Is the 14-42 lens usable for video?

R

Roberto Suarez

Active member
It is noisy? Had AF issues or anything like that? I ask this because the official pana site recomend the 140 lens, and here seems to be the default option. But I can't afford the 140 without going into the shadow land of credit payment.
Is the 42 enough? Is this a problem of "just fine vs great"?
 
It's not very well regarded, but many people are using it with solid results. Its AF is usable during video, but won't be as fast as the 14-140. Not sure how noisy it is (I don't own it). For a similar zoom, the 14-45 by Panny is more expensive, but has overall better image quality. If you do a forum search, you should get a few good threads.

Review from DPReview
 
The 14-140 is the only current "HD optimized" lens, which means it's the best for automatic video (fast, smooth video autofocus, silent operation, image stabilization). It's a bit slow obviously at f4, but is considered to have very respectable image quality, especially if lighting isn't a problem. A forum search should yield a ton of information, should you desire more.

DPReview Analysis of the 14-140.

Edit: Of course, the 14-45 is smaller, cheaper, and faster optically. I don't think either are bad choices, especially in comparison to the 14-42. Just depends on your needs / budget.
 
Last edited:
I tested the 14-140mm, 45-200mm, and 20mm lenses on the GH2 yesterday. The 14-140mm is negligibly faster than the 45-200mm and neither of them make an audible sound when focusing. The 14-140mm is all marketing hype. It is no better for video than the 45-200mm.
 
mpgxsvcd said:
I tested the 14-140mm, 45-200mm, and 20mm lenses on the GH2 yesterday. The 14-140mm is negligibly faster than the 45-200mm and neither of them make an audible sound when focusing. The 14-140mm is all marketing hype. It is no better for video than the 45-200mm.
Click to expand...

That's good to know mpgxsvcd. If you had access to the 14-45 and/or 14-42, you could put together a nice benchmark. There aren't many resources for comparing the video functionality of m4/3 glass. That said, it sounds like pichulo and muroshi might be looking for glass a bit wider than the 40-200.
 
A comparison of the 14-42 vs. 14-45 would be sweet. Unfortunately there won't be a special offer for 14-45 I guess.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top