Autofocus on Lumix 45mm f2.8

[ginsek]

Does anyone have experience using autofocus on Lumix 45mm f2.8 lens while filming with GH1? I wonder if it is as bad as with pancake 20mm f1.7 (noisy and keeps searching) or is it more like a kit lens (14-140mm f/4.0-5.8) - silent and fast.

 

[noirist]

With the focus limiter on, autofocus is silent and reasonably fast at non-macro distances. Not as fast as the kit lens, but okay. And it doesn't hunt as much as the 20/1.7 does. With the focus limiter off, autofocus hunts horribly and has difficulty focusing. And autofocus is essentially useless for macro shots because the depth of field is razor thin at macro distances.

 

[pailes]

With the focus limiter on, autofocus is silent and reasonably fast at non-macro distances. Not as fast as the kit lens, but okay. And it doesn't hunt as much as the 20/1.7 does. With the focus limiter off, autofocus hunts horribly and has difficulty focusing. And autofocus is essentially useless for macro shots because the depth of field is razor thin at macro distances.

Is it worth buying this lens for shooting video? I have a lot of manual prime lenses which I use extensively for video but mostly from a tripod. Is the OIS of the Lumix 45mm lens good enough for some kind of handheld shooting?

 

[chrisccw]

Absolutely yes--I have the 14-50 2.8/3.5 with OIS 4/3 and a m43 adapter. OIS is just so sweet on all these Panny/Leica lenses for handheld work. The 45mm 2.8 is my next lens. I also have the 20mm pancake and love it, but quite honestly, anything below 2.8 is really very hard to keep in focus with these little LCD's.