The µ43 thread - welcome to the really dark side

[Terminal_Boy]

Yeah I want to do more nature photography of things that will move away if I get too close and I'm using a G80

Hail fellow G80 owner!

A MK1 100-300mm would be a good way to get into long-range nature photography without breaking the bank. When I used mine with a G7, I found AFS with a small single AF box got the best focus performance.

 

[Minusorange]

Thanks I'll keep my eyes peeled for a good deal on one, as well as a 75mm prime

 

[ChrisD.]

Hi all, I sold my 5D Mk3 and some L lenses a few years ago as they barely got used. I've got to the stage where I'm wanting another camera for holidays etc as my iPhone just doesn't really cut it. I don't want another full frame or crop body, I fancy something smaller. The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II Compact System Camera - 14-42 EZ Lens + 40-150 mm R, Black can be had on Amazon for £479, is this a good buy now? I understand I'll probably need a grip for it but other than that for something out of the box I think it's small and light plus will do much better than a smartphone. Thoughts?

Very happy with it so far. Workflow is stupidly easy for someone like me who doesn't spend much time processing images, which became a chore with the full frame. Now I take some pics, import to iPhone via wifi and quickly edit/crop etc with the in built edit function. Then export to whereever.





Far above the quality I ever need and nice and light, compact and easy to use. Very happy I bought it.

 

[AndyCr15]

Hi all, yesterday I received my Lumix GH5 having been a long time Canon DSLR user, most recently with a 760D.

I'm not a huge photographer, just as a bit of a hobby from time to time, usually at sporting events or maybe a car or bike show. I changed as I will use it more for shooting video for my YouTube channel, which is mainly me sat in front of my PC reviewing tech.

I actually have a bit of an obsession with great sound and have just seen a video with the Rode Videomic Pro, the Pro Plus and the SENNHEISER AVX-MKE2. Wow, the Sennheiser lavier mic sounds amazing... but at £700+ and I hardly ever need a lav mic, I wont buy one... but for some reason I really want to! It could probably replace my Rode NT1 actually. I guess I could get the non wireless version. Anyway, mics are probably for a different thread (is there one?)

I got my GH5 with a Lumix 12-60mm lens boxed, which seems to suit my needs at the moment, but I would like a zoom lens for sporting events (like NFL at Wembley or the MotoGP). Is there are standard go to lens for this type of thing?

**EDIT** I have a Canon EFS 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. Am I best off just getting a converter ring for that, or selling it and getting a 'native' lens?

 

[Terminal_Boy]

I’m guess that Panasonic’s 14-140mm f3.5-5.6 might be the nearest native MFT lens to your Canon zoom. It’s a great daylight travel zoom, but I never used the one I had for sports, so I’ve no idea if the AF performance on a GH5 will match that of your Canon setup.

Be aware that there are 3 versions of this lens:

The original 2010 f4-f5.8 version which is considerably larger than the later versions and not as good.

The first f3.5-f5.6 version which has excellent IQ for a relatively compact 10x zoom lens.

The recent MK2 version of the f3.5-f5.6 that is weather sealed and supports Panasonic’s Dual IS 2 technology.

 

[AndyCr15]

Thanks. So this one or this one? How do I know which version it is? Also, I guess my question was, do I benefit from buying the actual Micro Four Thirds version, or should I just get an adaptor?

The m43 one looks smaller and lighter, which would be one big benefit.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

The first one you linked. Has a “II” in the lens name. Part number is H-FSA14140E.

The advantage of the native lens is that, as well as being more compact, there’s lots of software corrections going on for CA etc. Being an all Panasonic show, the GH5 will have the firmware to get the best out of the 14-140.

I do strongly advise that you await advice from people on here who’ve used Canon lenses on MFT bodies and possibly pose your question on DPR’s MFT forum.

 

[EGuitarStar]

@AndyCr15 where possible use native lenses to get the best from the autofocus and image quality. Adapting lenses is a good options if you have a very good quality, expensive lens that covers a need where the M43 does not meet.

I've not adapted lenses as all mine are native to the system but I know others have especially for video use. I'm talking about pro/semi pro videos.

 

[Minusorange]

**EDIT** I have a Canon EFS 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. Am I best off just getting a converter ring for that, or selling it and getting a 'native' lens?

I think it's better to use the lenses you already have to see if they work for you before buying new lenses to replace what you already have, adapter is around £20 so not going to break the bank, your 18-200 will be turned into a 36-400 on the GH5 due to sensor crop factor if you use a standard adapter

I enjoy using my FD lenses on my G80, I wouldn't go out and buy new non native lenses but if you've already got them, may as well use them instead of buying new glass

 

[AndyCr15]

Any tips on how fast a memory card needs to be for the GH5 to be recording 4k @ 60fps? I only ask due to the pretty huge price hike going from 170MB/s to 300MB/s...

 

[EGuitarStar]

@AndyCr15 have a look at this site, it may have the answer you seek. https://www.capetowntours.photography/best-memory-cards-panasonic-gh5/

 

[AndyCr15]

Awesome, thanks. It looks like 170MB/s should be fine then.

 

[AndyCr15]

Sorry for posting this in two threads, but I don't know if many are watching the mic thread...

Can anyone assist. I've bought a Senneiser MKE2 on eBay and it's not recognised by my GH5 -

The reply from the seller is -

I’m not overly familiar with cameras but what is likely is that it is not providing the appropriate power voltage to the mic.
This is usually very low, I think the mke2 is around 7.5v. Note this is not 48v phantom power which equipment often provides - could blow the mic!

You can buy in line battery units for this kind of thing that work. Or if your camera has XLR/ phantom power you can buy small plugs that convert phantom power to the correct voltage level.
Either way you will need something that is designed to handle lavalier mics - another option is a wireless microphone system like the Sennheiser ew100.
Do feel free to ask further questions.

Does anyone know if that's correct? If so, what should I buy? I've tried googling and I'm getting a lot of unrelated items.

 

[Minusorange]

He's telling the truth, you've bought a wireless Mic which needs a transmitter (also acts as preamp to power the mic) and receiver like the kit below

https://en-us.sennheiser.com/camera-wireless-lavalier-microphone-system-set-avx-mke2

Did you just search for the most expensive lavalier mic you could find and think it would work on its own ?

You need to look for a battery powered preamp OR a wireless transmitter & receiver kit like this -https://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/Sennheiser-XSW-1-ME2-Lavalier-Mic-Set-E-Band/1SVV (not sure on this specifically as I haven't looked at specs, but it does need phantom power)

 

[AndyCr15]

Did you just search for the most expensive lavalier mic you could find and think it would work on its own ?

No, the mic only cost £120, which I didn't think was a bad price. I watched a few reviews, none of them mentioned they needed power. I've used several lav mics now (obviously not in this price range) and none have needed power. I figured with a 3.5mm and coming with no mention of other kit needed it would plug and play. I simply didn't know that would be the case as no-one has mentioned it anywhere.... My review will include this information!

I've got a transmitter from the same guy at a reasonable price, so will get to have a play with it tomorrow now.

 

[Minusorange]

Fair enough, always check the specs though

 

[Minusorange]

What size lens would be good for taking photos of aircraft at say an air show ?

Choices of lens I have are a 20mm f1.7, 24mm f2.5, 25mm f1.8, 12-60mm f3.5, or a 135mm f3.5

 

[Terminal_Boy]

What size lens would be good for taking photos of aircraft at say an air show ?

Choices of lens I have are a 20mm f1.7, 24mm f2.5, 25mm f1.8, 12-60mm f3.5, or a 135mm f3.5

Stationary? If you can walk right up to them, I’d go with the 20mm. If they're fenced off a few metres away, the 12-60mm might be long enough.

 

[Minstadave]

What size lens would be good for taking photos of aircraft at say an air show ?

Choices of lens I have are a 20mm f1.7, 24mm f2.5, 25mm f1.8, 12-60mm f3.5, or a 135mm f3.5

All depends on how close you can get.

 

[Minusorange]

Stationary? If you can walk right up to them, I’d go with the 20mm. If they're fenced off a few metres away, the 12-60mm might be long enough.

All depends on how close you can get.

In flight probably a few hundred feet away