The µ43 thread - welcome to the really dark side

I just checked the only thing you lose with choosing the Olympus over the Panasonic is the slightly faster DFD autofocus (which isn't that important to you anyway) and it being f1.8 rather than f1.7 (not noticeable). The Oly is probably slightly better in terms of quality at a guess looking at reviews - not sure if it comes with a lens hood though, normally they're not included.

I wouldn't think there was much in it, especially for your use.
 
Hi,

I am off on holiday to Santorini in a couple of weeks and need a new lens for it!

I have EM-5 mkII and the DIGITAL ED 60mm 1:2.8 MACRO lens, as well as two pany kit lenses, the 14-45 and 45-150mm, both of which I got with my old G5 and both of which are a little soft.

What lens would you recommend for this trip. I was thinking either the 25mm oly or pany or the 45mm Oly, but would a decent zoom lens suit me better? I have around £500 to spend and don't mind considering second hand.

Thanks for any advice,

Matt
 
My opinion but I am biased as I own one..

Would be to sell the 14-45 kit lens and replace it with the 12-40 f2.8 pro lens, it really covers everything you need on a holiday, 12mm is wide enough for everyday shots and 40mm enough to zoom for detail if needed. In real terms the quality of glass between the kit and pro lens is surely significant?

You're obviously covered from 45-150mm for any wildlife or further afield shots so why the need for primes with faster apertures unless you plan on doing lots of indoor shooting or night shooting? You can't really upgrade the longer reach lens unless you have £800-900 and its big, really big the 40-150mm olympus f2.8 and heavy! But also sensational in its own right, i used it for a trip to Belgium which I really must post photos off!!

I imagine during the day light inst going to be an issue so fast aperture inst quite so important, but at night it will be. However bump up the iso and you should still be able to get useable shots from the 12-40mm at f2.8.

It seems more logical to get a better performing all round lens than a fixed focal length lens whilst it will attain better depth of field, especially the 25mm F1.8 but are you really going to need that when you're shooting street shots and buildings etc whilst on holiday? I cant imagine anything worse than having to stop, get someone to hold your bag whilst you thumble with not dropping lens on a busy street!

I got some really good shots of the 12-40mm whilst on holiday in croatia, I do also own the 25mm F1.8 which I also had some fun with at night when in Dubrovnik, it takes really good shots and the focal length of 50mm equivalent does something special, cant explain what but it just does hehe!

So overall i'd definitely recommend a good kit zoom, i.e. the oly 12-40mm, and coupled with your mk2 you'll have full weather sealing!

Oohhhh, also polariser polariser polariser!! Must get one of these for water/landscapes etc in mid day sun and it helps with reflections , also helps bring out the colours better.

What does everyone else think?

Sample pics below, all ripped from facebook so have lost some detail.

12-40 lowish light in backstreets
s14rkas.jpg
12-40 up close on damsel fly
yJ3M72Y.jpg
12-40 low light underground @ iso 1600 and 1/8s @2.8
dJMa88C.jpg
12-40 thru polarising filter on lakes
RfiJbfd.jpg
12-40 up close again with decent bookeh and dof
upFquUH.jpg
12-40 scenary shot in afternoon light f11
0YkB5ny.jpg
12-40 full bright light of mid day sun
7vAAOmL.jpg
12-40 on full 40mm zoom on a long landscape shot , this is also cropped by about half
aKJJVZz.jpg
12-40 landscape again, green is always quite hard to shoot but with a bit of adjustment in light room has come out well
rJJBaxJ.jpg
25mm f1.8 1/8th second @ iso 1600, love the night time shots the 25mm produces, natural looking with warm inviting lights
HRCFSZe.jpg
 
Thanks for the great post, really appreciate it.

I was actually heading towards the Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO after doing a lot more reading. And a ploarising filter! Although annoyingly the filter thread on that and the 60mm macro are different sizes. Will get it for the 12-40 i think as that will get much more use.
 
Primes are good , really good Infact as they draw on the fact that they're made for a specific task in mind , ie street photography , portraits or macro images but when you weigh this up against real world usage a good zoom lens offers convenience without sacrificing too much quality.

I hired a the 12mm f2.0 Olympus lens last weekend in the hope of doing some astrophotography in the Lake District , trust my luck it was nowt but over cast clouds for the entire time . I still had the lens but felt like I wasn't going to get the best from it so kept the 12-40 on , I was also umming and arring over keeping the 40-150 on constantly as I did a lot of walking and was desperately trying to spot a red squirrel which unfortunately never happened either :( I did however get spectacularly lost which in a way made up for it haha!

My point is that whilst primes are great if you have a specific task in mind and don't mind switching over and have time to spare , but if you're travelling around versatility and ease of use wins every time. Obviously if money is no object then invest, my choices would be the 7-14 for extra wide angle and then 40-150mm f2.8 for crystal clear mid zoom range !
 
Money is definitely an object, unfortunately.

I have opted for the 12-40 Olympus pro lens. Think this will give me the best coverage for the lovely Greek streets in Santorini as well as the sea vistas when using it at the bottom end. Seems to have got good reviews too. Will also get a polarising filter for it, as advised.

I will probably take the macro 60mm and 45-150 pany kit lens as well because isn't that the point of 4/3rds anyway :)
 
I've spent 2 weeks on holiday with my GX80 and it's been fantastic

Much better than my G6 and not missing the EVF

Be interested to see what the quality of the photos and videos are as taken over 100 gig !

Very nice not to have to worry about shutter shock with my 14-140 II which seems to be so much sharper with this GX80 I think a combo of the new shutter and extra in - body IS :)

Once I'd found monochrome live view and focus peaking manual focus has been a breeze
 
L.monochrome on the GX80 is really good

P1000088-X2.jpg
 
Anyone on here have the Samyang 12mm f2? Tempted to grab one in the next few days before a trip to Amsterdam. I already have a 12-50mm f3.5 Olympus, which if a fantastic lens, but I'd like something faster for night time!
 
UV, did you end up getting the Samyang lens?

Anyone got any fancy new glass and are there any exciting new lens on the horizon for the micro four thirds platform?
 
Did a bit of reading up on the oly 25mm f1.2...

Seems going by previous prices, like the 12mm F2.0 at release was about £800 that the 1.2 will be around the £1k mark...

Which puts it firmly out of position for me ha! But in time it will obvioulsy come down, then it'll be cheaper from over seas etc, quality comes at a price :eek:
 
Hehe, you do indeed pay for good glass! Irrespective of the format. I have to say it really pays off in the long run, for a few reasons.

1) If you sell you usually make a lot of your money back, which lowers overall depreciation.

2) You get a higher hit rate and consistency of quality with better glass (generally speaking)

3) Dem braggin rights innit?

I laid out a lot of the Olympus PRO lenses I have and I am really glad I did. Not that I need to justify spending on glass to any of you lot :D
 
daelo said:
Did a bit of reading up on the oly 25mm f1.2...

Seems going by previous prices, like the 12mm F2.0 at release was about £800 that the 1.2 will be around the £1k mark...

Which puts it firmly out of position for me ha! But in time it will obvioulsy come down, then it'll be cheaper from over seas etc, quality comes at a price :eek:
Click to expand...

It'd have to be really special to justify 3 times the price of the PL 25mm 1.4 to be honest.
 
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