GH5 Olympus 75mm f/1.8 Worth It?

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filmguy123

Veteran
Looking at picking one up for a small, lightweight telephoto lens. Looks fast and sharp with a nice aesthetic, but haven't studied it to in depth. Thinking it might have good results on the GH5 IBIS, even though it's not Dual IS.

Thoughts? Worth a purchase? Or are there better options (or better options on the likely horizon with Dual IS), or better options that would extend to other larger format camera systems? (thinking the size/weight of this one might potentially make it a nice option, but I am also concerned about the manual focus feel, etc.)
 
filmguy123 said:
Looking at picking one up for a small, lightweight telephoto lens. Looks fast and sharp with a nice aesthetic, but haven't studied it to in depth. Thinking it might have good results on the GH5 IBIS, even though it's not Dual IS.

Thoughts? Worth a purchase? Or are there better options (or better options on the likely horizon with Dual IS), or better options that would extend to other larger format camera systems? (thinking the size/weight of this one might potentially make it a nice option, but I am also concerned about the manual focus feel, etc.)
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That lens is among the sharpest in the m43 system. Like, super sharp!

Personally, for video, I find most m43 lenses to look too sharp, so I don't see the Olly's sharpness as an advantage. However, that's a personal preference.

The Rokinon and Nikon are great choices, and have the advantage that if you use it with a speedbooster and a straight adapter, you get two very fast focal lengths.

The Ibis will work the same on any of these choices, so that's not a factor.

Lastly, for still pics, the olly is not only a great lens, but you WILL appreciate the autofocus advantage over the other lenses.

Try renting it.
 
I don't own one but know someone who does....he loves the lens!...The reviews are very impressive and at around $800 I'm considering picking this up as well.
 
filmguy123 said:
Thoughts on the f/2 version of the Nikkor instead?
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This is the version that I own. It's an AI-S lens in mint condition that I bought from eBay for about $200.

I generally find all of the Nikon AI-S lenses softer than the m4/3 lenses, but often this is a good thing as it takes off the harsh edge that you sometimes see with overly sharp m4/3 lenses. I also shot professionally with Nikons since the early 80's, so I have no problems with fully manual lenses. AF is nice for still-photos, but I generally prefer a smooth focusing manual lens for video.

Because it's a pretty sharp lens to start with, you can shoot wide open with this 85mm lens, including when using it with a Speedbooster. ( where the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 lens has to be stopped down 2 F-stops to get a sharp / clean image out of it. This 50mm is unusable at full aperture because of the strong coma that creates a mushy image, but it cleans up quite a bit at 1 F-stop down, and then totally at 2 F-stops down. )
 
I too prefer the smooth manual focus ring for video, and find the electronic native glass to be overly sharp for video (makes it look artificial or digital).

Cool, I might like the Nikkor more.
 
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