Comment & Critique: my M43 shopping list

TyphoonTW wrote:

It all started here: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/55855029

First of all, thanks to everyone who helped me making the first step into M43, I've been enjoying it greatly so far! I've enjoyed it to the point that I'm planning to slowly add lenses to my collection, in order to cover all the situation where I can't / don't want to carry my 6D with me.

I currently have G3 and Panny 14mm f2.5. I'd be thrilled to switch the G3 to a better body, but apart from a couple of missing features I can't complain much about it, especially considering that I paid 100$ shipped for it. I'll consider a body upgrade maybe next year, at this moment I prefer to focus on lenses.

Here's what I'm planning to do:

a) The: "I want to carry camera + 1 really small lens that will give me good coverage, while being able to drop it in the backpack without having to worry about it" setup

For this, I plan to get the Panasonic 12-32. When collapsed it's really tiny, 24-64mm equivalent range sounds really useful, and the sharpness is quite impressive. G3 + this lens would be with me daily.

Good choice. If I do not have 14-45 (hate to retire this good and sharp kit), I would probably buy 12-32 for the wider end. It forced me to change lens (7-14) frequently.

b) The: "I'm going for a small trip and I want to be able to do a bit of everything with just one lens" setup

Panasonic 14-140mm mkII seems like the best candidate for this. Keeping my fingers crossed to get my hands on a second hand copy, especially now that it comes with the G7 it may be a bit easier to find one.

Unlike others opinion, I strongly recommend 14-140 MII. No SS, good contrast, fast AF, highly versatile and it rocks my expectation (prejudice on such sort of 10x super zoom) before buying it for my wife's GF3 (now GX1). I even don't find any irregular OIS in video at least on my 3 Panny bodies (some claims on GH4 can't be verified by myself). Its IQ is comparable to primes within similar f/stop and range.

c) The "I'm going for a trip where I want to able to shoot everything but can't carry the 6D with me (hiking/cycling trip)" setup

One could argue that b) and c) have a bit of overlap, but sometimes I go on longer trips on the mountains and during those occasions I want a UWA with me. The 14-140mm mkII would be part of the kit, and my other lens of choice is the Panny 7-14. It would offer similar range to my Canon 17-40 + 70-300 at a fraction of the size and weight. My wallet is not excited by the cost of the 7-14mm, but there are not many options available.

I think 7-14 won't disappoint you and once used, you would realize how different its AoV comparing to 17-40 despite of its tiny 3mm less in wide coverage (114.2 degree vs 103.7 degree diagonally; 10% wider). Same for 9-18, you would find they are 2 different class of UWA in terms of coverage (14% wider coverage diagonally). Using Panny (no purple flare) and if cost similar, 7-14 is your obvious choice unless filter would be a must to you.

There are a couple of primes that I'd like to get, but if I have to take portraits or shot in low light, I'd rather take out the 6D with primes.

How does my plan sound like? Anything that could be improved significantly? I haven't considered the f2.8 zooms and don't plan to buy any in the near future ($$$).

Thanks in advance for any help!

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This is my stuff: Canon 6D - Canon 17-40mm f4 L - Canon 70-300mm IS - Canon 85mm f1.8 - Canon 50mm f1.8 STM - Panasonic G3 - Panasonic 14mm f2.

Unless going to the territories of f/1.7 or f/1.4 primes, I found 14 f/2.5 indeed didn't help me much in low light shooting on non IBIS Panny bodies. 14 f/2.5 is merely 1 stop faster than my standard zoom at f/3.5, but OIS offering me 2~2.5 stop advantage and hence I often found 14-45 f/3.5 offering me more steady images than 14 f/2.5 in low light (I could go slower shutter). Now GX7 has IBIS and the story would be rewritten.

Just my 2 cents for your info.