Camera Labs

Hi guys i am traveling soon out of country, i want to have a smaller lens without a adepter for my GH1,
i will mostly take with this lens photos indoors, like party's family gatherings,
and i would appreciate if you can recommend me any other accessory, i should think of while traveling.
its my first time traveling with a (like) DSLR,
Thanks Joel

Well, the first thing that springs to mind is the 20mm f1.7 "pancake" lens . Is there some reason that won't do?

As for traveling, I always take along an extra SD card or three (and a laptop with the GH1's USB cable so you can off-load the image files), as well as an extra battery. And don't forget your battery charger, of course, and any voltage convertor(s), if necessary. Oh, and a lens pen or other lens cleaner. A UV filter could come in handy if you loose your lens cap.

HTH - Mark

Thanks Maestro for your quick reply,

the problem with the pancake, I'm not comfortable not having somekind of zoom,

and extra beterry, laptop, convertor, i'have got, i have a 32 gig sd i think its more then enough,
oh and good you remind me of filters, any suggestion for a combo ND-UV for my stock lens?

Thanks

>"the problem with the pancake, I'm not comfortable not having somekind of zoom,"

OK, but here's the thing: all of the currently available native m4/3 zoom lenses are way slow (f3.5-5.6 or 4.0-5.8). So for "photos indoors, like party's family gatherings", you would probably benefit more from an additional two stops (and "zoom" with your feet) than you would from a slow zoom lens. (Plus, this is one situation where the full tilt-swivel LCD could come in handy.)

But to answer your question: Pany has a 14-45mm but it's only an inch shorter than the GH1's 14-140mm kit lens. Oly has a similar 14-42mm which cuts another half an inch off the length, bringing it down to roughly half the size of the kit, but it doesn't support AFC on the GH1, just AFS. (And not to belabor the point, but the 20mm is even smaller/shorter than the Oly 14-42mm.)

>"i have a 32 gig sd i think its more then enough"

But what will you do if that one card dies? If you're traveling to a big city where you can pop into a local camera/computer/electronics store, then fine. But if there isn't a store nearby (or if the store happens to be out of stock), then your GH1 is now a $1,500 paperweight.

>"any suggestion for a combo ND-UV for my stock lens?"

Given how slow the kit lens already is, I'm not sure why you would want an ND for indoor stills (as opposed to outdoor video). But to answer your question:

Personally, I would go for separate filters over a combo. e.g. a set of Hoya NDs, or either a Fader ND from Light Craft or Vari-ND from Singh-Ray, and then get a cheap UV for when I didn't have the ND mounted.

Mark

Thanks Mark for taking the time to answer me,

you convinced me about the pancake, because the pancake being a faster lens will give me better video quality indoors, this is very important to me,

the reason why i asked about the combo ND-UV, i have read in some forum that this will help sunny outdoors videos and photos,
pleas correct me if I'm wrong as i just started in this hobby,
tell me any filters you think its appropriate for me,
besides taking photos of party's and family gatherings, i will be using the 14-140 to shoot photos and videos outdoors of everything, kids running playing, sunsets, landscape etc.

Thanks, Joel.

>"the pancake being a faster lens will give me better video quality indoors"

While that is absolutely correct, note that my recommendation was for indoor *photos* where there isn't sound being recorded, not video where there is sound being recorded. I only mention that because, if the room is very quiet (which isn't the case at any of my family gatherings, but just in case...), the sound of the 20mm focus motor can be picked up by the built-in mic on the GH1.

The 20mm is still much better than the kit lens for indoor video, but just be aware that it doesn't auto-focus as quietly as the kit. So if you're shooting video in a library or a church, for example, you will probably be able to hear the lens focusing in the video. But that's better than not being able to see anything in the video because it's too dark.

>"the combo ND-UV, i have read in some forum that this will help sunny outdoors videos and photos,"

Yup, that's also correct. Like I previously said, "I'm not sure why you would want an ND for indoor stills (as opposed to outdoor video)". Indoor stills and outdoor video are two very different things. And, while an ND filter isn't much help for indoor stills, it can be very helpful for outdoor video. (For outdoor stills, it can be helpful in certain specific circumstances.)

So yeah, like I said above, a set of Hoyas (2, 4, 8) which will probably run you around $100 (US), or a Fader ND which will probably cost about the same (or maybe a little less), or if you have the budget, a Vari-ND which will probably be around $400.

The Hoyas are cheap and stackable, although you will probably have some vignetting issues. The Fader is also relatively cheap and more flexible since you're not locked into three specific levels (2, 4, 8) but only covers 2-8, whereas you can stack the Hoyas to get more than 8 stops if you need to. The Vari is basically a more expensive Fader that has better quality glass, but I haven't seen any pictures that look *four times* better to my eye. But YMMV.

Mark

Get the 14-45 panasonic. Cheap, works good, makes the camera smaller & lighter. With a raynox adapter the lens takes great macros too!