Should Lumix users buy the Olympus 75mm lens?

Yes, I would love to have the stabilization, but I don't.  I love the GH2 interface and the flexability of the lcd, plus the fact that I can put it away facing the camera body, and protect it.

Recently I've been experimenting with higher ISOs with the GH2 and have found that the noise is very well controlled...so I can go with higher ISOs than I might need with a stabilized Olympus.

In this series with the GH2 in a poorly lit bowling alley, I got some terrific shots with the GH2 - up to ISO 1600 with no noise reduction.  Because they were somewhat lacking in contrast and the difficult lighting made for ugly color which I didn't think was important anyway, I chose to convert to b/w.  I also, coincidentally used the internal flash for the first time and found it recharges extremely quickly.  (I also have an FL600R for it.)

I'm called on to photograph speakers at meetings in large auditoriums and I believe the 75mm will take the place of the heavier Canon 135mm f/2 and maybe 1/3 the weight or less than the 7D, 135mm f/2.  (By the way, does anyone want a 135mm f/2?)

Low Light GH2 Bowling Alley Pics

Isabel

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Those bowling ally pics look great to me. Looks like you guys had a lot of fun.

Well, that depends on how steady you can hold the camera. I have the Pany 45-200 which I use a lot but I need the stabilization. So, for me, I am not looking at buying the 75 f1.8.

I'm sure that it is a great lens, perhaps the best m4/3, but if you can't hold it steady then what is the point - especially at that price?

Now, if you are going to use it on a tripod for lo light work, then give it a try.

Note: I also have a Nikkor 105 f2.5 which I use for low light. In daylight when it is stopped down, I see no advantage with it over my 45-200.

It also depends on the body. A lens this long, I would use on my G3 or G5 but not on my EPM1.

Allan

Probably, depending upon your primary intended use.  IS helps the most at slow shutter speeds - it isn't as helpful for in between speeds and not needed for high speeds. And it is never helpful for moving subjects or panning (unless you can stay completely horizontal).  So unless you want to use the lens mostly at slow shutter speeds, then go ahead and get it.  Just a few years ago, we all used even longer and definitely slower lenses without any IS and no one worried about it then. E.g., 40-150mm and 50-200 lenses for 4/3 were used handheld all the time and that was when the sensors were much worse above ISO 400 than they are now above ISO 1600.   I love having IBIS and dont have problems from it, but wouldnt forgo other cameras or lenses without it if i otherwise wanted them.  Just remember, you might need some practice at first to get sharp shots.

BTW, I know this is well known problem, but good grief it is terrible to write a response on the iPad since the forum changes!!  Every other word is wrongly 'corrected' now, every other word has to be typed, deleted, typed, deleted and then you read over the post and see that more phrases and entire sentences have morphed into unintelligible gibberish again.  Why can't dpreview get this mess fixed!

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Roberto M.

Since attempting to use my iPad here I have discovered a whole new vocabulary largely constructed of  bits of the previous word intermingled with bits of the next word and a dash of iPad  insanity. I personally blame apple as I have no such issues when I use an android tablet.

Jim

Nice, but ... they all seem to have been shot with the 20/1.7 -- not the 75/1.8.

Sorry, German iPad here, don't know the English names of those settings but you can disable the Auto Correction (or however they call it)  for the keyboard. I had to disable the normal syntax highlighting too because the damned thing complained about every word written in English

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www.acahaya.com

Should not be a problem if shooting with shutter speed of 1/150s  and faster. Maybe you can try for yourself before buying?

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www.acahaya.com

I tried that but then my typos look almost as bad

Jim

absolutely not - instead you will find that there is no shot ruining shutter shock that IBIS can't control... I am using GH3 and O75/1.8

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses... it helped me mull over my decision. I think I should be fine using it at 1/150th of a second. Of course that may mean higher ISOs, but I get very good results at 3200 so it shouldn't be too much of a problem, except in very low light....

I'm so happy to hear this. I didn't know about the problem with typing on an iPad when posting on DPReview. I thought I was going crazy!

Steve (from my iPad)

I think they should if they need 75 mm focus and do not value IS.

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Looking for equilibrium...

just to be sure i understand correctly, by "absolutely not" you are saying that the 75's lack of IS is not a problem or issue for you at all.

I hadn't heard anything about shutter shock as related to IBIS. (Actually while I know shutter shock can be an issue, in practice I haven't noticed it very much).  I suppose that if you use IBIS, and therefore a slower shutter speed, your image is is more prone to the effects of shutter shock. But I'm surprised this doesn't come up often in discussions I've read about image stabilization. So you you think you are better off using a faster shutter speed anyway?. (or, alternatively, silent shutter mode)

Thanks a lot.

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http://www.pbase.com/image/111520345.jpg
http://www.pBase.com/isabel95
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digipets/ A friendly place to discuss photography, where no question is "dumb"

I wanted to demonstrate how well the GH2 does at higher ISOs.

Isabel

--
http://www.pbase.com/image/111520345.jpg
http://www.pBase.com/isabel95
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digipets/ A friendly place to discuss photography, where no question is "dumb"

Try turning off the auto correct for the spelling.  The Ipad can be very creative and bossy when it comes to deciding what you want to say.

Isabel

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http://www.pbase.com/image/111520345.jpg
http://www.pBase.com/isabel95
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digipets/ A friendly place to discuss photography, where no question is "dumb"

...and it was too dark to test it outside.

Inside test shots have shown me that 1/100 is the safest low shutter speed for me on the GH2.

I did have some incidents where the lens refused to focus.  It wasn't dependent on the level of light.

I removed the lens and put it back and the non-focusing issue hasn't returned.

The focus ring is extremely loose.  I would prefer if it had a bit more resistance.

I have more time to test it tomorrow and hopefully, that issue will not arise again.

Unless you want to see cat pictures I won't post any right now!

Isabel

--
http://www.pbase.com/image/111520345.jpg
http://www.pBase.com/isabel95
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digipets/ A friendly place to discuss photography, where no question is "dumb"

You probably know this already but if you define to keyboard layouts (you can then switch between them via globe key left of the space key), the auto-correction then chooses the corresponding language for its corrections.