GH2 I have finally seen the light and now I have questions.

I would go with the g6 over the gh2. It's using the same sensor as gh2 but it's a much cleaner image, has focus peaking, better evf and lcd touchscreen, wifi through app that works pretty good for monitoring and control. The g6 is better in low light. It has a few quirks but overall I use it 99% of the time over the gh2. The samyang 16mm is a perfect match for this camera. Below is footage from the g6 with samyang 16mm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRiKjjZ3yGk&list=UUuUgvQRIbFie5Tbg9wyLn2g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CBWJXnTb9g&list=UUuUgvQRIbFie5Tbg9wyLn2g&index=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUZV2qqB3zE&list=UUuUgvQRIbFie5Tbg9wyLn2g&index=5
 
After thinking about it a lot, I'm pretty sure I'm going to sell everything and dive in with the GH4 and MFT mount.

Right now, my main choice is the Rokinon 12mm T2.2 Cine prime and the Rokinon 35mm T1.5 Cine prime. My thinking is the 12mm is a 24mm FF equivalent and the 35mm is a 70mm FF equivalent. On my 60D I was primarily used to my 17-55 which is roughly a 27-88 equivalent -- meaning these two lenses would roughly give me the wide and tele range I was used to with my main zoom lens. Additionally, I can use the ETC mode and get a 48mm and 140mm FF equivalent. So, with those two lens I'd have a good range to work with. They are also the best option when it comes to balancing budget with fastness/performance, from what I can tell. If anyone has any suggestions or addtional info regarding them, please let me know.

For the walkaround lens, I'm liking the Lumix 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 with AF and OIS.
 
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Update for anyone who might be interested:

I've sold all my Canon gear and now I have about $3000 to spend on a GH4, accessories, lenses. I've seen some bundles (like this one from Adorama) that throw in a free extra battery and UHS-3 SD Card, for the same price of $1500, so I will probably go that route for the camera. So that leaves about $1500 for lenses. I'd love to get a lightweight HD monitor too, if funds permit, but that's secondary at the moment.

I plan on using every lens for video and filmmaking first, photography would be a distant second thought (unless I decide to pick up a walkaround type lens for photos only). I say this because there are great pancake lenses out there that I would never purchase because they are a nightmare to film with, unless it's a completely locked off shot. There are also great, tiny Olympus lenses out there that seem like they would be cumbersome to use a follow focus with -- though their low prices are attractive.

Here are a couple options I'm considering:

Lens Bundle Idea 1
- Rokinon Cine 12mm T2.2 MFT $379
- Metabones EF-MFT Speedbooster $599
- Rokinon Cine 85mm T1.5 EF $271
- Panasonic 14-45 F3.5-5.6 $289
Total = $1538
Thoughts: Spending a chunk on the Speedbooster gives me the option to rent or borrow lenses from the huge Canon crowd. Also, EF lenses are so saturated these days, they're constantly on craigslist so I could pick some up in the future. Plus, I can even stack a slim Nikon F adapter on it and use Nikkor lenses as well.

Lens Bundle Idea 2
- Metabones Nikon F/G-MFT Speedbooster $429
- Sigma 18-35 F1.8 Nikon $799
- Rokinon Cine 85mm T1.5 Nikon $269
Total = $1497
Thoughts: With this bundle I would save money on the Speedbooster, but I would be locked to the Nikon mount. This bundle has no walkaround lens, so I'd have to wait for craigslist or used Amazon price or something down the road. But the Sigma would give me a similar-enough FOV that I was used to with my Canon 17-55, but at F1.2 which is insane. Heavy though, and I'm also not thrilled about having to adjust to the reverse Nikon focus direction.

Lens Bundle Idea 3
- Panasonic 12-35 F2.8 $897
- Rokinon Cine 85mm T1.5 MFT $272
- Rokinon 24mm F1.4 MFT $399
Total = $1550
Thoughts: This bundle gives me a walkaround workhorse for both video and photo with IS, plus faster lenses in the mid and tele ranges if needed. When using my Canon 17-55, I noticed I mostly stayed between 17-28, maybe 35, which is roughly in the 27-56 range with crop factor. Here, that would be 24-70. Another third option would be the Rokinon Cine 12mm T2.2 MFT which is $379. The extra wide FOV would come in handy when shooting 4K, I'm sure.

Just a few ideas there. Please feel free to give your thoughts or say what you'd get with $1500.
 
I went the Canon speed booster route. Have the Sigma 18-35- love that lens- and saving up for the 50mm art also. So the Sigma covers 26-70mm with and without the booster. The 50mm covers approx. 75 & 100 And then will get a 70-200 f2.8 this covers just about everything I need.

Another option ion would be to look at a 24-70mm. With a f2.8 lens, with the speed booster it drops down to a f2.0....... Not bad
 
A Canon Speedbooster may allow lenses with IS to function (which the 18-35 doesn't have), but will hamper you with an electronic stepped aperture and may suffer from electronic glitchery.

A Nikon Speedbooster will not allow any electrical lens-camera communication, but will gain you rock solid mechanical reliability and smooth, stepless aperture control.

Valid reasons to choose either.

If you want to use a follow focus, the Lumix lenses aren't a great choice. Rokinon cine lenses (on a budget) would be. The Sigma 18-35 and 50-150/2.8 can also work with a FF. All of those choices are large and unbalanced on an otherwise unsupported GH4.

The Lumix lenses are well-balanced on the system and allow use of all the auto features, if you ever want that. The Olympus 12-40 and all the Oly primes are also a very good lens, just lacking IS.
 
I use a $135 Lens Turbo Nikon-M4/3 speed booster on my GH2 and it has been a fantastic improvement. It has no aperture control but all my nikon glass is full-manual anyway so that makes no difference. Although when I wanted a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 I just got the D version because it has an aperture ring. Simple and inexpensive.

The choice between Canon EF lenses and Nikon F lenses is really 6 of one - half dozen of the other. Nikon makes a greater number of primes than Canon does, but when you add in Rokinon, Sigma, Tokina, and Tamron the choices are vast and equal for both.

Absolutely go the Speed Booster route though. Really nothing to lose and so much to gain.

This Photo was shot on GH2 -> Lens Turbo -> Nikkor 50mm set to f/2.
A bit of barrel distortion on this lens at f/2, but notice the center to edge sharpness and color - pretty darn good for the $135 alternative.
The Metabones is even better of course, but wow. I love it.

I think that for the money you lay out, you are on to one very capable combo.
Downtown Murals 1.jpg
 
refocusedmedia said:
Update for anyone who might be interested:

I've sold all my Canon gear and now I have about $3000 to spend on a GH4, accessories, lenses. I've seen some bundles (like this one from Adorama) that throw in a free extra battery and UHS-3 SD Card, for the same price of $1500, so I will probably go that route for the camera. So that leaves about $1500 for lenses. I'd love to get a lightweight HD monitor too, if funds permit, but that's secondary at the moment.

I plan on using every lens for video and filmmaking first, photography would be a distant second thought (unless I decide to pick up a walkaround type lens for photos only). I say this because there are great pancake lenses out there that I would never purchase because they are a nightmare to film with, unless it's a completely locked off shot. There are also great, tiny Olympus lenses out there that seem like they would be cumbersome to use a follow focus with -- though their low prices are attractive.

Here are a couple options I'm considering:

Lens Bundle Idea 1
- Rokinon Cine 12mm T2.2 MFT $379
- Metabones EF-MFT Speedbooster $599
- Rokinon Cine 85mm T1.5 EF $271
- Panasonic 14-45 F3.5-5.6 $289
Total = $1538
Thoughts: Spending a chunk on the Speedbooster gives me the option to rent or borrow lenses from the huge Canon crowd. Also, EF lenses are so saturated these days, they're constantly on craigslist so I could pick some up in the future. Plus, I can even stack a slim Nikon F adapter on it and use Nikkor lenses as well.

Lens Bundle Idea 2
- Metabones Nikon F/G-MFT Speedbooster $429
- Sigma 18-35 F1.8 Nikon $799
- Rokinon Cine 85mm T1.5 Nikon $269
Total = $1497
Thoughts: With this bundle I would save money on the Speedbooster, but I would be locked to the Nikon mount. This bundle has no walkaround lens, so I'd have to wait for craigslist or used Amazon price or something down the road. But the Sigma would give me a similar-enough FOV that I was used to with my Canon 17-55, but at F1.2 which is insane. Heavy though, and I'm also not thrilled about having to adjust to the reverse Nikon focus direction.

Lens Bundle Idea 3
- Panasonic 12-35 F2.8 $897
- Rokinon Cine 85mm T1.5 MFT $272
- Rokinon 24mm F1.4 MFT $399
Total = $1550
Thoughts: This bundle gives me a walkaround workhorse for both video and photo with IS, plus faster lenses in the mid and tele ranges if needed. When using my Canon 17-55, I noticed I mostly stayed between 17-28, maybe 35, which is roughly in the 27-56 range with crop factor. Here, that would be 24-70. Another third option would be the Rokinon Cine 12mm T2.2 MFT which is $379. The extra wide FOV would come in handy when shooting 4K, I'm sure.

Just a few ideas there. Please feel free to give your thoughts or say what you'd get with $1500.
Click to expand...

Lens Bundle Idea 4
- Metabones EF-MFT Speedbooster $599
- Bower Cine 16mm T2.2 $299
- Bower Cine 35mm T1.5 $358
- Bower Cine 85mm T1.5 $249
Total = $1505

I have a question, maybe you guys can help me.

On BH, the Bower Cine 16mm T2.2 is listed as a EF-S mount. On Amazon and every other site, it says EF mount. The Rokinon-branded version says EF mount on both BH and Amazon and everywhere else. This is very confusing to me. Does the Bower version actually have the plastic tip protrusion, which would make it unusable on a Speedbooster? I find that incredibly unlikely. Perhaps BH mislabeled it due to the fact that it is designed for APS-C lenses? Does anyone have any experience with the Bower version specifically?
 
I would highly recommend something much wider than 16mm. I have an Oly 17mm f/1.8 and it is a 40mm equivalent fov in 4K UHD. I'm about to pull the plug on a 12mm f/2 as it's almost a mandatory focal length for doing stabilizer work in 4K. I use the 17mm on the stabilizer all the time, but it is extremely difficult to nail every shot. I actually use a 7.5mm Rokinon fisheye in 4K all the time. Yeah there's barrel distortion, but now that most people have been trained with the gopro field of view, it actually looks very nice. Just a heads up from my perspective.

Cheers,
Pete
 
refocusedmedia said:
Lens Bundle Idea 4
- Metabones EF-MFT Speedbooster $599
- Bower Cine 16mm T2.2 $299
- Bower Cine 35mm T1.5 $358
- Bower Cine 85mm T1.5 $249
Total = $1505

I have a question, maybe you guys can help me.

On BH, the Bower Cine 16mm T2.2 is listed as a EF-S mount. On Amazon and every other site, it says EF mount. The Rokinon-branded version says EF mount on both BH and Amazon and everywhere else. This is very confusing to me. Does the Bower version actually have the plastic tip protrusion, which would make it unusable on a Speedbooster? I find that incredibly unlikely. Perhaps BH mislabeled it due to the fact that it is designed for APS-C lenses? Does anyone have any experience with the Bower version specifically?
Click to expand...

You should definitely raise that point with B&H if you want to be absolutely sure. However since they're all the same lens, and that Samyang makes it for other mounts, means EF-S is very unlikely.

Also echo the statement that you probably want something wider to go with the GH4.
 
The 16mm becomes about a 24mm with the Speedbooster that is already figured into the equation.

Also, check into the Speedbooster for the Black Magic Cinema Camera (Or is it the one for the Pocket Camera?) because there is one of them that will (if you're careful) fit on the GH4 and instead of bringing you up by .7 of a stop, it brings you up by 1.3!

~Cheers
 
That one's pretty enticing though wasn't there something about it not being 100% for other m43 cameras?
 
On my Canon, I shot 75% of the time with the 17-55 2.8 and the majority of the time I'd say I stayed between 17-35 (only zooming to 55 for the rare closeup). Which means, relative to FF, I stayed in the 27-55 range. I felt at the time, and still do, that it was plenty wide enough. There are only a handful of times I was crammed in a room and wished I had something wider, but we adjusted the blocking and worked around it. For wide establishing shots, if I needed to go wide, I simply backed up. I don't care much for the distorted ultra-wide look anyway. In fact, I had a Sigma 10-20 and I sold it because I only ever used it twice.

So the 16mm gets me a relative 22mm (HD) and 26mm (4K) and the 35mm gets me a relative 49mm (HD) and 57mm (4K), which -- minus the focal lengths in between -- is roughly what I'm used to. But thinking and typing this all out has me thinking about the Sigma 18-35 again. It'd be pretty much identical to what I'm used to and would be at F1.2! My main concerns about the Sigma are:

A) Focus throw shorter like a photography lens, I was looking forward to cine lenses
B) No manual iris in case Speedbooster electronics ever decide to flake out
C) I've read many complaints about the common Sigma issue of back focusing, not sure if that matters with manual focus though
D) Weight. The beast weighs just over 2 pounds, the Rokinons tend to weigh 1.5 pounds or less

Question: does the focus ring on the Nikon version of the Sigma 18-35 and Rokinon primes rotate the normal/cine/Canon way or the reverse/Nikon direction?
 
The actual crop of the GH4 in 4K UHD is 2.49x It makes a 16mm a 40mm equivalent. There is a radical difference in FOV between Canon APS-C and GH4 4K UHD for a given focal length. I'd highly recommend doing a test between the two before you make your buying decision. The lenses are available, you just have to adjust your way of thinking to make it work.

Cheers,
Pete
 
c3hammer said:
The actual crop of the GH4 in 4K UHD is 2.49x It makes a 16mm a 40mm equivalent. There is a radical difference in FOV between Canon APS-C and GH4 4K UHD for a given focal length. I'd highly recommend doing a test between the two before you make your buying decision. The lenses are available, you just have to adjust your way of thinking to make it work.

Cheers,
Pete
Click to expand...

So it's 2.3x in QHD and 2.49x in UHD? That makes it a relative 28mm when you factor in the Speedbooster 0.71x crop though.
 
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