Panasonic 14-140ii or Olympus 14-150ii on GX8? (or other options?)

tomhongkong wrote:

I am trying to decide on this.

I will be using the rig on a rubber boat (taking pics of yacht races) with the possibility of spray, so the water-resistant Olympus sound very attractive.

However, the rubber duck will be bouncing all over the place, so the better IS of Panasonic sounds good if I could keep things dry. (Usually I can, but every now and again I get caught)

I get mixed reports of IQ, based on all the available reviews, so real life experience would be most helpful, but it sounds as though it is a wash.

The 14-140mm II works very well on the GX8. It supports dual-image stabilization, which may be helpful in a small boat and certainly in other situations.

While the GX8 is weather sealed, the 14-140mm II isn't, so I'd suggest getting a camera rain cover to protect the camera and lens while shooting. I've used one in the Costa Rican rainforest and it works well. Practice with it a bit before going out, because it does change the way you interact with the camera.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/891383-REG/ruggard_rc_p18_18_plastic_rain_cover.html

The Panasonic 35-100 2.8 could be the answer but it is shorter so needing more cropping (how does a cropped 35-100 compare with 14-140, assuming not so much as to cause pixellation?) the Oly 14-150 2.8 is longer and waterproof but has the same IS issues as its cheaper cousin.

Maybe I go for the Olympus for this specific application and the 35-100 for a general walk around tele. It would need a hard selll to my FD, though!

The 14-140mm II is a better lens AND has image stabilization and Panasonic's in-camera image processing, that you'd wouldn't have with the Oly.

You might consider a 100-300mm in addition to the 14-140mm. The extra reach would be a very good thing. The boat races I've been to the action can be pretty far away, so being able to pull it in with a long would be quite valuable.

I wold be shooting in good light, with shutter normally 1/1000 or faster, would IS be a factor?

At shutter speeds above 1/400th, not at all.