New G3 but what lens

Hello everyone,

ive just received my new lumix lens, Its a 14-140 and its so heavy, i didn't think it would be that heavy, (it kind of defeats switching to micro four thireds) and im not that impressed with the focal length, I know it sounds funny that i say that, but im new to cameras, my first choices was the 14-42 and then the 50-200 lens witch is 3 oz less than the 14-140. im in two mins to send the 14-140 lens back and just go with the first choice, after all having a interchangeable lens camera is all about having differnt lenses. Is the 14-42 a good lens to have? could someone pls help with me dilemma.

Thank you so so much

david beck

My new G3 arrives on Monday, and I elected to go with the 14-45 (which is better than the 14-42 kit lens) and 100-300, and will just live with the gap between the two. If I get another lens it will be a 20mm. Your 14-140 is a good lens, but it is the heaviest of all the zooms.

yes i was thinking about the 14-45 too. is that a good lens for around town? my 14-70 on my sony never quite give me enough. maybe im being fussy! i think im gonna send the 14-140 back. far to heavy.

24-70 sony is 36-135mm equivalent

14-45mm would be a 28-90mm equivalent. Did you want a wider fov in your pictures?

When I bought my first M4/3 camera, a G1, almost two years ago, I decided I did not want the big zoom. I'd had Nikon SLRs, and had an 18-200 lens mounted almost all the time. (Big hulking thing!) And I was afraid that if I bought the 14-140 the same thing would happen again.

Now I have five lenses for my G1 and GH2, and I juggle lenses, which I don't entirely enjoy. But I do enjoy having a wider range of lens capabilities -- smaller zoom (14-45), ultrawide, longer tele, two bright lenses for low light work. It seems like that's part of doing photography.

I still sometimes go crazy and think about about adding a 14-140. But sanity takes over and I put that idea aside until next time I have one of those spells.
--
http://www.pbase.com/morepix

maybe i am making a mistake, but wouldn't the 24-70 not be the equivalent to 36-105? then the difference isn't that much.

hello

OMG i didn't realise there was such a difference in cameras. i just wanted a lens that could give me a good all round close ups. without worrying about having loads of glass..

If you can still return it and get the G3 with the 14-42 lens then just do that. It's by far the cheapest option and it produces good images by all accounts. Plus it's small and has a convenient zoom range.

You can always sell it later for more than you paid for it. There seem to be a lot of people buying used MFT bodies and looking for a lens.

You may want to consider Oly 14-150mm lens, it's much lighter. Use ISO to control shutter speed and you're fine without OIS (except video). Thankfully ISO800 and probably even 1600 is no longer a problem in DAYlight, and that's when those zooms are meant to be used anyway. Should be plemty of speed w/o the need of OIS.
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E-PL2; 20mm f1.7, 14mm f2.5, 14-150mm f4-5.6

hay

im so sorry but whats oly 14-150 lens? im new to Panasonic.

maclove said:

Hello everyone,

ive just received my new lumix lens, Its a 14-140 and its so heavy, i didn't think it would be that heavy, (it kind of defeats switching to micro four thireds) and im not that impressed with the focal length, I know it sounds funny that i say that, but im new to cameras, my first choices was the 14-42 and then the 50-200 lens witch is 3 oz less than the 14-140. im in two mins to send the 14-140 lens back and just go with the first choice, after all having a interchangeable lens camera is all about having differnt lenses. Is the 14-42 a good lens to have? could someone pls help with me dilemma.

Click to expand...

... is designed primarily for video work with the Panasonic GH series of cameras; it is ideal for video work as it includes virtually silent autofocus mechanisms and automatic aperture control. It is still a very capable zoom lens for still imaging on m43 camera bodies but it does work better on the larger bodies of the GH series.

Both the 14-42mm and 14-45mm zooms are very competent lenses on the smaller m43 bodies such as the G3, so either of these would probably suit you better than the 14-140. If you add the 45-200mm lens to one of these lighter and shorter kit zooms you will have a good range of focal lengths covered. As you photographic skills develop you may then want to progress to even lighter lenses such as the 14mm and 20mm from Panasonic, or the 12mm and 45mm from Olympus.

Good to know there are others in this same quandry. I opted for the 14-45 and 45-200 because combined they were lighter and less expensive than the single 14-140. I always find myself changing lenses at an inopportune time, and often regret not buying the 14-140. But I could not resist the GH1 for $300 when bundled with a 20mm! I often have fits of madness where I start looking for a 14-140 and thankfully, there is never any stock....

morepix said:

I still sometimes go crazy and think about about adding a 14-140. But sanity takes over and I put that idea aside until next time I have one of those spells.
--
http://www.pbase.com/morepix

Click to expand...

Round here,

Oly = Olympus
Panny = Panasonic

The two main partners in micro four thirds. Both make some nice lenses which work on both Olympus and Panasonic m43 cameras, giving you a wide choice. The main thing to be aware of is that most of the longer Panny lenses (such as your 14-140) have image stabilisation built in which helps to increase your chances of nice sharp photographs - that is the OIS switch on the side. Olympus lenses don't have this because their m43 cameras have IS built into the camera body. Most of the time this is not an issue, but especially at longer focal lengths IS can help considerably to steady your shots.

The 14-140 is so big and heavy, relatively, because it has such a wide focal length range and is also designed to be silent in operation and provide smooth changes in aperture to support video better. The 14-42 and 14-45 lenses are both much lighter but of course have a much more restrictive range. The tiny "pancake" lenses which have a fixed focal length (i.e. do not zoom) such as the famous Panny 20mm are incredibly light and small. Welcome to the world of interchangeable lens cameras! Possibly your best bet if you can is to keep the 14-140 but also get say a 14-42 kit lens to satisfy your need for a lighter but still versatile combination. Note that the 14-42 is a much cheaper lens and does not have an OIS switch, though it still has IS which is can be turned off via the camera's menu if required.

maclove said:

hay

im so sorry but whats oly 14-150 lens? im new to Panasonic.

Click to expand...

I recently purchased a G3 and have been quite happy with the camera. Exactly the size camera I was looking for, and the grip is large enough to work with my hands. While not a big fan of EVFs, this one seems to be okay.

In addition to the kit 14-42 lens, I had a Panasonic 20mm 1.7 and an Olympus 40-150 ED lens. Since I have a couple of the super zooms for my SLR gear, I thought the 14-140 would be a good option for the G3. While it may be a good lens, my copy was extremely soft at all focal lengths. Also, for me, it is too large for what I wanted in a small form-factor camera. My Olympus 40-150 produced much sharper images, even without the image stabilization in the lens.

For me, the trade-off was image quality and form-factor vs convenience of not needing to change lenses.

hello,

lol lol about the no stock. i made the decision to have the 14-140 and im delighted with it, its a good all round lens. im just getting used to the setting with the new g3, but as so far im very impressed.