Lens for Panasonic GH4.

Anthony McErlean · June 5th, 2015, 07:03 AM

So, (sorry) just to get this right.

This is the new one Noa was thinking of.

Panasonic 42.5mm F1.7 (£303)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lu...ic+42.5mm+F1.7

and the other is the Olympus 17.5mm 1.8 (£359 . was £300 first time I looked)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-M-ZU...8+Olympus+lens

Any preference.

Thank you again.

Noa Put · June 5th, 2015, 07:24 AM

Like I said before, depends on what you will be using the lens for, 17.5 and 42.5 mm are very different focal lengths. Do you have a zoomlens at this moment that covers 17 and 42mm? In such a case you can set it to those focal lengths to see how the field of view both lenses will give you will work for you.

Anthony McErlean · June 5th, 2015, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noa Put

Like I said before, depends on what you will be using the lens for, 17.5 and 42.5 mm are very different focal lengths.

OK, thanks again Noa.

Andreas Andreou · June 6th, 2015, 04:20 PM

I use the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 with OIS with our GH4.
its compact, light and the OIS is great when doing hand held.

It can be used fully manual but lacks focusing ring hard stops.

We have set picture profiles on the GH4 to shoot with Sony F3, EX3 and PMW350, all with IR filters and when all camera are correctly white balanced we get great matching pictures. Although the panasonic lens is a bit slow in comparison to the other cameras lenses, we usually tweek the luminance of the GH4 footage in post.

I have also used PL prime lenses, for certain static T/pod shots, which give fantastic image and bokeh, but shooting moving subjects at f1.9 with primes give you a very limited in-focus area. And they are bigger and heavier than the micro four thirds native lens. These are very difficult lenses to use hand held especially if your shooting video

I have also experimented with old 24m 50m 110mm canon FD (35mm) lenses which i have had since 1986 with MTF adapter, and get great results, but these do not have image stabilization.

Having used a variety of lenses, for the type of work we do, I prefer the panasonic lens.

Noa's mentions some other good lens options.

Check out Sol's web site below, for details on other GH4 lens option.

4 Reasons Zoom Lenses are Awesome for the Panasonic GH4

Andy

Anthony McErlean · June 7th, 2015, 03:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andreas Andreou

I use the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 with OIS with our GH4.
its compact, light and the OIS is great when doing hand held.

Would you use auto focus much with this lens Andy?

Thank you for all that info and the link was very informative, a great help.

Thanks.

Andreas Andreou · June 7th, 2015, 04:17 AM

Hi Anthony

I never use auto anything, I always shoot manual focus and manual exposure.

Although the camera does have a number of focus assisting buttons which I personally don't use, but what is a great help for me in the type of work I do is focus peaking. I use it every time.
The intensity of the edge peaking and colour can be customised in the menu to suit your shoot.

Check out Dave Dugdale's web site, he does a great tutorial on shooting video with the GH4, informative, to the point and will save you hours in menu surfing.

If you're shooting on t/pod, the sigma 12-35mm f1.9 without image stabilisation is worth considering.

Body only price emailed to you earlier

Andy

Anthony McErlean · June 7th, 2015, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andreas Andreou

Hi Anthony

I never use auto anything, I always shoot manual focus and manual exposure.

Although the camera does have a number of focus assisting buttons which I personally don't use, but what is a great help for me in the type of work I do is focus peaking. I use it every time.
The intensity of the edge peaking and colour can be customised in the menu to suit your shoot.

Check out Dave Dugdale's web site, he does a great tutorial on shooting video with the GH4, informative, to the point and will save you hours in menu surfing.

If you're shooting on t/pod, the sigma 12-35mm f1.9 without image stabilisation is worth considering.

Body only price emailed to you earlier

Andy

Thank you again Andy.

Anthony McErlean · June 9th, 2015, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony McErlean

So, down to these two lens.

17.5mm 1.8 Olympus. Ian used this one in the link he provided in another post a few days ago.

Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 17mm 1:1.8 Lens - Black: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

and this one a few of you recommended.

LUMIX G X VARIO 12-35mm/F2.8

Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO 12-35mm/F2.8 ASPH.: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo

I suppose you cant got wrong with these two :) ?

As you know, the zoom lens speed on the RX10 is very slow.
Those two lenses, would the zoom on them be as fast as a video camera?
I like to zoom in, adjust focus and them come out to frame the shot, it only takes a few seconds with my .pmw320.

Pete Carney · June 10th, 2015, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony McErlean

Panasonic 42.5mm F1.7 (£303)
<snip>
and the other is the Olympus 17.5mm 1.8 (£359 . was £300 first time I looked)

These are the two lenses I use most often. You need to have both. This brings us back to my very first post here, a wide and a portrait lens that are fast enough f-stop to work in lower light are essential IMHO. Again, just my opinion, but f/2.8 is not fast enough and makes for a sterile image.

I suggested the 12mm f/2 instead of the 17mm f/1.8 because it allows you to get those wider landscape type views. I wish I had bought the 12mm first instead of the 17mm. The 17mm is a bit too standard of a view and kind of boring to me when shooting in 4K. The 42.5mm will give you the beautiful portrait and close up images you need. With a 12mm and 42.5mm you have everything you need and lack almost nothing.

The beauty of filming in 4K is that you can then crop in to get additional fields of view for your final 1080 output.

Anthony McErlean · June 10th, 2015, 05:23 PM

Thanks Pete

Patrick Janka · June 11th, 2015, 06:55 AM

Shooting on primes with a shallow depth of field is great if every shot is precomposed/staged. If you intend to shoot live events then having moving subjects constantly going in and out of focus and not being able to re-frame shots from one position with a zoom will be a huge bear with those other lenses. To maximize the things you can shoot the 12-35 can't be beat. You can get a shallow dof with it by separating foreground and background elements, zooming in/getting up close, etc. If you need a longer range, engage ETC. Have a manual prime for the lower f stop and manual focus barrel. Perhaps a Canon FDn 50mm f/1.4 for $100.

Patrick Janka · June 11th, 2015, 06:57 AM

Also, autofocus and IS are invaluable for live event shooting. You can always turn those off, but you can't turn them on if they don't exist.

Anthony McErlean · June 11th, 2015, 11:28 AM

Thank you Patrick for that advice, much appreciated.

Thinking ahead :)

What screw on filter would advise for this lens?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ilpage_o00_s00

Its just I wouldn't want to get the lens scratched.

From reading these forums, I see a lot of don't bother with filters.

As usual, thanks in advance.

Patrick Janka · June 11th, 2015, 06:46 PM

If you're shooting in a dusty/dirty/damp environment, or into the sun, a UV filter is what you're looking for. To minimize reflections in glass/water and to bring back richness in the sky, a polarizing filter is good. To maintain shallow depth of field while maintaining low f stop and 180 degree shutter in bright environments, get a variable ND. Those are the three main ones to get. A lot of people will jack their shutter sky high to maintain shallow dof, but it makes the image strobe-y. When you're shooting live events where every second counts, a lot of people don't fiddle with filters. It all comes down to what you're shooting. When you have plenty of time in a controlled environment then yeah, change lenses, change filters, etc.

Steven Shea · June 13th, 2015, 02:29 AM

I shoot alot of weddings and currently use 3 lenses for the GH2

20 f1.7
14-42 3.5-5.6
nikon AI 50 1.8

12-35 is great in some ways, but I've been in plenty of venues where f1.7 is barely enough. 2.8 would be too slow for sure. I would say a fast prime <25mm is pretty critical.

I also think 35 @ 2.8 is too short and slow for a lot of beauty shots. Canon FD and Nikon AI lenses are cheap, especially the fast 50s.

To me the 12-35 is sort of good but not quite in a lot of ways. Still, I'd love to add it in if I could afford, I would just consider a faster wider lens and longer lens to be more important.

June 5th, 2015, 07:03 AM	#31
Anthony McErlean Trustee Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 1,082	Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4. So, (sorry) just to get this right. This is the new one Noa was thinking of. Panasonic 42.5mm F1.7 (£303) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lu...ic+42.5mm+F1.7 and the other is the Olympus 17.5mm 1.8 (£359 . was £300 first time I looked) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-M-ZU...8+Olympus+lens Any preference. Thank you again.

June 5th, 2015, 07:24 AM	#32
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4. Like I said before, depends on what you will be using the lens for, 17.5 and 42.5 mm are very different focal lengths. Do you have a zoomlens at this moment that covers 17 and 42mm? In such a case you can set it to those focal lengths to see how the field of view both lenses will give you will work for you.

June 6th, 2015, 04:20 PM	#34
Andreas Andreou Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Athens, Greece and London UK Posts: 52	Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4. I use the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 with OIS with our GH4. its compact, light and the OIS is great when doing hand held. It can be used fully manual but lacks focusing ring hard stops. We have set picture profiles on the GH4 to shoot with Sony F3, EX3 and PMW350, all with IR filters and when all camera are correctly white balanced we get great matching pictures. Although the panasonic lens is a bit slow in comparison to the other cameras lenses, we usually tweek the luminance of the GH4 footage in post. I have also used PL prime lenses, for certain static T/pod shots, which give fantastic image and bokeh, but shooting moving subjects at f1.9 with primes give you a very limited in-focus area. And they are bigger and heavier than the micro four thirds native lens. These are very difficult lenses to use hand held especially if your shooting video I have also experimented with old 24m 50m 110mm canon FD (35mm) lenses which i have had since 1986 with MTF adapter, and get great results, but these do not have image stabilization. Having used a variety of lenses, for the type of work we do, I prefer the panasonic lens. Noa's mentions some other good lens options. Check out Sol's web site below, for details on other GH4 lens option. 4 Reasons Zoom Lenses are Awesome for the Panasonic GH4 Andy

June 7th, 2015, 04:17 AM	#36
Andreas Andreou Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Athens, Greece and London UK Posts: 52	Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4. Hi Anthony I never use auto anything, I always shoot manual focus and manual exposure. Although the camera does have a number of focus assisting buttons which I personally don't use, but what is a great help for me in the type of work I do is focus peaking. I use it every time. The intensity of the edge peaking and colour can be customised in the menu to suit your shoot. Check out Dave Dugdale's web site, he does a great tutorial on shooting video with the GH4, informative, to the point and will save you hours in menu surfing. If you're shooting on t/pod, the sigma 12-35mm f1.9 without image stabilisation is worth considering. Body only price emailed to you earlier Andy

June 10th, 2015, 05:23 PM	#40
Anthony McErlean Trustee Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 1,082	Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4. Thanks Pete

June 11th, 2015, 06:55 AM	#41
Patrick Janka Major Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 623	Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4. Shooting on primes with a shallow depth of field is great if every shot is precomposed/staged. If you intend to shoot live events then having moving subjects constantly going in and out of focus and not being able to re-frame shots from one position with a zoom will be a huge bear with those other lenses. To maximize the things you can shoot the 12-35 can't be beat. You can get a shallow dof with it by separating foreground and background elements, zooming in/getting up close, etc. If you need a longer range, engage ETC. Have a manual prime for the lower f stop and manual focus barrel. Perhaps a Canon FDn 50mm f/1.4 for $100.

June 11th, 2015, 06:57 AM	#42
Patrick Janka Major Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 623	Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4. Also, autofocus and IS are invaluable for live event shooting. You can always turn those off, but you can't turn them on if they don't exist.

June 11th, 2015, 11:28 AM	#43
Anthony McErlean Trustee Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 1,082	Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4. Thank you Patrick for that advice, much appreciated. Thinking ahead :) What screw on filter would advise for this lens? http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ilpage_o00_s00 Its just I wouldn't want to get the lens scratched. From reading these forums, I see a lot of don't bother with filters. As usual, thanks in advance.

June 11th, 2015, 06:46 PM	#44
Patrick Janka Major Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 623	Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4. If you're shooting in a dusty/dirty/damp environment, or into the sun, a UV filter is what you're looking for. To minimize reflections in glass/water and to bring back richness in the sky, a polarizing filter is good. To maintain shallow depth of field while maintaining low f stop and 180 degree shutter in bright environments, get a variable ND. Those are the three main ones to get. A lot of people will jack their shutter sky high to maintain shallow dof, but it makes the image strobe-y. When you're shooting live events where every second counts, a lot of people don't fiddle with filters. It all comes down to what you're shooting. When you have plenty of time in a controlled environment then yeah, change lenses, change filters, etc.

June 13th, 2015, 02:29 AM	#45
Steven Shea Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 58	Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4. I shoot alot of weddings and currently use 3 lenses for the GH2 20 f1.7 14-42 3.5-5.6 nikon AI 50 1.8 12-35 is great in some ways, but I've been in plenty of venues where f1.7 is barely enough. 2.8 would be too slow for sure. I would say a fast prime <25mm is pretty critical. I also think 35 @ 2.8 is too short and slow for a lot of beauty shots. Canon FD and Nikon AI lenses are cheap, especially the fast 50s. To me the 12-35 is sort of good but not quite in a lot of ways. Still, I'd love to add it in if I could afford, I would just consider a faster wider lens and longer lens to be more important.