Workhorse lenses

John Foundas

John Foundas

Well-known member
Will these lenses utilize the af 100's auto focus function.?
Can the aperture be controlled from the cam (dial/wheel)?

Olympus Zuiko Digital Zoom lens - 14 mm - 35 mm - F/2.0 - Four Thirds

Olympus ED 90-250mm f2.8 Pro Grade Zuiko Digital SuperTelephoto Zoom Lens, 180-500mm 35mm Equivalent

Any other suggestions would be welcome.
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I had an Olympus 12-60 4/3 lens in the house for a couple of days and I mounted it with a Panny 4/3 to M4/3 adapter on my GF 1.

No auto focus function though I was able to apparently control the iris. I returned it due to lack of auto focus, so I think there needs to be some more research done about these olympus lenses.

It should have worked...
 
The workhorses will be the 14-140 and the 20/1.7.
If you need faster you might start with the Olympus 14-35/2 (costs 2.000 I believe).
 
I have the 14-140 and while it might fill a gap- its not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. I recently got a M4/3 to PL adapter and that opens up some interesting possibilities. Tried the adapter on the GF with some old school 35mm MP lenses and you know it wasn't bad....
 
This page will tell you which lenses have what capabilities with the GH2 and should be the same for the AF100. The adapter to use with the 4/3 lenses is the DMW-MA1. Note that the compatibility with some features (notably AFS) has increased over the GH1.

Barry has indicated that the PUSH AUTO works for single focus with the 14-35 f/2.0. I'm guessing the same would be true for any lens listed in the tables as AFS compatible, but that remains to be seen for sure.

http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/connect/gh2.html
 
Joe Lawry said:
why not the 25mm 1.4?
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Both AFS and aperture control work with my Leica 25mm 1.4 on the GH1 using the DMW-MA1. The AFS even works while recording. The advantage of the 20mm 1.7 would be autofocus and being much lighter and smaller. However, the 25mm 1.4 is a really sweet lens with beautiful bokeh. I don't own, but have constant access to the 20mm 1.7, and normally choose the 25mm over it.
 
Johnf said:
Will these lenses utilize the af 100's auto focus function.?
Can the aperture be controlled from the cam (dial/wheel)?

Olympus Zuiko Digital Zoom lens - 14 mm - 35 mm - F/2.0 - Four Thirds

Olympus ED 90-250mm f2.8 Pro Grade Zuiko Digital SuperTelephoto Zoom Lens, 180-500mm 35mm Equivalent

Any other suggestions would be welcome.
*
Click to expand...
Yes the iris will be controllable from the cam's wheel. You can access autofocus from the "push auto" button, but not continuous autofocus at all times, only when pushing down the button. A lens would have to be specifically designed for video-style autofocus in order for it to work with the continuous-autofocus option on the camera.
 
Mark Smith said:
No auto focus function though I was able to apparently control the iris. I returned it due to lack of auto focus, so I think there needs to be some more research done about these olympus lenses.

It should have worked...
Click to expand...
Olympus lenses, AFAIK, are designed to only autofocus when the shutter is held halfway down. And because of that, they won't work in autofocus-continuous mode, they're just not made for that.

On the AF100, the "push auto" is equivalent to holding the stills-camera's shutter down halfway.
 
tflak said:
This page will tell you which lenses have what capabilities with the GH2 and should be the same for the AF100. The adapter to use with the 4/3 lenses is the DMW-MA1. Note that the compatibility with some features (notably AFS) has increased over the GH1.

Barry has indicated that the PUSH AUTO works for single focus with the 14-35 f/2.0. I'm guessing the same would be true for any lens listed in the tables as AFS compatible, but that remains to be seen for sure.

http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/connect/gh2.html
Click to expand...
Looking at that chart, none of the Olympus Four Thirds lenses is listed as AFC compatible, but all are AFS compatible. That seems consistent with the few that I've tried. So "push auto" will work, but continuous auto won't.

Be aware that these lenses focus like stills lenses, so if you're looking for using them for a videocamera replacement, ... it's not gonna be that great.
 
Thanks a bunch.
I'm going to be shooting mostly doc- style ENG stuff for clients
I really don't want anything slower than 2.8, so the Pan 14-140 just won't due.

Barry,
I'm a news guy, so I shoot full manual quite often.
Having auto focus just as a reference will help me tremendously...thanks for the info.
Those Olympus lens are $$$ so I'm also looking at used.

Nikon Zoom Super Wide Angle AF-S Zoom Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D ED Lens
Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D Autofocus Lens

Thanks again
 
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im still confused as to why people want to use auto focus.. but anyway.. each to their own.

I like the idea of the 25 as it becomes a 50 1.4.. which as we know is a great focal length full frame.
 
Can't wait for my Voightlander 25mm f0.95 to arrive. I have a feeling this will be my main go to lens

On a side note I visited Duclos Lenses last week. They have a whole cinemod for slr lenses for $250 or if you just want focus gears that is $105 which is a pretty damn good deal.

I also saw their $3500 modified 11-16mm f2.8 which I'm
planning to rent the first time and if it is good will purchase. I compared this lens to the original Tonika and after looking at the cinemod I would never buy the slr version. The mod was that good.
 
Barry_Green said:
Olympus lenses, AFAIK, are designed to only autofocus when the shutter is held halfway down. And because of that, they won't work in autofocus-continuous mode, they're just not made for that.

On the AF100, the "push auto" is equivalent to holding the stills-camera's shutter down halfway.
Click to expand...

On the GF 1 I was boxed out of selecting any auto focus mode either AF C or AF S . Manual focus was the only option I had and doing a half press on the shutter did nothing for the focus function.
Lets keep in mind this is a GF 1 I am using as a test mule but the lens should have worked. THe Olympus lens is a still lens on a still camera after all... with a proper adapter.
 
I don't want to use auto focus much if at all, on an AF 100 but hey If I am paying nearly $1000 for a lens & adapter I want it all to work.... I have the GF 1 as a time lapse camera and I am thrilled at the possibility of there being some commonality lens wise between a video camera I 'll be using and a still camera I'll also be using...
 
Barry_Green said:
Be aware that these lenses focus like stills lenses, so if you're looking for using them for a videocamera replacement, ... it's not gonna be that great.
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I'm confused. Aren't these lenses being rolled out as great glass for the AF 100?
 
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Johnf said:
I'm confused. Aren't these lenses being rolled out as great glass for the AF 100?
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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.
 
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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Does anyone know how the manual focus ring is on the olympus 12-60?
 
the focus Ring does not have hard stops at either end though there is a bit of a bump to let you know you've reached far focus or near focus limits. You'd never want to pull focus with this lens on a shot as the the range is really skewed to the close focus side of things with the range between 3 feet and infinity being rather short.

I liked the lens as it had a desirable focal length range but the down side is that it really is a still photo lens in design and behavior.
 
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