GH1 Ok, I'm screwed, but is there any affordable substitute for 14-140mm lens?

Y

yingtaoshenfu

New member
Yesterday I was wavering between two offers of GH1, one with 14-140 and the other with 20mm pancake +14-42 kit lens. Everyone here kindly advised me to go with the 14-140, but that seller went back on the deal and canceled on me.

Long story short, I now end up with 20mm pancake+14-42. I know neither of them is ideal for shooting video (pancake has autofocus noise issue and 14-42 is lousy for video).

so can anyone recommend an alternative for 14-140? is 14-45 ( the predecessor of 14-42) a good choice? or any other lens ( c mount ,canon, nikon, whatever, as long as they can work via an adapter)?

Thanks again

words for wisdom: if you see a good deal, don't hesitate, go and get it, otherwise you will lament the missing boat, just like me , now .
 
I'm guessing that was this post: {http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?256848-Help!GH1-14-140-for-750-or-900-for-GH1-14-42-20mm-pancake-both-used-which-to-go} ? Do you really need autofocus for video? For video I really don't think your going to be going that far. If you do you should just buy a FD adapter and a 28mm to 300mm. [IMHO]
 
The 14-140 is optimized for video, that is why it is the best all around lens for the GH1. It does suck in low light to the point of almost unusable. Don't worry about the 20mm and hearing the focusing, the onboard camera mic should not be used for much other than reference audio anyway, besides it rocks in low light.

The 14-45 is better than the 14-42, but IMO, not significantly enough to replace one with the other.

As far as options for lenses, the only limitations there are how many you want and how much money you want to invest.

The nice thing about the m4/3 format is there are adapters for almost every lens made in the last 30 years. When you leave the Panasonic brand you will sacrifice auto controls for most all except a few from Olympus. Everything else you will have to use in a manual focus and manual aperture mode. Initially that may sound like a negative, as soon as you get comfortable with your camera you will see that as a positive.

At this point you need to use the camera and then determine what your typical shooting situation is going to be. At that point then you can look into your lens options that will be best suited to what you are going to do. But as far as an exact across the board comparable lens to the 14-140, there really is none that offers everything that it does.
 
I've used the 14-42 with the af102 and found it worked well.. Why do you say it is unusable for video?
 
zeaiko: all are usable, but stepless aperture and minimal noise of auofocus only in 14-140
 
The 14-140 is great in a lot if ways, but I got into the GH2 thing mostly so that I could shoot documentary footage with a more 16mm look. The f4 of the 14-140 means that even under optimal conditions for that lens I have a hard time achieving the shallower DOF that attracted me to DSLR in the first place (and yes, I know that the GH2 is not technically a DLSR). For my purposes I usually go with a zoom that opens to a 2.8 and keep it there with a variable ND. All the semi-affordable zooms that open to a 2.8 have significant drawbacks but these drawbacks aren't always killers--just depends on the kind of work you do.
If you're considering buying another zoom then there are a lot of posts about the Oly 14-54 II, the Panasonic 14-50 2.8-3.5 and Tamron zooms. They all have there pros and cons, you just have to select something that is right for the kind of shooting you do most often.
 
It does suck in low light to the point of almost unusable.
Click to expand...

Guess what? If you know how to shoot properly this is nonsense. Get some lights, even some small LED lights and you can shoot wherever you can apply your creative skills. The 14-140 is an excellent lens. I know because I have it and use it all the time. It is optimized for video, including the OIS. Manual focus on a prime lens? Yeah, try it and enjoy the micro shakes, rolling shutter and focus chasing.
 
John Caballero said:
Guess what? If you know how to shoot properly this is nonsense. Get some lights, even some small LED lights and you can shoot wherever you can apply your creative skills. The 14-140 is an excellent lens. I know because I have it and use it all the time. It is optimized for video, including the OIS. Manual focus on a prime lens? Yeah, try it and enjoy the micro shakes, rolling shutter and focus chasing.
Click to expand...

http://www.vimeo.com/24199353

85mm prime lens, manual focus, no on cam LED light, shot at 2:48 AM from a block and half away.

As much as I also like and also use the 14-140, it would have been useless to attempt it for this shot.
 
Thats fine but only you know how well the clocks are lit up and the 14-140 is an outdoor daylight lens,its true for situations where a shot like your clock tower is needed for any production the 14-140 is no use.
 
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