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Zoom Rotation Direction - Panny vs Oly

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DeepBlue2

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Ok, so I got the OM-D for Christmas with the 14-42 and 40-150. Love the camera and the lenses, but the zoom rotation direction is opposite from Nikon. That is, you turn the barrel in the opposite direction to increase/decrease the focal length. This is mildly annoying, but I figured I'd get used to it with time. It may take a while to overcome decades of habit, but so be it.

Now, I get the Panasonic 12-35 and I see that it uses the same rotation direction as Nikon. What? There is no standard on this for m43? Is Olympus the only company that makes zoom lenses that rotate this way?

I think this will drive me crazy in time. I may stick with Panasonic zooms just for this reason. I did a quick search using the terms "zoom rotation" and didn't see any threads about this. Am I the only one that finds this lack of standardization odd?
 
I find this also annoying, last thing you want to do when you think about a million things is which way to turn the darn barrel....

JL
 
IN THE SETUP CAMERA MENUS YOU CAN CHOOSE EITHER ROTATION DIRECTION DO FOCUSING
 
DeepBlue2 said:
DeepBlue2 wrote:

Ok, so I got the OM-D for Christmas with the 14-42 and 40-150. Love the camera and the lenses, but the zoom rotation direction is opposite from Nikon. That is, you turn the barrel in the opposite direction to increase/decrease the focal length. This is mildly annoying, but I figured I'd get used to it with time. It may take a while to overcome decades of habit, but so be it.

Now, I get the Panasonic 12-35 and I see that it uses the same rotation direction as Nikon. What? There is no standard on this for m43? Is Olympus the only company that makes zoom lenses that rotate this way?

I think this will drive me crazy in time. I may stick with Panasonic zooms just for this reason. I did a quick search using the terms "zoom rotation" and didn't see any threads about this. Am I the only one that finds this lack of standardization odd?
Click to expand...
 
nex55 said:
nex55 wrote:

IN THE SETUP CAMERA MENUS YOU CAN CHOOSE EITHER ROTATION DIRECTION DO FOCUSING
Click to expand...
Yes, but that doesn't help with the direction of the zoom.
 
This is a problem for me as well. Coming from the Oly 510 then E-5 I was very used to the Olympus direction. For my Pens and more recently the E-M5 I have tried to stick with Oly zooms and use only Panasonic primes to avoid inconsistency. This even factored into my decision to spend more for the mZD 75-300 rather than the Lumix 100-300.

But, I got tired of waiting for Olympus to offer a fast zoom and broke down recently to invest in the 12-35. It is a very nice lens but the opposite rotation is a daily annoyance and I will probably sell it if and when Olympus offers something similar.

I guess it is too late to hope that they would standardize for all of m4/3.

Lee
 
Wow I had no idea the different brands' zooms turned differently. It's mind-boggling why this isn't standard?


Definitely sticking with Panasonic, then... ;)
 
I hadn't even considered that until today because my only Olympus lens is the 45mm. I was almost convinced anyway, but now I'm certain that my next lens, a medium telephoto, will be a Panasonic zoom.

I was a Nikon user before m4/3 too, and using my sister's Canon used to drive me insane because I was forever zooming out when I wanted to zoom in and vice versa.

It does seem odd that is isn't standardised across the format. I suppose each company would have insisted that their way was the best!
 
I'm the opposite. Crossing over from the original Olympus 43rd lenses, using the Panasonic 12-35 drives me crazy. Can't wait till Olympus makes the whole entire 43 to m43 lens more usable. :-P
 
I am used to Canon zooms, which it would seem are the same as Olympus in terms of direction, but opposite to the Panasonic lenses I have...
 
I had no issue moving from Canon to the Oly E-M5 with kit lens (and later also 75-300). Zooms the same as Canon. The only Panasonic lens I have is the 20mm f/1.7, so no zoom at all, hence no issue.

People in the Canon and Nikon camps have always had problems with each other's gear, and third-party vendors (Sigma, Tamron, Tokina) do not make the zoom go in opposite direction for Canon versus Nikon so there are always complaints about the zoom direction on these lenses.
 
Last edited:
Don't know why they don't standardize, but not the big deal you all make it out to be.

Get over yourselves.
 
paulrfarrington said:
paulrfarrington wrote:

I hadn't even considered that until today because my only Olympus lens is the 45mm. I was almost convinced anyway, but now I'm certain that my next lens, a medium telephoto, will be a Panasonic zoom.

I was a Nikon user before m4/3 too, and using my sister's Canon used to drive me insane because I was forever zooming out when I wanted to zoom in and vice versa.

It does seem odd that is isn't standardised across the format. I suppose each company would have insisted that their way was the best!
Click to expand...
Well, Olympus is designing lenses since much longer than Panasonic, so I guess that this as a Panasonic decision to design their zooms differently.
 
Take it as " well known issue" . It is funny and not deadly
 
Shakespeare had a play named after this situation...

"Much Ado About Nothing" :-D


For many years, Canon and Nikon have held the reputation of being the "Big Guys" in cameras..

For that same number of years, Nikon has built lenses that zoomed in the opposite direction from Canon built lenses.

Now Olympus and Panasonic are the "Big Guys" in Micro 4/3.. Im not surprised they zoom their lenses in opposite directions.. and I dont expect it to be a problem..

The first rule of SLR photography 50 years ago was:

Remember what you are using, and how it works.. (a lot of us shot with both Canon and Nikon).

If I ever allowed a little "nit" like this one to get my "undies in a twist" I probably would have given up photography long before "digital" ever happened.
 
rrr_hhh said:
rrr_hhh wrote:
rrr_hhh said:
paulrfarrington wrote:

I hadn't even considered that until today because my only Olympus lens is the 45mm. I was almost convinced anyway, but now I'm certain that my next lens, a medium telephoto, will be a Panasonic zoom.

I was a Nikon user before m4/3 too, and using my sister's Canon used to drive me insane because I was forever zooming out when I wanted to zoom in and vice versa.

It does seem odd that is isn't standardised across the format. I suppose each company would have insisted that their way was the best!
Click to expand...
Well, Olympus is designing lenses since much longer than Panasonic, so I guess that this as a Panasonic decision to design their zooms differently.
Click to expand...
 
Back in the manual focus days I owned Canon but my employer furnished me Nikon, which focused in opposite directions. (As I recall, Canon turned the same direction as Leica. If anyone cares.) Now it's the zoom directions between my Pana and Oly lenses. I don't know if the companies have some logic going, or if they just flip a coin.

With manual focus a lot of us considered it a good reason to stick with one brand of lenses. Maybe it is a little less critical with zoom, but still annoying.
 
Wow! I would have never thought about it because 45mm is the only Oly lens I have now.

So, how does it feel for you guys who change from Pana to Oly in between an assignment?

Like driving a right hand vehicle for 5 miles then switching to a left hand drive vehicle and continue driving?

I myself switch between Catia and NX on the same day occasionally and the way 3D manipulation is handled is different when using a mouse. That puts me on a mental conundrum for some time.
 
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Schira said:
Schira wrote:

Wow! I would have never thought about it because 45mm is the only Oly lens I have now.

So, how does it feel for you guys who change from Pana to Oly in between an assignment?

Like driving a right hand vehicle for 5 miles then switching to a left hand drive vehicle and continue driving?
Click to expand...
Yeah it's so bad there have been suicides and death threats. This is a crisis Of international proportions that has the potential to start wars and create famine. I just hope NATO the CFR, WMF, WHO and the NWO can get a grip on this thing before more are killed.

--
 
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