GH4 which lens should i get if new to GH4 and dslr's?

G

gaddster

Active member
Hi All

I have been using ac90, m900 and hero 3's for some small corporate work over the last few years.. Im ready to jump in and buy a GH4 but realise its a big step from what I am used to. Im ready for the change though..

I can either buy the unit alone or with a 40-140mm lens.. can anyone suggest what would be best to start out with (doing some indoor interviews, some basic outdoor work and weddings and no sports action stuff)

Thanks
 
gaddster said:
Hi All

I have been using ac90, m900 and hero 3's for some small corporate work over the last few years.. Im ready to jump in and buy a GH4 but realise its a big step from what I am used to. Im ready for the change though..

I can either buy the unit alone or with a 40-140mm lens.. can anyone suggest what would be best to start out with (doing some indoor interviews, some basic outdoor work and weddings and no sports action stuff)

Thanks
Click to expand...

If you want to be decent in low light situations when you can't setup lights, a metabones speedbooster will help a ton. The 14-140 kit lens leaves a lot to be desired in that department.

For native m43 lenses something like the 12-35mm f2.8 can cover a lot of ground. You don't really need too long of a lens if you don't do too much sports or wildlife. It's the go to zoom range of roughly 24-70mm full frame equivalent with a nice constant f2.8 aperture.
 
themac said:
If you want to be decent in low light situations when you can't setup lights, a metabones speedbooster will help a ton. The 14-140 kit lens leaves a lot to be desired in that department.

For native m43 lenses something like the 12-35mm f2.8 can cover a lot of ground. You don't really need too long of a lens if you don't do too much sports or wildlife. It's the go to zoom range of roughly 24-70mm full frame equivalent with a nice constant f2.8 aperture.
Click to expand...

thanks, I had to search youtube to educate myself a little further regarding 'a metabones speedbooster' .. its expensive but sounds all worth it..

My bank manager is going to hate me :)
 
You need to consider if you want the camera to communicate with the lens. Olympus and Panasonic m4/3 lenses will do this. The other lenses mentioned will not. Coming from a Panasonic HPX170 camcorder where I always used manual control out of habit then to the GH4, I found many of it's auto controls useful. My budget drove my lens selection which is listed in my signature.
 
Thanks Mark, you're right about the budget dictating what i can and cannot get.

Do i have to purchase any filters to start off with?
 
You'll definitely want ND filters of some kind. I'd recommend getting these all in the same size and fitting step rings to lenses that don't match that standard.
 
I covered all my lenses that I purchased this year for my GH4 with Hoya NXT HMC UV filters. Also, purchased a set of graduated Tiffen ND filters rather than the variable type. I am of the opinion that if you purchase a mid-price lens with decent quality a lens three times the price is not going to be three times better. That is unless you absolutely need a 1.8 aperture for low light situations then you have got to pay to play.
 
Mark Williams said:
I covered all my lenses that I purchased this year for my GH4 with Hoya NXT HMC UV filters. Also, purchased a set of graduated Tiffen ND filters rather than the variable type. I am of the opinion that if you purchase a mid-price lens with decent quality a lens three times the price is not going to be three times better. That is unless you absolutely need a 1.8 aperture for low light situations then you have got to pay to play.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mark, I'm just googling those filters as we speak
 
I'm new to DSLR/M cameras and I got a 12-35mm, and I shoot with that most of the time. Great all around lens. I have a 14mm prime, but I would much rather use the 12-35mm.
 
Given that you aren't needing sports/telephoto, I would suggest three options to consider depending on how low-light you need to be able to work in. (In an ideal world it would be nice to have the first, plus either the second or third).

1) Moderate light: Lumix 12-35mm f2.8 (stabilized, auto-focus)

2) Less light: Nikon-mount Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 plus NIK-mount Speedbooster plus cheap NIK-M4/3 adapter. This combination gives you effectively a 12-36mm f2.0, plus the option to extend out to 50mm at f2.8. Manual focus and no stabilization.

3) No light: Sigma 30mm f1.4, Rokinon 85mm f1.4 and Speedbooster (which adds effectively a 21mm f1.0 and a 60mm f1.0).

Longer term you might add a telephoto lens, but meanwhile the in-camera tele-extender function works well as long as you stick to moderate ISOs.
 
Thanks guys, this is really helping me understand what i will need and may need for the future.. The camera/lens will primarily be for video (interviews, small business promo's and some weddings) and I use lighting if needed.. However there has been occasions where low level light in a church or club has caused a problem so the speedbooster and sigma or Nikon lens would do a great job.

Im still trying to understand why lenses are so expensive, wow!
 
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