GH2 best 24mm GO2 lens for GH2

mr.coffee

mr.coffee

Member
Guys,
sorry if this has been adressed before- couldn't find it!

I'm looking for the best old school 24mm as a go to lens for the GH2 [anything above $300 is too much]
is the 24mm good or 20mm better?

anyway....

I have the Lumix 14-42mm which is barely ok
I had the tamron 17-55mm which I didn't like too much
I have the canon FD 28mm f3.5 which is not very good
also have the Nikon 50mm 1.4 which is awesome

Been looking at canon, vivitar, and nikon but cant figure out what works well with the GH2

vivitar 24mm 2.8 ----->some say it soft
vivitar 24mm 2.0------>crazy hard to find
canon fd 24mm 2.8---->also soft?

anyone wanna chime in on their experiences?
thanks
 
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The Voightlander 25mm is probably the best in this range, at sensible prices.

Even so, I couldn't stretch that far, and ended up getting a second hand Zeiss 25mm 2.8 which I love.
 
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I happen to enjoy the look of Cooke lenses. Have you considered a Cooke 5/i 25mm T1.4?

Are you really looking for the BEST 24mm lens as your post implies, or do you have a budget you need to stay within?
 
Thanks Bob
I edited my post to reflect that I'm looking for something in the $300 range...
Zeiss and Voightlander are outta my range!
 
mr.coffee, I wondered the same thing a while ago and saw some reviews/comparisons that indicated that the best 24mm lens was the Olympus OM f/2.8. Aside from that comparison and other generally good reviews, it has these advantages, which is why I bought one:

An original manufacturer-made mount adapter to m43 (Olympus) for a reasonable price (~$170)
Will also mount on EF/EF-S cameras with just a mechanical (not optical) adapter.
Will probably work on a possible future full-frame mirrorless camera.
Focus ring turns in the normal/cine direction, unlike Nikons, which share some of the other advantages of the OM.

An EX condition unit from keh was about $200. I haven't used it much, only played with it for a little while, but can tell you the two things about the lens that I'm not crazy about:

A bit of focus breathing, which is probably very common with stills lenses of this vintage.
Short focus ring turn radius. It only turns about 90 degrees from one end of focus to the other
Both of these could make pulling/racking focus not ideal.
 
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Thanks Shenan, found a couple of good deals on the Olympus OM f/2.8- maybe i'll pull the trigger on that lens.
I found a fotodiox OM to M43 for twenty bucks, are you saying it would be better to buy i higher end one?
 
Pretty much all of the old SLR lenses are going to be soft wide open ( especially in the corners of the frame ), so you have to buy an actual M3/4 lens if you want something sharp at maximum aperture.

Given your limited budget, I would try and find a used Lumix 20mm f/1.7 lens.

If you could push your budget closer to $450 then you could look for a used Lumix 25mm f/1.4.
 
Instead of the FD 24mm f/2.8 try to find the FD 24mm or 28mm f/2.0 - a tad sharper, nicer image and better build. Or save up and get the Voightländer 25mm, I have it too and no regrets whatsoever.
 
A-HA thats the problem!
I couldnt figure out why, when wide open, my subjects were a bit soft...kept thinking my focusing was off!
wow that changes things quite a bit- tough call [with a bit more $$$]

-Lumix 25mm f/1.4
-Lumix 20mm f/1.7
OR ALL OUT
-Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm f/2.8
 
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