[2].jpg "P1080526 (Medium)")
^The inside of this stationery store was rather dimly lit as you can guess from the exposure combo. The GF-1 kit zoom lens did okay in locking the focus here. The man is the owner of this store which he inherited from his father.
If a veteran photographer has a state-of-the-art camera fitted with the largest sensor on earth, but the lens has a really sluggish focusing speed, what will happen?
He'll probably be mad about missing most of the shots.
The first impression I had with the GX100, which was the first serious compact I played with, was its slow focusing speed. Well, the slowness was not that slow but slow enough to be discernable to anyone who primarily uses a SLR or DSLR.
[2].jpg "P1080525 (Medium)")
^The plague in black with the name of the shop written in Chinese calligraphy had a smooth surface which, complicated by the dim light, could have inconvenienced the focusing if the lens do not perform well in focusing. The GF-1 with its kit zoom lens took a wee bit longer than a DSLR to lock the focus. But the lag was not significant.
The same can be said more or less on the GX200, G7, G10 and LX3, which I have laid my hands on. It goes without saying that these serious compacts have their own advantages to even out the inconvenience arising from the slow focusing speed. For example, the shallow depth-of-field.
This is why the new MFT and small-size APS-C systems are all the more exciting. Photographers can get the best of both worlds: portability, image quality and focusing speed. To me it is the focusing speed matters most in the equation. Not that the IQ is not as important; it is. But for prints of normal sizes, the 1.7" sensors can cater for our needs regarding IQ, let alone these bigger sensors.
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^The Hero is a household name for harmonica for the older generation. These Hero items was popular back 30 years ago but cannot be easily found now. The reflective glass surface of the display cabinet posed no problem to the GF-1 lenswhich locked the focus quick and easy.
In the GF-1 review, I said that the lenses tended to hunt in low light and close- up shots "like fanatics". A definition of fanatic is "Those who charge even faster forward when the target has been lost". The hunting is not serious by any measure but will not be [3].jpg "P1080528 (Medium)")
expected for the regular lenses for a DSLR. So illustrations above may act as footnotes to my observation.
Ahead of us is the the Samsung NX10, the first small-size APS-C sensor camera with interchangeable lenses. We'd see how well it will perform in the focusing speed.
The NX10 will come with three lenses, a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS, a 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED OIS, and a 30mm f/2. Photographers are also musing on the optical quality of these lenses of Samsung which is far from being an opticial expert. Panasonic wasn't a camera maker from day one, right? We shall wait and see.
« Hing Wah Stationery Shop has seen the changes of Hong Kong for over half a century. This billboard has been used since its first opening.
Comments
As a compact small sensor user and a DSLR user I can’t see what it can offer Me.
With the kit lens it isn’t small and when used with an adaptor for other lenses one has to manually focus on a rear LCD screen. This can be done I tried it on my friends but God it is slow. I now lust for a Samsung NX10, but just a moment I am a Pentax DSLR user and have loads of Pentax lenses and the NX10 when fitted with a K mount adaptor is going to be the same size as a Pentax K-x? What do I want a NX10 for? Why would I buy a camera that won’t AF with my Pentax lenses? Am I mad, Yes I would be if I bought one!
I await the time in the near future (I hope) that we can have a 4/3 sensor or even a 2/3 inch sensor in a reasonably priced pocket camera with a useful fixed zoom lens. I may be an old stick in the mud but I will stay with DSLRs that can use the lenses I have collected over the years, spent good money on and love to use some old like the f1.4 50mm Super Takumar and others new like the Sigma 10-20mm.
We may all want a new camera or at least plan to have one in the future but I don’t want to buy a complete new system or carry yet another outfit around.
PS Panasonic have made pro spec video cameras for many years so were well up to date with the electronics etc.
For this first generation of larger-sensor-in-a-smaller-body newbies, there are going to be lots of doubts about'em. As the Co-editor put in the NX10 post, for one thing, we all need'em to be made truly compact, which will take some years to materialise IMO. These newbies are kind of stepping stones for the makers and users alike onto the next level.
It is very wise to point out the K-x. It is already small and light enough for photographers, which doesn't outweigh the newbies much yet carries the full fun of the established DSLR system. I like it too (but not the choices of colour for the body really).