Workhorse lenses

LoganMackay said:
Yes, great as long as you don't expect video camera-like autofocus. Still lenses and video lenses focus very differently and the only lens around that is even close to a video lens is the Panny 14-140.
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Thanks for the clarification.
I shoot full manual anyways.
 
swanny said:
Is there an adapter required to use the Olympus lenses with the AF100?
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Any lens that has a micro Four Thirds mount will work without an adapter. Any lens that has any mount other than micro Four Thirds, will need an adapter.

Olympus makes lenses in Four Thirds, and also in micro Four Thirds. Their 4/3 lenses would need an adapter, their m4/3 lenses wouldn't.
 
Barry_Green said:
Any lens that has a micro Four Thirds mount will work without an adapter. Any lens that has any mount other than micro Four Thirds, will need an adapter.

Olympus makes lenses in Four Thirds, and also in micro Four Thirds. Their 4/3 lenses would need an adapter, their m4/3 lenses wouldn't.
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Which adapter would I need? Sorry if this seems like a silly question.
 
If you buy a M4/3 Olympus lens, you do not need an adapter. If you have a 4/3 olympus lens, you will need a 4/3 to M4/3 adapter. Not too complicated.

swanny said:
Which adapter would I need? Sorry if this seems like a silly question.
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Right, I understand that you don't need one if it's a M4/3 lens. So there is nothing the camera needs to communicate to, along to the Olympus lenses? How are the Olympus lenses any different than the Canon lenses which need a Birger adapter, besides the IS? bgundu, you don't need to talk down to me. "not too complicated". It's responses like this that make people not want to ask the most simple of questions. I didn't jump onto the DSLR wagon. Sorry for not being as informed about this stuff as some you are, but after all, this is what the forums are for. To learn.
 
Sorry I did not mean to disrespect. Any lens can pretty much be adapted to work on a M4/3 system. As long as it covers the sensor size. Only Panasonic and Olympus have AF lenses for M4/3 at this point. Both Pana and Oly lenses will auto focus on the AF100 but the Olympus will only work like a still camera focus. The Pana can do continuos focus. Both Pana and Oly lenses can have the iris controlled through the camera. Olympus does not have any lens stabilization but some Panas do. The 14-140 Pana lens is the most Af100 friendly at this point for video AF focusing (but it is a little slow at f4.0-5.6). The Canon Birger adapter is something that I'm sure many people will be considering, but right now, the only advantage that the Oly and Pana lenses have over all the other manual lenses, is the ability to control Iris in camera.

Hope that helps.

swanny said:
Right, I understand that you don't need one if it's a M4/3 lens. So there is nothing the camera needs to communicate to, along to the Olympus lenses? How are the Olympus lenses any different than the Canon lenses which need a Birger adapter, besides the IS? bgundu, you don't need to talk down to me. "not too complicated". It's responses like this that make people not want to ask the most simple of questions. I didn't jump onto the DSLR wagon. Sorry for not being as informed about this stuff as some you are, but after all, this is what the forums are for. To learn.
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swanny said:
Right, I understand that you don't need one if it's a M4/3 lens. So there is nothing the camera needs to communicate to, along to the Olympus lenses? How are the Olympus lenses any different than the Canon lenses which need a Birger adapter, besides the IS?
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The 4/3 to m43 adapter is an electronic communicating adapter (like we hope the Birger will be). The Four Thirds lenses, when using that adapter, do communicate their focus, iris, and zoom positions, and autofocus and OIS functionality is enabled.
 
Barry_Green said:
The 4/3 to m43 adapter is an electronic communicating adapter (like we hope the Birger will be). The Four Thirds lenses, when using that adapter, do communicate their focus, iris, and zoom positions, and autofocus and OIS functionality is enabled.
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Thanks for the info Barry!
 
Barry_Green said:
The 4/3 to m43 adapter is an electronic communicating adapter (like we hope the Birger will be). The Four Thirds lenses, when using that adapter, do communicate their focus, iris, and zoom positions, and autofocus and OIS functionality is enabled.
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That's why I want to stay with my EF mount lenses and take advantage of all IS and aperture control. But that Voigtländer 25 sure is tempting :)
 
Steve Kahn said:
Just got an email today about these 3 m4/3 lenses

Pro-Optic 14mm f/2.8 4/3 for $395. That extremely inexpensive for a fast wide angle lens.
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Panasonic's already got that beat though; their new pancake is the same focal length (14mm), it's faster (f/2.5), and it's probably going to have a lower street price (MSRP is the same $395). Plus it's a native m43 lens so it offers the chromatic aberration compensation, iris control, and lens feedback to the camera.

I don't know anything about the Pro-Optic, but my experience with the 20mm f/1.7 would have me quite optimistic about the performance of the 14mm f/2.5. Emmanuel Pampuri actually bought one of the 14mm lenses in Japan, they were out there; I don't know if he's given any user impressions about it.
 
I have the Olympus 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mark II four-thirds zoom, and the Olympus 9-18mm f4-5.6 micro four-thirds:

http://asia.olympus-imaging.com/products/dslr/lenses/14-54_28-35ll/

http://asia.olympus-imaging.com/products/dslr/mlenses/9-18_40-56/

The 14-54mm requires the Panasonic or Olympic m43 adapter, making it sizeable but no problem to handhold. Auto-focus works well in AFS mode, and when framing a shot in manual mode, you can set Focus Assist magnification to pop up whenever you turn the lens' focus ring. For its $600 price, nothing else comes close to what this lens can deliver at 14mm and f2.8. I sold my Lumix 14-140mm kit lens to get the Oly 14-54mm and haven't regretted it once.

The 9-18mm comes in a native micro four-thirds mount and is remarkably light and compact, with 52mm filter threads. It has full auto-focus capability, and in addition to the 14-54mm's AFS and manual modes, the 9-18mm can also work in AFC mode, though its tracking is not very quick. It's a superb lens for daylight panoramas and the ability to frame your shot anywhere between 9-18mm makes it far more flexible than a prime lens.

Both of these lenses can auto-focus very sharply, and to my eyes have a look similar to the Lumix 20mm pancake lens. I like to use them with a 72mm Tiffen Black Diffusion FX3 filter to minimize edge aliasing.
 
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