GH2 Favorite Zoom lens for the GH2?

L

L1N3ARX

Well-known member
I don't own even a single zoom lens myself- all primes for me. Today I was pretty blown away when I tried the Canon 24-105mm for the first time. Shockingly good image, far better than any other zoom lens I've tested from Nikon or any of the vintage zooms I've played around with. In fact, it was easily my favorite image produced by Canon glass. I've used the 35mm & 50mm fd, the 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8, 35mm 1.4, but this this 24-105 had a seriously nice aesthetic. The obvious downside is that at f4, it's not as useful as a fast prime... but really, what an image. Thinking about picking one up.

I know a lot of you guys mostly work with primes like myself. But, what is your most used zoom if you have one?
 
nikon 17-55mm 2.8, love it, sharp even wide open - with adaptor it is quite a heavy lump on the gh2 though
 
I work mostly docs and time-sensitive instructional videos (surgeries, etc) where futzing about with lens changes is an infrequent luxury; accordingly, zooms are frequently employed:

Lumix 12-35 - good image, great feel, great OIS, auto everything, and small. To answer the hypothetical, "if you could only have one lens..." In good light you can push this with ETC and have the full range of focal lengths from 12-90 and a constant f2.8. Ultimate GH2 travel lens.
Leica D 14-50/2.8-3.5 - great image, great feel, good range, marginal OIS, nearly auto nothing, only "constant" at f3.5
Vivitar Series 1 28-90/2.8-3.5 - good slightly soft image, ultra varifocal, preferred uncontrolled "variable prime" for interviews, etc.
Lumix 14-140 - Image-wise, nothing spectacular, but workable and with great focal length range: when you've got enough light and absolutely have to get all sorts of varied shots on a truncated schedule.
Sigma 50-500 - Ridiculous, but sometimes nothing else will do the job.
 
I'm lusting, and saving up, for the Lumix 12-35. However, the infinite focus ring drives me absolutely crazy. I really wish it were a fixed rotation you could use a follow focus with. Mcbob's recommendation of using the ETC mode with this lens is an excellent idea I hadn't considered.

I find myself using the Lumix 14-140 for my shooting, which is mostly live documentary, run-and-gun. Because of the variable f-stop, I end up with over and under-exposed shots regularly which is a big bother in post. My primes are great, but I never seem to have time to switch them out on a fast-moving shoot.
 
I think the Oly 14-54 II f2.8 is a nice performer. I think of it as an adjustable prime lens as the zoom movement is kind of clunky but the focus ring is very smooth. Nice color, detail & bokeh.
 
If you do not like sharpness, DO NOT get the Panasonic 12-35mm lens.... Even at -2 the lens is simply to sharp and causes aliasing in many many objects.

$0.02
 
Here's a bit MWAC just finished up that I shot almost exclusively with the AF100/14-50 combo, all b-roll handheld. A few long shots with a Leica Summicron 90 (also handheld) and a few establishing shots with a GH2/CV17.5 combo, handheld with a Gorillapod rig (by sound guy extraordinaire James Daly).

https://vimeo.com/51451516

 
I saw someone put an HD B4 lens on a GH2 back when the hack/patches could only hit around 80mbps. I can't find the video any more, but it was stunning. It was like a 9mm to 189mm (18mm to 378mm), f/1.7, parfocal.
 
I have a Canon FD 35-105mm f/3.5 that I'm pretty happy with. You can sometimes find one for about $70 on eBay.
 
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