GH4 Macro lens for the GH4?

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ejdge

Well-known member
I'm looking at investing in a GH4 in a couple of months and was wondering if anyone had suggestions for a Macro lens for detail shots such as flowers, jewelry, etc.

I'm coming from a Canon setup and looking for something similar to the Canon 100m 2.8.
 
I have a canon mp-e65 and a tamron 90mm 2.8 macro that is pretty good also. not too expensive either. only problem with the mp e is adjusting aperture.
 
Almost any macro lens should work on the GH4 with the proper adapter. I have a Zeiss Contax 60mm which I like. But to be honest, I really like using a Cooke 18-100mm for shooting flowers.
 
I have both the Olympus 60mm macro and a 105 f2.8 nikkor micro lens with extension tube and Voightlander m43 adapter. The Olympus connects well so you have all the auto functions, tends to hunt a bit, but superb images, the nikkor is something else though, equivalent of 200mm micro and images that are just amazing, this will probably be my favourite for land work with the olympus for underwater. I also have a nikkor 55mm f2.8 micro in mint condition. If this is of interest, PM me and we can discuss
 
I will second the Olympus 60mm 2.8 macro. It works very well on my GH4 and auto-focuses well in addition to having the enlarged image when manually focusing. It was recently on sale at $399. The insect and flower shots in this video were shot with the Olympus.

 
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Vivitar's 55mm f2.8 macro (comes in fd, contax c/y and other mounts) is imho the best bang for your buck. It will be around the equivalent of a 110mm lens on full frame.
 
Back when the earth began cooling there were few portrait lenses available for m4/3 so I picked up PanaLeica's 45mm f/2.8 Macro. As a portrait lens the maximum aperture never thrilled me but if you can deal with the non-linear fly-by-wire focus ring it is a decent macro.

Since much of my work is documentary I'm constantly trying to minimize what I carry so typically leave the Macro on the shelf & bring Canon's 500D +2 Doublet Diopter. Works well with Panasonic's 35-100mm f/2.8.

http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/education/infobank/lenses/close-up_lenses.do
 
Shooting mostly scientific video and a fair amount of small product shots, I do a TON of macro shooting. IMO there are few compelling reasons to get a lens with auto features for macro shooting.

For the very occasional macro shooter, you could try the Kenko macro spacers with your current lenses. Alternately, a decent set of lens diopters can work, but for almost even money you can get a legacy macro lens... the aforementioned Micro-Nikkor 55/3.5 or newer, sharper 55/2.8 are nearly perfect for the application, dead simple to use, durable and solid. Getting wacky, I also get very very close shots (nearly microscopic) using my Voigtlander 17.5 with a reversal adapter (so it mounts backwards)

Here's an example of the reversed Voigt 17.5, a dime from some moons back:

P1010201.jpg
 
The olympus 60 is an absolutely amazing optic, one of the best macro lenses for any system. It's pretty tough to beat - AF, amazing sharpness and 1:1 in a very small package. Here's a fantastic review.

http://blog.mingthein.com/2012/09/21/olympus-60-2-8-macro/

Though I also agree with mcbob, lots of very affordable legacy macros. I have a Kiron 105/2.8 in FD mount that's incredibly sharp, does 1:1 without add on's and only cost $125. Cheap adapters let me mount it to almost anything.
 
Legacy lenses can be decent. You can always adapt your Canon 100/2.8, so that's some money saved.
 
Not certain if we should call the Micro-Nikkor 55/2.8 "legacy," though, since they still manufacture and sell them new for not-bargain prices.
 
I have a Nikkor 60mm/2.8, a great lens. Extremely shallow focus if you use it as a telephoto lens but that can be beneficial. As a macro, especially on a micro 4/3 body it focuses about as close as you can bring something without actually touching it to the lens.P1000546 copy.jpgHere's an example of it used as a telephoto and as a macro.P1000549 copy.jpg
 

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If you're on a budget, I would recommend checking out the Wesley 33mm 1.6 C-Mount lens. This ebay seller (where I got mine from) bundles it with 3 macro tubes along with a C-Mount to m4/3 adapter. It's a versatile and fast lens for less than $100.
 
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