Four Thirds camera - any use underground?· Page 2

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simonrl
51% (Neutral)
Administration

15 years ago

#21

The DMC-GF1 outputs RAW too. It needs to, the JPEG output looks very poor. Multiplication factor on the micro four thirds seems to be 2x I think - so the 14 to 45mm is 28 to 90mm in real 35mm terms.

my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by

Vanoord
54.4% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

15 years ago

#22

Yup, hence the 17mm pancake would be 34mm equivalent (fixed).

Question would be: does it have an infinity setting on it, so you'd never have to worry about focusing it?

Hello again darkness, my old friend...

rikj
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

#23

"simonrl" wrote:

They also have a lot of buttons and holes for dirt to get in as far as I can see.

Almost as bad as having a lens that retracts back into the camera, helpfully sucking in all the dirt on it!

The LX3 looks to be a fine camera but there is a caveat if you are shooting raw. Part of a recent trend by manufacturers to correct lens distortion through software, rather than by making better lenses.

http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2008/12/panasonic-lx3-b.html

A contentious issue, but people should be aware of it.

simonrl
51% (Neutral)
Administration

15 years ago

#24

"rikj" wrote:
Almost as bad as having a lens that retracts back into the camera, helpfully sucking in all the dirt on it!

Yes 🙂 And having had that problem on the 8400 I'd much prefer a lens that didn't work like that.

I do have a machined alloy tube that takes a filter at one end to protect the 8400 from this. That said all my 8400 failures (apart from one that got drowned) are down to grit getting into the thumbwheels and shutter buttons. I've stripped the cameras and washed the buttons out in alcohol and de-ionised water, then dried them with dessicent, and this works a few times, but eventually they pack up for good 😞 A replacement shutter button from Nikon for the 8400 is around £50 😮

my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by

martymarty
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

#25

Im thinking of getting rid of my 8400 and all the accessories for something smaller so what do you guys recon I could use half the size of an 8400 and something i could just slip in my pocket 😉

nid oes bradwr yn y ty hwn

RJV
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

#26

"martymarty" wrote:
Im thinking of getting rid of my 8400 and all the accessories for something smaller so what do you guys recon I could use half the size of an 8400 and something i could just slip in my pocket 😉

Just bought a Canon A490 from Argos for £60.00.
Up to 15 second exposure so should be able to get usable photos from it however the build quality is very much Fisher Price.
Was going to get the Lumix LX3 that Brakeman and the Colonel use but just couldn't justify the cost for something which sooner or later I'll undoubtably destroy.

Vanoord
54.4% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

15 years ago

#27

"martymarty" wrote:
Im thinking of getting rid of my 8400 and all the accessories for something smaller so what do you guys recon I could use half the size of an 8400 and something i could just slip in my pocket 😉

The Micro Four Thirds format looks like an interesting way to go in that the lens is not going to spend its time popping in and out, every time you switch the camera on and off - that seems to be the cause of a lot of failures.

Any compact will have the same sort of problem, but the Lumix LX3 does look quite attractive - but the lens distortion in RAW mode does rather detract the benefits from having it in the first place!

Hello again darkness, my old friend...

Vanoord
54.4% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

15 years ago

#28

Just for interest's sake, here's an unprocessed photo of the first abseil in Croesor taken with my Canon Ixus 75:

🔗Croesor-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-53675[linkphoto]Croesor-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-53675[/linkphoto][/link]

(click the image to open in a new window, then click that photo to get it full size)

I'm quite impressed with the clarity, although it needs to be well-secured on a tripod as there's no easy way of triggering it on timer for a long exposure - or at least, not one Ive found so far.

The other (big) drawback is that the camera forgets every setting between uses - that means a lot of button-pressing and a lot more possility to get dirt into the buttons. Coupled with a lack of RAW output, I don't think it's a long-term solution.

Hello again darkness, my old friend...

martymarty
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

#29

"RJV" wrote:

"martymarty" wrote:
Im thinking of getting rid of my 8400 and all the accessories for something smaller so what do you guys recon I could use half the size of an 8400 and something i could just slip in my pocket 😉

Just bought a Canon A490 from Argos for £60.00.
Up to 15 second exposure so should be able to get usable photos from it however the build quality is very much Fisher Price.
Was going to get the Lumix LX3 that Brakeman and the Colonel use but just couldn't justify the cost for something which sooner or later I'll undoubtably destroy.

i bought the missus an a480 for xmas and thought the same that it was a little fisher price (good example lol) very easy to use tho just the exposure isnt enough need up to a min really 😉

nid oes bradwr yn y ty hwn

simonrl
51% (Neutral)
Administration

15 years ago

#30

Have bitten the bullet and bought a Lumix GF1.

First impressions seem very good, it's solid enough, doesn't have too many buttons (and looks like they could be taped over easily enough for dirty trips). I should have researched the len a bit better, I got the 14-45 kit lens, and it does extend and retract (although not back into the camera body obviously given it's a changeable lens) and it's bigger than I expected.

One really neat touch, although maybe this is common on cameras now (has been a while since I bought a new camera, and the 8400 is a bit long in the tootch technology wise) is that when you focus it on manual the screen automatically magnifies right onto the focus subject so you can see in fine detail if you're focussed or not.

Hopefully will get underground with it this weekend.

Just got 4 8400s to rebuild and sell now!

my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by