SLR Magic 12mm 1.6 or Olympus 12mm 2 ???

seanothon

seanothon

Active member
Been trying to decide between to two since SLR Magic is taking forever to get in stock and Olympus just had a price drop. I want to use the lens for stabilizer work for a music video that's in the works, so I think the Oly AF would be a great help for that. From the demos of the lenses I like the bokeh of the SLR better but that also seems to led to a substantial amount of lens flare compared to the Oly (and not the pretty type). I also do a good amount of macro shots, which is a point for the SLR and it's price, as well.
 
The SLR Magic lens is faster and softer, with no AF. The Olympus lens is sharp wide open, has AF and manual focus, and has more contrast.

Myself, I plan on buying the Olympus because I am happy to work on my footage in post ( I can lower contrast and soften image if I want to ), and the AF might prove useful for some stedi-cam work. f/2.0 is fast enough for me.
 
I wrote a comparison for the two lens on my blog

http://kanauru.net/blog/?p=126

Even after all the testing I'm still deciding between the two.

I'm somewhat leaning towards the Olympus because the SLR Magic's ability to flare easily may become annoying issue ( which can't be solved using a mattebox ).
 
I went with the 12.6 for its built, mecanical focus, macro ability, 2/3 stop extra is bonus, cheaper, but the Oly does look nice too... I figured once the wide x zoom comes out, I'll have this one for the electronic pros (IS, focus, iris)...
 
I went with the 12.6 for its built, mecanical focus, macro ability, 2/3 stop extra is bonus, cheaper, but the Oly does look nice too... I figured once the wide x zoom comes out, I'll have this one for the electronic pros (IS, focus, iris)... and this after reading Kanauru's review. Thanks Kanauru!
 
Hey Kanauru, that was a great review piece. Thanks a lot.
I was sold on the Oly until I saw you pull focus and the way it stepped from one point to another - now I'm just as confused as I was before.
But thanks again for putting in the time & effort.
 
Nice piece of work Kanauru. It was very informative. I like your approach to evaluating the lenses.

I guess the only solution is to buy both.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys!

I myself am torn between the two so I really tried picking them apart. While I haven't been able to make my own final decision, I was hoping it could at least be of use to others.

timtorpedo said:
I went with the 12.6 for its built, mecanical focus, macro ability, 2/3 stop extra is bonus, cheaper, but the Oly does look nice too... I figured once the wide x zoom comes out, I'll have this one for the electronic pros (IS, focus, iris)... and this after reading Kanauru's review. Thanks Kanauru!
Click to expand...

The 2/3 is a nice bonus but it may be unusable half of the time or so. It easily gets flary and hazy when there are light sources around. It's still a good lens though, just gotta be careful in the sun and when you're using lights.

Rowy said:
Hey Kanauru, that was a great review piece. Thanks a lot.
I was sold on the Oly until I saw you pull focus and the way it stepped from one point to another - now I'm just as confused as I was before.
But thanks again for putting in the time & effort.
Click to expand...

I think I put a note in the description that the Olympus's pulling focus was stepped because I had it on the wrong focus mode. The lens has a feature which allows you to switch from two different focusing modes. One of them allows you to pull focus smoothly but the focus ring will spin infinitely 360, while the second mode is stepped but allows you to make use of the distance markers on the lens. I had it on the second mode which was stepped. Just wanted to clear this up :D
 
I received my Noktor about 15 minutes ago, will post some samples as soon as I get a chance. First impression is that it's a funny little lens, very small (but that's a personal issue I have with all M43 lenses), well built, all metal. The focus ring is right at the back of the lens next to the mount so I doubt whether a FF will work on AF100 rig, but it has a good long throw. Iris is declicked and smooth which is a lovely bonus.
 
kanauru said:
I wrote a comparison for the two lens on my blog

http://kanauru.net/blog/?p=126

Even after all the testing I'm still deciding between the two.

I'm somewhat leaning towards the Olympus because the SLR Magic's ability to flare easily may become annoying issue ( which can't be solved using a mattebox ).
Click to expand...

I read through your review and I really enjoyed it. How much better would you say the Olympus did on the stabilizer? This is a biggie for me and this lens. I have two projects coming up that are going to be using stabilizer shots quite a bit, so I want the best lens for that.
 
TomLenham said:
I received my Noktor about 15 minutes ago, will post some samples as soon as I get a chance. First impression is that it's a funny little lens, very small (but that's a personal issue I have with all M43 lenses), well built, all metal. The focus ring is right at the back of the lens next to the mount so I doubt whether a FF will work on AF100 rig, but it has a good long throw. Iris is declicked and smooth which is a lovely bonus.
Click to expand...

The ring against the mount could be a problem. I would love some samples
 
seanothon said:
I read through your review and I really enjoyed it. How much better would you say the Olympus did on the stabilizer? This is a biggie for me and this lens. I have two projects coming up that are going to be using stabilizer shots quite a bit, so I want the best lens for that.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

I only did the Olympus on that one test where I ran up to my subject and then backed away ( end of Video #1 ). I had to close the SLR Magic all the way down which made is easier to maintain focus even though it had no auto-focus. However I haven't tested them in low light settings where there would be shallow dof. In this case the Olympus may be the winner ( as long as you can get it to auto-focus the way you want ). Some other reasons for choosing the Olympus may be that it allows more creative techniques or flexibility because you don't have to deal with focusing and can focus on composition ( again, if the auto-focus does what you want it to do ). Perhaps you plan to do one long take where your subject doesn't maintain the same distance from the camera consistently and is constantly changing their distance drastically. It may also be useful if you choose to use it on a stabilizer at live events where anything can happen.

By no means is the SLR Magic useless on a stabilizer , but the Olympus may have some advantages ( mainly in low light but I have yet to test this ).
It really depends on the conditions you're dealing with.

But flares are something you have to watch out for on the SLR Magic ( even when stopped down ), especially on a stabilizer.
00123.MTS_snapshot_00.10_2011.12.17_14.35.29-1024x576.jpg
( from Video #1 )
 
kanauru said:
Thanks!

I only did the Olympus on that one test where I ran up to my subject and then backed away ( end of Video #1 ). I had to close the SLR Magic all the way down which made is easier to maintain focus even though it had no auto-focus. However I haven't tested them in low light settings where there would be shallow dof. In this case the Olympus may be the winner ( as long as you can get it to auto-focus the way you want ). Some other reasons for choosing the Olympus may be that it allows more creative techniques or flexibility because you don't have to deal with focusing and can focus on composition ( again, if the auto-focus does what you want it to do ). Perhaps you plan to do one long take where your subject doesn't maintain the same distance from the camera consistently and is constantly changing their distance drastically. It may also be useful if you choose to use it on a stabilizer at live events where anything can happen.

By no means is the SLR Magic useless on a stabilizer , but the Olympus may have some advantages ( mainly in low light but I have yet to test this ).
It really depends on the conditions you're dealing with.

But flares are something you have to watch out for on the SLR Magic ( even when stopped down ), especially on a stabilizer.

( from Video #1 )
Click to expand...
Cheers, I'd be picking the Olympus on the stabilizer mainly for the reasons listed above. No need to stop down for deep focus on the stabilizer which means one can use it in a church or a wedding reception where one is restricted to available light, one can follow a subject with the background blurred out, or follow subjects of varying distances. It's just a feature that'll save your shot and save your bacon on a job. But guess what, I hope none of you buy the Olympus so the price will keep on dropping if there's no demand. It's currently at $704.69 at B&H, idling in my shopping cart. As soon as it goes sub $700, I'm dropping the hammer on that sucker. All of you guys go buy the hyperprime. I can wait another two weeks to pull the trigger. I've watched that lens drop from $799 to $740 and then to $718 and now at $704 as Amazon dukes it out with them. Amazon needs to go down to $695 already. As those prices tumbled, I laughed as I got a free $20 UV filter. Well, it's not free, but you know what I mean.
 
dtzfilms said:
Cheers, I'd be picking the Olympus on the stabilizer mainly for the reasons listed above. No need to stop down for deep focus on the stabilizer which means one can use it in a church or a wedding reception where one is restricted to available light, one can follow a subject with the background blurred out, or follow subjects of varying distances. It's just a feature that'll save your shot and save your bacon on a job. But guess what, I hope none of you buy the Olympus so the price will keep on dropping if there's no demand. It's currently at $704.69 at B&H, idling in my shopping cart. As soon as it goes sub $700, I'm dropping the hammer on that sucker. All of you guys go buy the hyperprime. I can wait another two weeks to pull the trigger. I've watched that lens drop from $799 to $740 and then to $718 and now at $704 as Amazon dukes it out with them. Amazon needs to go down to $695 already. As those prices tumbled, I laughed as I got a free $20 UV filter. Well, it's not free, but you know what I mean.
Click to expand...

I was planning on using it for weddings once the season starts up again. I really wanted the shallow DOP that Seb33 illustrated in his video: http://vimeo.com/30097165 that got me interested in a fast wide in the first place. I assume that the Oly would give me the same shallowness at f2 that the Magic had. I would miss the super macro, though.
 
kanauru said:
Thanks!

I only did the Olympus on that one test where I ran up to my subject and then backed away ( end of Video #1 ). I had to close the SLR Magic all the way down which made is easier to maintain focus even though it had no auto-focus. However I haven't tested them in low light settings where there would be shallow dof. In this case the Olympus may be the winner ( as long as you can get it to auto-focus the way you want ). Some other reasons for choosing the Olympus may be that it allows more creative techniques or flexibility because you don't have to deal with focusing and can focus on composition ( again, if the auto-focus does what you want it to do ). Perhaps you plan to do one long take where your subject doesn't maintain the same distance from the camera consistently and is constantly changing their distance drastically. It may also be useful if you choose to use it on a stabilizer at live events where anything can happen.

By no means is the SLR Magic useless on a stabilizer , but the Olympus may have some advantages ( mainly in low light but I have yet to test this ).
It really depends on the conditions you're dealing with.

But flares are something you have to watch out for on the SLR Magic ( even when stopped down ), especially on a stabilizer.
View attachment 46170
( from Video #1 )
Click to expand...

Hows the Oly's AF at f2?
 
I'm pretty convinced that the Hyperprime is a 25/0.95 with a wide angle adapter on it. 0.43~5x

In that sense, I'd rather get a 25/0.95 and spend some time testing wide angle adapters, and have a pretty fast 25, 12, and if you use a GH2 (ETC mode) 60~70 prime in one.
 
Kholi said:
I'm pretty convinced that the Hyperprime is a 25/0.95 with a wide angle adapter on it. 0.43~5x

In that sense, I'd rather get a 25/0.95 and spend some time testing wide angle adapters, and have a pretty fast 25, 12, and if you use a GH2 (ETC mode) 60~70 prime in one.
Click to expand...

I've a AF 100 so not ETC for me but I do see what you're saying. You should defiantly post your results
 
Yep I ordered mine direct from SLRMagic, up front on PayPal. I'm told it won't be here before Jan 30th
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top