GH4 Question about GH3/4 lens options: native panasonic vs adapter lenses

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DerekPW

Member
Is it true that native panasonic lenses will be corrected for distortion, vignetting, etc. . . while any adapter solution will not?

To me this would seem to be a huge advantage to sticking with panasonic lenses, if true.

Wide angles would be particularly useful as panasonic, correcting distortion...

I'm trying to decide whether I'd want to go for the sigma 8-16+ adapter or the 7-14 from Panasonic. If the 7-14 is going to produce much better quality, I'll lean that way. (even though the Sigma would be a bit wider on the gh4)

Thanks.
 
I know the correction works with Panasonic lenses in photo mode. I don't know about video mode. The Sigma is not a native m 4/3 lens so there is no electronic communication between the lens and camera. IMO the Panasonic 7-14 would be a far better choice.
 
Why do you think the sigma 8-16+ adapter is going to be wider than a 7mm?
Unless you're using a Speedbooster type adapter.
 
If you can hold on I would wait for the Olympus 7-14mm f/2.8

It's obviously much faster than the Panasonic option which will give you a lot more flexibility
 
True North said:
If you can hold on I would wait for the Olympus 7-14mm f/2.8

It's obviously much faster than the Panasonic option which will give you a lot more flexibility
Click to expand...

When's it supposed to land? Deal is I have to be off and running with the GH4 as soon as it hits.

I'm going to be videoing storms and tornadoes and need a great wide angle landscape solution.

Since the gh4 is a bit of a crop, the 8-16 with speed booster gives me my widest option: 13.5mm. The 7-14 is around 16.5mm full frame equiv wide end.

I'm just wondering about the quality of the two images... if the 7-14 will be better corrected and sharper.

I'll probably add a 7.5mm fisheye to the mix regardless.
 
I had a Tokina 11-16 and Lumix 7-14 simultaneously; I generally preferred the images from the 7-14, although I don't own that one anymore.
 
If you go with the Nikon mount and a Speedbooster, it seems you may get slightly wider than the 7-14 and have a brighter lens. I have no idea about the optical quality other than it is highly spoken of.

The advantages that I see in the 7-14 is the ability to auto focus which in your line of work might be a plus, and the more compact form factor. Again, the optical quality seems to be held in high regard.
 
stoneinapond said:
The advantages that I see in the 7-14 is the ability to auto focus which in your line of work might be a plus, and the more compact form factor. Again, the optical quality seems to be held in high regard.
Click to expand...

In the case of the GH4, until now, only Panasonic lenses can take advantage of the improved autofocus. The camera has stored data about the bokeh at any aperture and focal length of all Panasonic lenses and can estimate the focus - or rather the need for focussing - with high precision. With other AF lenses the AF only works with the slower and less precise contrast detection which is prone to some focus hunting.
 
How about using Olympus MFT lens on GH4?
I love Olympus 12-40/2.8 PRO, especially the short closest focusing distance. And I'm planning to get one instead of Pana 12-35/2.8

I am wondering about the focusing speed. Does it perform worse than the Pana 12-35/2.8 on GH4?
 
joe 1008 said:
In the case of the GH4, until now, only Panasonic lenses can take advantage of the improved autofocus. The camera has stored data about the bokeh at any aperture and focal length of all Panasonic lenses and can estimate the focus - or rather the need for focussing - with high precision. With other AF lenses the AF only works with the slower and less precise contrast detection which is prone to some focus hunting.
Click to expand...

The focusing from a native m4/3 lens will always be better and faster than a cross brand adapter like a speed booster. If auto focus is important, I don't think there can really be any question of whether a Tokina Nikon lens connected to a speed booster is going to be faster than a Native M4/3 lens....it won't be. You also lose some of the compactness inherent with M4/3 lenses, which is a consideration for some.

I think the Nikon gives you more flexibility to be used with virtually any camera system (Canon, Sony, Nikon etc..). The lens will be a little faster as well. For video, I am not sure how much auto focus you would use, so I guess the importance of that feature depends on whether you are doing primarily video or hybrid.
 
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True North said:
If auto focus is important, I don't think there can really be any question of whether a Tokina Nikon lens connected to a speed booster is going to be faster than a Native M4/3 lens....
Click to expand...

Are you saying that Nikkors and Tokina on a GH with a Speedbooster will autofocus, but just at slower speeds? Your comment seems to support this... I had no idea that was possible. AF from a Nikkor on an M43 camera via speedbooster? How have I not heard of this...
 
No, the Nikon SB does not allow auto anything. He meant that in the sense that if AF is important, the SpeedBooster is not a viable option.
 
I sorta thought that... wording it as "The focusing from a native m4/3 lens will always be better and faster than a cross brand adapter... Nikon lens connected to a speed booster is going to be faster than a Native M4/3 lens....it won't be" seems to state it has AF, just slower. AF speed really isn't germane if there's no AF...

And I'm having trouble believing manual focus is significantly different based on only adapter+lens vs. native lens. Hasn't been the case for me in the APS-C and full-frame world anyway, but I've yet to own any M43 gear.

Yours truly,
the grammar nazi®.
 
If you will be using the camera also for stills, then Panasonic bodies perform autocorrections for distortion, chromatic Abberations, and fringing when using Panasonic lenses. These all happen without you knowing it when the shot is processed to the card. You get no correction with Olympus lenses or adapted ones obviously.

i would definately go for the 12-35 2.8 over the Olympus Pro zoom as the Okympus lens has no stabilization and optically the 12-35 2.8 is fantastic.

if stills are not a high priority and you don't care for stabilization or Autofocus, you will get great results from a Speedbooster and something like the Sigma 18-35 1.8. You could go for a few primes but for the money, the sigma is a fantastic lens and optically could replace 2 or 3 of the Samyangs.
 
I know someone posted the correct crop factors for the GH4 in 4K modes (cinema vs UHD std), but I cant find it. can someone please tell me what effective focal length the Panasonic 7-14mm will have in UHD modes on the GH4?
thank.
 
jnorman34 said:
I know someone posted the correct crop factors for the GH4 in 4K modes (cinema vs UHD std), but I cant find it. can someone please tell me what effective focal length the Panasonic 7-14mm will have in UHD modes on the GH4?
thank.
Click to expand...
The effective focal length is 7-14mm.
 
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