{"id":4254,"date":"2014-09-19T13:47:37","date_gmt":"2014-09-19T13:47:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adam-jackson.net\/blog\/?p=4254"},"modified":"2014-09-19T13:47:37","modified_gmt":"2014-09-19T13:47:37","slug":"photography-my-experience-with-micro-43-four-third-lenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2014\/09\/19\/photography-my-experience-with-micro-43-four-third-lenses\/","title":{"rendered":"Photography: My experience with Micro 4\/3 (Four-Third) lenses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thanks Stefan for the inspiration on this post. Looking back at old photography posts, I\u2019ve been with the Micro Four-Thirds system since 2011. I haven\u2019t bought every lens or accessory that I want but I\u2019m about to make some big purchases soon and invest further. I did want to share some of my thoughts on the lenses I have and some of the potential lenses that would be great to own one day. It\u2019s also good timing because there are a lot of new lenses for M43 cameras.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind I\u2019m not a professional photographer and there are many posts from them on essential M43 lenses.<\/em><\/p>\n

I entered the M43 world with the PEN E-PL2. I still keep that camera in my bag as a backup. This Spring, I purchased the OMD EM-1 from Olympus. I also picked up some nice Peak Design camera straps and tripod mounts, a carbon fiber Manfrotto tripod and the battery pack – grip from Olympus to extend the my shooting days. It\u2019s a terrific camera.<\/p>\n

20MM Panasonic F\/1.7 (pancake)<\/a>: This lens was my primary prime for a very long time. I love it! The side, look and performance was incredible. I rarely use it anymore but I broke it out today at the park and it\u2019s still an incredible lens. In fact, anyone buying an Olympus PEN or compact Lumix should buy this lens. It performs very well in low-light but as a prime, it has no zoom function. The build is nice but I wish the manual focus was a bit more substantial. I believe the price I paid was $450 at the time but it\u2019s gone down to _______<\/p>\n

25MM Panasonic F\/1.4<\/a> (Leica Glass) Lumix: I purchased this as a replacement to the 20mm pancake. Why? The glass and construction are incredible and very highly regarded and being 3 F-stops larger, I get slightly better low-light performance. Not as crucial since I upgraded my body but still worth while. Also, with the 2x crop factor of M43 cameras, this is technically equivalent to the 50mm f\/1.4 Prime lens that is a MUST OWN for Canon or Nikon shooters. I use this lens as much as the 20mm now and it looks much better on the larger OMD body. The pancake lens on my OMD just looks strange.<\/p>\n

Olympus M.Zuiko 14-42mm f\/3.5-5.6<\/a>: This lens came with the E-PL2. It\u2019s a decent zoom lens but pretty much a don\u2019t buy mostly because the construction is all plastic, zoom isn\u2019t smooth and it just doesn\u2019t feel great in the hands. I see they\u2019ve updated this lens since 2011<\/a> but I can\u2019t comment on how the new one stacks up with the old.<\/p>\n

12-40mm Olympus PRO F\/2.8<\/a>: This lens is incredible. It\u2019s not the sharpest lens, it\u2019s not the best low-light lens but it has a few things going for it. First, with the EM-1 body, it is weather sealed and pretty much water proof. I\u2019ve submerged the lens into water up to the camera body and had zero issues. I think 6-8 inches and you\u2019re good (if you like to live dangerously). It also has a constant aperture of f\/2.8 through the entire focal length which is great. Also, 12mm isn\u2019t insanely wide angle but it\u2019s a great focal length. Unfortunately, at 12mm, you get a lot of distortion at the edges. Despite these shortcomings, it\u2019s a very versatile lens with an all metal body. It feels great very similar to Canon\u2019s EF lenses. It\u2019s also very expensive but if you can get one under $800, go for it.<\/p>\n

Panasonic 45-200mm f\/4-f\/5.6<\/a>: This is a telephoto lens with stabilization. I\u2019m not a fan of the aperture or the construction but the lens clarity at 200mm is really nice. Portraits from 50 feet away are entirely possible. If you have an OMD body, turn off the stabilization in the lens though as your body will have 3 or 5-axis stabilization. I think for amateurs, the prices is right on this lens. I use it maybe twice a month for nature or far-away portraits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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There are other lenses out there that I would like. The reason I haven\u2019t pulled the trigger is because there\u2019s very little justification to owning them. I\u2019m covered in my focal range from 12mm-200mm. There\u2019s pretty respectable. I have 2 low light prime lenses, a telephoto and an every day carry. These would serve to replace my current lenses over time and offer more functionality, better construction and overall much nicer photos. Since I don\u2019t make money on photography, I don\u2019t think the upgrade to ease will happen very fast.<\/p>\n

Voigtlander Nokton 17.5mm f\/0.95<\/a> Manual Focus Lens: This is a Prime Lens at f\/0.95! Sounds incredible, right? Yes until you see the price tag is $1124.99. This also does not autofocus. It\u2019s heavy, all metal and very fun to use for portraits and night photography. I don\u2019t need this lens but I really want it.<\/p>\n

Olympus M 40-150mm f\/2.8 Interchangeable PRO Lens<\/a>: This $1500 lens was just announced last to ship soon. It has the PRO name so on the EM-1, it\u2019s weather sealed and splash proof. It\u2019s equivalent to an 80-300mm 35mm lens w\/ the 2x crop factor and it\u2019s half the size of lenses w\/ that focal length from Canon and Nikon. The price is very high but I think worth it as a replacement to my Panasonic 45-200mm lens.<\/p>\n

Panasonic 7-14mm f\/4.0<\/a>: This lens is $964 and it\u2019s a wide angle (114 degree) fish-eye that most photographers would need maybe 4 times a year at most. So it\u2019s cheaper for me to rent but technically it expands my current focal range and I love wide angle photography especially now that I\u2019m getting into time-lapse work.<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s all I have for now. Just to repeat myself a bit, I\u2019m actually really happy with my current camera lens lineup and these 3 would be purely an upgrade of the hobby for very little end-result improvements. The EM-1 itself is fantastic so I\u2019ll continue to buy maybe 1 lens a year to expand the M43 choices I have.\u00a0<\/p>\n