GH4 GH4 or Leica Nocticron 42.5mm?

jmw

jmw

Active member
So just grappling with a purchase decision and looking for a push in either direction. I've got clearance to purchase one of these items but not both. I'm looking at getting either one used, as they fall around the same price right now.

And just some background - I've currently got a GH3 with the following:

- Lumix 12-35
- Lumix 14-140
- Voigtlander 25mm

My primary focus is outdoor / documentary content, largely related to tourism, lots of interviews and scenic outdoor b-roll.

I don't need to deliver 4K at the moment, so the benefit of the GH4 would largely be in scaling latitude. In-camera focus peaking would be nice, but I've read mixed reviews on its implementation here - thoughts?

I've been admiring the Nocticron for quite awhile, and I know it's fantastic. I will say that I tend to have zooms on the camera for the documentary content overall, so I guess I'm hesitant in terms of actual usage from myself.

To boil it down, I'd probably say that my mind wants the GH4 and my heart wants the Nocticron :smile:

Thanks for your thoughts.
 
I think I answered my own question. Sorry mod, feel free to delete this. Just had to think out loud for a second.
 
Well, since the answer hasn't appeared I'll have a go...

I think the GH4 is a nice step up from the GH3 (I have both, although the GH3 only gets used rarely) and the focus peaking is okay, but doesn't play that nice with low-contrast stuff you are focusing on and higher contrast stuff in the background. It is worth having though, one key use is focusing on off-centre stuff without moving anything around, just focus and wait for the blue dots to appear on the stuff you want in focus. The 1080p on the GH4 has noticeably less aliasing/moire than the GH3 and the 4k basically has none (this can save shots that would be iffy otherwise.) Also Cinelike-D is really handy, I felt it was as big an improvement as getting the 4k, plus you can combine it with balazar's LUTs for a convenient workflow (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...ithmic-color-space-for-Cinelike-D-and-V-Log-L). So I'd say get the GH4. The 12-35 is a great match for it too.

I nearly bought a 42.5mm f1.2 at Christmas, but the huge price coupled with pretty dire copy variation put me off. (It looks like you have about a 1 in 6 chance of getting a good one, although the bad ones aren't that bad, just the sharpest bit might not be in the centre and the corners might be less good than the better ones.)
 
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I have all three, Gh3, Gh4, and the 42.5 1.2. I love the Gh4 and the lens together. I use that combo very often. I would try to find a used 42.5 and wait for the next Gh? unless you have a project that needs what a Gh4 does right now. I expect this year we will see an update. The lens will continue to be very useful.
 
I would ask yourself if you really must have the f1.2 aperture or if f1.7 would be good enough. Panasonic also makes a 42.5mm f1.7 lens which is a great lens and f1.7 is still very bright. Much brighter than the other lenses you have minus the Voigtlander 25mm.

Olympus also makes a very good 45mm f1.8 lens. Sure not as bright as f1.2 but do you really need f1.2? Especially if you mostly shoot outdoors. Honestly if f1.7 isn't enough you really should start to think about using lights. If I am shooting something with a GH3 and f1.7 no longer cuts it it really is time to rethink the shot and factor in the use of lighting.

Would a used GH4 and an international market 42.5mm f1.7 or 45mm f1.8 allow you to get both? That to me is the better option if you do not need to obsess with shooting in a dark void.
 
Thomas Smet makes a very valid and good point... However the Nocticron is a Fantastic lense... Just be aware that the aperture is not de-clicked... Nor can it be. Even so... it'll make an extremely nice addition to your current set of lenses. If the new Panasonic 1.7 42.5mm was available at the time I purchased the Nocticron... I might have gone that route... Maybe. But the Nocticron is a Nocticron... It's the very best lense that Panasonic/Lumix has.
 
Thank you everyone for the excellent points on both sides. Very much appreciated. And to my vague follow up post above - I'm choosing the GH4. I think the advantages would more directly benefit the work I do, so I'll put my Nocticron longing back on the shelf for now.
 
jmw said:
I'm choosing the GH4. I think the advantages would more directly benefit the work I do, so I'll put my Nocticron longing back on the shelf for now.
Click to expand...

Smart choice.

But when you have the funds, as William says "the Nocticron is a Nocticron..." The combination is just too beautiful. I found it hard to pay the price of entry, but since then I've never had a moments regret.
 
I have the GH4 and the 42.5mm f/1.7 and it's the finest combination in the m43 line up I've ever tried or seen samples of. The f/1.7 is very sharp wide open but not quite so clinical when stopped down to f/8 as the f/1.2 version. I've never tried those two lenses side by side, so it's just my opinion from samples I've watched over the last few years. Obviously the f/1.2 is a great lens too, but not great enough to make it a better choice than the f/1.7 IMHO.

If you have to stick to one or the other I would look at a G7 with the 42.5mm f/1.7. This combo is cheaper than either option mentioned and again one of the finest images you can get in the m43 realm. The G7 4K image is really amazing. They can be found down to $500 almost already.

How about that for making things even more confusing :)

Cheers,
Pete
 
jmw said:
I think I answered my own question. Sorry mod, feel free to delete this. Just had to think out loud for a second.
Click to expand...

It is amazing what even talking simply to a brick wall can do for clearing your own head!! :) :)

btw, do you really need f/1.2? If not get the Panasonic 42.5m f/1.7 instead!

Another thought to consider is buying a Nikon 50mm f/1.8D with a RJ Lens Turbo, would give you a fast lens and two different focal lengths at once ;)

http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/9086/rj-lens-turbo-m43-adapters/p1

I think at this point, buying a camera body is less important than investing in lenses. But if you *must* buy a camera body.... I agree with the comments, check out the Panasonic G7 :-D

 
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