Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Mirrorless Cameras => Topic started by: ACH DIGITAL on August 22, 2013, 02:01:24 pm
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Hello. I'm interested in knowing the real differences between the Panasonic Lumix G Vario 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 ASPH Mega OIS
And the
Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm / F3.5-5.6 II ASPH. O.I.S.
Is there a real difference in sharpness, aside from the construction and filter size?
Thank you.
Ach.
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Does anyone has at least and opinion on either one of them. Are they any good?
ACH
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are you comparing the standard versus the pancake version. both are average performers...better than any digicam by far but not amazingly sharp or bright or fast or distortion free.
There are better forums to ask questions like this. Try the http://www.mu-43.com/forum.php forums. I am not trying to be unwelcome, but at this site, you are unlikely to see people discuss a preference between various entry-level lenses. People here are firmly in the high-end of camera gear. You could probably see some discussion if you asked about the 12-35 f/2.8 for around a $1000.
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Mike, thanks for the link. I'll check it out.
ACH
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I have two of the Panasonic 14-42 zooms -- they came with cameras as part of the kit. Don't have any idea if they are version I or II -- I didn't even know there was a version II :).
The lenses are fine -- basic kit lenses. Sharp enough, kind of slow. Nothing special but not bad. The build quality is low-end and it has a plastic bayonet mount. If you don't need to shoot video, the original 14-45mm Panny zoom was much better -- well made, metal mount, very sharp and a nice lens overall.
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Hi Bennett,
Actually there are three 14-42. The power zoom that comes with the GX7, the vesion 2 that comes with the G6 and the old one from 2012 and before.
I'm asking just to clear up and know what to expect before buying.
Maybe better to get the body only and the 20mm Pany.
Also i'm planning on getting an adapter for my Nikon lenses which are mostly primes.
The use that I'm giving this camera would be pure pleasure, nothing proffesional.
Thanks so much for your info.
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Right, forgot about the power zoom.
Depending on which body you purchase, the body only price can be substantially less than the kit -- last week the G5 at Amazon was $299 body only, $498 with the kit lens. Let me assure you that the kit lens is not worth $200.
The reason I have two of them is that when I purchased the Gh2 and my wife's G5, the kit was substantially cheaper than purchasing the body only. (So yeah, adding the lens made it cheaper, so the lens reduced the value of the camera. LOL.)
The Panny 20/1.7 is a very nice lens. Add the 45/1.8 Olympus and I'm happy shooting almost anything.
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I'm going to go for G5 body that's for sure. I don't need much sophistication for this camera. Just taking advantage of that price opportunity.
The link above is an excellent M 4/3 forum.
ACH
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I am not trying to be unwelcome, but at this site, you are unlikely to see people discuss a preference between various entry-level lenses. People here are firmly in the high-end of camera gear. You could probably see some discussion if you asked about the 12-35 f/2.8 for around a $1000.
Can you be a little more elitist? I think you are clearly trying to be unwelcom(ing) and shame on you for that. FYI, there are many of us who are firmly NOT in the high-end of camera gear and who welcome information on any level of equipment. If that bothers you, then feel free to bypass these posts rather than jumping in and rather nicely saying, "we don't want you here".
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The G5 is actually a fine camera, and a very sophisticated little beast. Good files even up to ISO 3200 (shooting raw), it handles well, has a great electronic viewfinder, and the overall feel is one of a speedy, responsive camera. I prefer it to my GH2. In particular, the extra toggle switch on the top (which is made for the power zoom lenses) can be used for exposure compensation if you skip the power zooms. That makes it much faster to use the camera, especially in aperture priority mode. The G5 has a silent shutter mode -- up to ISO 1600 you can shoot with a totally silent shutter. I borrowed it to shoot a church service last spring, and that feature was amazing.
Hope you enjoy it.
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Thanks all for the replies.
ACH
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Of the three, the new one (II) (2013) should have a bit more resolution and is smaller in size. The collapsible one (PZ) is worse on more optical aspects. I went by the Photozone.de (12 vs 16 MP test), Colorfoto.de, DXOmark.com numbers. The last has a nice summary of best lenses for an Olympus E-P5. Had to find a secondhand lens for a new G3 body that was cheap: 179 Euro. Found a hardly used old type 14-42mm + UV filter for 65 Euro. The total about 250 Euro as requested by a friend of the family. Hope she makes good use of it. The II lens is too young for the secondhand market to make a good price.
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Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
July 2013, 500+ inkjet media white spectral plots.
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Ernst,
Vielen Dank für Ihre Hilfe und für die Links zu den Seiten.
Eine große Welle.
ACH
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I found that since I tend to shoot stopped down to around f5.6 with m4/3, there was little visible difference between a number of the kit zooms, including a full 4/3 Oly 14-54mm into the mix. Wide open might be a different story, but I only tested for the way I use the lenses.
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Hello. I'm interested in knowing the real differences between the Panasonic Lumix G Vario 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 ASPH Mega OIS
And the
Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm / F3.5-5.6 II ASPH. O.I.S.
Is there a real difference in sharpness, aside from the construction and filter size?
Thank you.
Ach.
Both are kit lenses but nothing to write home about.
I use and recommend this lens for that class of zooms (variable f-stop) in that focal length range:
http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/lens/g_vario_14_45.html
Yes it's more expensive but was recently priced new at about $200. If you have one of the kit zooms sell it and use the money to purchase a 14-45. If you are interested in video I think you will like this one better.
Don Bryant
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AFairley, thanks for the information.
Don can you tell me more about the 14-45, is it a lot sharper than the others?
ACH
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Both are kit lenses but nothing to write home about.
I use and recommend this lens for that class of zooms (variable f-stop) in that focal length range:
http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/lens/g_vario_14_45.html
Yes it's more expensive but was recently priced new at about $200. If you have one of the kit zooms sell it and use the money to purchase a 14-45. If you are interested in video I think you will like this one better.
Don Bryant
Do you know of any tests of this lens? I have been using the original 14-45 Lumix for several years (bought with the G2) and feel it's an very good performer given the fact that it's an inexpensive kit lens. But, something markedly better is always welcome.
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B
Do you know of any tests of this lens? I have been using the original 14-45 Lumix for several years (bought with the G2) and feel it's an very good performer given the fact that it's an inexpensive kit lens. But, something markedly better is always welcome.
Both Photozone.de and ColorFoto.de tested it on a 12MP M4/3.
--
Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
July 2013, 500+ inkjet media white spectral plots.
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AFairley, thanks for the information.
Don can you tell me more about the 14-45, is it a lot sharper than the others?
ACH
SLR Gear has a competent review of this lens; overall the 14-45 is the best of the lot (m4/3s 14-4x kit zooms).
To answer your question directly, IME, it is a lot sharper than the others mentioned.
If sharpness trumps any of your other requirements then be prepared to spend money on the crem-della-crem zooms and/or primes.
Don Bryant
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Quote from: fike on August 23, 2013, 04:02:20 PM
I am not trying to be unwelcome, but at this site, you are unlikely to see people discuss a preference between various entry-level lenses. People here are firmly in the high-end of camera gear. You could probably see some discussion if you asked about the 12-35 f/2.8 for around a $1000.
Can you [fike] be a little more elitist? I think you are clearly trying to be unwelcom(ing) and shame on you for that. FYI, there are many of us who are firmly NOT in the high-end of camera gear and who welcome information on any level of equipment. If that bothers you, then feel free to bypass these posts rather than jumping in and rather nicely saying, "we don't want you here".
I was just about to leave the room and get my coat, but saw this fine post. Good one!
Proud owner of a Panasonic 14-45mm (G1 kit lens) :)
Which I prefer greatly to the later cheap plastic mount 14-42mm, as we all should do . . .
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I have a cheap plastic mount 14-42mm ;D and IMVHO it's a perfectly adequate kit lens, in fact I'd say that on a Panasonic body it gives better results than many an entry level APS-C DSLR + 17-50mm lit lens combo ;D The Panasonic combo may "cheat" to a degree to get that performance but they're all doing in body corrections these days so maybe it's only cheating when Panasonic do it but becomes perfectly acceptable when Canon do it ;D
Regarding the cheap build... Mine still hasn't fallen apart and for the price (next to nothing) it's (IMVHO) a perfectly good kit lens for occasional or even regular use.
I use primes 99.9% of the time but if I want a kit zoom my humble 14-42mm is there and has never let me down and I'd bet a pretty penny that picking 14-42mm images from 14-45mm images would be a very hard task :D
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I find that the more lenses that are being introduced, the less accurately they are named for clear identification. Olympus and Panasonic (more often Panny) seem to repeat focal lengths and improvements and their identification is not always obvious. I find that unless you have the two lenses in your hands that you are attempting to compare, it can be very difficult to differentiate them (a lot of the differences may be small differences in size).