Body only, Better Lens than the kit lens?
- Thread starter cam123
- Start date
If you have control over the lighting, the kit lens rules, and has a great zoom range.
But otherwise you might wanna try the 20mm f1.7...you want that in your kit anyways. It's fast, and a little wider than "standard".
Of course, if you wanna go cheap, you can get any old 28mm or 50mm manual lens, and attach it with an adapter. Olympus OM system lenses work great...but most people seem to use Canon lenses. Just keep in mind the 2X crop factor...lenses in this range will be "telephoto" lenses instead of wide and standard.
Good luck!
But otherwise you might wanna try the 20mm f1.7...you want that in your kit anyways. It's fast, and a little wider than "standard".
Of course, if you wanna go cheap, you can get any old 28mm or 50mm manual lens, and attach it with an adapter. Olympus OM system lenses work great...but most people seem to use Canon lenses. Just keep in mind the 2X crop factor...lenses in this range will be "telephoto" lenses instead of wide and standard.
Good luck!
Absolutely! It's what I use. Of course there are some trashy Nikkor lenses just like with any brand, but if you get any of the good ones they are superb. For $1000 you could get (on fleabay or KEH.com or similar) a full set of Nikkors. I would recommend something like:
28mm f/3.5 or f/2
35mm f/1.4 or f/2
50mm f/1.4 or f/1.8
85mm f/1.8 or f/2
105mm f/2.5
135mm f/2.8
And maybe something like a 17-50mm f/2.8 Tamron/Nikon to sortof cover the wide end (but you'd have to have the "G" nikon adapter to use it). Or something like a Tokina 12-24mm or similar in Nikon mount.
You could probably get all these and still have a few bucks left over if you shopped around a little bit.
I had the kit lens but I sold it and 100% use my Nikkors on my GH1 now. The kit lens is a great piece of glass, and it does have autofocus and OIS, but light-wise it's f/4 max aperture is pretty slow.
This with a 4/3 adapter is an option to consider:
You still get your electronic lens controls
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1337
Read some user reviews here:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/527565-REG/Olympus_261014_12_60mm_f_2_8_4_ED_SWD.html#reviews
One of the real advantages to the m4/3 format is full compatibility with standard 4/3 glass with an adapter.
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rambooc1
Well-known member
I think you will loose auto lens control in record mode with this lens, i don't have it so i could be wrong, but that's what i've read.
R
You don't get auto focus, but you do get auto exposure controls.
Better than the options for other types of lenses and it is really superb glass.
HDkilledFILM.
Burnin' down the House
See what you like yourself for cheap at a place like:
www.lensrentals.com
Then buy what you think you'll use on a day to day basis.
Just my two cents...
www.lensrentals.com
Then buy what you think you'll use on a day to day basis.
Just my two cents...
D90GH1_eric
Active member
How wide is wide in 35mm film camera FOV? The kit lens can go to 14mm to give you 28mm eq. There is no other cheap way to get a 14mm/4.5 lens, as they are all very expensive, whether they are modern AF lens or old MF lens. If 17mm is wide enough (35mm FOV eq), then the Olympus 17/2.8 is a good choice for about $250. A 20mm lens will give you 40mm eq FOV, which is not wide, but considered to be "normal."
I assume you want to use a wide angle lens to show the person in his/her environment, in this case the 20mm may not be wide enough and the 14mm would be more useful.
thisisapocalypse
Well-known member
Yes, love this lens. Check out my FB page (link below) there are some stills (low res, but they are on FB) the wide shot with the girl and the monitor in the back with the crazy green lines on it was with the 17mm. Don't have the Panny because I already have a 24mm f/1.4 Canon L lens, but if I didn't have that one I probably would have both the Ollympus 17 and Panny 20.
I had a chance last week to mount several Olympus 4/3rd zooms on my GH13 courtesy of the fine folks at J&R in downtown Manhattan. My primary mission was to investigate whether any of the lenses autofocus (important feature, since I am primarily a stills shooter) and could potentially serve as replacement for a kit lens, which I find nice, but too slow.
These are the lenses I tried:
14–54mm F2.8–3.5 II
E 12-60mm f2.8/4.0 SWD
11-22mm F2.8-3.5
ED 35-100mm F2.0
Only the Olympus MMF-2 adapter was used, since they did not have a Panasonic counterpart.
All of the above lenses had aperture control from the body without an issue. Only the 14-54 could auto-focus in AFS mode. When other lenses were mounted the camera ordered to switch to MF mode. In stills mode, 14-54 autofocused a little slower than 14-140 mm kit lens or the 20 mm pancake, which I guess was to be expected, but performance was acceptable and focus selection accurate. The lens also autofocused in movie mode in the same manner as AFS mode works with native Panasonic MFT lenses in still mode (i.e. depressing shutter halfway sets and locks focus before or during shooting). This is in contrast to how native Panny MFT lenses work in video mode, which really is AFC, i.e. the lens autofocuses continuously and requires the use of AE/AF lock button (set to appropriate value in the menu) to emulate AFS mode.
The reason, I think, why 14-54 is able to autofocus is because it is the only one specifically mentioning contrast detect AF-compatible design
FWIW, all of the above lenses autofocused without an issue on an E-PL1 body that J&R had for sale, so this inability could be yet another "oversight" on Panasonic's part for all I know.
Personally, I would consider getting the 14-54 zoom if I did not already have the 14-140 kit, because of the extra 1-1.5 EV stop advantage. I would really prefer the luxury that is the constant aperture, even if that means shorter range, larger size or higher price tag. Interestingly, Olympus does make such a lens ED 14-35mm F2.0 SWD which J&R does not carry, but I had a chance to check it out in B&H. It's a beautiful monster, which probably could be worth the extra $$$ and heft if it autofocused on Panasonic bodies. I did not have an opportunity to actually mount it, but given the results above I am fairly confident that it will not.
With that said, the imagery produced by 35-100 lens wide open at f/2 is simply jaw dropping. I sincerely hope that Panasonic and or Olympus consider releasing a "professional" series of native light-weight autofocusable mFT lenses to go along with the professional line of bodies with harbinger being the AF100.
As for me, I decided not to sell the 14-140 kit and use it for abundant light situations and stick to the awesome 20 mm pancake when I need those extra stops. I may pick up a high quality manual focus 50 mm f/1.54 or 1.1 (Voigtlander) lens for short telephoto use unless Panasonic releases/announces some interesting glass at Photokina in September.
MattinSTL
Sound Modulator
First off... I'm also keeping the kit lens and consider it basically essential, but the worst thing about the kit lens is that it INSTANTLY climbs from 4.0 as soon as you come off 14mm... by 55mm or so it's already at it's slowest, 5.8. That's 2+ full stops slower then 2.8. What that translates to in practical terms, at 4.0... is available light during daylight hours, in a room with several windows or plenty of artificial light... OR a consciously lit scene. To shoot available light, after sunset (and get away with it) you want AT LEAST 2.8 glass (or faster)... 2.0 is better, etc.
I'm enjoying the old Canon FD lenses, but they're fully manual... so no matter the lighting, it means sticks and some extra setup time.
I'm enjoying the old Canon FD lenses, but they're fully manual... so no matter the lighting, it means sticks and some extra setup time.
Many thanks for your bottom-line testing of these Olympus Four Thirds lens, svecher! After finishing your review, I went straight to Amazon to check out the retail price on the 14-54mm zoom lens. Luck was with me, as they had a used one in like-new condition for under $400. Combined with the Panasonic 4/3 adapter, the total came to just $500. Can't wait for it to arrive!
I'm glad you found the mini-review useful. I am very interested in reading your detailed review (hopefully not asking for too much
of this lens, as my time with it was quite short. Not enough talk on this forum about the big brothers of mFT optics in my opinion.
majikfraug
Well-known member
I have it, and use it frequently. I honestly rarely go that wide (just my personal shooting style), but when the sun starts to set I bring it out. I've never used the panasonic though, so I can't compare the two...
I just got myself the Olympus 14-54 ver2, and its an absolute joy to use. The only problem I had was that I got used to the extra length of the kit lens. Its only when I started shooting with the Oly lens when I realized just how slow the kit lens was.
I decided to pull the trigger a few days ago because i was tired of agonizing whether the locations I shoot in would have enough light for the kit lens (and wondering whether ISO1000 footage will be good enough).
I decided to pull the trigger a few days ago because i was tired of agonizing whether the locations I shoot in would have enough light for the kit lens (and wondering whether ISO1000 footage will be good enough).