradle. But they are identical size, voltage and MAH ratings, so I am (personally) not worried about using LI-90 in a G9. See pic below.

Now all I need is a macro lens! Still leaning towards Laowa 50mm 2:1... I have acquired a Godox TT350o flash, which will make a nice light overall package, and it can wirelessly trigger my old V850ii too if I need more power. Stoked! :cool:
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 03-08-2023, 03:34 PM  
Micro Four Thirds Club
Posted By Doundounba
Replies: 6,147
Views: 527,440
OK, got a line on a sub-10k actuations G9 for a decent price locally! Woohoo! :D

However, it's running a pretty old firmware (1.20). Will there be any gotchas in upgrading it? I seem to have read that maybe there was a non-free (ie $$) firmware update at some point for the G9...? Is that true? If so, is it expensive?

Picking it up tomorrow!
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 02-13-2023, 08:02 AM  
Micro Four Thirds Club
Posted By Doundounba
Replies: 6,147
Views: 527,440
Does anyone here have experience buying from them?

They don't list shutter counts and, surprisingly, the pricing varies significantly between the various currencies (when converted to Canadian dollars for me). Buying in British pounds, they seem to have some really good prices on both GX9 and G9 bodies. USD pricing is not so great (for same condition). Available bodies even seem to vary - I see some "Like New" G9s in USD but not in GBP...

EDIT: Just noticed this thread...
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 02-08-2023, 06:15 AM  
Micro Four Thirds Club
Posted By Doundounba
Replies: 6,147
Views: 527,440
Jeebus. $CAD2050. :(

I thought it looks huge and heavy too, but then I saw 453g and I went to put my Laowa 100mm 2:1 on a scale to refresh my memory and... 724g (with caps)! So I guess making it F/3.5 and only having to cover the m4/3 image circle really paid dividends, because it has AF, is stabilized and weighs quite significantly less.

Looks like a seriously appealing lens, for those with seriously deep pockets. Unfortunately that would not be me.

BTW two G9s have recently slipped through my fingers on Ebay thanks to snipers. E-M1 Mark II bodies seem to go for slightly less than G9s, but the K-3 battery compatibility, larger EVF and 6K photo mode has me looking at G9s first. The GX9 seems fairly rare on the used market. All three models still in the running though, depending on what deals pop up before springtime...
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 01-25-2023, 11:15 AM  
Micro Four Thirds Club
Posted By Doundounba
Replies: 6,147
Views: 527,440
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...)
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 01-24-2023, 07:01 PM  
Micro Four Thirds Club
Posted By Doundounba
Replies: 6,147
Views: 527,440
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. :o (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! :o
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 01-20-2023, 12:32 PM  
Micro Four Thirds Club
Posted By Doundounba
Replies: 6,147
Views: 527,440
Wait... what?!! (Insert some quick searching here.) That lens sounds... sweet! Probably super expensive though, no? (It has "pro" in the name! :o) I see OM have released firmware to support it (and back to the M1 Mark II too), but I don't quite get it... This lens won't be compatible with Panasonic M4/3 bodies? (EDIT: Oh, I see comments that this firmware update would be to support in-camera focus stacking with that lens. No biggie if that's just it...)

Currently leaning towards G9, though a good Ebay deal for a G9 plus Leica 12-60mm just passed under my nose - more lens than I need for that focal length, but the price... Ah well, gone now. It's complicated... so many choices! E-M1 Mark ii also really appeals, and others not far behind... Though by the time I have a few lenses, it would be easy to spend just as much $$$ as a used K-3iii would cost. Unless I start selling all my Pentax stuff, but not quite ready to cross that bridge I think.
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 01-19-2023, 03:22 PM  
Micro Four Thirds Club
Posted By Doundounba
Replies: 6,147
Views: 527,440
After checking out some more reviews, I think I will also add the Olympus E-M1 Mark ii to the watch list. Kind of worried about byzantine menus, but the reviews are really good and I think video AF may be superior to G9 (without the "jitter") and in-body video stabilization also gets high praise. I expect most of my video would be MF anyway, but may want to try AF with something like the Olympus 30mm macro... Stills-wise, I think you pretty much can't go wrong with either G9 or E-M1ii, right? Any Olympus shooters in the room? :)

  • BTW, I assume all these bodies (G95, G9, Gx9, E-M1ii) can give a magnified view with focus peaking in the viewfinder? (For macro, that's a major advantage over OVF, actually.)




Thank you! Adding the GX9 to the watch list! I like the tilting EVF, which may be useful for macro at odd angles where using the viewfinder gives a third point to stabilize the camera (plus the two hands). Downside is lower magnification than the G95, whose VF is itself lower magnification than the G9. (It also seems that Panasonic has quietly released a G95D with a higher res back screen...?)






Thanks, this is all super useful! As is your post (and the whole thread actually) on switching to the G9.

I am a bit worried about this as well (if I go for G95, GX9 or M1ii)...

Also very good to know that the "inexpensive" 12-60 is good, thank you!
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 01-18-2023, 09:16 AM  
Micro Four Thirds Club
Posted By Doundounba
Replies: 6,147
Views: 527,440
Hi m4/3s shooters.

So I haven't been shooting much of anything since... well about 2 years. Used to be fairly active on these forums, shooting predominantly insect macro using a K-3. We moved last summer and new shooting opportunities have me wanting to get back into photography once the spring arrives, but frankly my K-3 doesn't excite me that much anymore... My 100mm Macro has a lazy aperture problem, and although the Laowa 100mm 2:1 I also have is superb, the combo of that plus K-3 plus flash (for macro) is, well, heavy! And although the K-3iii looks amazing, it's no lighter than my K-3 and it's, well bloody expensive (for me).

So I've been thinking of getting a m4/3 body and a Laowa 50mm 2:1 as my primary shooting platform. (A 2:1 macro with auto-aperture is pretty much a must for me, and this one is nice and light too.) The idea of moving to m4/3 appeals not just because of weight, but because it would also allow me to investigate the possibility of shooting macro video. My reflection so far draws me towards the Panasonic G95 and G9 bodies, both most likely being purchased used. I am looking for:
  • still capacity at least as good as the K-3 (8fps with decent buffer @ 20MP);

  • good video (decent 4K, 1080p high frame rate for slow motion, decent to excellent in-body video stabilization);

  • good ergonomics;

  • non-byzantine menu system for someone coming from Pentax;

  • kinda beginner friendly to get decent video;

  • won't break the bank.

The G95 appeals because I can get it used with kit lens for a really decent price. The G9 because of the viewfinder, K-3 compatible battery and top-end feature set. A G9 body is at the very top end of what I want to spend, and getting expensive when coupled with the Laowa 50mm macro, and I wind up without any sort of kit lens for everyday photography (which would be an additional expense)...

Waddya think? Am I on the right track? Are there other M4/3s bodies I should consider? Any gotchas I should be aware of? Other systems entirely which I should consider instead of M4/3s? Should I (re-)consider the K-3iii? But I think it maxes out on video at 1080p @ 60fps (ie no 120fps) and no in-body video stabilization...? I do have a decent Pentax lens "stable"...

My Flickr stream is linked in my signature, if you want to check out my shooting "style". :)

Thanks in advance for any input!

P.S.: I hope it's OK to post non-photo m4/3s content in this thread...
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 03-12-2019, 07:45 AM  
Micro Four Thirds Club
Posted By Doundounba
Replies: 6,147
Views: 527,440
Well, AFAICT the G9 is the camera I want, but the G85 is the camera I can afford. :o I'm pretty disappointed that the next Pentax APS-C flagship is taking so long. No decision taken, but I'm thinking of getting the G85 with 12-60mm F/3.5-5.6 WR lens, shooting a bit with that to see if I like the system, then sell just the body if/when I find a good deal on a used G9 (or prices come down). Apparently "M4/3 Is Doomed! (tm)" so maybe prices will come down...? :p The GX9 is pretty temping too, with the 20mp sensor and 9fps raw bursts (G85 is 9 fps mechanical shutter in jpg, but drops to 7fps in RAW, I believe), but the fact that the GX9 is not WR, the smaller battery and the lower spec EVF are all turn-offs...




I don't have an answer here, but I have a couple of questions! :)

So does that mean that if you were shooting manual mode with a manual flash, as soon as you zoom in the view on the monitor and in the viewfinder would become very dark? (Since the shot is technically underexposed as the camera doesn't know a flash will fire or at what power.) That would be a major bummer for me. Or is it the reverse? (ie the image will be very dark unless you magnify). That would also suck, but it would suck less, I think...

What I strongly want is to be able to disable "exposure preview", whether the image is magnified or not.


Which leads to ask

1) When you zoom-in to focus (magnified liveview in Pentax parlance), are both the image in the EVF as well as the image on the back screen magnified?


2) If you half-press the shutter, do you automatically lose the magnification? If so is there a setting to disable that? The fact that you lose the magnification on half-press on a K-3 and you can't disable that is a major point of annoyance for me...




I'm also interested in knowing the answer to this...
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 03-06-2019, 04:45 PM  
Micro Four Thirds Club
Posted By Doundounba
Replies: 6,147
Views: 527,440
Very interesting. If you look at the Pentax battery - bottom one in the 2nd photo - there is a little notch in the casing to the left of the 4th contact (which has no metal on the Pentax battery, but is metal on the Panasonic one). When I examine my K-3, I can see that there is a little plastic tab at the bottom of the battery compartment that this notch slots into. This is probably what prevents the Panasonic battery (that doesn't have this notch) from going in all the way. I'd wager that that's why the battery door of the Pentax body won't close with the Panasonic battery, rather than because of the very minimal difference in length. There are also two more notches in the Pentax battery in the left and right bottom corners, but I don't see anything in the battery compartment corresponding to those.

BTW, the Pentax battery compartment (on my K-3) has only two electrical contacts. I'd be curious to know how many contacts are in the G9's battery compartment. Unless there are four, I'd wager it's probably OK to use a Pentax LI-90 in a G9. (The question is whether or not the 4th metal contact on the OEM Panasonic battery is actually used by the camera. I'd wager that it's not.) But that little extra notch in the LI-90 (and the corresponding plastic tab inside the K-3 battery compartment) mean it's probably physically impossible to use an OEM G9 battery in a K-3, K-3ii or the K-01, which also has that little tab inside its battery compartment. If I was an aftermarket producer, I'd probably use the same casing to produce both (ie I'd put a notch in there - won't prevent the battery from working in the G9, and will work in the K bodies). But that all remains speculative & to be confirmed...
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 03-05-2019, 01:22 PM  
Micro Four Thirds Club
Posted By Doundounba
Replies: 6,147
Views: 527,440
Thanks so much for checking! How much of a difference are we talking about? Maybe post a picture of both side-by-side? It sometimes happens with replacement batteries made by different manufacturers that the length is slightly different from the OEM one, and I believe I recall reading some reports that third party replacement batteries for the LI-90 might cause the exact problem you describe (being unable to close the battery compartment). So if the difference is very small, that doesn't rule out that it might be the same battery produced by two different companies, with the K-3ii (and other Pentax bodies) maybe having tighter tolerances for length... But if, say, you can actually hear the LI-90 rattle in the g9 body, because the length is too different, then it's probably not a good idea to use an LI-90 in the G9.


But the G9 lighter than the KP. Also:
  • Olympus 60mm macro: 185g
    Pentax D-FA 100mm WR: 340g (and that's very light for its class)

  • Panasonic 12-60mm F/2.8-4: 320g & 12-60mm F/3.5-5.6: 210g
    Pentax 16-85mm: 488g

  • Olympus 9-18mm: 155g & Pana 8-18mm: 315g // Pentax 12-24mm: 431g


So, for example
  • K-3II plus 16-85mm, D-FA 100mm WR and 12-24mm == 2044g

  • G9 plus Oly 60mm macro, 12-60mm F/2.8-4 & 8-18mm F/2.8-4mm == 1478g

  • G9 plus Oly 60mm macro, 12-60mm F/3.5-5.6 & Oly 9-18mm == 1208g

And that's despite the fact that the G9 is one of the largest and heaviest m4/3 body. But still, the G9 is soooo expensive!!

Just thinking aloud here...
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 03-05-2019, 08:18 AM  
Micro Four Thirds Club
Posted By Doundounba
Replies: 6,147
Views: 527,440
Hello m4/3 Club!

Watching a video recently - just window shopping, ahem - I noticed during a close-up that the Panasonic G9's battery looks identical to the Pentax LI-90 battery, with identical power specs too (7.2V 1860mah). Would anyone know if the two are actually the same battery?
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 08-05-2014, 09:57 AM  
Micro Four Thirds Club
Posted By Doundounba
Replies: 6,147
Views: 527,440
Hi all. So a friend has generously offered to let me shoot with her E-M5 for a few days. I'd like to try some high-magnification (>1:1) macro stuff using my Pentax lenses. So I'd need a Pentax K to m4/3 mount adapter. (I'm not looking for a speed booster, BTW. Just an adapter.) Would anyone be so kind as to share their experiences and maybe recommend a particular adapter?
Search took 0.00 seconds | Showing results 1 to 14 of 14

 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 12:08 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top