Is it worth getting the 14-140 even if it overlaps with my 4/3 glasses ?

S

shutterwill

Member
My local panashop just informed me that GH2 is in stock now.
This leaves me thinking about whether I should get it bundled with the 14-140 or not.

In order to save a couple hundred bucks and some space in my dry cabinet I will have to give:
1, high speed continuous focusing
2, OIS
3, stepless aperture
and I will have to buy an adapter ring for my 4/3 glasses as well.

Any opinion?
:D
 
shutterwill said:
My local panashop just informed me that GH2 is in stock now.
This leaves me thinking about whether I should get it bundled with the 14-140 or not.

In order to save a couple hundred bucks and some space in my dry cabinet I will have to give:
1, high speed continuous focusing
2, OIS
3, stepless aperture
and I will have to buy an adapter ring for my 4/3 glasses as well.

Any opinion?
:D
Click to expand...

From what I understand the 14-140 is optimized for video shooting with the GH2. The focus motor is quite. The OIS alone is worth a look.
Have you shot DSLR video without OIS? Handheld DSLR video looks shakey unless you are shooting really wide.
I have a 7D with the Canon 24-105 with the OIS. It makes a world of difference in hand-held shooting.
For most video work I prefer to use a tripod anyway. But some shoots have to be handheld and that is where OIS makes a difference.

The 14-140 is slow, f4.0 - but should serve as a good multi-purpose lens. I have adapters for Nikon, Canon, and C-mount so
I should be covered for awhile.....but that Voigtlander M43 25/.95 SUPER SPEED Lens looks really nice!!!!
 
The 14-140 is a good multipurpose lens. Th OIS is great. I wanted to make a point about its "stepless" aperture since Shutterwill listed it as a feature of the 14-140. The 14-140's stepless aperture is not really "stepless". If the camera is in any mode where the aperture automatically adjusts based on incoming light, it does not adjust smoothly like a video lens but in noticeable steps. Annoyingly, it will also do this when you are zooming in or out, even if you are in manual mode and stopped down to 5.6 or more. There are probably some old threads about the kit lens you could look up to find more information.
 
None of the "video" features on the 14-140 make it anymore suited for my videos than any other m4/3 lens, but maybe that's just my shooting style. I don't use continuous auto focus when shooting video, and I don't usually use OIS when shooting video. But it's good for handheld/home movies/and taking pictures (although I don't use the 14-140 for pictures).

Otherwise, the zoom range of the 14-140 is great for home video/travel/outdoor weddings...or VERY well lit church weddings. Short of that, if you're on a major budget and can't afford to buy the 14-140 discounted as part of the kit, then you could spend the money saved on a 20mm f1.7, which is great standard length lens and very fast for indoor/natural light shooting. The Lumix 45mm f2.8 is my 2nd favorite lens for video, and my favorite lens for taking photos...but obviously a much longer lens...and slower. It's also pretty fun for taking macro pictures.


 
shutterwill said:
Oh, and one more thing for those GH2 owners.
Hows does the shutter lag on the GH2 compares to DSLR?
Click to expand...

I guess that depends on what you define as "shutter lag". If you're talking about auto-focus time when shooting stills, it should be better than your E3 (I had a couple of E-5XX series DSLRs...Olympus makes great stuff). As for shutter speed effect, it should be the same as on your E3, or any other DSLR....it releases instantly with no lag, as long as you have set your focus and exposure.

Good luck!
 
HVXguy >> Agree, a lot of indoor areas ban the use of tripod, shooting handheld is the only option. Since all my ZD glasses don't have OIS, I should really consider an OIS lens as a life saving, just-in-case option.

dvbrother>> Thanks for clarifying.

swyzlstyx >> Agree, the smaller aperture of 14-140 is a major drawback. Hopefully we can see a brighter zoom from panasonic by mid 2011. Also thanks for letting me know the shutter lag issue. It is good to know that GH2 is as responsive as other DSLR. I really should go to a dealer and test drive it myself asap.
 
swyzlstyx >> went to panasonic dealer today to try out the GH2 and is happy to find out that there is not shutterlag at all. It shoots instantly when you press the shutter. And the EVF is about that same size as the OVF on any upper class DSLR.
 
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I had 14-140mm for a week. Compared to the pancake, it was huge and heavy. Now I have legacy primes with adapters... mostly metals. Nikon 50mm 1.4 Ai-s with metabone adapter is just slightly lighter than 14-140. Compared to 85mm 1.4 Ai-s... haha. I had a chance to hold 14-140 again, and it felt light. I'm getting it as GH2 kit set.
 
None of the things that make the 14-140mm an "HD" lens are important to me when shooting video. I use AFS or MF when shooting video. The aperture of the 14-140mm isn't really stepless and IS doesn't help you past 100mm. A steady hand or a tripod is the only thing that will really fix that.

I wish the "HD" designation represented the features below instead.

1. Wide continuously variable aperture in all movie modes.
2. In lens image stabilization plus in camera digital stabilization. You can never have too much stabilization when shooting hand held telephoto videos.
3. Para-focal lens. Maintains focus throughout zooming. I am not aware of any zoom M4/3s lenses that can do this.
4. Fast and accurate continuous autofocus even at the telephoto end.
5. Smooth Focus and Zoom ring and it should include the focus puller attachment as well.

If they included those things then the 14-140mm might actually be worth its ridiculous price tag.
 
Granted, the 14-140 is a rather slow lens, but the GH2 is a rather high ISO camera.
I got it since Saturday and ISO 3200 is OK when shooting and taking pictures.

So with the GH2 the 14-140 is much more usable in lower light situations than with the GH1(3)
 
AKED said:
Granted, the 14-140 is a rather slow lens, but the GH2 is a rather high ISO camera.
I got it since Saturday and ISO 3200 is OK when shooting and taking pictures.

So with the GH2 the 14-140 is much more usable in lower light situations than with the GH1(3)
Click to expand...

I do agree with that statement completely. However, it is only just barely usable even with the GH2. All it would take is F2.8-F3.5 or perhaps F2.8-F4.0. If the 14-140mm had those specs it might actually be worth its asking price.
 
I agree, faster would be better.

But I have tested it compared to 3 Canon FD Lensen (35mm f.2.0, 50mm f.1.4 and 85mm f.18) and the 14-140 was as sharp as any of those lenses.
But not as fast
 
Some good news:
The aperture with the14-140 kit lens seems to be step less with the GH2 now.
I have tested it here a little and it seems to be very smooth.
Great.
I think the longer I have this little cam the more I like it (better than the other way around, right?) :)
 
AKED said:
Some good news:
The aperture with the14-140 kit lens seems to be step less with the GH2 now.
I have tested it here a little and it seems to be very smooth.
Great.
I think the longer I have this little cam the more I like it (better than the other way around, right?) :)
Click to expand...

How did you test it? It is pretty hard to get the 14-140mm to stop down. Did you have to shine a light at it?
 
AKED said:
Some good news:
The aperture with the14-140 kit lens seems to be step less with the GH2 now.
I have tested it here a little and it seems to be very smooth.
Great.
I think the longer I have this little cam the more I like it (better than the other way around, right?) :)
Click to expand...
That's good news. So eager to try it out on GH2 when I can get it.
 
mpgxsvcd said:
How did you test it? It is pretty hard to get the 14-140mm to stop down. Did you have to shine a light at it?
Click to expand...
I held it directly into the light and then under the table and then to normal light again. I did not see steps in the aperture adaption..
 
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