Bought a GH1, need bargain lenses; Batteries

DanielRutter

DanielRutter

Active member
Hey guys;

So I bought myself a GH1, and today purchased a Nikon mount (The one linked is the one I bought) to use an old lens I have from my 35mm SLR... the 28-80mm f3.5-5.6.

I'm an absolute bargain film maker at the moment. I live on what you would consider welfare (Aussies call it "Dole"), and I don't have a whole lotta money to spare. I'm looking for at least 3 lenses I can use for film making with my camera. I'd be willing to buy other mounts for my camera, if it means access to other lenses.

What I'd really like to get is: 14-55mm 'kit' canon or Pentax lens (I've shot with these before and liked the images). I'd also like to get a nice prime like the 50mm f1.8 or f2. This leaves me open for anything else... something quick, pretty (image quality wise) and cheap. If you have any suggestions, please share.

I'd be willing to spend no more than $400 on all lenses, and I'm currently looking at a Canon FD 50mm f1.8 for around $140AU for my next lens purchase.

------------------------------------

In regards to batteries. I cannot seem to find a single solution for my needs. I plan on using this camera to shoot events (weddings, live band performances) and films/music videos. For the most part, I won't be near power... and I'm a run-n-gun shooter anyway, so it's not viable for me.

I need batteries that last a long time. 4 hours would be about right for me, if possible. Can some form of grip be attached to this camera, or can I get my hands on high capacity batteries anywhere close to 4 hours?
 
M42 lenses are some of the best values out there. One of the best bang for the buck lenses you can get is the Helios 44 series lens. It's a 58mm f/2 lens and is arguably the best 50 ever. If you spend more than $60 on one, you paid too much :)
 
Does the crop on this sensor actually affect this lens though? A friend of mine who's adept in the photography part of things mentioned that the GH1 has a 2x crop which changes focal lengths on lenses. Does this affect the 4/3 lenses as well as others?
I'm no good with this lens terminology... I'm still very new to DSLRs..
 
The crop factor doesn't actually change the lens of the focal length - it just means the lens can't see the whole image projected by the lens. Depth of Field and perspective (how big/close objects look relative to other objects in the frame) stay the same, but field of view is narrower. The 2x crop applies to all lenses, even those designed for micro 4/3rds - which is why lenses designed for micro 4/3rds often have shorter focal lengths (eg 14-45mm for the kit lens instead of the 18-55mm for most APS-C kit lenses).

The best value lenses at the moment in Australia are probably Canon FD. The reason for this is that it is not adaptable to vary many different mounts and there are no cameras currently in production that use the FD mount. I prefer some of the older Pentax lenses, but they still fetch pretty high prices sometimes because people still want to use them on their modern Pentax cameras - and the same goes for older Nikon lenses. You'll hear all sorts recommendations for Contax, Helios, and all sorts of other lenses but these are very hard to find in Australia, unlike FD ones.
 
I have seen the Canon FD mount for GH1 on eBay, so I might look into that. I'm inclined to buy canon lenses for the cheapest option, and as I've used canon lenses in the past on various friend's SLR's... I'd probably be happiest with "familiar territory".
Is there any real issue mixing lenses for the one camera? i.e, Canon lenses and Nikon lenses?? I doubt there would be... but the question lies there.

Any further suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Canon 50mm f/1.4 FD hands down is the first prime lens everyone here will agree with. I've left m4/3 format but its a must have, believe me.
 
DanielRutter said:
...I'm currently looking at a Canon FD 50mm f1.8 for around $140AU for my next lens purchase...
------------------------------------

In regards to batteries. I cannot seem to find a single solution for my needs. I plan on using this camera to shoot events (weddings, live band performances) and films/music videos. For the most part, I won't be near power... and I'm a run-n-gun shooter anyway, so it's not viable for me.

I need batteries that last a long time. 4 hours would be about right for me, if possible. Can some form of grip be attached to this camera, or can I get my hands on high capacity batteries anywhere close to 4 hours?
Click to expand...

Hi Daniel - congratulations on your new GH1. Agree with you on the 50mm Canon FD as a good starter lens in addition to your Nikon. I have the 50mm/1.8 FD (I couldn't afford the f1.4) and it is a great, inexpensive lens. I just did a search on ebay.com.au it looks like there are a few available in Australia for around $85AU, and even less if you get one from the US or UK (including shipping).

And yes, there is a Taiwanese GH1 battery grip available from eBay sellers in Hong Kong like this one that should give you the shooting time you need. It is about $100AU.

Good luck,

Bill
 
You can still find Minolta/Rokkor MD or MC Mount Lenses quite cheaply.

The 50mm f1.4 is a VERY good bargain, the f1.7 too.

I just picked up a 35-70mm f3.5 Constant Aperture Zoom that is amazing me.

m4/3 to Minolta adapters are reasonably priced also. Adapters will take both the MD and MC lenses.

try this in an ebay.au search:

(rokkor,minolta) (md,mc) -adapter -tube -toner -fish*


minolta info:
http://minolta.eazypix.de/lenses/body_li.html
http://rokkorfiles.com/Lens%20Reviews.html
50mm specific:
http://www.rokkorfiles.com/Battle of 50s1.htm
 
Last edited:
Hello Daniel. Welcome also here and compliments for your new purchase.
$140 for a 50mm f1.8 lens is waaaay too much, I am sure you can find a better deal. Recently I have bought one for a friend for $35 shipped.
Canon FD lenses are a good option for the Panasonic, but you may also think about the future. Canon FD glass is only good on mirrorless cameras. If one day you decide to go for a Canon DSLR, you will have to sell all your glass.
M42, Olympus OM, Nikon may be more future proof.
Another factor you should consider imho is the crop factor. A 50mm lens on 2x will give you the equivalent field of view of a 100mm lens on full frame.
It is really great for portraits, but I think that you may need something wider first.
I think that a 35mm lens would be your go to lens most of the time. An 24mm would most probably serve you well too. If you cannot go for 24mm, then 28mm would be ok too.
A good set for the gh1 would be 24mm f2.0, 35mm f2.0 (or faster) and 50mm f1.4. Then later on you could see what is missing in your set.
Good alternatives for the 35mm (if you cannot go for the modern Samyang 35mm f1.4 which appears to be amazing for $460) are the russian Mir 24-N 35mm f2.0 for around $150. Amazing lens I use it all the time.
Or the Canon FD 35mm f2.0 (the older one with a radioactive element is amazing). For the 24mm I would opt for a Kiron made Vivitar 24mm f2.0. And for the 50mm you have plenty of choice. The Pentacon 50mm f1.8 is a nice yet inexpensive lens.
Good luck and beware of the LBA :)
 
Thanks Kostas (and others) for your suggestions.

I took a look at Ebay AU's offering in M43 lenses, and most look rather expensive (but I'm a cheapskate, so thats my problem). A lot of people are saying "14-42 kit lens"... so I looked it up. At $200, that's a pretty penny. The way I understand it though, the F stop isn't all that friendly for low light. I'm particularly looking for lenses that I can use as all rounders... with the occasional lens (say, an 18mm or 24mm) for "special" circumstances. I'll take a look at those suggested.

In regards to the grip. That looks like a pretty good bargain if you ask me. I'm curious to know, that little "dangly" bit on the end, does that go into the battery compartment of the camera... or is it just a dangly bit? How many batteries does it hold?

I think my girlfriend would kill me if I started spending all our money buying up lenses I don't use often... so the LBA will want to kill me before my GF does :)
 
The dangly bit does go into the camera, and the grip holds two batteries. I think you'd get about two hours out of it, not four? Regarding mixing nikon and canon glass, they each rotate their focus in different directions, so that might confuse you on gigs.
Tell your girlfriends its an investment, you can sell everything for what you buy it for. But, yeah, if you don't use them too often, renting for gigs is also an option, include it into the price.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top