(Picture Heavy) My First Weekend trip with Panasonic GF2 and Fuji X-E1

monk3y

Regular
Location
Japan
Name
Steven
First off = Constructive criticism is definitely welcome :D Feel free to say whatever you want with regards to the photos below. :drinks:

I just got the Fuji X-E1 2 weeks ago and the GF2 a few days ago. I was excited to take both of them for a spin. It's summer here in Japan and I missed the beach so we headed out and took the train for 4.5hours to the nearest white sand beach from Tokyo that I know, the sleepy town of Shimoda in Izu Peninsula.

These first 13 shots were taken with the GF2 + 14mm f/2.5.

1. Waiting for the train.
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2.
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3.After a few hours on the first train, we had to transfer and I saw this guy connecting these two cars
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4.Inside the train on our last leg of the 4.5hour trip.
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5.This train is quite old too
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6. Ahhh... arrived at last. This is the view that greeted me :happy-084:
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7. Had to cool down a bit and ate some shaved ice
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8. Say hi to my ever loyal companion of 10 years now :happy-084:
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9. Crazy lady;) jumping in front of a traditional building in this town, apparently made of stones that are common here
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10. When it was time to eat, we head out to a local eatery, I ordered a bowl of Ramen and the lady asked me if I want the big serving for the same price. Of course I said yes.... then they served me this. A serving good for one person :eek:
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11. Since I used the GF2 as back up camera to the Fuji, here's the Fuji camera in action
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12. Here's my usual landscape kit, some filters, a bag for longer lens and a small bag for the camera, all attached to a belt that I sling around my shoulder.
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13. Just wanna show the old school shutter release.
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Here's a few from the Fuji X-E1 with the 18-55mm and 55-200mm

14. SOOC Jpeg in Velvia Simulation mode using some square filters. Sunrise
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15. SOOC Jpeg in Velvia Simulation mode using some square filters. Sunrise
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16. SOOC Jpeg in Velvia Simulation mode using some square filters. Sunrise
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17. Chuo Shirahama view
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18. Chuo Shirahama Beach
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I have to say, I quite like the GF2. I did not expect much from it as I only got it to test around and to use some of my m43 lenses that I have. It definitely exceeded my expectation. I always read that the GF2 have a noisy sensor etc but I think it makes for a fine second camera. :)

I will be selling it as I originally intended and not because it is a bad camera. :)

Thanks for looking folks. :happy-084:
 
The GF2, which I owned, is a very nice camera, especially if you do not go above 400-800 ASA - we never did in the film days. I later bought a GX1, mostly because of the much better external viewfinder. The GX1 tolerates 800 ASA better than the GF2, and is a wonderful camera, with two minor problems: the shutter is slightly noisy (but much less than my Nikon SLR shutter), and some of the buttons in the back are flush with the body, and so very hard to find by touch. The GX7, which I will probably buy sometime in the future, is a sum of a lot of improvements in the GX1 (including, but not limited to, an integrated viewfinder and a foldable screen). I hope its price comes down a little bit. I am now mostly using the Panasonic GX1 with two lenses (the Panasonic 14 mm, and the superlative Olympus 45 mm, which I strongly recommend), and my dear Panasonic LX7 as well. And I am considering selling all my big and heavy SLR stuff.
Although some market data and some commentators speak of the failure of the m43 system, it has never been so good (GX1, GX7, OM5 and the next OM1 come to mind), and it has never had such a fine and broad selection of lenses. Some other mirrorless cameras may be marginally better without being much bigger, but the same cannot be said when you add the lenses to the equation. The system is good; I think Panasonic and Olympus have been communicating badly and/or targeting the wrong market segments.
 
17 is my favorite! I was struck by the cleanliness of the trains. Even though somewhat old, they look clean, well maintained, and FREE OF GRAFITTI!! Thank you Japan! It is so sad to travel in most countries (U.S. Europe) and see how they have been spoiled by grafitti. These "artists" should paint on canvas, not buildings, in my curmudgeonly opinion. Loved Japan when I lived there back in the late 60's, and it looks like it has modernized without losing its character. Bravo. Sorry for the rant. Loved the photos.
 
The GF2, which I owned, is a very nice camera, especially if you do not go above 400-800 ASA - we never did in the film days. I later bought a GX1, mostly because of the much better external viewfinder. The GX1 tolerates 800 ASA better than the GF2, and is a wonderful camera, with two minor problems: the shutter is slightly noisy (but much less than my Nikon SLR shutter), and some of the buttons in the back are flush with the body, and so very hard to find by touch. The GX7, which I will probably buy sometime in the future, is a sum of a lot of improvements in the GX1 (including, but not limited to, an integrated viewfinder and a foldable screen). I hope its price comes down a little bit. I am now mostly using the Panasonic GX1 with two lenses (the Panasonic 14 mm, and the superlative Olympus 45 mm, which I strongly recommend), and my dear Panasonic LX7 as well. And I am considering selling all my big and heavy SLR stuff.
Although some market data and some commentators speak of the failure of the m43 system, it has never been so good (GX1, GX7, OM5 and the next OM1 come to mind), and it has never had such a fine and broad selection of lenses. Some other mirrorless cameras may be marginally better without being much bigger, but the same cannot be said when you add the lenses to the equation. The system is good; I think Panasonic and Olympus have been communicating badly and/or targeting the wrong market segments.
Indeed the GF2 is nice in good light and as long as you stay in relatively low ISO. It was such a joy to use with the 14mm that I used it as my snapshot camera documenting the travel itself. I have just sold my 17mm f/1.8, 45mm f/1.8 and 75mm f/1.8 as I will be limiting myself to the 14mm and 7.5mm fisheye for m43 at the moment. But I must say this system is nice and I will definitely be back. :D

The shutter sound on the GF2 is quite loud too and doesn't sound good but that doesn't matter as long as the end result is good enough :D

Lovely shots from both cameras! Enjoyable set :)
Thank you. :)

17 is my favorite! I was struck by the cleanliness of the trains. Even though somewhat old, they look clean, well maintained, and FREE OF GRAFITTI!! Thank you Japan! It is so sad to travel in most countries (U.S. Europe) and see how they have been spoiled by grafitti. These "artists" should paint on canvas, not buildings, in my curmudgeonly opinion. Loved Japan when I lived there back in the late 60's, and it looks like it has modernized without losing its character. Bravo. Sorry for the rant. Loved the photos.
Thanks, yes indeed everywhere you go here in Japan is very clean. I could say there are very very very few graffiti here. Indeed all the trains are very clean and you always feel very safe. Actually on some parts outside of Tokyo it seems like the modernization halted in the 80's... but everything is well maintained so it's not so bad.

On the Shimoda station, they still have manual gates on their station
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I like my GF2 unless I shoot in very contrasty light and need to bring up shadows a little... then it falls apart. Otherwise, a nifty little camera.

Indeed, it has a little more headroom for highlights than shadows.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using SeriousCompacts mobile app
 
Indeed the GF2 is nice in good light and as long as you stay in relatively low ISO. It was such a joy to use with the 14mm that I used it as my snapshot camera documenting the travel itself. I have just sold my 17mm f/1.8, 45mm f/1.8 and 75mm f/1.8 as I will be limiting myself to the 14mm and 7.5mm fisheye for m43 at the moment. But I must say this system is nice and I will definitely be back. :D

I am surprised that you sold the 45mm f/1.8 and the 75mm f/1.8. I can tell from experience that the 45/1.8 is a wonderful lens, and both have been considered excellent in most, if not all, reviews. I am planning to get the 75mm f/1.8 in the future.
 
I am surprised that you sold the 45mm f/1.8 and the 75mm f/1.8. I can tell from experience that the 45/1.8 is a wonderful lens, and both have been considered excellent in most, if not all, reviews. I am planning to get the 75mm f/1.8 in the future.

I sold it as I know I can get those lenses for the same or lower price next time. I am in Japan after all, prices here are pretty good.

I just sold the 75mm f/1.8 to fund for the Fuji 55-200mm. Other than that it would have stayed with me. :D
 
Great series of shots from Japan; I'm sure I'll get there one day. :)

Sometimes I think I should re-get an E-PL1 like the one I had before my E-M5, but I think I may have spoiled too much since then to be able to love it as much again. That old 12mp Panasonic sensor could do great things but it had it's limitations.
 
Great series of shots from Japan; I'm sure I'll get there one day. :)

Sometimes I think I should re-get an E-PL1 like the one I had before my E-M5, but I think I may have spoiled too much since then to be able to love it as much again. That old 12mp Panasonic sensor could do great things but it had it's limitations.
Thank you. Yes come and visit someday. :D

Definitely quite limited. In fact I have to always make sure that I don't blow any highlights as it is difficult to recover.

Great daytime camera though.


Sent from my GT-N7100 using SeriousCompacts mobile app
 
Thanks for sharing. Some wonderful shots there.

Everytime I see images posted from the X-E1 I think I may have to think about upgrading my X10 :D

Sent from my GT-N7000 using SeriousCompacts mobile app
 
Very nice series indeed.
Love the interior train shot, crispy and sharp and nice angle. Japan is on my hit list next year. I'm currently in Finland having shipped my motorcycle sidecar over to Holland from the US last year. March 2014 I head out across Russia, Siberia, then by years end Japan. I have a friend in Mie Prefecture who has a motorcycle lounge there.
What tripod is that you are using?. Looks nice and compact.

Murph.
 
Very nice series indeed.
Love the interior train shot, crispy and sharp and nice angle. Japan is on my hit list next year. I'm currently in Finland having shipped my motorcycle sidecar over to Holland from the US last year. March 2014 I head out across Russia, Siberia, then by years end Japan. I have a friend in Mie Prefecture who has a motorcycle lounge there.
What tripod is that you are using?. Looks nice and compact.

Murph.

Thank you. Wow you're gonna ride your sidecar all the way to Japan via Sakhalin? That's gonna be awesome!!! :)

I am using a Horrusbenu M-2531T. I replaced my Gitzo with this one. I think it's pretty good although since the 55-200mm is pretty big and extends quite long at 200mm it kind of droops down a bit after I lock.
Horusbennu Camera Traveler Tripod M 2531T Blue LX 28T Ball Head Blue | eBay
 
Thank you. Wow you're gonna ride your sidecar all the way to Japan via Sakhalin? That's gonna be awesome!!! :)

I am using a Horrusbenu M-2531T. I replaced my Gitzo with this one. I think it's pretty good although since the 55-200mm is pretty big and extends quite long at 200mm it kind of droops down a bit after I lock.
Horusbennu Camera Traveler Tripod M 2531T Blue LX 28T Ball Head Blue | eBay

Yes, that's the only way down to Japan through Sakhalin I think, unless I can somehow get a visa for China and pay a guide. I'm working on it, I have a few BMW motorcycling friends in China who are going to try to help with this. We'll see.
I would like to go down through Sapporo tho, as when I used to drink ( I stopped 5 yrs ago) Sapporo was one of my favorite beers, especially good with Sushi and Sashimi. So I would like to see the factory.
Thanks for the info on the tripod, seems like it's a light duty one, I wouldn't use a 50-200 on it, no wonder it droops.

Looking forward to seeing more of Japan in your shots. Making me want to go there sooner.

Murph.
 
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