Need help with choosing lens.
- Thread starter rundavids
- Start date
Psynema
Well-known member
Panasonic doesn't have that great a selection - so as far as IS goes it's the kit lens or the 45mm macro 2.8.
There are very slow 3-400$ IS lenses but they pretty much overlap with the kit lens so it's a waste of cash. you can get a tele zoom that goes up to 200mm but that would be too far to handhold if you need IS and the kit lens is the only zoom lens with continuous autofocus.
If you don't have the kit lens, the cheapest/closest thing is the 14-45mm 3.5 - 5.6 at $350 but there's no continuous autofocus just OIS since it's meant for photos on the G1 mainly.
I'd just get the 20mm 1.7 if I were you - makes your GH1 competitive with Canon's glass.
There are very slow 3-400$ IS lenses but they pretty much overlap with the kit lens so it's a waste of cash. you can get a tele zoom that goes up to 200mm but that would be too far to handhold if you need IS and the kit lens is the only zoom lens with continuous autofocus.
If you don't have the kit lens, the cheapest/closest thing is the 14-45mm 3.5 - 5.6 at $350 but there's no continuous autofocus just OIS since it's meant for photos on the G1 mainly.
I'd just get the 20mm 1.7 if I were you - makes your GH1 competitive with Canon's glass.
In order to answer that question properly, we need to know what your goal is with the lens. Are you avoiding the kit lens because it is only f4 and you want something faster? The kit lens is slow, but it's nothing to sneeze at. The images it provides in daylight are sharper and crisper than any more expensive lens I've tried. I think this is because the camera has correction software in it that works together with the lens to provide a sharp image. But for low-light it's a pain.
Are you wanting another zoom? Or a fast prime?
Are you wanting another zoom? Or a fast prime?
rundavids
Well-known member
Thanks for the reply guys. I was just little worried about the kit lens since most kit lens aren't that good usually. I'm looking to shoot video mostly, and stills occasionally. I know I won't get great photos, but I'm not doing anything professionally. I just want a decent zoom lens that's able to handle some low-light and I;m thinking of getting some prime Canon FD's.
The 14-140 is a decent lens with IS in it...it's more than decent...it's a great lens...for video and pictures. It's just not a "fast" lens.
If you want a fast lens that will take advantage of your camera's nice exposure and focus features, try the 20mm f1.7. It's a great "standard" lens....VERY nice.
If you want fast manual lenses, get any old brand you want...they're cheap in comparison. But remember if you buy lenses designed for full frame cameras, you have a 2x crop on your GH1. Lenses made for the GH1 take this into consideration. A cheap/fast 50mm lens on a 35mm camera is a great all-around lens. On the GH1 it is a telephoto lens...and only useful for specific purposes. Nice if you're looking for super-shallow DOF or when shooting with no lights in dark places.
Otherwise, the 14-140 kit lens is hard to beat in terms of general practicality.
Good luck!
stoneinapond
Veteran
Remember, the 20mm lens still functions the equivalent of 40mm on a full frame 35mm film camera.
Which is why I say it's a good choice as a "standard" lens. On 35mm SLRs, we had inexpensive FAST 50mm standard lenses for a natural looking FOV. The 20mm f1.7 was apparently designed for that purpose on m-4/3...and it does it extremely well.
Careful, you'll confuse the noobies with this concept. You can mount it on a GH1, you can mount it on a wall, you can mount it on the moon...but it's still a 20mm lens. Cameras can't change the focal length of lenses.
