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Best wide lenses
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  • shianshian

    I lose about a 1/4 stop of light, the distortion is more near the edges, so it tends to get excluded by the sensor crop. Nearly all of the footage in these 3 videos is shot with my 2 lenses with and without the converter...tell me if its noticeable - not enough to bother me.

    There is very mild vignetting with it on the 20mm, but again not terribly noticeable, so much in fact that I was using it for 6 months before I noticed it.

    I attach my filters between the lens and the converter... not the optimal way, I realize, but it works.

  • duartixduartix

    I think the widest of them all is hardly ever mentioned.

    Even when defished, the samyang 7.5mm covers a much wider view than the Panasonic 7-14mm. It has excellent corner sharpness and less aberration than most ultra wides.

    Two interesting links here: http://m43photo.blogspot.pt/2012/04/defished-fisheye-compared-with-ultra.html http://m43photo.blogspot.pt/2012/02/samyang-75mm-f35-fisheye-lens-review.html

    I'll be posting something in a few weeks when mine arrives. Meanwhile I'll have to figure out a way to do a proper defish even if I have to export to an image sequence, use a specialized program (like Hugin) to process every frame and reimport to AE. I'll probably loose a lot of resolution but since it works amazingly good for photos, it might surprise in video.

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  • RamboRambo

    For ultra wide when i need it, I'm just going to go with the 170/127 degree GOproHD2, especially now we can use the 35mbps mode, flat technicolor profile and improved white balance. Removing the camera from the WP housing (thus eliminating the dome) improves the image slightly more again and less flare.

    Sorry slightly off topic.

  • stoneystoney

    I conceded and ordered HyperPrime 12mm 1.6 which would be a good color match to the Nokton.

    Anyways Lumix 14mm 2.5 is a good color match to Lumix 20mm 1.7. Olympus 12mm 2.0 to Olympus 45mm 1.8.

  • B3GuyB3Guy

    report back how well it matches with the Voigt!

  • DaVeatDaVeat

    Does anyone tried Rokinon 8mm nikon mount on GH2? I´m having focusing problems with mine :( I wonder if it is because of the mount or the adapter..

  • PsycoPsyco

    I just got a used Olympus 7-14mm and besides perfect glas and built quality, I'm a bit concerned about the focus.

    When I use the lens on my GH2 in manual focus mode, I can hear the motor not going continuously but in small uneven steps and going back and forth on the focus ring to the same position, does not focus to the same distance. It is off by quite a bit, even when turning the focus ring with constant medium speed, after 3 or 4 times going back and forth the focus is totally off. This is most annoying when trying to get perfect focus and turning the focus ring the same amount left or right is a totally different change in focus. I checked the focus scale and it is moving with different speed in either direction.

    Can anybody using the 7-14mm please chime in, if this behavior is normal or if I got a damaged lens.

    Thanks

  • zigizigizigizigi

    @DaVeat - I used to have Vivitar 7mm fisheye for Nikon F - which is exactly the same lens as Rokinon 8mm, nevermind the claimed focus lengths, it's just the same in real life for any Samyang rebrand. The front lens of it was quite loose so it always lost backfocus owing to shake during transportation. Luckily it's easy to fix - just set the focus dial to infinity, point the lens towards any horizon object and rotate the front lens with the tip of a pen - there are dedicated little holes for adjusting the lens position - until you catch the focus on infinity. Focus assistant zoom mode in GH2 is much of a help.

    I eventually ungraded it to the newer native M43 Samyang fisheye. Much better build quality, nothing is loose, sharper wide open, very compact, neat and light.

  • DaVeatDaVeat

    Thanks a lot @zigizigi, My problem is that image gets blurry on wide apertures. Just from F11 I can get some sharpness. Do you think I could fix this with those steps you mention? Do you know if it's a probem related to lens mount? (I tested the lens on a Nikon camera and seemed to work ok )

  • zigizigizigizigi

    @DaVeat - It might be backfocus related. Very likely. Not all adapters are of high precision, if the tolerance is too high you may get your focus wrong. If it works fine on native Nikon body and fails to focus on GH2 with adapter it's most likely so. Try to change the adapter or follow the steps I mentioned. Just make sure to mark and remember the current front lens position so that you could set it back if you're willing to use it on Nikon.

  • qwerty123qwerty123

    What's interesting about the lensrentals test is that they didn't test the panasonic 14-42mm (only the Olympus one). And yet, cameralabs cofirms that they are similar quality: http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC_GF2/Lumix_G_14mm_f2-5_H-H014_vs_Lumix_G_14-42mm_H-FS014042.shtml

    the 14-42--with it's achele's heel of slowness--is still a good lens!

  • aprioriapriori

    I recently took advantage of a great deal on a Panny 7-14mm at KEH, and have fallen quickly in love. It's tack sharp, well-constructed, and surprisingly versatile given that ETC mode converts the longer focal lengths into standard lens equivalents. It's now my favorite m43 glass, without question. The obvious downside: the 7-14mm is slow at f/4.0. I couldn't care less about shallow focus, however, and so don't miss the f-stops.

    Now that I have the 7-14mm, I have to make a tough choice about my beloved Oly 12mm. Initially I considered selling it and re-investing the money into a nice 25mm prime or tele zoom, but am now leaning toward retaining it for steadicam work. The Olys 24mm equiv. focal length, light form factor, blazing auto focus and low light capabilities make it an ideal lens for my Blackbird stabilizer. And given that ETC mode converts it into a fast 50mm equiv., selling the Oly doesn't seem particularly advantageous.

    I'm also taking that lensrentals.com test with a grain of salt. They tested very narrow parameters that shouldn't be used to gauge value in real-world applications. I've owned the 14mm pancake, and while the price:value ratio is good, those high numbers don't align with my experience. The Oly 12mm offers vastly superior IQ to the 14mm pancake IMHO.

  • HillTop1HillTop1

    @stonebat, can you report how long it takes you to get your 12mm lens from SLR magic. I am assuming you're getting it from there, I just might be picking up that lens too. Thanks.

  • nomadnomad

    @DaVeat Regarding back focus: it's much more critical with wide angles than with tele lenses (just the opposite of front focus). So, if yours is blurry until f11, this could be the reason.

  • DaVeatDaVeat

    @zigizigi, @nomad Thank you guys, I´ll try to fix it then (Hope I´m understanding the process properly ) : ) . Just another question: shall I have to set an specific aperture before I set the focus dial to infinity?

  • nomadnomad

    Wide open is most critical.

  • DrDaveDrDave

    I just received the Panasonic 14mm 2.5; you can buy it on eBay cheap (~$165) becasuse they break up a kit and sell the lens. This lens is amazingly small and light, very sharp, great color. Initially, I did not consider it because reviewers said it was not any better than the 14-45 zoom. Now, it is true there is not a big difference between the 14mm on my older model Panasonc14-45 zoom--which is very sharp wide open--but this is really a nice lens. Is it sharper than the Leica? Who cares, it is sharp enough and weighs nothing.

  • stoneystoney

    14mm 2.5 is a bargain.

  • RamboRambo

    Yep, it's underrated Dr Dave.. I also have the new Panny wide adapter which extends the usefulness of the 14mm even further with no light loss.

  • double_visiondouble_vision

    I need help. Im planning to buy the Panasonic 7-14mm to go along with the blackmagic pocket cinema camera. I just want to know whether this lens is parfocal and how easy to set this lens to infinity focus?

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