Which lens to get next for GM1 - Prime or Zoom?

tadpol said:

I'm still on the fence about getting another prime or a zoom lens....

Really looking to get some great closeups of the newborn, and of course, some more walking and moving shots...even later in life of sports (soccer, ect)...

Would a prime still be better than a zoom?

I was looking at the Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 or the Olympus M.Zuiko 40-150mm F2.8.. anyone care to comment on which would be better suited for me at this stage ... after already owning a 20mm pancake ... Thanks.

Click to expand...

For the GM1? Neither. Get the Olympus 45mm f1.8.

Both would be rather unbalanced on a GM1...

12-32, 45/1.8, 35-100/4-5.6. Keep it small for the GM1.

Gavin Stapleton said:

12-32, 45/1.8, 35-100/4-5.6. Keep it small for the GM1.

Click to expand...

Love my 45/1.8, Sigma 60/2.8 could work too tho if you wanna try a cheaper or longer prime, tho whether going longer without IBIS will work or not would depend on what you're doing with it... Some of the even larger primes are still okay I imagine; like the Pana Leica 25/1.4, tho that's much closer to your 20mm.

no text

no text

i have the 12-32 kit lens the small 35-100 and 15mm summilux for mine.. all in a liittle carry case.. to be honest i dont think the gain from pro level zooms are worth the money or the weight and size penalty..

my 15mm is there simply to let me know that at a wide-ish angle the IQ is as good as it gets and things stay small which is what the GM1 is really about..

trog

I think the telephoto zoom can wait if you are planning to do it for the kids sports.

You probably don't want to get too long in the focal length with kids. They will start to move around and it'll be hard to chase around when you have a long lens! The 20mm you have now should be great for many occasions, and the 45mm f1.8 should be great for portraits. And it's so darn cheap used, hard to pass up!

I have for myself rule of 2 lens: one prime one zoom. At some moment I found myself having too many lens and choose which one to use today become somewhat burden. So, with my prime for GM1 was trying ( buying /using/selling) sequentially Oly 25 1.8, Pan 20 1.7 and finally Oly 17 1.8 - last ove works best for me and my use. Zoom: zoom for me is one all around travel lens. I would prefer Oly 14 - 150 as I use to have it but GM1 has no build in image stabilisation. So I got Pan 14 - 140 II. Well, it is bulkier than Oly 14 - 140 and Pan lens OIS is somewhat works but somewhat flaky..

But this is my usage case ...

tadpol said:

I'm still on the fence about getting another prime or a zoom lens....

Really looking to get some great closeups of the newborn, and of course, some more walking and moving shots...even later in life of sports (soccer, ect)...

Would a prime still be better than a zoom?

I was looking at the Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 or the Olympus M.Zuiko 40-150mm F2.8.. anyone care to comment on which would be better suited for me at this stage ... after already owning a 20mm pancake ... Thanks.

Click to expand...

Thank you for asking. You shall get the Olympus 45/1.8.

Those are excellent choices for the GM1 (or GM5). Primes will give you the advantage of larger f stops for lower light and the ability to move in closer. I have mounted everything up to and including the 100-300 on my GM1/GM5 and although the mini cameras look odd when attached to the larger lenses, they all work.

Watching my grand daughter grow from a 4lb baby to an exuberant toddler over the last 27 months, I've enjoyed using fast primes indoors and zooms outside.

I'd suggest a 45mm for portrait style shots to complement the 20mm pancake, and also the 12-32 zoom that was designed for the GM1.

The 75mm f1.8 wouldn't be too bad either for use with long distance shots. Slightly big on the GM1 but still manageable compared to the 2 zooms you listed.

You already have a fast prime lens, and the 12-35mm lens is nice... but way too big for this tiny little jewel of a camera.

Get the 12-32mm lens. Then get the compact 35-100mm lens.

Then buy a GH4 so you can use a nice 12-35mm lens too!

Let me illustrate:



Why on earth would anyone want to make the perfect compact carry camera into a large beast by adding a (relatively) large and heavy lens to it?

--
Marty
my blog: http://marty4650.blogspot.com/

trog100 said:

i have the 12-32 kit lens the small 35-100 and 15mm summilux for mine.. all in a liittle carry case.. to be honest i dont think the gain from pro level zooms are worth the money or the weight and size penalty..

my 15mm is there simply to let me know that at a wide-ish angle the IQ is as good as it gets and things stay small which is what the GM1 is really about..

Click to expand...

I really want that 35-100mm compact lens next. And I would love to have that 15mm lens too.

For now, I will settle for my 14mm pancake lens, but that 15mm lens is mouth watering.

Marty4650 said:

You already have a fast prime lens, and the 12-35mm lens is nice... but way too big for this tiny little jewel of a camera.

Let me illustrate:

Click to expand...

The OP is talking about getting either the Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 or the Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8, so the lens to camera ratio would be even worse than you depict with the 12-35.

Lots of people here use large lenses on a GM body. I don't own a GM, but it's the camera he has, maybe he'll get a bigger body someday, and maybe he's OK with using a grip that is mostly on the lens, not the body.

Personally, I agree that the 45mm Oly would be a good choice for him to consider. It sounds like the OP wants fast lenses, since he's focusing on the 2.8 zooms, and the less expensive, slower zooms might not be so useful indoors, so I won't make any alternate zoom suggestions.

As to a choice between the two fast zooms the OP mentions, the Oly 40-150 f/2.8 really sounds to me like too much lens on a GM. So between the two he mentions (if he wants a fast zoom telephoto), the 35-100 f/2.8 seems preferable to me, both for size and because it has IS.

brentbrent said:

The OP is talking about getting either the Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 or the Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8, so the lens to camera ratio would be even worse than you depict with the 12-35.

Click to expand...

Yes, you are absolutely right. I don't know why I assumed he wanted a lens that might be appropriate for a tiny body!

The 40-150mm lens would be ridiculously large for that tiny camera. Sure it could be done, but why would anyone want to do it? Anyone who can afford a $1,600 lens can probably afford more than one camera body. And why on earth would you want a telephoto zoom lens that lacks OIS on a body that lacks IBIS? You can forget about hand holding this combo. You will need a very sturdy tripod!



In my view, even the 35-100mm f/2.8 lens is way too large and heavy. True, it is a better choice than the 40-150mm PRO lens, and it has OIS, but it is still way too large for that camera.





The new compact 35-100mm lens is the only one that makes sense for this tiny camera.

brentbrent said:

Lots of people here use large lenses on a GM body. I don't own a GM, but it's the camera he has, maybe he'll get a bigger body someday, and maybe he's OK with using a grip that is mostly on the lens, not the body.

Personally, I agree that the 45mm Oly would be a good choice for him to consider. It sounds like the OP wants fast lenses, since he's focusing on the 2.8 zooms, and the less expensive, slower zooms might not be so useful indoors, so I won't make any alternate zoom suggestions.

Click to expand...

I agree. He already has a wide fast prime (15mm f/1.7) so any longer fast prime would work well with a GM1. I own the 17mm, 25mm, and 45mm primes, and all three work well with a GM1.

brentbrent said:

As to a choice between the two fast zooms the OP mentions, the Oly 40-150 f/2.8 really sounds to me like too much lens on a GM. So between the two he mentions (if he wants a fast zoom telephoto), the 35-100 f/2.8 seems preferable to me, both for size and because it has IS.

Click to expand...

I'd say a fast zoom is just too big for this tiny jewel of a camera, but that's just my opinion. If he enjoys having a big lens on a very tiny camera, then he should do whatever he wants.



I just don't understand why anyone who is willing to buy very expensive lenses can't get a a $500 EM5 (with 5 axis IBIS) for a two pound jumbo lens!

But he did ask for our opinions....



--
Marty
my blog: http://marty4650.blogspot.com/

I think that your zoom should be the !4-140. I usually use the 20mm prime, or the 12-32 kit lens. When I am traveling, I hate to change lenses...I miss photo-ops...I get dust on sensor...nothing good happens. The 14-140 has good IQ and has a range that covers whatever I am going to take. If I am in bad light, then I will use the 20mm prime. If I am street shooting, I use either the 20mm or the 12-32. I also use the Clearviewer so that I can shoot at eye level if it is a very bright day. The Clearviewer is inexpensive, small and necessary. Check it out. I have the GX7 also but I must say the GM1 is a really great little camera.

Hal

Sorry. I should have said primes are ok too!

I've been looking at zoom and hear primes :
45mm oly
75mm oly

I really want to get great baby shots and walking around

And occisional landscape shots

I have the 20mm pant pancake and they 12-32 kit that came with the camera.

Tom