Jul 12, 2010, 11:48
This weekend, I had the opportunity to play around with my Nikon lenses on the GF-1. Perhaps , my expectations were unrealistically high due to the glowing reports from Kombi on the legacy lens option. Perhaps, I should have paid more attention to Matthew's somewhat more guarded recommendations. Anyway, I won't be pixel peeping in this thread - this is about usability.
1. Using large zooms on the GF-1 like I feature in the Fashion Show thread is an exercise in the ridiculous. I didn't feel that any of the Nikon 12-24, the Nikon 18-200 or the Nikon 24-85 were really usable in the field. They were large and unbalanced on the GF-1 - and manually setting exposure, focus, and zoom level for every shot was unbelievably cumbersome. The only things missing were a black cloth over my head, a tray of flash powder held high in the air, and models in period costumes sitting stiffly in high backed chairs. I haven't tested the 80-200 yet - but as it is exclusively a tripod option, perhaps it will not suffer as badly as the others in comparison. Frankly, I can see no compelling reason why I would use any of these zooms on the GF-1 while I still own a perfectly serviceable D200. Portability is the GF-1's milieu - and all of these zooms negate that completely. Having said that - it is nice that the option to use them exists if it is required for some unknown reason.
2. So what about small primes? I only own one prime - the Tamron 90 F2.8 - which I have not yet tested (but which is not particularly small). That is the next step, and I will let you know what I think. Using a prime will reduce some of the messing around (zooming at least), and I can also see that using small, fast primes like a 35, 50, or 85 might be rewarding. This is where Kombi's lens set has a significant advantage over mine. A friend has a Nikon 50mm F1.8 that I am keen to try out. It is a sharp, fast, $140 lens that might yet be a viable option.
3. Camera bag: As you all know, I am a camera bag tramp - and I own many of them (mostly Kata). I had to move to a much larger bag to accommodate carrying any of of the zooms - strike 2 against portability.
4. Discretion and Invisibility: One of the things that I like best about the GF-1 is how invisible I become on the street. Unlike the guarded, suspicious looks that I get from people in public when I point a DSLR in their direction, people only smile indulgently when they see me with the GF-1 - particularly when I use the LCD to compose. It just doesn't look threatening or privacy-invading. That goes away completely when I fiddle with a larger zoom lens. Suddenly, I am painfully visible again.
5. The jinfinance Nikon G adapter is adequate - but not great. It fits nicely to the GF-1, but the lenses feel a bit sloppy and wiggly when mounted. Maybe this is what you get by spending $45 on an adapter rather than $290 for the Voigtlander adapter. Based on my appreciation of using legacy lenses so far - I am seriously glad that I saved some money on this experiment. Jinfinance Nikon G adapter rating: C+
6. Call me new-fashioned if you like - but I find that I don't really care much for manual focus any more. I like having the option to do it - for macro work or for special situations - but in the real world, I never looked back once I got an auto-focus camera. My rapidly aging eyesight doesn't help either.
Bottom line: I plan to give the Tamron 90 and the Nikon 50 primes a fair test - but my gut feeling is that the adapter is going to live in the drawer with my Cokin filter set. Sure glad that I didn't spend $300 on it.
1. Using large zooms on the GF-1 like I feature in the Fashion Show thread is an exercise in the ridiculous. I didn't feel that any of the Nikon 12-24, the Nikon 18-200 or the Nikon 24-85 were really usable in the field. They were large and unbalanced on the GF-1 - and manually setting exposure, focus, and zoom level for every shot was unbelievably cumbersome. The only things missing were a black cloth over my head, a tray of flash powder held high in the air, and models in period costumes sitting stiffly in high backed chairs. I haven't tested the 80-200 yet - but as it is exclusively a tripod option, perhaps it will not suffer as badly as the others in comparison. Frankly, I can see no compelling reason why I would use any of these zooms on the GF-1 while I still own a perfectly serviceable D200. Portability is the GF-1's milieu - and all of these zooms negate that completely. Having said that - it is nice that the option to use them exists if it is required for some unknown reason.
2. So what about small primes? I only own one prime - the Tamron 90 F2.8 - which I have not yet tested (but which is not particularly small). That is the next step, and I will let you know what I think. Using a prime will reduce some of the messing around (zooming at least), and I can also see that using small, fast primes like a 35, 50, or 85 might be rewarding. This is where Kombi's lens set has a significant advantage over mine. A friend has a Nikon 50mm F1.8 that I am keen to try out. It is a sharp, fast, $140 lens that might yet be a viable option.
3. Camera bag: As you all know, I am a camera bag tramp - and I own many of them (mostly Kata). I had to move to a much larger bag to accommodate carrying any of of the zooms - strike 2 against portability.
4. Discretion and Invisibility: One of the things that I like best about the GF-1 is how invisible I become on the street. Unlike the guarded, suspicious looks that I get from people in public when I point a DSLR in their direction, people only smile indulgently when they see me with the GF-1 - particularly when I use the LCD to compose. It just doesn't look threatening or privacy-invading. That goes away completely when I fiddle with a larger zoom lens. Suddenly, I am painfully visible again.
5. The jinfinance Nikon G adapter is adequate - but not great. It fits nicely to the GF-1, but the lenses feel a bit sloppy and wiggly when mounted. Maybe this is what you get by spending $45 on an adapter rather than $290 for the Voigtlander adapter. Based on my appreciation of using legacy lenses so far - I am seriously glad that I saved some money on this experiment. Jinfinance Nikon G adapter rating: C+
6. Call me new-fashioned if you like - but I find that I don't really care much for manual focus any more. I like having the option to do it - for macro work or for special situations - but in the real world, I never looked back once I got an auto-focus camera. My rapidly aging eyesight doesn't help either.
Bottom line: I plan to give the Tamron 90 and the Nikon 50 primes a fair test - but my gut feeling is that the adapter is going to live in the drawer with my Cokin filter set. Sure glad that I didn't spend $300 on it.