The lens sold with the GH1 only open to F4, which considering the 17mm sensor is not enough for narrow DOF on short focal (correct if I'm wrong !). Plus, having wider aperture make the low light shots cleaner...
Does anyone know what lens is compatible with the GH1, while retaining the autofocus feature ? (Sometime you don't wan't to waste time getting the subject in focus !)

The only lens that will do AF in Video mode is the HD stock lens, F4 14-140.

BTW you can go here
Compatibilities of DMC-G1K/DMC-G1W/DMC-G1 | Compatibility | Digital Camera | Product Support | Support | Panasonic Global (http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/connect/g1.html)
it shows you which lens will work in AF but this I believe is in still mode only.

Thanks for the list !
Seems that ZUIKO DIGITAL 25mm F2.8 is compatible with AF.

If the auto focus works on that lens, it might be noisy, as far as I know, the stock lens is the only one that design with a quiet focus motor, but those Zuiko lens are nice, check this out.

YouTube - Test: Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GH1 - Pt.1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ8YVKcMEQA)

I think you'll find that these four thirds lenses will have communication with the camera for AE etc. but if the autofocus works in video mode, it might not be too quick. I think we'll have to wait for people to test these lenses before making a judgement.

Adrian

Too quick? I don't know about that one. If you look at the last posted link where they test different Olympus lenses on the GH1, the AF speed seems quite OK. Not that different, or even slower, than the 14-140. I actually really like the slow focus of the 25mm Macro. It is really smooth. Perfect for video IMHO.

Jelle,

You're right, this clip does show some promise using ZD lenses. I'm not 100 percent sure this is showing autofocus ( it does look like it though?) as the 50mm F2 macro and 50-200 as far as I know are not AF compatible with micro 4/3.

Adrian

Hmm, didn't even check that, but I just assumed it was AF. But nonetheless, it is smooth!

Question: what do people think are the relative pros and cons for choosing to use digital lenses designed for the 4/3rds system (like the Zuiko) + adapter vs. an adpater + lenses not designed for 4/3rds system, like Nikkor lenses?

I know there's a doubling of focal lengths for both. But no one i know has talked about this issue.

If I had no prior lenses and no other use for the lenses apart from the GH1, what would be the pros and cons of going with Zuiko vs. Nikkor?

Thanks!!!!

There's no doubling of focal length. The focal is what it is, whatever the sensor size. The FOV however can be different, if you want a list of equivalence have a look here:
Reference table: equivalent lens - DVXuser.com -- The online community for filmmaking (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=169831)

My mistake, thank you: a rough doubling of fov. But still: what about the differences between the lens types I mentioned above?

Shahin,
The Zuiko lenses were designed for the four thirds system and probably one of the main benefits is that you will have some lens communication with the camera, though not for all lenses in the range. The lenses were designed for digital use from the ground up, have a look on the wiki for more on the system.
Four Thirds system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Thirds_System)

It looks likely that over the summer there will be more four thirds lenses added, as well as several new m4/3 lenses too.

The compatible lens list has been updated, almost two times longer !
Compatibilities of DMC-GH1 and DMC-G1 | Compatibility | Digital Camera | Product Support | Support | Panasonic Global (http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/connect/g1.html)