Switching to 4/3's, lens recommendations with the GH2 for video noob?

florisvaneck said:
Can someone point me to good old Olympus lenses? What are their legendary lenses that can be found cheap now?
Click to expand...

I would say their legendary lenses are not and never will be cheap. Their 50mm F2.0 is a very nice and sharp lens. However, its measurements suggest that it may not be as good as the 20mm @ F2.0. Their F2.0 zoom lenses are just amazing but they are very expensive($2000+).



20mm F2.0 Sharpness test
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/widget/Fullscreen.ashx?reviews=62&fullscreen=true&av=2&fl=20&vis=VisualiserSharpnessMTF&stack=horizontal&lock=&config=/lensreviews/widget/LensReviewConfiguration.xml%3F4

50mm F2.0 Sharpness test
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews...sreviews/widget/LensReviewConfiguration.xml?4
http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Telep...U7I6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290522064&sr=8-1

Olympus 35-100mm f/2.0 Zuiko Lens for E Series DSLR Cameras
http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-35-10...P1JE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1290522064&sr=8-2

Olympus Zuiko 14-35mm f/2.0
http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Zuiko...P5R4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1290522064&sr=8-5

I have the OM 50mm F1.4($100) and it is a very nice and well built lens. However, it is quite soft wide open and suffers from a bit of light leakage. It is a nice lens though. I just don’t use it as much because my Canon 55mm F1.2 is so much better. The Canon costs twice as much though.
 
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Thank you.

I am just gathering input for a new lens kit.

What I basically want (in 35mm terms):

Wideangle (24-28mm range)
Normal (40-50mm range) -> I think the Panasonic 20mm/F1.7 is the one to get here... small, light sensitive, sharp
Telephoto (100mm range)
Extreme tele (200mm range)

Something like this to get started. There are so many choices with all the adapters... I am aiming for the best quality for the least amount of money.
 
I had the exact same requirements as you. I can save you a lot of trouble. Get the 14mm F2.5 pancake once the price drops a little. Get the 20mm F1.7 now. $330 for the 20mm new is just a steal.

Then search ebay for any lenses where the autofocus mechanism is broken but everything else is perfect on the lens. People will practically give them away or sell them for parts when that happens and you won’t need autofocus with m4/3s.

Most lenses under $100 really are not worth it. Trust me I bought almost all of them as the videos above show. There are some that are great deals for their price. However, you just can’t get outstanding quality like the Nikon 85mm F1.8 and Canon 55mm F1.2 have for less than $100.

Also don’t buy a lens over about 55mm without IS if you plan to use it for video. Without a tripod or IS those telephoto lenses just don’t work well. I would get the Panasonic 45-200mm m4/3s lens if you want a longer range inexpensive($250) lens for video. Outdoors it is a wonderful video lens up to about 150mm.
 
Which lenses does everyone recommend?

I am looking into prime lenses and maybe a good versatile zoom (I am thinking of the Olympus 12-60mm F/2.8-4 that is tack sharp and reach like 240mm with the crop mode on the GH2). I am also considering the 14mm F/2.5 and 20mm F/1.7 pancake lenses because they are small and sharp (from what I hear). Tad expensive though.

But what I was thinking of is the following:

12mm (24mm in 35mm terms)
25mm (50mm in 35mm terms)
42mm (85mm in 35mm terms)
50mm (100mm in 35mm terms)

The lower the aperture, the better I think . I am aiming at the range between F/0.95 - F/2.5 at maximum.

Which lenses qualify? Do lenses have an impact on how the image looks? If I combine multiple lenses from different brands and old and new, will that material mix in post? Otherwise I prefer to invest in a lens system from one manufacturer that has a consistent look.

I am looking forward to your reactions.
 
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