Vol 25mm or Oly 14-35mm?

John Foundas

John Foundas

Well-known member
I'm planning on the Nikon 80-200 for my long lens.
I'm torn between the Vol .95 and the Oly 14-35

Which would you choose and why?
 
Johnf said:
Doc style eng projects for corporate clients
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You need the zoom for that sort of work. I've ordered the 25mm 0.95 but it is a specialist lens when you have time to check focus and position your camera. I think the Olympus 14-35 f2.0 is the go. It relatively expensive though. Or for corporate maybe just get the 14-140 stock GH1 lens. It's slowish but if you light your interviews and scenes, that won't bother you too much. And outside it's fine. Plus it has very workable stabilisation.
 
I've seen some footage shot with the 14-140, and I was surprised how good it looked. I thought it looked better than the Canon zoom footage Philip Bloom shot in the UK with an early prototype. It can do the CA correction. And it can do decent dof when pushed to long lens, and maybe even focused close too. It's a good catch-all for everyday paying gigs, not as much for artistic stuff.
 
Billygoat said:
I've seen some footage shot with the 14-140, and I was surprised how good it looked. I thought it looked better than the Canon zoom footage Philip Bloom shot in the UK with an early prototype. It can do the CA correction. And it can do decent dof when pushed to long lens, and maybe even focused close too. It's a good catch-all for everyday paying gigs, not as much for artistic stuff.
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I shot this home movie at a U2 gig on the 14-140mm and GH1 at 800 ASA last week. I forgot to turn the OIS on, so it's pretty wobbly, but it shows the lens can work in low light situations as well. You can slect 1080P in the drop-down menu.


 
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powervideo said:
You need the zoom for that sort of work. I've ordered the 25mm 0.95 but it is a specialist lens when you have time to check focus and position your camera. I think the Olympus 14-35 f2.0 is the go. It relatively expensive though. Or for corporate maybe just get the 14-140 stock GH1 lens. It's slowish but if you light your interviews and scenes, that won't bother you too much. And outside it's fine. Plus it has very workable stabilisation.
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+1

Though I'm getting the Voightlander as well for your application I agree with Peter.

powervideo said:
I shot this home movie at a U2 gig on the 14-140mm and GH1 at 800 ASA last week. I forgot to turn the OIS on, so it's pretty wobbly, but it shows the lens can work in low light situations as well. You can slect 1080P in the drop-down menu.
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That looks great! Wow.
 
Johnf said:
Doc style eng projects for corporate clients
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Hmm, a cinema camera coupled with a cinema lens (which I believe are the two you mentioned) are pretty far from ideal for your intended use. At the very least you should use a more applicable lens such as the 14-140. Another camera such as an HPX/HVX would be much more suitable for the task; if your clients require tape media for archival purposes, or to work with the workflow they have in place, an AF100 is not even a realistic option.
 
I considered either 25/0.95 or the 14-35 and I decided to go with the 14-35 since it is fast enough and I don't have to get another lens when going wider than 25mm. Get hold of a used one and it's totally worth it.
I'm also looking at the 35-100 but I'm not convinced since it being a heavy lens.
 
My f/0.95 Voightlander just arrived. It feels really sweet and solid- beautiful action on the focus ring, really smooth and with a much longer rotation than autofocus lenses tend to have. Click stops on the aperture, so no subtle readjusting exposure during takes. The depth of field at f/0.95 is very slim, and the near focus distance is really impressive- almost into macro terriority. Optical quality looks nice from the few snapshots I've taken on my GF1. Looking forward to using this as a normal lens on the AF101 (and a see-in-the-dark one when needed).

Very positive first impression of the lens. I like primes!
 
Hywel said:
My f/0.95 Voightlander just arrived. It feels really sweet and solid- beautiful action on the focus ring, really smooth and with a much longer rotation than autofocus lenses tend to have. Click stops on the aperture, so no subtle readjusting exposure during takes. The depth of field at f/0.95 is very slim, and the near focus distance is really impressive- almost into macro terriority. Optical quality looks nice from the few snapshots I've taken on my GF1. Looking forward to using this as a normal lens on the AF101 (and a see-in-the-dark one when needed).

Very positive first impression of the lens. I like primes!
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Can it be declicked? I ordered one and didn't think about the aperture ring click. I declicked my Zeiss ZFs and hope this one can be too.
 
I'v been looking for a used 14-35 for a few weeks now with no luck, yesterday I looked on B&H and they a refurbished one for $1600. I decided to go with that over some of the other lenses I was thinking about. I purchased the 14-140 a few weeks ago as well. I'll try to use these lenses for most of my work for now until I hear more about the birger mount. When that comes out, I'd really like to get the 24-70 and possibly the 70-200 with IS.
 
mkfotos.com said:
Hmm, a cinema camera coupled with a cinema lens (which I believe are the two you mentioned) are pretty far from ideal for your intended use. At the very least you should use a more applicable lens such as the 14-140. Another camera such as an HPX/HVX would be much more suitable for the task; if your clients require tape media for archival purposes, or to work with the workflow they have in place, an AF100 is not even a realistic option.
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I'm aware of the camera's functionality and my own pedigree as an Emmy-winning photojournalist.
My question was about lenses...thank you.
 
I love it when someone tries to discourage another person about buying a product, based on a simple question. Totally unrelated. I am purchasing this camera and 60% of my work is weddings and performance events such as Magic, Music, and other entertainers. I know it isn't the ideal camera to shoot with, but I want to up my production value with a different look. It will require more skill and attention on my end, but I am more than up to the task!
 
Oh...The reason I went with the Oly, was because for the shooting I do, to zoom in and out a tad to change a shot, is easily worth the extra money for me instead of reframing and moving the camera. Just my opinion based on my individual style. Sure, I think the Vol would be so much fun to shoot with, but when it comes to paying gigs, I would rarely see myself using it.
 
Thanks Swan...I was thinking about the Vol for sit downs and then the 80-200 for broll. The added flexibility of the OLy does make sense.
 
Yeah John (I was one of those Emmy News Shooters too), and I agree. Further, the 14-140 on the Af100 is a significant step up from the HPX/HVX in virtually every way. I have the HVX200A, and have used it run and gun, and more formal production capacity. Even at f4-5.8, the low light capability of the Af100 and the 14-140 is going to make that lens very useful. Check out that GH1 video with that lens at the U2 concert at 800 ISO. It's quite acceptable. And I've seen the images with the Af100 and 14-140 on my plasma at 1080P, and compared to the noisy HVX, it's stunning, and holds up well against anything you see broadcast in HD. The only thing you won't have is servo zoom. But I never use the servo zoom in the HVX because it's horrible. I do a lot of manual zooming for my paying gigs because for the kind of work I do, they love the snap zooms and the raw look, if edited properly. It's a perfect combo for corporate work, and it's capable of shallow DOF if you set the shot properly. Look at the AF100 demo that was shot in Germany with the strange dance troop with ropes. (it's really weird) My understanding is that they shot all of it with the 14-140 on the AF100. It looks very much like very high quality 2/3" chip footage, with some DOF that looks better than you generally get with 2/3".

I've never shot a wedding, but for something like that, I think I'd want to have the very fast Oly zooms because that shallow DOF in weddings feels right. For my cine style shooting I will stay with primes, including the 25mm .95 that will hopefully show up in February.
 
Johnf said:
Thanks Swan...I was thinking about the Vol for sit downs and then the 80-200 for broll. The added flexibility of the OLy does make sense.
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I was going to get the 70-200 for b-roll as well, but then I thought to myself, how often do I actually zoom in a lot when I'm getting b-roll. Not as often as I thought. I think the Oly will serve most of my purposes well. At some point I will want IS in my lenses so I MAY get the birger mount and purchase some Canon glass, but I'm trying to figure out if the cost to have IS in some of my lenses will be worth the price. I guess I could go Nikon, but a big selling point was IS for me and that's why I wanted to go the Canon route. Decisions, decisions!
 
I'm in a similar boat. Trying to figure out which lens bus to get on. The canons are great due to versatility of use on other platforms. Plus birger just said their mount will be $700 and will support IS and even continuous autofocus on most canon ef L lenses. Then there is Olympus with great glass that has similar pricing to the high-end canon glass but no IS and without the platform flexibility, so oly seems a bit more limited. Any thoughts on this?
 
wbrock001 said:
I'm in a similar boat. Trying to figure out which lens bus to get on. The canons are great due to versatility of use on other platforms. Plus birger just said their mount will be $700 and will support IS and even continuous autofocus on most canon ef L lenses. Then there is Olympus with great glass that has similar pricing to the high-end canon glass but no IS and without the platform flexibility, so oly seems a bit more limited. Any thoughts on this?
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The reason I bought the 14-35 was because it's f/2.0 and will come in handy for lower light situations. I was going to go all Canons, but wanted something that will work like a variable prime. I'm still going to get a few canons for the IS though, and there are a few lenses from that line that look really nice still.

The more I thought about it, the more I think the Oly will get more use than I originally anticipated. F/2.0 will go a long way in my shooting!
 
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