Olympus 12-40 2.8 PRO in low light

HGFGKM · Aug 10, 2015

I am planning a trip to Europe and likely to be taking many photos at low light, in evening city landscapes etc. I plan to use a GX7 Panasonic camera. I have been pleased with the 14-140 Panasonic lens (the new one) for daylight photos, but the low light, evening or night city landscapes were disappointing, even with the Panasonic 15mm 1.7 lens.

I am tempted to buy the Olympus 12-40 PRO for day and night use. Does anybody have a feeling on how this lens performs in low light city landscapes?

Thank you for any thoughts and suggestions!

jkrumm · Aug 10, 2015

It performs great if you use a tripod, but the 15 1.7 should be good too.

Guy Parsons · Aug 10, 2015

HGFGKM said:
I am planning a trip to Europe and likely to be taking many photos at low light, in evening city landscapes etc. I plan to use a GX7 Panasonic camera. I have been pleased with the 14-140 Panasonic lens (the new one) for daylight photos, but the low light, evening or night city landscapes were disappointing, even with the Panasonic 15mm 1.7 lens.

I am tempted to buy the Olympus 12-40 PRO for day and night use. Does anybody have a feeling on how this lens performs in low light city landscapes?

Thank you for any thoughts and suggestions!

Better to buy the Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 lens, a bit smaller and lighter than the Oly and it has the advantage of OIS.

As for low light city landscapes at night I found the 12-40/2.8 plus Oly E-P5 to be a perfect match, but there of course is the advantage of the 5 axis IBIS.

The GX7 IBIS is more variable it seems and though Panasonic says it is not quite as good as Mega OIS some reviewers find that at times it will deliver good stabilisation at way slower than expected speeds. That may make up for the lack of OIS if you go the Oly 12-40mm route.

In all cases at night it is nice to have a tripod handy or at least a bean bag to rest the camera on.

As for night and cities, in the dead of night it is all a bit formless (unless chasing building lighting effects), there is a magic very short period after the sun goes down where the sky still has a tiny bit of light and thus gives shape to the buildings while still looking like a night sky.

Regards...... Guy

SpinOne · Aug 10, 2015

I for one don't think you will get the crispest of night photos if you are shooting hand-held with a f/2.8 lens and an M4/3 body. Even the fast primes might not do it.

If you're using a tripod, then you can use any lens.

Skeeterbytes · Aug 10, 2015

Can confidently be handheld to surprisingly low speeds on a 5-axis OM-D. Not experienced with the GX7, I'll speculate a more modest 2-stop extension is still possible with good technique (3 to 4 stops possible with an OM-D). It's a bright, sharp lens which is an aid to accurate focus, as is the very helpful snap-ring manual focus. It's also good wide open across the zoom range.

If you don't mind the size and layout, you'll do very well with the 12-40.

Good luck,

Rick

Guy Parsons · Aug 10, 2015

Skeeterbytes said:
Can confidently be handheld to surprisingly low speeds on a 5-axis OM-D.

On 5 axis E-P5 with 12-40mm I successfully shot night shots at 1/2 second at 40mm, but later attempts limit me to 1/4 sec at 40mm. So for me reliably 4 stops and sometimes over 5 stops when the planets align. I had to use f/8 at ISO 200 to push the speed down to 1/2 sec, it was an experiment in a reasonably bright Tokyo street night scene.

Skeeterbytes said:
Not experienced with the GX7, I'll speculate a more modest 2-stop extension is still possible with good technique (3 to 4 stops possible with an OM-D).

Various reviews get same/better/worse than 5 axis IBIS so the GX7 is a mystery box as to how reliable the IBIS works, I'd guarantee near 3 stops if like Panasonic says, "not quite as good as Mega OIS" where I always get 3 stops.

Skeeterbytes said:
It's a bright, sharp lens which is an aid to accurate focus, as is the very helpful snap-ring manual focus. It's also good wide open across the zoom range.

If you don't mind the size and layout, you'll do very well with the 12-40.

True, but the OIS of the 12-35/2.8 makes that attractive as well. Later bodies of course like the GX8 and onwards use hybrid OIS/IBIS so best take future body purchases into consideration as well. Lenses are forever, bodies flit like fireflies with a short life.

Regards..... Guy

Martin.au · Aug 10, 2015

It's great

Examples:

New Zealand

Photos from the Blinc visual arts display at the Adelaide Festival of Arts.

All shot handheld. Absolutely love the Oly for this sort of stuff. Just dial in the EV compensation using the blinkies, check shutter speed is not ridiculously slow, and fire away.

Adelaide Festival Centre

Lasers on the Torrens

The Blinc Bar

The Elephant in the Room

Skeeterbytes · Aug 10, 2015

Wow Martin, some kind of weird distortion made that chess set look HUGE! Might want to get that looked at. ;-)

Cheers,

Rick

Chas2 · Aug 10, 2015

HGFGKM said:
I am planning a trip to Europe and likely to be taking many photos at low light, in evening city landscapes etc. I plan to use a GX7 Panasonic camera. I have been pleased with the 14-140 Panasonic lens (the new one) for daylight photos, but the low light, evening or night city landscapes were disappointing, even with the Panasonic 15mm 1.7 lens.

I am tempted to buy the Olympus 12-40 PRO for day and night use. Does anybody have a feeling on how this lens performs in low light city landscapes?

Thank you for any thoughts and suggestions!

In December, in Nuremberg and Munich, when the light is decidedly dim, especially at night, the 20/1.7 did a lot better than the 12-35 f2.8 on the GX7. After all, it is 1 2/3 stops faster, and that did make a difference, being able to shoot 1600 ISO vs 3200 or 5000. Yes, the 12 mm was useful at times, but photos were better with the prime, even in restaurants of people at the table.

The 12-35 is not the 12-40, and the 20 is not the 15, but you get the idea.

Hithertoo · Aug 10, 2015

These types of shots at ISO800 would be ISO200 with a prime at the appropriate lens length and therein is the difference. If you want good light coverage in all weather conditions you need a prime on Micro Four Thirds. Unfortunately my internet is slow at the moment and I don't have much in my gallery, but this should do for a start. The difference is quite significant. No flash or exposure compensation either.

Martin.au · Aug 10, 2015

With a 15 second exposure, I don't think it matters which lens you use.

Yes, a prime will get you faster shutter speeds or lower iso, but the first question I ask myself is does it matter? For me, the photos are inside my iq tolerance, so I'm good.

In the photographic examples I posted, I much prefer having a versatile focal range and, as you can see, I used the zoom a lot.

Hithertoo · Aug 10, 2015

Well I obviously wasn't thinking 15/1 as opposed to 1/15. Yeah there's going to be a substantial difference. Unfortunately I don't have many other low light examples in my gallery right now. I'd say ISO1600 would be about the limits of my tolerance for Micro Four Thirds. You've done well to get the shots. The difference of F/1.7 or F/2 to F/2.8 is not unsubstantial though.

BlueStarfish · Aug 10, 2015

Hi

With the OMD-Em5 and the 12-40 I can hand hold down to 1/10 of second most times - just take a few to make sure that you get it right and in places such as European cities there is so much light that mostly this is enough.

I have a prime that I take in case of low light but in all honesty I don't use it as I just keep the 12-40 on the camera.

Certainly the IBIS is essential so I would go for the combo that delivers the best stabilisation if there is no real low light lens that suits.

Scott.

howardfuhrman · Aug 10, 2015

Sure a 12-40 2.8 prop can do a great job in low light. Below is a photo I took several years ago with a Panasonic LX7 (a P&S with a tiny sensor). I placed the camera on a bridge column for stability, set the camera for a 2 second delay and ISO 100 and let the camera do its job. A 12-40 2.8 is far superior to a LX7.

--
Howard

http://www.photo.net/photos/howardfuhrman

Hithertoo · Aug 10, 2015

The LX7 has a crop factor of 5.1 so even at F/1.4 at its widest setting your getting the same amount of light as an F/7 lens. The 12-40 F/2.8 is equivalent to F/5.6. The 12-40 is 1.5 stops wider at the aperture blades. What does that mean? in real terms its letting in 3 times as much light as uou double the light gathering ability every time you increase the light stops.

It's no wonder you can tell the difference, the lens is 3 times as bright even at its widest aperture. By F/2.8 your actual light gather is equivalent to F/14.

jeffharris · Aug 11, 2015

HGFGKM said:
I am planning a trip to Europe and likely to be taking many photos at low light, in evening city landscapes etc. I plan to use a GX7 Panasonic camera. I have been pleased with the 14-140 Panasonic lens (the new one) for daylight photos, but the low light, evening or night city landscapes were disappointing, even with the Panasonic 15mm 1.7 lens.

I am tempted to buy the Olympus 12-40 PRO for day and night use. Does anybody have a feeling on how this lens performs in low light city landscapes?.

Thank you for any thoughts and suggestions!

The 12-40mm with the GX7 is an excellent daytime kit. When the sun goes down, I pull out my Voigtländer 17.5mm and 42.5mm. My girlfriend uses our 14-140mm II and GX1/LVF2 kit + the 20mm at night.

I got the 12-40mm to get as close as possible to the two Voigts to cut down on daytime lens changes. The image quality is better than he 14-140mm II, but not as far apart as one might expect. It's subtle.

You'd definitely need a tripod using the 12-40mm at night. I was shooting with it just last night and wished I'd brought one of my Voigts!

Take a look at the Voigtländer 17.5mm. It's a great night time… ANYTIME, really… walkabout lens! Perfect for narrow, twisty streets in old European cities and villages!

Fri13 · Aug 11, 2015

Like any f/2.8 does....

Isabel Cutler · Aug 11, 2015

especially with the electronic shutter, which allows for lower shutter speeds.

This image was taken handheld with auto white balance in raw mode. Light source was an 18 watt fluorescent tube in a range hood over my cooktop. I did apply a slight bit of noise reduction with Topaz DeNoise.

Best viewed at original size. 1/15 sec., f/2.8 GX7

Isabel

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Henry Richardson · Aug 11, 2015

I suggest taking your 14-140mm and a fast lens such as the 25mm f1.8. In Budapest recently I used a 25mm f1.8, 45mm f1.8, and 14mm f2.5 for night shots of bridges and other things at night. Usually shooting wide open. See the night photos here:

http://www.bakubo.com/Galleries 2/Hungary/index.html

Isabel Cutler · Aug 11, 2015

Henry Richardson said:
I suggest taking your 14-140mm and a fast lens such as the 25mm f1.8. In Budapest recently I used a 25mm f1.8, 45mm f1.8, and 14mm f2.5 for night shots of bridges and other things at night. Usually shooting wide open. See the night photos here:

http://www.bakubo.com/Galleries 2/Hungary/index.html

Olympus 12-40 2.8 PRO in low light

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