GH2 Which lens would you recommend?

C

craigbuckley

Active member
Leica 25mm 1.4 vs Nokton Voigtlander 25mm .95?

The nokton is $500 more, and I am guessing not that much more sharp, but I here its very unique and cinematic, and I am worried the leica 25mm would be too sharp and not professional enough for a short film or tv series. Too soccer mom-ish.

I am open to other lenses, but between the two, which would you recommend?

(with GH2)
 
There's a new SLR Magic 25mm 0.95 due out in about a month that's *supposed* to be sharper than the Nokton. Check out 43rumors for the post on it with some sample shots. Priced around $600 at launch (I think).
 
craigbuckley said:
Leica 25mm 1.4 vs Nokton Voigtlander 25mm .95?

The nokton is $500 more, and I am guessing not that much more sharp, but I here its very unique and cinematic, and I am worried the leica 25mm would be too sharp and not professional enough for a short film or tv series. Too soccer mom-ish.

I am open to other lenses, but between the two, which would you recommend?

(with GH2)
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Rent the lenses and then make your decision if you cannot try them out before buying. Personally I like my Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 better than the Voightlander when comparing price vs quality. The Nokton is sharper, but the Rokinon is slightly soft and I love the wake it looks on peoples faces, imo the Nokton can be too sharp.

I will seriously be looking into the Slr Magic 25mm once it's released as it's supposed to be very good.

The Leica lens is sharper than the Nokton and has auto focus, very helpful for taking pictures. Personally though for recording digital film I need manual lenses.....
 
Take a look at the Sigma 30mm 1.4. If you want to do narrative work and need a look that isn't so artificially sharp, this lens is one of the best you can get for the price. Also take a look at the Zeiss 28mm 2.8, which is slower... but the glass is much superior to just about anything.
 
For most of my life I've been a "sharpness" nut. I worked as a professional photographer for 33 years and shooting for clients, lenses had to be sharp. One of my reasons for converting from Canon DSLRs to Panasonic GH2s was the stunning detail even in video that the Canons could not match.

In my studio business I often had to shoot "soft", I eventually bought the 150mm Soft Focus lens for the Mamiya RB 67 but prior to that I used Cokin diffusion filters to do soft interpretive portraits of women and to be truthful they worked as well as the 150mm SF lens. I even often used a very subtle amount of diffusion on men's portraits, I didn't tell them that but they and their womenfolk loved the way skin tones came alive.

So my decision (for the OP - and others reading this thread) was to go for the Panasonic/Leica DG Summilux 25mm f1.4 (and the Olympus M. Zuiko 45mm f1.8, both acclaimed for the degree of sharpness they bring to the image. Remembering, of course, that I can shoot "soft" anytime I want, but neither you nor I can ever take a "soft" lens and make it really sharp.

There's other diffusion filter options besides Cokin, the Tiffen Black Diffusion #3 really "knocks the sharp edge off" images shot with the Lumix 20mm f1.7 or the Pana/Leica 25mm but needs a little "tweak" in Brightness and Contrast to kick some life into skin tones, I'll be ordering the Tiffen Black Diffusion #1 for something a little more subtle.

But when I shoot a scene that shows and expansive vista full of detail, I want that sucker SHARP; when I have a weather beaten face on a strong character facing challenging odds, I want to show that guy SHARP.
 
I hear that about the sharpness bruce.


I did not know about the slr magic 25mm , that makes me very curious. I know it says February, but where can you pre order this lens or can you pre order this lens yet? Do you think it would be silly to be one of the first to order this lens?
 
I can assure you there's nothing "soccer mom-ish" about the PL25/1.4. I use it on professional shoots all the time.

If you need an extra stop of speed and repeatable focus pulling, go for the Voigtlander.
If you need auto capabilities and $500, choose the PanaLeica.
If you don't really need either, wait and see what SLRM might whip up.
 
I like it mcbob. I will take into consideration. Anyone know when the slr magic 25mm will be coming out? I know I heard sometime february but curious if there is more of a date.
 
So does anyone know anything else about the slr magic 25mm? That focal length is the weakest part of my FD set and it makes me curious.
 
You can always use touchscreen focusing. Works for me quite well, as a matter of fact touchscreen focusing allows a very easy "rack focus". Focus on the first subject then "touch" the second one. A couple of practice runs will help you get the timing down right.

I have "focus assist" enabled so when I set the camera to MF the magified assist kicks in almost just from touching the focusing ring. Yes, it's focus by wire but I don't let that get in the way.
 
Bruce Foreman said:
You can always use touchscreen focusing. Works for me quite well, as a matter of fact touchscreen focusing allows a very easy "rack focus". Focus on the first subject then "touch" the second one. A couple of practice runs will help you get the timing down right.

I have "focus assist" enabled so when I set the camera to MF the magified assist kicks in almost just from touching the focusing ring. Yes, it's focus by wire but I don't let that get in the way.
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Touching the screen does work, better on the GH3 than GH2 since the GH3 doesn't require as much (or any) kind of force. But sometimes touching the screen isn't an optiong (like when using the viewfinder).

And the focus assist doesn't work while recording.... I wish it did, especially on the GH3 with the windowed focus assist mode!

Small gripes about a great system really.
 
MBPRODUCTS said:
20mm 1.7 panasonic. I find this lens to be my most used lens
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I wouldn't recommend this unless you're shooting a really intimate scene. The depth of field is so small, one tiny movement and you'll have to reset your focus. It looks great in the right scenarios but it can be a pain if you're on the move.
 
Movie_Dude_3 said:
I wouldn't recommend this unless you're shooting a really intimate scene. The depth of field is so small, one tiny movement and you'll have to reset your focus. It looks great in the right scenarios but it can be a pain if you're on the move.
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20mm is not a good focal length for an intimate scene..... Also as stated all you need to do is stop your lens down if you want more of your shot in focus. Now to answer the Op I personally love 25mm-35mm range for medium shots.

Telephoto shots I would use 85mm -105mm

For wides I like 12mm or less.

I do not like 16-20mm focal length, boring in my opinion and look to normal. 20mm is not wide not tight, just looks odd.

The voigtlander 25mm is a beautiful lens, pair that with a nice 50mm and 85 and you can basically shoot anything film wise.
 
I had the 20mm pancake and it didn't have the feel that I wanted, and the focus was too hard. The nokton's and new slr 25mm make me curious, but would something around the 17.5mm range be better for the gh2 sensor?
 
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