UPDATE: of course i’ve taken some more shots with the gwc-1. you can find them here: https://dothob.wordpress.com/tag/gwc-1/
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as i promised here are some more pictures taken with the panasonic gwc-1 wide angle conversion lens attached to the very nice panasonic lumix 14mm pancake. that combination amounts to a ff-equivalent focal length of 22mm and that’s pretty wide.
the pictures have been shot in prenzlauer berg and friedrichshain, berlin. some of the pictures are cross-processed but otherwise unchanged so you who might be interested in achievable shallowness of depth of field, corner sharpness and – oh yes – barrel distortion should get an impression of the capabilities of the converter by simply clicking on the pictures…
i failed at capturing the same scene with and without the gwc-1 attached, though. but if i get a request to do so, i will seriously consider doing it…
the gwc-1 is quite (and to me surprisingly) small and very light so it does only add neglectable bulk to the equipment. of course if you’re used to travel only with the 14mm pancake the gwc-1 will most likely double your load. but that’s about it.
corner sharpness?
some vignetting
shallow dof (quite close admittedly)
quite close (obviously)
barrel distortion? oh yesssss!
so these pictures should be enough for a first impression of the merits of the gwc-1. i think corner sharpness is acceptable though not great, vignetting is ok, achievable shallowness of dof is great (@f2.5 and reasonably close), barrel distortion is absolutely unacceptable for critical subjects but absolutely tolerable in most of (my) shooting circumstances.
but now for some more pictures…
beware!
harmonium
the twins (cropped, of course)
double decker chair
second hand portrait (flea market boxhagener platz)
empty fridge
bottom line: if you are looking for a moderately expensive wide angle solution for your micro four thirds camera, get a de-kitted 14mm pancake on ebay and try to get the gwc-1 somewhere. i think you won’t regret it. i definitely don’t.
thanks for reading! the nexts posts will be less technical again… but i thought i’d share my experience since there wasn’t much to find on the gwc-1.
but just in case you don’t trust me, trust john:
http://johntodaro.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/view-from-the-haerter-bridge-panasonic-wide-converter-dmw-gwc1/
.documenting.the.obvious 