Is G1 the King of Live View?

[John_Reed]

I don't have much DSLR experience, though I was thoroughly un-impressed by the clunky live view of a friend's Olympus E-510; it seemed to take about a whole second after I depressed the shutter button before the photo was actually taken? But I recently bought a G1, and since it has ONLY live view, to me it's doing a great job. I'll say this about both the EVF (excellent compared to my earlier cams) but particularly the swivel LCD is a great little asset. It's 3", which is HUGE for me, and it lets you get all kinds of angles that your body wouldn't otherwise let you get without great physical stress. Here are a few examples, first a pussy cat at ground level:
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/426693017_ytknz-L.jpg
A float in a night parade, with the camera held up as high as I could reach:
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/428260779_soHwS-L.jpg
Panning a kid running by me in near darkness, with G1's internal flash:
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/435148735_eRe3U-L.jpg
Closeup of a leaf:
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/435845385_y4Nrz-L.jpg
A Christmas tree ornament:
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/441993798_3Jpzt-L.jpg
Kids at a museum exhibit, unaware that a camera was viewing them:
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/450633362_MVWDW-L.jpg
So anyway, I'm having a lot of fun with this camera's live view mechanism, and other features as well. I'm finding that simply having the camera strap around my neck gives me a goodly amount of stabilization (though my kit 14-45 lens has OIS) for high or low shots; just the tension on the strap gives me a relatively stable body/camera unit for shooting at odd angles. Whaddya think?

[Phill D]

Looks like you're having fun John, love the leaf shot. I had a play with a G1 recently at Brian Moseley's exhibition & was impressed too. Plus the prices are dropping too, still I think I'll have to stick with my E510 clunky as it is for now. I don't use the live view much so can put up with it. Have not seen much from you for a while good to have you back.

[John_Reed]

Well, the live view is the ONLY view the G1 permits. I tried some shooting with a friend's Oly 510 once, and it was CLUNKY by comparison. The G1 gives you all the high-speed contrast AF features of the camera, even when you're composing through the tilted-out screen, along with very quick shutter response. How else would you capture that kid running by in the dark?

[Elisha]

have you tried the Sony A300 or A350 Live View?

[John_Reed]

No, can't say that I have. Is it really good? Do they have a swiveling, articulated LCD to allow all kinds of weird angles, and is shutter response instantaneous?

[Elisha]

the live view on it works just like a regular P&S and the screen tilts up and down.

[John_Reed]

OK, here's what DCRP's Jeff Keller said about the A350:


I do want to mention a couple of downsides about Sony's version of live view before we continue the tour. First, you don't get a 100% view of the frame when using live view -- in fact, you see just 90% of it. Second, there's no way to digitally enlarge the frame, which comes in really handy when taking macro shots. Third, the camera's burst rate drops a bit when you're using live view. And finally, as I mentioned before, battery life takes a considerable hit when using LV. Despite all that, I still think that Sony's implementation of this feature is currently the best out there.

Compared to the A350 and those points Jeff made about its Live View feature and others from his review), the G1:

a) Shows you 100% of the frame in Live View

b) Allows you to digitally enlarge the frame, at least to do manual focusing.

c) Is fully articulated, giving one more choices of shooting angles.

d) Is 3.0 inches diagonal, a bit larger than the Sony's 2.7".

So maybe the G1's Live View is better? Or maybe it's worse. But for me, it does a very good job, and for others, I'm sure the Sony does a very good job.

[Elisha]

oh I have no doubt the Panny's implementation is good. I just mentioned the sony cause you said how clunky Oly's implementation was. The tilting screen makes a big difference especially for low level shots.

[speaklightly]

John-

It is great to see you posting again. Welcome home! Based on your experience with the Panasonic G-1 how would you compare the G-1 to the GF-1. Is the newer incarnation better. I noticed that it does not have an articulated LCD screen though??

Thanks for the advice in advance John.

Sarah Joyce