GH1 Lens Quest

C

chrisso

Well-known member
Canvassing ideas on a new lens to add to my set for GH1 (GH13) video.

I feel I have most focal lengths covered with Leica M lenses:
28mm f2.8, 35mm f2, 50mm f1.4 and 90mm f2

plus Pan kit lens 14-140mm and Kodak C Mount 25mm f.14.

I have M mount and C mount adapters.

I'm going to be filming indoors for a music project in September. Arty, grainy, characterful is probably a plus. Fast of course as lighting will be dim.
I'm thinking either something wide and faster than f2.8 (the Kodak is nice but vignettes to various degrees) , or something that offers a different characterful flavour to Panasonic and Leica.
Something Macro would be handy, although the Kodak can get in very close.

I would rather not buy a third adapter, but I admit I've seen quite cheap Jupiter, Canon and Nikkor lenses that are fast and some macro.

Any thoughts on where to go next, although admittedly I already have quite a bit of choice?
Thanks.
 
Wide and fast is what every GH1 video shooter's looking for...

Nice collection of M-mount lenses. Don't you find the focusing tabs a bit annoying for video though?

(not a very helpful post I'll admit - but a bump nonetheless)

al'
 
Ha, ha.
Thanks anyway.
I'm a complete video newbie/virgin.
I've had the M lenses for years and they just keep staying current (I have an Epson RD1s too).
At some point I need to figure out ND filters and such for them, but my first project is going to be an indoors, cinema verite attempt. I'll be doing my regular job (musician) and someone else will be videoing, but I thought during my breaks I could film my own extras to insert if they looked good enough (gear close-ups etc, quirky shots of the other people involved). It's a 'Making of....' kinda project.
If it looks crap due to my lack of experience, at least I tried.
So I thought I would take my 35mm f2, and 50mm f1.4 and the Kodak 25mm f1.4 'cos it really has a look and is surprisingly sharp.
I could buy the 7mm-14mm Pan, but it wont take filters for future use. Also the Pan/Leica 45mm Macro.
But I just wondered if there was a cheapish character lens I could throw into the mix. I've seen some fast Canons with M mount recently. They're described as 'soft', but that maybe an OK thing. There are Minolta's and Konica's for M. They can get expensive.
Other C mount lenses?
Lot's of people like the Kern Paillard Switar 25mm, although I have the Kodak in 25 and 25's are very prone to vignette.
Anyway, that's the long version..... :lipsrseal
 
Since you know a little more about lenses than I do, what lenses should I get if I only have the kit lens so far? And what mounts also?
 
jtopp: if you have plenty of dough, get what chrisso has :-D
if you don't have plenty of dough, get a good Nikon adapter and a bunch of Nikkors
If you shop around for a while and bid some, you can (via eBay) put together a full set of Nikkors for about $1000 or even a little less if you are careful.
 
I saw how much ballin chrisso has, and I do not have that type of money right now, so I should get a Nikkon adapter w/ lenses. What lenses though, I don't understand the different sizes (I am coming from a HMC-150 and xha1.)
 
Hey, I'm looking into the Nikon's and Canon's too.
:thumbsup:

Also, some of the third party lenses that have Leica mounts (as I have the M adapter for my GH1).
 
hey guys, Ive been browsing for days on this very subject, Ive got the stock 14-140 lense but want something super clear for low light video.
If someone with some inside knowledge could bounce back some opinions on........

Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7 Aspheric G- Series Lens

or

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G, with cheap Nikon to 4/3rds Ebay adaptor

or

NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8, again with cheap Nikon to 4/3rds Ebay adaptor.

The last option is heaps cheaper than the other 2, is it that much worse than the 1st two?
Is it much better than the stock lense?
any input would be awesome.
 
If you need to go wider than standard and be fast there are no alternatives out there for Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7 (at least in this price range).

Watch the opening shot (cave) made with this lens. Actually, watch the whole vid it's awesome .
 
That vid says it was done with Zeiss primes.

I agree that it's hard to beat the pancake lens at 20mm and this fast.
 
jedman1 said:
hey guys, Ive been browsing for days on this very subject, Ive got the stock 14-140 lense but want something super clear for low light video.
If someone with some inside knowledge could bounce back some opinions on........

Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7 Aspheric G- Series Lens

or

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G, with cheap Nikon to 4/3rds Ebay adaptor

or

NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8, again with cheap Nikon to 4/3rds Ebay adaptor.

The last option is heaps cheaper than the other 2, is it that much worse than the 1st two?
Is it much better than the stock lense?
any input would be awesome.
Click to expand...

Haven't used the Panny 20mm yet, but heard great things about it.
DON'T get the 50mm AF-S since it is an autofocus lens and you'd be much much better off with an older manual focus Nikkor.
You should be able to get a good f/1.4 manual focus Nikkor for $100-$200
You can't go wrong with the 50mm f/1.8 though. It's only a half stop difference from the f/1.4, and it's pretty much the same performance wise. You can get those for under $100. Again, be sure to get a manual focus version and you will be much happier using it on your GH1.
 
jtopp said:
I saw how much ballin chrisso has, and I do not have that type of money right now, so I should get a Nikkon adapter w/ lenses. What lenses though, I don't understand the different sizes (I am coming from a HMC-150 and xha1.)
Click to expand...

The mm's have nothing to do with physical size - that's the focal length. A shorter focal length gives a wider view, while a longer focal length gives a more telephoto narrow field of view. The relationship changes when you change sensor sizes - in other words a 50mm lens on a 1/3 camera like the HMC150 is quite telephoto, but on a 35mm camera it gives a "normal" view, and on the GH1 it is slightly telephoto. For more info on lenses read: http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-lenses.htm

On the GH1 a 25mm lens will give a "normal" field of view (about the same as you see with your eye.
A 14mm lens is quite wide.
A 200mm lens is very telephoto.
So a good set of lenses for the GH1 to cover all the commonly used views would be somewhere in the range of 14mm on up to 135mm or so. (Depends upon your needs of course.)
 
MattinSTL said:
That vid says it was done with Zeiss primes.

I agree that it's hard to beat the pancake lens at 20mm and this fast.
Click to expand...

Not sure if you were referring to the following:

I also used the 20mm pancake, but only a few shots - the wide jib of the cave at the start and the wide Glidecam shot in the forest. I had some card lockups with the 20mm in static wide shots in the forest, but otherwise it performed well.
Click to expand...
 
My pancake 20mm 1.7 lens is not behaving as the kit lens in the AF department:
in AFS it behaves as if in AFC and even though MF/AF is selected it wont go into MF for any thing
in MF its ok but I want to be able to MF while in AFS
and I want AFC to be active when I want not when I select AFS !
other than that its a great lens!!!! I can shoot at night with 1600 ISO and it still looks awesome!
If only the weird AF behaviour would be cured.....FW is updated but doesnt change anything.
 
lvlinux said:
So a good set of lenses for the GH1 to cover all the commonly used views would be somewhere in the range of 14mm on up to 135mm or so. (Depends upon your needs of course.)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I guess this is what I feel I'm missing, apart from the fact I own the kit lens which is slowish (f4).
I have 28mm to 90mm (in 35mm camera parlance), 25mm including the vignetting Kodak.

I'd love to find an affordable Contax, Konica (for M) or fast Canon/Nikon between 14mm and 25mm.
 
timbook2 said:
My pancake 20mm 1.7 lens is not behaving as the kit lens in the AF department:
in AFS it behaves as if in AFC and even though MF/AF is selected it wont go into MF for any thing
in MF its ok but I want to be able to MF while in AFS
and I want AFC to be active when I want not when I select AFS !
other than that its a great lens!!!! I can shoot at night with 1600 ISO and it still looks awesome!
If only the weird AF behaviour would be cured.....FW is updated but doesnt change anything.
Click to expand...
I don't have a reference handy, but I am fairly certain that AFS/AFC behaviour only matters in stills mode by design. Also, focusing manually in either of the auto-focus modes has never worked for me with either lens (and I have the appropriate menu option set to "ON").
 
You could always sell some of your children and buy a master prime... T1.3 at just about any focal length you want- make a great conversation starter too. "$1000 camera, $28,000 lens."
 

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