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Fast lens for GH4?
  • jclmediajclmedia

    So I will be getting my gh4 soon and I already have my 14-140mm and the 7.5mm fisheye, I want somthing fast for good low light shots, I was looking at the

    Voigtlander Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 $1150

    Sigma 18-35mm 1.8 With Speed Booster for nikon. $1200

    I used to own a Hpx170 and the lens had good zoom and decently wide id like somthing like that, would i want the 17.5mm voidtlander or the other versions if I got that? Hpx170 (Leica Dicomar 13x Zoom 3.9-51mm f/1.6-3.0 (35mm Equivalence 28-368mm) 72mm Filter Diameter )

    Thanks for any advice.

  • 12 Replies sorted by
  • TscheckoffTscheckoff

    I would go with the Sigma 18-35mm + the SpeedBooster. It´s way more flexible than only the 17.5mm F0.95 lens alone. (And you also get one stop more through the booster. So the 18-35mm F1.8 is then a 13-25mm F1.2 lens. Giving you very nice (around) 30 to 58mm full frame equivalent focal length on the 2.3x 4K crop of the GH4.)

    AND you can use the SpeedBooster with other lenses too. (For example the quite nice Nikkor AF-S 50mm F1.8 G, Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 or all the other Nikon compatible lenses.) Btw. (just a side info): Samyang is also planning to release a very fast 50mm lens soon. (Which is then also available in Nikkor mount - And as it´s "at least" APS-C compatible, you could also use it on your SpeedBooster without any problems ^^).

    Btw.: If you´re searching for a superzoom which is good, just get the new (2nd generation) 14-140mm F3.5-5.6 Power O.I.S lens. It´s quite ingenious - Though a little bit on the "slower" side. But it´s a VERY universal lens (which you can keep on the GH4 all the time you´re shooting outdoors - Or in good light in general). It´s equipped with a quite impressive optical stabilizer, is very lightweight and small and you´re getting very good optical performance out of it (!)

    LG

  • AlienheadAlienhead

    Be aware that the Sigma 18-35 is very heavy and big, and the Nokton is compact and I think relatively lightweight.

  • nomadnomad

    I wouldn't call 560 grams exactly "lightweight". But I love the Nokton…

  • kodakmomentkodakmoment

    I have the Nokton 17.5 and compared it to the Sigma with the x0.71 Speedbooster. Though nominal f 1.2 und thus just half a stop slower than the Nokton the real difference was rather 1.5 stops slower. F-stops are not T-stops. The 1.5 stop advantage of the Nokton could translate into being able to shoot at ISO 800 which is still okay for noise instead of ISO 2400 which is way to grainy for my taste. So if you need a lens for low light shooting the Nokton wins. If you need a not so bad at low light lens with the benefit of a nice zoom range that gives you a range from 30mm to 60mm full format equivalent, then the Sigma is great. I also prefer the ergonomics of the Sigma. I have not tested the BMCC speed booster which should work in the GH4 in 4K mode but I assume that it still would be a bit slower than the Nokton. It also ads the danger of scratching the parts of the GH4's interior and it amplifies the faults of the Sigma lens. A friend of mine who is using the BMPCC Speedbooster with the Sigma on a BMPCC is experiencing very soft corners at the widest setting at all apertures. He needs to zoom in to 20mm and stop down to f4 in order to get sharp corners. But the Nokton also has field curvature and I have not compared the Sigma and Nokton for this problem. The Nokton can be bought used for a lower price. Hope this helps.

  • RRRRRRRR

    IMO the voigt 17.5 is useful for general purpose only from about 1.4 and up. Preferably f2. Have not used the Sigma. Anything shot wide open in low light will look really S O F T.

  • AlienheadAlienhead

    @nomad I guess the Nokton isn't lightweight, but the Sigma plus speedbooster is going to be about 1,000 grams. And the bokeh would be much different. I like the idea of taking cameo night photographs, which the Sigma would be impractical for. Anyway comparing a wide angle prime to a zoom, it's apples vs. oranges.

  • jclmediajclmedia

    hmm alot of thinking to do. ahah

  • jclmediajclmedia

    Ive narrowed it down a little bit more on the mid $ side and High $ side. I got my gh4 the other day and im in love with it. its amazing.

    I also wanted to mention that I have the 14-140mm I got with my gh2 years back. is that worth keeping for the gh4 for video ect? since it doesnt have a constant ap. at 2.8, low light for it is impossible to not go over 1600 iso. if i should sell it what should i get

    what would you guys recommend on the under 1000$ lenses? with best sharpness at almost wide open. Thanks.

    under $1000

    SLR magic 12mm 1.7 $600

    Olympus 45mm 1.8 $400

    panasonic 25mm 1.4 $600

    over $1000, obviously id get a nice nd filter too.

    sigma 18-35 / w sb $1200+

    voitlander 17.5mm 0.95 $1000

  • RatLabProductionsRatLabProductions

    Keep the 14-140. I use it a lot for daylight run and gun work as it has IS and a great range.

    My next two lenses I think will be the Sigma 18-35 & the Pana 42.5 f1.2. There is just something special about having an 85mm on full frame with IS even though its pricey as hell. Great for portraits in video and stills. The Sigma is like 3 primes and pretty damn sharp wide open. Amazing lens for the price.

  • GonzaloGonzalo

    Did you also consider the new Panasonic Leica 15mm f1.7? It's the smallest of all, with a bit wider field of view though not as fast as some of your other options. I just reviewed it and it renders beautiful images and colors!

  • RKMRKM

    Maybe optical distortion is also something to consider. These lenses aren't exactly wide on a GH4 in 4k. Where Panasonic corrects this on lumix lenses I wonder if that counts for Noctor or anything you put in front of a speedbooster (that adds some distortion on its own)

    This link shows what correction is done on the 12-35 http://www.photozone.de/m43/766_pana1235f28?start=1

  • UmiiUmii

    Should be less of an issue in 4k shouldn't it as it's taking a smaller 1:1 crop of the sensor rather than rescaling like it does for 1080p and much less than raw photos hence the differance in fov at 4k so your getting more of the centre of the lens and therefor cropping more of the area at the edges that are more prone to distortion on the wider lens's. I could be wrong of cause :) should get my 15mm 1.7 next week, looking forward to it! No one mentioned the 75mm f1.8 olympus yet, that and the 1.4 25mm are my fav lenses until I can afford the 42.5 f1.2 I suspect :)

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