Personal View site logo
Make sure to join PV on Telegram or Facebook! Perfect to keep up with community on your smartphone.
Very long zoom lenses on m43
  • With the hack getting better,higher and more stable the use of shooting video, so that you can capture frames to used as photographs. Also as the Panasonic GH2 has a different senor cropping factors than 35mm digital cameras it allows full frame telephoto lenses to have a greater zoom ranges.

    Saveing money overall :-)
  • 79 Replies sorted by
  • Title sounds misleading :-)
    Do you mean longs zooms on m43?
  • Calling all photographers- , if any of you have used a Sigma APO 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM with a Panasonic GH2 I would be interested in seeing what the zoom ranges it can do since the Panasonic GH2 has a different cropping factor than 35mm digial cameras.

    The Sigma APO 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM (300-1000mm 35mm equivalent focal length- With Panasonic GH2)

  • @Vitaliy yes in that sense I do vitaliy :-)
  • Ok so the Sigma lense is roughly £740 on ebay brand new and is for a canon EF mount and most Canon EF to Micro 4/3 are manual only and the Sigma lense has auto or manual functions. Without a direct connection to the lense the camera will not enable auto focus. How do we solve this???

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350451826496?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

    This link shows a Canon FD Auto Focus confirmed Chipped Adaptor and it supposely works on EF mounts. The question is if you try to connect both of them together will it??..........anybody feel like testing this out with the hack please feel free to contact me.
  • >How do we solve this???

    Buy Pentax version?
  • @vitaliy, so a Pentax version of the Sigma 150-500mm lense will work hey?

    Does the pentax mount come with the lense or when the lense is made is it built into the lense so its pentax only fit?
  • Pentax one will work, and your question sounds very strange ("pentax mount come with the lense or when the lense is made is it built into the lense so its pentax only fit").

    Are you sure that you need it?
    How about 100-300mm Panasonic one?
    because I have no idea how you'll be shooting without OIS on such focal length.
  • @Vitaliy :-), ok I will try and explain..........You can get Sigma 150-500 lenses on ebay brand new and they come in different versions, for nikon F, for Canon, For Pentax Mounts. I was asking is the Mounts on them Made to each brand e.g. Canon, so that Sigma lense is only supposed to fit on Canon lense. Or do you think Sigma supply you with a adaptor mount.

    I have a Panasonic 100-300mm lense which is great at 1560mm max. I am thinking of getting the sigma 150-500mm (300-1000mm 35mm equivalant) to get longer zoom. Now In order to get the camera and lense to work together I have to get some sort of adaptor. I have seen an adaptor on ebay that is auto focus confimed chipped so it supposely allows auto focus to work but I dont know till I have bought them.
  • I have the original non-DG version (with an aperture ring) of the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 HSM zoom in a chipped Nikon mount. It auto-focuses with my Nikon D5100 and manually focuses on my GH1 and GH2, using a standard F-mount adapter. In general, I recommend staying away from Nikon and Canon auto-focus lenses that lack an aperture ring. The adapters that provide some external way to control lens aperture are too funky for my purposes.
  • @LPowell, thanks for the info- Ok so what your saying is there is a 80% chance the Chipped Auto focus Canon FD mount for the Sigma lense 150mm- 500mm lense will not auto focas. I dont intend to use Canon lenses its just that the Chipped auto focus adaptor is specs on Canon Mounts so thats why I aim to get the sigma lense that is mount for Canon lenses.

    It seems as if I am going to end up with it only being manual, but if thats what I only going to get then I will get a Adaptor that has an adjustable aperture.
  • @chrimsbroome
    I don't know where you get the idea there's an "80% chance". Unless you've got a Canon camera in addition to the GH2, I don't see any advantage in buying a Canon EF lens. There is currently no adapter that will make any type of Canon (or Nikon) lens auto-focus on the GH2.
  • @chrimsbroome

    Two details you should know about:

    1. The focus confirmation chip on the Canon FD -> MFT adapter will work only on Olympus cameras, not on Panasonic GH2.

    2. The Sigma 150-500mm lens you linked on ebay is a Canon EF lens. It will not work with the Canon FD adapter at all.
  • @LPowell, ok thanks I guess I have to stick with another Adaptor that has an adjustable aperture manual setting on it. Some guy on youtube showed a little mod that if you put a rubber piece in the aperature function on the lense you can set it too full open all the time. Then use the Canon EF adaptor with aperture control to control the amount of light that enters the GH2 senor.

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150651336386?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649
  • @chrimsbroome

    You are very strange guy.
    People already told you that EF lens is worse choice.

    Get either Nikon or Pentax one if you desperatly need this lense.
    With Nikon G or Pentax DA adapters any lens could be adjusted.

    ABout Kipon adapter with aperture blades - it is no replacement for normal aperture.
  • @Vitaliy, o thanks - I guess you could say I am a bit stubborn when it comes to solveing a problem.
  • just FYI, but Redrock Micro just came out with a EF to M4/3 adapter that allows you to adjust the iris. http://store.redrockmicro.com/livelensmft

    hefty price for an adapter, but if someone with a collection of EF lenses buys a GH2, would totally be worth it. Or if you plan on getting a 5D MkIII when it comes out and so you're only buying canon glass for the time being.
  • @Tristan, thanks for the info I will add it to my solutions list as I am planning on getting the Sigma lens ,but I need to make sure I get the right mount version (Canon EF or Nikon). Canon EF seems to be the best choice.

    Yes it is a bit of a pricey mount but the lens is 300mm to 1000mm on the Panasonic GH2.
  • I just invested in a Sigma 150mm -500mm lens from a Hong Kong supplier. I will be dong some tests to see how much I can get out it. Its specs with a cropped micro 4/3 camera are something like 300mm - 1000mm standard zoom and 2600mm ETC mode, so it be fun and useful to get those type of zooms with the hack.

    Supposedly with the added tel-converter that comes separate from the sigma lens (1.4x) will further boost the zoom. From some other user tests show that the 1.4x tel-converter doesn't compromise the sharpness as the 2x tel-convert does. This is a more cheaper method to dig-scopeing were you would spend £2000 on a spotting scope that you would end up separating the camera body from the lens and using the eye piece.
  • I have a Canon FD 200mm f/2.8 which is the equivalent of a 400mm 2.8 on the GH2. I love this as a narrative filmmaking lens for creating a shot of finding or losing someone in a crowd. It's a specific shot but one I love the look of, so I tracked down the lens on eBay. At 2.8 it intercuts very well with my other FD lenses. I have tried it in ETC mode where it's the equivalent of around 1000mm 2.8. Pretty incredible.
  • @DouglasHorn, year the ETC mode is just great for boosting the zoom and it does it in such a way that it Don't loose that much quality. The hack makes it much better than before also. I can't wait to get my sigma lens and give it a good work out with some far objects.
  • Hello
    I've Sigma 50-500mm for filming concert
    It's the Nikon mount with manual aperture ring
    amazing
    I will post soon samples
  • @Jeff, thanks that be great while I am waiting :-)
  • @Jeff, Hi I just got my sigma 150-500 and there must be something I am doing wrong as the Photos and videos seem blurry and not sharp. I have a Nikon to Micro 4/3 mount and it was £20 so not cheap. I can only think that the Micro 4/3 mount is too deep and is too far away from the glass ring of the lens.
  • £20 for a mount is still pretty cheap though. But at what aperatures are you using it? Is is sharper stopped down? Do you have the possibility of trying other Nikon lenses to see if it works?