UKC

I have decided to get a Panasonic GH4 for photography and video. And yes I know that the GH5 comes out next year but I can't wait.

So, having never used a 4/3rd camera before, what lens options are there for me rather than getting a kit lens?

Also would a Barebones adapter be a wise purchase?


I'm thinking 2 lenses. A prime for video and a zoom for walk-around photos. Is that a silly idea?

In reply to The Lemming:

The speedbooster is rather popular with 4K filming.

That said 2 lenses might be a bit pushing it. Perhaps 2 primes for video and 2-3 lenses for stills.

If you got the dough, I've heard good things from the Oly Pro wideanglezoom.

In reply to HeMa:
I know fek all about four thirds. Can I get lenses from other companies without special adapters?

In reply to The Lemming:

Yes, any lens that is MFT will work. And If you happen to have Nikon or Canon lenses, Metabones Speedbooster would be peatchy.

In reply to The Lemming:


You could pick up an Olympus 12-50 power zoom (with macro) for about £90 used on eBay - weather sealed to complement the GH4, but you'd have no IS.

In reply to The Lemming:

do you really need 4K video?
imagine a m43 camera with class leading image stabilisation that can outperform FF cameras for static scenes..

In reply to The Lemming:

Pretty much only Panasonic and olympus make purpose built 4/3rds lenses. Other companies make lenses with 4/3rds mounts, but they're simply a lens designed for APS-C or full frame with a 4/3rds mount - they're bigger and heavier than purpose-built 4/3rds lenses. The Samyang 7.5mm fisheye is purpose-built 4/3rds.
I believe the oly kit zoom has power zoom, but most (if not all) their higher quality lenses are not power zoom.
If you don't want to powerzoom during a shot then you've plenty of choice which the review sites will help you with.

In reply to Toerag:


Also other Samyang lenses as well, mainly the T-series that are made for shooting vids.


Oh, and a good resource for to-be 4K video shooters.
http://www.4kshooters.net/

In reply to The Lemming:


Jon Griffith recommends the Olympus 9-18mm for landscape photography ( and those close up exaggerated perspective shots ) I don't have one myself but plan on getting one. I have a Samyang 12mm f2.0, which is great for night photography and portraits but the manual focus is awkward for using while on the move, eg while climbing.

I also have the Oly 45mm f1.8, which is great as a portrait lens, and the Oly 40-150mm zoom, which imho is a bit of a no-brainer.

In reply to planetmarshall:

I'm seriously thinking about getting a metabones Speed-booster as well, which should allow me to use any full-frame lens giving me the added bonus of an extra F Stop advertised on the side of the lens.


Are you pleased with going micro four thirds and mirrorless?

In reply to The Lemming:


My first digital camera was from the Canon G Series, I switched to M4/3 with the Olympus PEN and now the EM-10. I've never bothered with full frame - I don't really have a use for it.

In reply to planetmarshall:

May I ask if you only use native lenses or if you use full frame lenses as well on your camera?

Wondering if it is worth it getting an adapter to use full frame lenses with my new camera?

In reply to The Lemming:

The Metabones is highly popular with the 4K video crowds, I assume it's mostly because of a wider selection of lenses available (and perhaps legacy lenses).

That said a FF lens is generally heavy and big, when used on a MFT body (compared to MFT lenses). But as said, the selection and availability might be more important than the bulk of the FF lenses.

In reply to HeMa:

I had a play with a Sony a7r ii yesterday but stopped handing over the plastic once i saw the price, body only.

However I fell in love with the fancy horizon line. That little gimmick blew my mind.

Hope it's on my camera as well. Hurry up Mr Amazon postman.

In reply to The Lemming:


Hope the GH4 lives up to the expectations... I would get one, had I the money...

But anyway, there's a few blogs and sites in the int3rw3b regarding 4K shooting and videos, a few of the even has nice tutorials etc. that will be quite handy for ya.

In reply to The Lemming:

Got the Panasonic 12-35 and the 45-150 lenses which have proved great for my G7!

In reply to The Lemming:

Panasonic do a good kit lens equivalent zoom (24 - 75 equivalent) f/2.8. There's also a similar tele-zoom (75 - 200) also f/2.8. They're not cheap but are high quality and decent lenses tend to retain their value. The faster lenses on M4/3 help if you want to blur the background to isolate the subject. This is much harder to do when compared to full frame cameras so the faster the better.

Not sure why you would choose a prime specifically for video though? If anything I'd have thought a zoom would be more useful.

A good site with an overview of all micro four thirds lenses is:
http://m43photo.blogspot.co.uk/

In reply to The Lemming:


I got an adapter to fit a Pentax telephoto to my G3. It worked and was a cheap option but I later got the Panasonic telezoom and the picture quality was loads better. My adapter was fairly inexpensive so don't know how much that played a part. You also lose things like AF, and the on screen aperture reading (which is also not recorded by the exif data).

In reply to stp:



I don't think it has all of them. Voigtlander's f0.95 lenses are notably absent, for example.

In reply to planetmarshall:

Interesting. Hadn't noticed that omission and well spotted. Still a good site though IMO.

In reply to The Lemming:

I went from Panny 20mm F/1.7 & Sigma 60mm F/2.8 (which are both great for the price and can't really beat them) to a Oly 12-40mm F/2.8 PRO. The latter is weather sealed, a bit too wide for me (would probably like 17-50mm or something more), but clutched MF and good quality makes it stay on the body all the time now. You might be missing IS, though. My Oly E-M5 mk2 has 5-axis in-body IS, so I don't need a lens with IS.

I use a Peak Design Capture Pro camera clip, so two primes never worked out for me.

In reply to The Lemming:

Ho bugger,

I want this camera now.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/hasselblad/x1d.htm

In reply to The Lemming:

Thank you everybody who has offered advice over the last couple of weeks.

I have used it wisely to purchase my new toy.