Hello all you micro 4/3rds shooters. I've decided I want a small back-up/travel set-up. Either the GF-1 or EP-1 would be ideal for my needs. So the question is, if you had to choose, which is the better body? I like the built in flash on the GF-1, however, the in body IS of the EP-1 is nice too. Also, the GF-1 looks more compact than the Oly but, the build quality of the EP-1 seems nicer. Your thoughts?
They are both decent bodies, though neither is without flaw or omission. For me, the better AF performance and built in flash of the GF1 won over the IBIS of the EP-1. That, and the fact that I wanted the 20/1.7 so buying it with the GF1 in a kit was natural choice. The Oly reportedly has better jpeg colors, but as I shoot RAW that was not much of a consideration. On the other hand, if you use all AF lenses, the GF1 has the option for an EVF which may come in handy on sunny days.
In the end, I'm really quite happy with the GF1, especially considering the IQ it delivers in a very discrete package. The only big thing missing for me is IBIS to come close to perfect.
If you're used to the shooting performance/responsiveness of a dSLR, the GF1 is much closer to that level and the E-P1 will likely irritate you. However, if you prefer shooting JPEG the E-P1 has generally better processing and a lot more options in terms of the "look" of the JPEG output that bear consideration.
One of the biggest reasons to go with the GF1, IMO, is to get the 20mm f/1.7 which is a superb lens by any standard - getting an E-P1 and the 20mm f/1.7 separately will be much more expensive.
With all that said, I'm loving my GF1 so much and MFT in general that I'd really like to pick up an E-P1 used at some point just to have one.
I have the GF1, but haven't even touched the EP1 yet, so I cannot offer any first-hand comparison for you. I do really like the GF1 however.
I already had a G1 and wanted to stay with the same/similar menus, etc. Also, as mentioned above, I wanted the 20/1.7 (which is awesome) and the EVF, as I like to use my old Leica M lenses. I also have the 14-45, which is surprisingly good, and all reports I've read conclude that the Panasonic lenses are superior to their Olympus counterparts.
I usually shoot RAW + JPEG, and haven't found there to be any significant problem with the GF1's colors.
I am sure that the EP1 is a wonderful camera too, and I read many glowing first-hand accounts. I am sure you can't really go wrong with either.
Thanks for the replies so far everybody. My next question is how hard is manual focusing? I plan on using mostly adapted lenses so my main concern is how much of a pain is it to MF these bodies given the lack of a viewfinder or any kind of focus confirmation?
With the GF1, there is no focus confirmation when using manual lenses. With MFT lenses, the way it works is that when the body detects you're using the focus ring it will automatically "zoom" in to an area to make the image clearer, giving you to move the zoomed area to work better with how you're framing, etc. With adapted lenses, you're forced to manually select the zoom mode by pushing the "AF Select" button, optionally selecting the area you want to focus in and the zoom level, then press "Set" to zoom. It will stay in that mode until you half press (which I personally find annoying). It's awkward at best, I typically end up just eyeballing it and focus bracketing as I shoot.
I think the GF1 will be the better choice for MF due to the higher resolution display. I received my EOS to m4/3 adapter a few days ago and have been able to gather a few first impressions with a number of alternative lenses and stacked adapters.
The Nikkor 50/1.8 E series is a fairly small package and decent performer, as is the CY 50/1.4, though neither is of course as compact as something like the CV 40/1.4 in M mount.
For accurate focusing, you can zoom into the live view with two quick key presses, but I find just using the regular live view image is often accurate enough even shooting wide open. It also allows for quicker response times, for example when doing portrait and candid type work.
Working with the camera at arms length for manual focus takes a bit of getting used to, and I would prefer to be using a viewfinder for this purpose. Once you go above 100mm (200mm equiv FoV), the shaky live view image really starts to remind you how unstable the position of holding the camera out in front of you really is. IBIS would help here without doubt.
I'm sure the G1 and GH1 with their high resolution viewfinders are much better suited to MF, but I find it's still quite workable with the GF1 and say a 50mm lens.
Sam Bennett wrote:
If you're used to the shooting performance/responsiveness of a dSLR, the GF1 is much closer to that level and the E-P1 will likely irritate you. However, if you prefer shooting JPEG the E-P1 has generally better processing and a lot more options in terms of the "look" of the JPEG output that bear consideration.
One of the biggest reasons to go with the GF1, IMO, is to get the 20mm f/1.7 which is a superb lens by any standard - getting an E-P1 and the 20mm f/1.7 separately will be much more expensive.
With all that said, I'm loving my GF1 so much and MFT in general that I'd really like to pick up an E-P1 used at some point just to have one....Show more →
I'm not disagreeing here, but you can get a used EP1 w/collapsable kit lens for just around $600 if you look, then pick up with 20/1.7. The kit lens isn't stellar, but it collapses down nicely and is good for walk-around outside shots and wide angle. The kit + 20/1.7 is about the best light-weight AF walk-around/travel combo you can get. I think the kit zoom on the panny is a little too large compared to the EP1 kit.
There are other considerations of course, but this is the one that's swayed me to the EP1.
dancam wrote:
Hello all you micro 4/3rds shooters. I've decided I want a small back-up/travel set-up. Either the GF-1 or EP-1 would be ideal for my needs. So the question is, if you had to choose, which is the better body? I like the built in flash on the GF-1, however, the in body IS of the EP-1 is nice too. Also, the GF-1 looks more compact than the Oly but, the build quality of the EP-1 seems nicer. Your thoughts?
Thanks, Dan.
In my opinion, the in-body IS is probably the biggest thing the E-P1 has in its favor. I primarily shoot old adapted manual focus lenses, and it is awesome to have IS available for all of them.
The build quality is also quite nice, and the ergonomics are pretty good with the dial + thumbwheel.
Zara wrote:
I think the GF1 will be the better choice for MF due to the higher resolution display.
This is probably true, but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by how good the E-P1 screen is despite the low resolution. I generally prefer to use the 7x magnified view to make sure I nail focus (I am usually shooting fast primes near wide open). I do find that the lcd is sharp enough that I can often determine focus without zooming in, so long as the subject isn't tiny.
dancam wrote:
Thanks for the replies so far everybody. My next question is how hard is manual focusing? I plan on using mostly adapted lenses so my main concern is how much of a pain is it to MF these bodies given the lack of a viewfinder or any kind of focus confirmation?
The GF1 is the easiest manual focusing compact camera I have used. I find the experience similar to manual focusing my 5DMK2 in liveview.
When you go to manual focus mode on the GF1, by default, it goes to a magnified view. This makes it very easy to make even tiny focus adjustments. The ability to see the changes is enhanced by the 60 fps and high resolution LCD.
The E-P1 has two things going for it, the better JPEG output and IBIS.
The GF1 has much better AF, a better LCD (read easier MF without magnification) and better lenses available kitted.
While the GF1's 14-45 kit lens is distinctly better than the E-P1's 14-42 (optically as well as build, AF speed and the hood), it is much larger than the 14-42 in the collapsed position.
I'd pick the GF1 unless I was going to shoot a lot of JPEG's.
This may sound silly, but can we use Lumix 20/1.7 lens on E-P1 and retain the AF? Also, what kind of adapter will allow us to use Leica M mount lens on both 4/3 bodies?
.. i myself would love a GF1 + 20/1.7 combo, perhaps later on.