Newbie AF-100 lens question

Gary61

Gary61

Member
I just bought an AF-100, now I don't have the money for a professional lens set, but I want to start shooting right away to familiarize myself with the camera. Is the Panasonic 45-200mm f/4.0-5.6 Lumix G Vario MEGA OIS Zoom Micro Four Thirds Lens sufficient enough to get me started? i.e. will it fit properly without an adapter? Will I be able to control the iris setting? Does it have feet increment markings? And of course what is the downside to this lens? Thank you in advance. P/S, yes, I have Barry's DVD and I'm watching it.
 
I would recommend the 14-42mm as the inexpensive starter zoom lens. It's not the best in low light but it will get you up and shooting.

(the 45-200mm lens on the AF100 will actually be 90-400mm. Which is great if you're filming wildlife but pretty useless for everything else)
 
I would actually recommend you stay away from the 14-42, it may be cheap but it is cheap for a reason, and it really does not do the camera justice. If you are low on money, I would get yourself a couple used manual focus primes (The really old non-AI nikons can be bought for a steal, you can buy a used 50mm f/2 non-AI nikkor in great shape for under $50 at Adorama, and something like a 20mm f/3.5 or 24mm f/2.8 for around $150). You wil get the most from your camera with out breaking the bank, and you will learn more about composition and moving the camera as well by starting out with primes. After that figure out what you need and want and grow your kit from there as needed.

I do have a 14-42mm, but I use it rarely, basically for really low budget BS where I need OIS (the only thing about that lens that is good). The focus ring sucks and is nearly useless, as is the autofocus, the zoom is useless for video, it is SLOW, low contrast. I can't even remember the last time I grabbed it from my bag. I would sell it, but frankly, it is not worth it.
 
Last edited:
Many, many, many different ways to go, considering you can use just about any lens out there with the right adapters:

- The kit 14-140 is a fairly decent lens for video use. It's slow, but has decent OIS and image quality. With the range and OIS, it makes the AF100 fairly useful for simple basic runabout stuff. Cannot be used with a follow focus, stepped iris. $400-600 used. Your best bet if you use a wide range of focal lengths, hand hold, autofocus, and work in lit spaces.

- Slightly faster 4/3 zooms like the Oly 14-54 II, Oly 12-60, and Leica 14-50/2.8 are also highly useful and often worth the extra stop, even if not as slick in video use as the 14-140. Cannot be used with a follow focus, stepped iris.
$300-800 each used. Your best bet if you work mostly close-in with an average amount of time to set up shots.

- The Leica Summilux-DG 25 is arguably the best native fast prime on somewhat of a budget. Cannot be used with a follow focus, stepped iris. ~$500. The 20/1.7 is great in speed and image quality, but handles poor, responds slowly, and looks ridiculous on the AF. Best if you need low-light performance with autofocus.

- A set of matched vintage primes of any flavor (Nikon, Canon FD, Olympus OM, etc) in ~24-28, 35, 50, and (if you need it) 100 (plus other) focal lengths. A good-quality wide adapter can possibly cover your wide lens needs. Usually follow-focus compatible, and can be iris-declicked. No auto anything, ever. Total spent varies widely. Best bet if you do almost exclusively narratives, interviews, and other situations with adequate time to set up shots and switch lenses.

- Some folks have had success adapting 2/3" ENG camera lenses with integrated 2x teleconverters. It yields a kit just as useful as an ENG camera, albeit with some loss of wider focal lengths. Some knowledge of wiring and bodging your own mounts may be necessary to make everything work solidly.

- Make a body cap pinhole lens. Costs nothing, deep focus, but slightly inflexible and not very good indoors or any other non-bright-sunshine conditions.
 
"...the 45-200mm lens on the AF100 will actually be 90-400mm..."

Okay, stupid question time, but why would the 45-200 lens double to 90-400mm on the AF?
 
Gary61 said:
"...the 45-200mm lens on the AF100 will actually be 90-400mm..."

Okay, stupid question time, but why would the 45-200 lens double to 90-400mm on the AF?
Click to expand...

No, the AF100 does not change the lens into anything. A 45-200mm lens is a 45-200mm lens regardless of what you mount it on. The lenses focal length does not change. What changes is the field of view (FOV) between sensor sizes, and the AF100 has a FOV that is half of that of a full frame still camera like a 5D (of which that sensor size which is known as Vista Vision in the film world, prior to the 5D was only used like 8 times in the history of film). Anyway, a lens on a AF100 will appear cropped in so to speak, when compared to that same lens on a larger sensor camera. Thus, to get the same FOV as a 50mm lens on a 5D or still camera you would need ~a 25mm lens on the AF100, and on a s35 Film camera (what is typically found in film production) you would use ~35mm lens to get that same FOV (that said, you would not say refer to an Arri film camera or another s35 camera as a crop sensor camera or say that it turns a lens into something else). Basically, it all comes down to you knowing how particular focal lengths relate to the sensor size to get the image you want.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top