GH3 7D to GH3? Keep lenses?

V

vtwiz

Well-known member
Hi all,

I've been using my 7D since it was released but the time has come to adopt 50/60p and cut out much of the aliasing. I shoot a lot of mountain bike videos, corporates and TVC's and want something sharper than Canon currently offer. I also like to shoot stills with the same camera so like the DSLR form factor and already have a rig and other accessories.

I currently have the fantastic Canon 17-55 2.8 and Tokina 11-16 2.8 as well as the Canon 50mm 1.8 and a Tamron 17-270.

My question is, do I just cut my losses and sell all the lenses I have as well as the 7D and go GH3 and M43 lenses all the way or is it worth keeping the 17-55 and 11-16 in the hope that they are usable with a future (active?) speedbooster?

Its worth noting that I like to have a decent zoom lens for flexibility in run gun work hence the 17-55 and 11-16

cheers
 
My choice was to sell ALL Canon gear (don't get me wrong, I'm not against Canon, they had the lead for a long time) and go all "native" m4/3 gear. Because I got into photography several decades ago and before zoom lenses became common, I don't mind changing lenses. So my first "kit" was a set of primes: The 14mm and 20mm Lumix "pancakes" with the Olympus 45mm f1.8. Then the Lumix 45-200mm zoom and a pair of used GH2 bodies.

A new GH2 came with a 14-42mm "kit" lens and I use them all. What drove the change for me was two factors, noticeably improved sharpness over the Canons in video especially along with smaller bodies and lighter lenses. I recently added a GH3 body and a GX1 body.

Haven't looked back.

The one thing I don't have is what you're used to in zoom flexibility you get with the two zooms mentioned. An Olympus 12-50mm (24-100mm full frame equiv) offered as a "kit" option with the OMD E-M5 that I picked up a few months ago comes close to that role for me but with f3.5 to f6.3 max apertures (from wide to tele) I have to not "mind" kicking up the ISO some in certain circumstances (not much of a problem with the GH3).
 
Here's where it gets tricky...

Metabones' Speedbooster is coming out with a MFT-EF mount that is SUPPOSED to deliver full electronic control of the EF lenses (last I recall), plus acts as a 0.7x focal reducer, and is SUPPOSED to work with DX/APS-C lenses on the MFT sensor as well. This could ultimately yield approximately the same field of view you're used to with the 7D when those lenses are used on a GH3, plus make each converted lens an extra stop faster.

The catch... timing. Nobody solidly knows when the thing is coming out. They delivered the Sony E-mount versions on time and to expectations, but the MFT version releases have been pushed back multiple times.

It may be prudent to keep using what's been working for you, and upgrade the body once the proper adapter becomes available. Redrock's LiveLens adapter gives EF lens control, but has to be powered externally (never used it, can't comment on its effectiveness). Or it may be waiting for vaporware.

That said, MFT system lenses are wonderful in being incredibly compact for their speed and range... if that's attractive to you, a wholesale switch may make sense.
 
vtwiz said:
Hi all,

I've been using my 7D since it was released but the time has come to adopt 50/60p and cut out much of the aliasing. I shoot a lot of mountain bike videos, corporates and TVC's and want something sharper than Canon currently offer. I also like to shoot stills with the same camera so like the DSLR form factor and already have a rig and other accessories.

I currently have the fantastic Canon 17-55 2.8 and Tokina 11-16 2.8 as well as the Canon 50mm 1.8 and a Tamron 17-270.

My question is, do I just cut my losses and sell all the lenses I have as well as the 7D and go GH3 and M43 lenses all the way or is it worth keeping the 17-55 and 11-16 in the hope that they are usable with a future (active?) speedbooster?

Its worth noting that I like to have a decent zoom lens for flexibility in run gun work hence the 17-55 and 11-16

cheers
Click to expand...

Was in the same situation several years ago. Replaced the Canon 7D gear with a GH2 and all Lumix lenses. If portability is one of your goals, you'll never miss adapters and massive Canon mount lenses.

You might be happy with the GH3 and Lumix 14-45 or 12-35 f2.8. The 12-35 f2.8 is my personal preference.

Good luck with your choice.
 
All depends on what you are shooting, etc.

I have lots of Canon glass that I enjoy using with a passive adapter and it can be switched onto other cameras when the occasion calls for it.

The Tokina is a popular lens, even on M43 cameras, but the lack of manual control could be an issue for some.

I mean the first thing to keep in mind in terms of zoom lenses is that you are dealing with a different crop factor. Your 11mm is giving you a 17.6mm crop on your 7D but it would be more 22mm crop on the GH3. To get the same crop on a GH3 you would need a 8.8mm. So you start looking at things like the Panasonic 7-14mm native electronic M43.

The SpeedBooster (when and if it appears) could address that, so the main question you might want to ask is whether you are more concerned about future-proofing or the lens collection available to your right now.

Now if you had glass like the 16-35mm L II or the 100-400mm L, then I would be saying "make sure to keep it!" but with the glass you have, it's much more of a personal choice call.
 
Thanks for the replies and insight.

Holding off from switching to the GH3 from 7D till the speedboster is released as mcbob suggested is probably wise but I have a project that starts shooting in 3 weeks that could really benefit from 50p as it is fast action Mountain biking.

Im thinking that selling all my Canon gear and EF-S lenses is probably the way to go. Buying a GH3 and a good fast M43 zoom as well as three of the samyang cine primes. My background is shooting on Betacam and HDCAM so am used to using the one zoom lens for everything but I love the images that I have seen primes give.

Also, I Like using a follow focus and small rig so portability is not a huge issue and thats why i like the 17-55 and 11-16 apart from their great optics. I also like the fact that the samyangs will offer a bit of future proofing if I choose to go back to a APSC camera in future.

@Per Lichtman, other than the 'L' weather sealing in many people's opinion the 17-55 2.8 is up there optically with the best of the L's. are you suggesting you would keep the L's as opposed tothe 17-55 and 11-16 as they don't cover full frame? Personally, I don't ever see myself shooting anything bigger that APSC.
 
On top of that, there is a significant gap in quality between the 17-55 EF-S and 16-35 II L EF.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=736&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=1&APIComp=2

Load both up with the 60D and even back off on both the aperture and the focal length. At 20mm, stopped down to f/4.0 you can still see a pretty significant difference between the two.

But like I said, the biggest point in your case is the fact that it is not an EF lens, so no planned SpeedBooster support.
 
Didn't realise the Speedbooster wasnt going to support EF-S lenses. Last I heard was that the focal reduction for the M43 Speedbooster was going to be similar to the current one. That would make it perfect for EF-S lenses on M43 cameras as they would behave pretty much identically to when mounted on APS-C bodies. Any idea where the incompatibility occurs in the EF Speedbooster as it seems strange because the contacts (electronic control) are compatible between EF and EF-S.
 
@vtwiz I didn't design the product so I can only make inferences as to possible reasons.

- CORRECTION: The flange distance is the same on both EF and EF-S lenses, but EF-S lenses are permitted to allow the rear element to protrude further back than EF lenses. This could be a factor as aldolega points out later in the thread. Thanks for catching my error aldolega. :)
- The adapter design was originally created for a Sony mount and around have a larger image circle going down to a smaller one. EF-S lenses would not have given a large enough image circle to do that. It is possible the M43 design is similar enough to require the same input image circle.
 
Last edited:
I've been trying to decide pretty much the same thing....

I currently own a 60D with a Tamron 17-50mm, Canon 50mm, and a Canon 55-250mm. I'm looking to sell the 60D and buy a GH3...I can't use any of my lenses with the GH3, correct? Atleast, not with an adapter at least..and I dont want to mess around with adapters. I may just sell everything and start over...I just need other people to help tell me I SHOULD DO IT because the GH3 absolutely KILLS the 60D ...I am just nervous!
 
@AM Films If you don't want to mess around with adapters, then there is no point in keeping the EF lenses if you go to the GH3 - and none of those lenses are too far outside what you could get naively on M43.

As far as GH3 vs 60D - the video mode on the GH3 "kills" (only using the word because you asked me to ;) the one on the 60D in terms of compression artifacts, resolution and the frame rates available at 1080P. Also keep in mind that you can use the EVF on the GH3 while shooting video or stills while the optical viewfinder on the 60D can only be used for stills.

There is some contention that the 60D may have wider dynamic range and some people prefer the colors, but I would say this is a somewhat subjective area without a clear winner.

So unless you want the shallower DOF of 1.6x crop with the 60D vs. the 2.0x crop with the Panasonic GH3, the video mode is superior on the GH3 by pretty much metric I have at my disposal right now (especially image quality).

The stills side is a much more complex equation where each camera has certain advantages, so if stills are important you might want to ask some more questions.
 
vtwiz said:
Didn't realise the Speedbooster wasnt going to support EF-S lenses. Last I heard was that the focal reduction for the M43 Speedbooster was going to be similar to the current one. That would make it perfect for EF-S lenses on M43 cameras as they would behave pretty much identically to when mounted on APS-C bodies. Any idea where the incompatibility occurs in the EF Speedbooster as it seems strange because the contacts (electronic control) are compatible between EF and EF-S.
Click to expand...

Per Lichtman said:
@vtwiz I didn't design the product so I can only make inferences as to possible reasons.

- The flange distance is shorter for EF-S. The SpeedBooster may have been designed to use a longer one.
- The adapter design was originally created for a Sony mount and around have a larger image circle going down to a smaller one. EF-S lenses would not have given a large enough image circle to do that. It is possible the M43 design is similar enough to require the same input image circle.
Click to expand...

The flange distance is the same for EF and EF-S: otherwise you wouldn't be able to use EF lenses on crop bodies.

I believe the limitation may be how far the rear element protrudes into the body on (some) EF-S lenses- I've read that mounting many EF-S lenses on a full-frame body will have issues with the mirror clearing the rear element/back of the lens. This doesn't happen with all EF-S lenses, though- for instance I have put my Tokina 11-16 on a friend's 5D2 and it worked just fine (although that's third-party. Maybe Canon purposely makes their crop lenses incompatible?).

Now, the Speedbooster doesn't have a mirror, obviously, but apparently its front element is very close to the lens mount- so maybe EF-S lenses will hit it, like they would hit the mirror on a full-frame DSLR.
 
@aldolega You are of course correct - I was typing quickly and just completely screwed that up. I'm fixing it in my post now. :)
 
AM Films said:
I've been trying to decide pretty much the same thing....

I currently own a 60D with a Tamron 17-50mm, Canon 50mm, and a Canon 55-250mm. I'm looking to sell the 60D and buy a GH3...I can't use any of my lenses with the GH3, correct? Atleast, not with an adapter at least..and I dont want to mess around with adapters. I may just sell everything and start over...I just need other people to help tell me I SHOULD DO IT because the GH3 absolutely KILLS the 60D ...I am just nervous!
Click to expand...


GH2 Hack is better than 60D, a lot better........ GH3 not even comparable......

1 thing that must be noted though, you can still do some very nice projects with your Canon 60D. Set and art design go along way, as well as concept, directing and editing.

peace
 
J.F.R. said:
GH2 Hack is better than 60D, a lot better........ GH3 not even comparable......

1 thing that must be noted though, you can still do some very nice projects with your Canon 60D. Set and art design go along way, as well as concept, directing and editing.

peace
Click to expand...
When you say GH3 is not comparable...do you mean not even comparable because its THAT much better? Or is a hacked GH2 better than a GH3? I've been dying for the 60FPS 1080p frame rate, considering I shoot a lot of motocross.
 
AM Films said:
When you say GH3 is not comparable...do you mean not even comparable because its THAT much better? Or is a hacked GH2 better than a GH3? I've been dying for the 60FPS 1080p frame rate, considering I shoot a lot of motocross.
Click to expand...

I think he is saying that the GH3 is so much better. Yep, I shoot a lot of mountain bike events and while the 7Ds 720 50p has been ok, I'm over the aliasing. The GH3 sounds perfect.
 
Ok, so I decided to list my 7D and all my EF-S lenses on eBay. To me, EF-S lenses and the Speedbooster (when released) on the GH3 or any M43 camera seemed to make so much sense. Similar FOV as on the 7D and a stop faster. But alas, EF-S lens support is highly unlikely so I'm cutting my losses. I love the Canon 17-55 2.8 and Tokina 11-16 2.8 but being EF-S lenses I kinda feel left in no mans land in terms of options.

Next week I will hopefully purchase the GH3. As mentioned, This camera will primarily be used for shooting TVC's, interviews and fast action Mountain biking videos as well as some stills. Stills wise I want a decent lens with fast Auto focus. The Panasonic 12-35 2.8 is just within my budget but won't leave much for anything else.

After feeling a little 'burnt' by my EF-S lens investment I am thinking of investing in a cheap m43 zoom lens with AF and IS for stills and investing in the more 'future proof' Full frame Nikkor manual focus/iris lenses and a Speedbooster when released.

Am I missing any other good options for M43 that may also work with APS-C cameras like the BMC 4K should I need to hire one for future productions?

cheers
 
Last edited:
@vtwiz Also keep in mind that the recently announced G6 at a lower price point than the GH3. It's too early to tell much about it and the GH3 is probably still the better option, but it will have focus-peaking, cost less and still have 1080/60P so I would take a minute to look at it.

Anyway, in terms of APS-C lenses, I'm not sure. Many of the lenses I use on M43 require optical adapters (as opposed to passive ones) if used on Canon EF cameras so they likely aren't what you are looking for. On RED cameras people mainly use EF, Nikkor and PL. PL is usually a lot more expensive, as are the adapters. So I guess Nikkor probably would make the most sense given your criteria.

The thing is, you can get some great lenses for M43 with cheap passie adapters and full lens control that look fantastic, are dirt cheap and don't really work well on other systems, so I wouldn't dismiss that out of hand. I picked up a 28mm f/2.8 and 58mm f1/4 (MD lenses) for $140 combined that I have used on a lot of music videos. There was also a very lightweight old Vivitar lens for the same system that (while not at all in the same class as my L 70-200 f/2.8 for more than 30 times the price) works pretty decently and was less than $30.

I would definitely look at some of those adapters like Rokkor MD or Canon FD or M42, etc. and see if any of them appeal to you in terms of inexpensive lenses.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top