GH2 Inexpensive Fast Lens for Doc Work

scorsesefan

scorsesefan

Veteran
I want to pick up a cheap prime lens for the GH2. It will be mostly handheld low light situations. A lot of people in this forum recommend a Canon 50mm FD lens but I'm afraid this is too long (100mm) with the 2X crop factor. The 20mm pancake is a bit pricey for me now. Any suggestions? Is there a 35mm under $200?

Thanks
 
A Canon FD 50 1.4 should be a standard lens for all GH2 owners, and for wides you can just get a wider FD and use it on the same adapter. I have a Vivitar FD 24mm f/2.0 that's pretty good, although it's a bit flarey wide open. At f/2.8 however it's great.
 
Jester2138 said:
A Canon FD 50 1.4 should be a standard lens for all GH2 owners, and for wides you can just get a wider FD and use it on the same adapter. I have a Vivitar FD 24mm f/2.0 that's pretty good, although it's a bit flarey wide open. At f/2.8 however it's great.
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Thanks for this information. I was interested in the same information.
I appreciate it.
 
If price is a major concern and you don't need it for very long, you can also rent lenses pretty easily. For a week or so you could get a few for under $200, I'd imagine.
 
Jester2138 said:
If price is a major concern and you don't need it for very long, you can also rent lenses pretty easily. For a week or so you could get a few for under $200, I'd imagine.
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I am working on a long term project, so I was thinking more of something I could keep in my kit. Is there a 35mm that is reasonably sharp under f2?
 
As harsh as that may have sounded, there's some truth to it... sometimes you need what you need and need to do what you need to get what you need.

You live in New York. Get your reel together and scour Craigslist or Mandy for one or two day jobs to earn about $500. Buy either a 20/1.7 or Summilux-DG 25. There really aren't any better or cheaper options of which I'm aware. Done.
 
Lots of used 24mm f/2.8 lenses for sale on eBay. I would choose a Nikon AI-S lens first ( several around the $200 mark ) or the older Canon FD lenses which might be cheaper. ( Look for Canon FD S.S.C. multi-coated lenses )

You will have to buy an adapter to use the lens, and these start at $20 and up. ( Search eBay for ciecio7, who makes very good affordable adapters )
 
If you're fine with a f2.8, consider a "variable prime" like the Vivitar Series 1 28-90 or 28-105. It's pretty dang sharp for a zoom, and very cheap these days.

You may be able to snag a Nikon ai-s 35/1.4 for just over $200 on eBay if you're lucky.
 
mcbob said:
You may be able to snag a Nikon ai-s 35/1.4 for just over $200 on eBay if you're lucky.
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More likely you can find a 35mm f/2.0 around the $200 mark. ( Nikon AI-S 35mm f/1.4 lenses usually sell around $500+, unless it's really beat up )
 
TheDingo said:
More likely you can find a 35mm f/2.0 around the $200 mark. ( Nikon AI-S 35mm f/1.4 lenses usually sell around $500+, unless it's really beat up )
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Thanks. I will check out 35 f2. I think 70mm is an acceptable focal length for my kind of work. I have the the 14-140 now and that will be a few stops difference.
 
scorsesefan said:
Thanks. I will check out 35 f2. I think 70mm is an acceptable focal length for my kind of work.
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I bought the Nikon 35mm f/2.0 specifically for 2 person interviews. A 25mm lens can do the job, but you are right on top of your subjects. A 50mm lens puts you pretty far away, which means you need a large room to film in. The 35mm is a nice compromise. ( I use the 50mm mostly for single person interviews )

Two Person Interview Shot with the 25mm Voightlander While I Stood on the Edge of the Stage

Single Person Interview Shot with the 50mm Zeiss from About 8 feet Away

NOTE: Both videos use in-camera GH-2 recorded audio
 
Thanks TheDingo. Very informative. The Voightlander is amazing looking... BTW the two person intv. was very nicely lit. Is there just a single key or do you also have a small fill for the gentleman on the right?... How is the weather up there? You guys have a great Chinatown! (bigger than NY's)
 
scorsesefan said:
The Voightlander is amazing looking...
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Yeah, it's about as good as it gets for M4/3 lenses. A Nikon or Canon 24mm f/2.0 or f/2.8 would be a pretty close match, but the Voightlander gives you 2 more stops, so it's great for available light work.

scorsesefan said:
BTW the two person intv. was very nicely lit. Is there just a single key or do you also have a small fill for the gentleman on the right?...
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It's a single key light. I had 15 minutes to shoot the interview, including a section of the puppet show, before I was kicked out of the theatre because the big national news guys ( 2 big old-school Sony ENG cameras on tripods ) wanted the entire theatre to themselves. I was standing about 3 feet from my subjects, and had about 6 inches of stage behind me with a 4 foot drop off. I would have preferred to shoot with the 35mm, but there was just no room.

Weather's been good. This is one of the warmest winters on record. ( I imagine NYC isn't too different weather wise )
 
I'm also surprised by the quality of the audio. I usually record on a Tascam ext. recorder. Does the GH2 on board mic have a directional setting or are they just omni?
 
When I say "in camera audio" I mean that the audio is being recorded by the camera, but it's been fed a clean strong signal from Sennheiser UHF mics.

The two person interview is using a Sennhesier SKM300-835 hand-held UHF mic ( the pre-amp is tuned to the mic capsule, which makes for very good audio ), and the single person interview is a TRAM 50 lav mic that's plugged in to a Sennheiser G2 UHF transmitter, with the Sennheiser G2 UHF receiver plugged in to the GH-2. I use the TRAM 50 when ever I have to shoot in a noisy or echo-y room. ( there was another theatre group rehearsing in the next room )

On tests the GH-2 audio noise floor shows as -63 dB which is the same as the XLR inputs on my Panasonic HMC-150 camera. I was very surprised the first time I tested the audio, it's really good for a cheap camera.
 
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