GH4 + Olympus 12-40 2.8

[ROCKMORE]

I moving over to a GH4 from Canon and looking at the Olympus 12-40 over the Panasonic 12-35. I tested the 12-35 and it's sharp and works well with the GH4, but that's about all I like. The 12-40 looks very solid and the manual focus looks good. My only question is will it function with all the camera focus features as with the Panasonic 12-35. Anybody using the 12-40 out there?
My other choice is starting with my Canon mount lenses which are the Tamron 17-50 2.8 non VC which is a sharp lens and Canon 70-200 f4L IS, and a 50 f1.8 for which I will need a speedbooster, but another plus is I have a pretty complete set of Zuiko OM manual primes from 24mm to 135mm and I have a OM to EOS adapter already so I will be able to use all that glass straight away. Advice welcome.

 

[BobPilz]

I have used the 12-40 on both the OM-D EM-1 and GH4 and the autofocus always seems accurate and very fast -though I haven't used it to track a moving subject. Optically and mechanically I think it's excellent. Of course, it has no built-in OIS and the programmable button on the lens doesn't work on a GH4. I like the sliding ring on the lens to switch from auto to manual focusing.

 

[ROCKMORE]

GH4 and the autofocus always seems accurate and very fast -though I haven't used it to track a moving subject.

Sounds like the important functions are there. I'm a long time user of Zuiko lenses. They are built to last. I think now that Panasonic has made a commitment to push the limits on the GH4 it's worth investing in some quality dedicated glass. I do like Canon lenses a lot and a speedbooster will really be useful, but having one good mid range zoom that is dust and water resistant with fast auto focus will pay off.
I tried to track a move with the 12-35 on the GH4. It's a cool gadget but didn't work that well searching.
Does the lens take commands to refocus on objects when you use the touch screen?
I read there is a feature on the lens that will keep focus locked when an object passes in front of the camera, is this the function that doesn't work?

 

[Psynema]

I moving over to a GH4 from Canon and looking at the Olympus 12-40 over the Panasonic 12-35. I tested the 12-35 and it's sharp and works well with the GH4, but that's about all I like. The 12-40 looks very solid and the manual focus looks good. My only question is will it function with all the camera focus features as with the Panasonic 12-35. Anybody using the 12-40 out there?
My other choice is starting with my Canon mount lenses which are the Tamron 17-50 2.8 non VC which is a sharp lens and Canon 70-200 f4L IS, and a 50 f1.8 for which I will need a speedbooster, but another plus is I have a pretty complete set of Zuiko OM manual primes from 24mm to 135mm and I have a OM to EOS adapter already so I will be able to use all that glass straight away. Advice welcome.

I rented it a while back and thought the af was poor for moving subjects and the latitude was well behind the curve. Shooting outdoors I wanted to switch to the kit lens for better af and latitude

 

[ROCKMORE]

I rented it a while back and thought the af was poor for moving subjects and the latitude was well behind the curve. Shooting outdoors I wanted to switch to the kit lens for better af and latitude

What would you recommend as a better choice in the zoom range at a constant f2.8, Panasonic 12-35?

 

[BobPilz]

Yes, the touch autofocus does work on the GH4. No, the button on the lens that I referred to is an additional programable button when the lens is used on the OM- D. The GH4 doesn't see that button exists. I'm not aware of any other function selectable on the lens itself related to focusing on background vs foreground objects when subjects are moving. Maybe that's some camera menu option of some sort, but I've never looked for it.

 

[Psynema]

What would you recommend as a better choice in the zoom range at a constant f2.8, Panasonic 12-35?

Having used both YES the Panny...by miles. I posted a wedding with the 12-40mm I shot a few weeks back, wasn't too impressed. BLOWS out terribly and the AF is EASILY confused, unlike the 12mm Oly Prime which is near perfect AF, or the 12-35mm Panny which is by MILES more accurate with moving subjects AF wise (important for me as I'd like solid AF for glidecam work).

 

[ROCKMORE]

Having used both YES the Panny...by miles. I posted a wedding with the 12-40mm I shot a few weeks back, wasn't too impressed. BLOWS out terribly and the AF is EASILY confused, unlike the 12mm Oly Prime which is near perfect AF, or the 12-35mm Panny which is by MILES more accurate with moving subjects AF wise (important for me as I'd like solid AF for glidecam work).

The Panasonic 12-35 is a sharp lens. I got a GH4 test camera from Panasonic with the 12-35. These are all wide open f2.8. They are 4k video frames downscaled to 2K and compressed in photoshop to 275kb to upload. The original 4K frame grabs are pretty amazing. My friend from Panasonic said he can get an EF to MFT speedbooster so I can shoot some side by side tests between speedbooster with Canon mount lenses and a few Panasonic lenses in the next week or 2.

 

[kenyee]

I have the 12-40 and think it's sharp w/ nicer bokeh than the 12-35. Feels better too...nice hunk of metal/glass feel...the 12-35 feels plasticky.

Tracking and IS the 12-35 does better of course...

 

[ROCKMORE]

I have the 12-40 and think it's sharp w/ nicer bokeh than the 12-35. Feels better too...nice hunk of metal/glass feel...the 12-35 feels plasticky.

Tracking and IS the 12-35 does better of course...

Plasticy is what I don't like about a lens that costs almost a grand even if it works the best. Honestly I have to get a speedbooster for my Canon 70-200 f4L IS because it's a great lens and I just got it 6 months ago, so since I'm starting from zero with M43 the cheapest and maybe best solution is just go that route. I also haven't abandon super 35 sensors with Canon mounts, I just abandon Canon bodies, everybody here knows why. There are other cameras I'm still looking at down the road that may be better than the GH4 like the Kini 4k and 6k so this way I'm still open to use Canon mounts or M43 with the speedbooster.

 

[DigitalBard]

I have been using the 12-35mm to shoot College Football and Basketball and I have very few issues following the action and focus is generally spot on. Although the GH4 tends to get distracted by closer objects. I had a ref step into frame a few times and the GH4 decided to focus on him instead of the player. I took a few shots with the 12-35mm during the World Series (wide stadium stuff) and the sharpness was amazing.

 

[Richy Lacey]

I rented it a while back and thought the af was poor for moving subjects and the latitude was well behind the curve. Shooting outdoors I wanted to switch to the kit lens for better af and latitude

Latitude as in dynamic range? Do you mean the 12-40m is more contrasty than other lenses?

I bought a 12-40mm a few weeks back but haven't had a chance to do a lot with it.
Nicely built lens. The manual focus ring is good to have, but the DOF scale on it is irrelevant given it's a varifocal design.
Can't comment on auto focus as it's not something I've used for video purposes in a very long time.

 

[Darkwing Productions]

I was trying to decide between the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 and a Nikkor 28-70 f.28, but ended up getting the nikon for a good price. I mostly shoot sports, especially basketball, so when I was deciding I was trying to find as much basketball footage as I could find. DigitalBard, do you have anything you've shot with the olympus you could share?

 

[PegLeg Media]

i dont know about the olympus 12-40 but i know all of their primes and the 40-150 focus as fast as any panasonic lens. and i would not consider tracking since panasonic sucks as video track focusing