Already tired of the Voigtlander 25mm? Want a zoom lens now..

R

raatid

Active member
Hi Everybody, I am now looking for a zoom to avoid the often lens changes, to get a diversity of shots in ‘run and gun’ situations and a light bag to carry around. I mainly shoot documentaries, you can see my “Just Humans” a short series about Jamaican culture on youtube or in the User Films section of the forum. I currently own these lenses: - Lumix DMW-GWC1 converter, transform my 14mm into a 11mm (to get a 22mm equivalent) - Panasonic pancake 14mm f2.5 (my wide angle lens, looks OK to me…) - Voigtlander 25mm f0.95 (I though it will be a huge step up after my Fujian … It’s a well built piece of glass with very clean image, but heavy…) - Fujian 35mm f1.7 (love it even after getting the Voigtlander ! Tiny glass with wonderful dreamy image) - Helios 58mm f5.6 (a bit heavy specially with the M43 adapt but the images are wonderful, nice colors and glossy fx) This is the zoom lenses I’m interested in now : - Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 (Would cover almost all my primes in one lens !) - Panasonic 35-100mm f2.8 (Would complete my prime focal lengths) If I get the 12-35mm and get rid of my 14mm+Wide angle converter and my Voigtlander, do you think I will loose a lot in term of image quality compare to my prime lenses? Or should I keep my Voigtlander and get the 35-100mm? Thank you in advance.
 
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You should rent it from LensRentals or BorrowLenses to get a good comparison. I own both the 12-35mm and 35-100mm and they are excellent. However, the Voigtlander is much better in low light and certainly looks slightly more 'creamy' and film like.
 
Thank you all for you answers.
@David I checked the Sigma it seems to be a great glass !

What about a SB and a small adapted/legacy good zoom ?

I think the REAL glass is not there yet, so far the options are adapted funny focal lenghts lenses or to move around with 5 prime lenses.
The Micro 4/3 world is waiting NOW for something like a definite small very sharp 12-50mm f1.2. zoom lens.
Who is going to come with it? Olympus, Lumix, Voigtlander or maybe Sigma? Come-on we see some very good lenses nowadays for dslr and mirorless !

Stupid question: Why after a century of photography/filmmaking no company built something like a "perfect lens", they all know our needs:
Zoom lens, small enough, ultra fast and who covers from wide angle to telephoto?
 
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Light weight, wide iris, long zoom --- pick two.

A 12-50mm f-1.2 lens would weigh much more than your Voigtlander. The Sigma 18-35 f-1.8 already weighs twice as much. It's the glass, man, the glass. Each f-stop doubles the aperture's area.

350px-Aperture_diagram.svg.png
 
The sigma is very interresting but really big. The good point: only one lens in the bag !
What other wonderful zoom lens would you advice to fill the rest of the focals 35 to maybe 100mm also very fast?
 
SpeedBoosted Sigma 50-150/2.8 non-OS (35-105/2). Also fast, also parfocal with internal zoom and focus. Add a folding rubber lens hood plus a 67-72 step ring and use the same filters as your 18-35
 
raatid said:
The Micro 4/3 world is waiting NOW for something like a definite small very sharp 12-50mm f1.2. zoom lens.
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A lens like this would be expensive, big and heavy. To get decent parfocal performance at a constant f/1.2 you are probably looking at something in the "cine" price range, which most of us can't afford.

I owned a Voightlander 25mm f/0.95 for a year and ended up selling it off because I rarely used it ( 25mm is my least favorite m43 focal length ), and ended up buying the Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 and 35-100mm f/2.8 lenses. The Panasonic lenses are fantastic for still-photo work and good for video work. I wish that these had been optically parfocal constant aperture lenses, but I guess that would have made them bigger and more expensive.

Over the past year I've bough 7 Nikon AI-S primes that I use with/without a Speedbooster, and I find I'm using these lenses more than the Panasonic zooms most of the time.
 
@mcbob The SpeedBoosted with Sigma 50-150/2.8 that way too big for me now. Looks like a great piece of glass duh.

@combatentropy My whole series 'Just humans' was made with one prime. I know very well the qualities of the primes indeed. Im very grateful towards primes, thank you for reminded me.
I'm looking for a change, be able to get some shot done quicker without having to change lenses, also reach some close up without having to move into the person privacy.

@TheDingo Every month we see a new imcredible lens coming up, from the M43 f0.95, to the great zoom range into small package for the Pana 100-300mm, also the Sigma 18-35mm at f1.8 you woudn't believe it some years ago. Trust me we're not far from seeing this lens.
What Nikon prime did you get?
 
raatid said:
What Nikon primes did you get?
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35mm f/2.0, 50mm f/1.4, 55mm f/2.8 Macro, 85mm f/2.0, 105mm f/2.8 Macro, 135mm f/2.8, 200mm f/4.0

All of these have a 52mm filter size, which makes it easier to afford one set of Hoya Pro ND filters.

When used with a SpeedBooster, these lenses become...

25mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.0, 40mm f/2.0 Macro, 60mm f/1.4, 75mm f/2.0 Macro, 100mm f/2.0, 140mm f/2.8

There are two more Nikon AI-S lenses I hope to buy before the end of the year : 24mm f/2.0 and 85mm f/1.4

For corporate interviews I shoot almost everything on the SpeedBoosted Nikon 50mm f/1.4, which becomes a 35mm f/1.0 lens that I usually stop down to f/1.4 or f/2.0 when shooting

I also find I get better results with these Nikon AI-S lenses by setting my GHx cameras to 0 sharpness when shooting ( my Lumix glass is too sharp, so I always set my camera to -5 sharpness when using the zooms )
 
@TheDingo must look good. But I guess way too heavy to carry around for my purpose.

My 2 options are:
- Sigma 18-35 f1.8 + Speedbooster and get rid of 14mm Panny & Voigtlander.
- The Pana 12-35 f2.8 and keep the Voigtlander for the low light settings. I like this option because of the zoom stabilisation for the handheld work.
 
TheDingo said:
35mm f/2.0, 50mm f/1.4, 55mm f/2.8 Macro, 85mm f/2.0, 105mm f/2.8 Macro, 135mm f/2.8, 200mm f/4.0

All of these have a 52mm filter size, which makes it easier to afford one set of Hoya Pro ND filters.

When used with a SpeedBooster, these lenses become...

25mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.0, 40mm f/2.0 Macro, 60mm f/1.4, 75mm f/2.0 Macro, 100mm f/2.0, 140mm f/2.8

There are two more Nikon AI-S lenses I hope to buy before the end of the year : 24mm f/2.0 and 85mm f/1.4

For corporate interviews I shoot almost everything on the SpeedBoosted Nikon 50mm f/1.4, which becomes a 35mm f/1.0 lens that I usually stop down to f/1.4 or f/2.0 when shooting

I also find I get better results with these Nikon AI-S lenses by setting my GHx cameras to 0 sharpness when shooting ( my Lumix glass is too sharp, so I always set my camera to -5 sharpness when using the zooms )
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What are you getting with the Nikkor primes that you can't get with the Lumix Zooms? Just a few stops brighter?
 
SuperSet said:
What are you getting with the Nikkor primes that you can't get with the Lumix Zooms? Just a few stops brighter?
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Mainly a different look that I like quite a bit. Essentially 2 to 3 F-stops more light, shallower DOF, and a softer / "smoother" looking image.

The Nikon image is more flattering when filming interviews. People look better on camera. Even my clients have commented about how much they like this new "Nikon" look, without knowing what I had changed in my process.

I think that Panasonic/Olympus have designed their m43 lenses to be as sharp as absolutely possible, which may not be something you want all the time. I haven't used the Nikon Macro lenses much, but in quick tests they show higher resolution than the other Nikon lenses I own.

Also, accurate focus becomes a bigger deal with the Nikon lenses when you've got no AF to confirm your focus. I can get away without a field monitor with my Lumix lenses, but I really need it for the Nikons. ( shallower DOF is partly to blame here )

My schedule is jam-packed until the end of the month, but I plan on shooting a review comparing Lumix vs Nikon vs Nikon+SpeedBooster in September.
 
SuperSet said:
Thanks for your response, Dingo. Do you have any footage to share using your Nikkors and the GH4/GH3?
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I shoot mainly corporate education/training footage that is almost always for internal use, so I would definitely get "shot" by my clients if I posted anything online. :-)

When I do the lens comparison in September I will round up somebody to model for an interview/skin-tone test, which will likely be more meaningful than a bunch of test targets. ( But I will include Samuel's "One Dollar" lens test, for people who want to see the difference in resolution )
 
I think it will be a mistake to sell the voigtlander for the 12-35 f2.8
So I'll wait to try the Sigma or maybe get the 17.5 Voigtlander. Fast lenses rules, no doubt about it !
Or what about no new lens and update the camera from GH2 to GH4?
 
@combatentropy condescending post ?
I'm looking for advices to get the right gears/choices regarding my work.
 
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Sorry, it's what I think. I think you should have about two lenses. I would go so far as to say you would be happiest if they were both primes, but I know that's a radical statement.

When you shifted the question from lenses to cameras, my head started to spin. Of course it's a valid question, but at that point in the thread it reminded me of how I get when I have so many choices and can't decide. That video I posted really helped me.
 
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