Like we always do, we tested the Panasonic G1 over an extended time for its infrared photography potential.
The G1 is a 12MP interchangeable lens electronic viewfinder digital camera that uses the micro 4/3rds lens mount to produce a compact and flexible camera.It uses permanent Live View displayed in either the viewfinder or on the swing out LCD. With a Hoya R-72 infrared filter attached the viewfinder and LCD are quite dark but light enough to view for framing purposes.
Unlike many cameras, the G1 has a lot of trouble focusing with the infrared filter attached. And the display is really too dark to focus manually. So I tended to remove the R-72 filter, focus, then turn the AF off and replace the filter. With a reasonable aperture set the result is a suitably sharp image.
Now, with some processing, these are the sorts of results you can obtain.
As you can see, the Lumix G1 is certainly capable of producing interesting infrared images. Exposures were typically in the 30-60 seconds, f11 and 100ISO range.
I am quite impressed with the G1 for infrared photography. Image noise is low, the viewfinder and LCD let you see to compose with the filter on and the resulting images give you plenty of scope to process them into strong images. The only problem is the autofocus problem with the Hoya R-72 filter in place.
If you have a G1 you should definitely try it out for infrared photography.
I see a hot spot on some of them.
look closely in the middle of some of the photos and it looks like a hot spot. also the photos are beautiful but the beautiful part is the long exposures that make the sky look like it is alive, not necessarily the camera. So i give an A to the photographer in this case and a B to the camera. Just my two cents. je
look closely in the middle of some of the photos and it looks like a hot spot. also the photos are beautiful but the beautiful part is the long exposures that make the sky look like it is alive, not necessarily the camera. So i give an A to the photographer in this case and a B to the camera. Just my two cents. je