Wide angle fast prime

Chuck_G · Apr 27, 2021

I am looking at possibly buying a fast(ish) prime lenses for indoor use as museums and similar places reopen. I have the 12-60 3.5-5.6 kit lens, the 45-150 kit lens, and the 30mm 2.8 macro. Should I pick up something in the 12 to 14mm range? I looked at a lot of my previous indoor shots. These were shot using a Sony a77 and Tamron 18-270. Nearly all of them are at 18mm, roughly 27mm FF equivalent. I have been looking at the Panasonic 14mm 2.5 and wondered if it would be noticeablely better indoors than the 12-60? Or should I wait and get a 12mm 1.4 or similar?

Thanks.

Trolleyman · Apr 27, 2021

If you go for the 12/1.4 make sure its from somewhere who do returns with no hassle.

Even better where you can try before you buy, lot of sample variation with this lens.

motormatic · Apr 27, 2021

Chuck_G said:
I have been looking at the Panasonic 14mm 2.5 and wondered if it would be noticeablely better indoors than the 12-60?

In terms of speed or sharpness?

At 14mm, the zoom will be only about one stop slower than the prime. Personally, I have a hard time justifying a new lens for a single stop exposure gain.

Since you mentioned 18mm, there's the olympus 17/1.8. Now you would be getting more than two stops of exposure gain, which for museums where flash cannot be used might be worth the expense.

Can't coment on sharpness, since I own none of those lenses.

jeffharris · Apr 27, 2021

Chuck_G said:
I am looking at possibly buying a fast(ish) prime lenses for indoor use as museums and similar places reopen. I have the 12-60 3.5-5.6 kit lens, the 45-150 kit lens, and the 30mm 2.8 macro. Should I pick up something in the 12 to 14mm range? I looked at a lot of my previous indoor shots. These were shot using a Sony a77 and Tamron 18-270. Nearly all of them are at 18mm, roughly 27mm FF equivalent. I have been looking at the Panasonic 14mm 2.5 and wondered if it would be noticeablely better indoors than the 12-60? Or should I wait and get a 12mm 1.4 or similar?

Panasonic 15mm f1.7. An excellent lens!

The 14mm f2.5 is a nice little lens, but kind of slow. That’s why it’s so tiny.

Gnine · Apr 27, 2021

Be daring, go a bit wider. The Laowa 10mm f/2 is brilliant. Wide enough that you can get the distorted ultrawide look, not so wide that you can also get the plain Jane wide angle feel to your images.

Mark Thornton · Apr 27, 2021

> Nearly all of them are at 18mm, roughly 27mm FF equivalent.

Because that is the widest you had. Might indicate that you could usefully use something wider.

Cruisin66 · Apr 27, 2021

Hi, I have both PL15mm 1.7 and the PL25mm 1.4. Both do great indoors and recommended for museums. The PL 25 is very fast and lets in the most light, combined with your stabilzed camera you can get good hand held shots without flash. The focal length is good for getting closer from a bit of a distance to the exibits that might be out of reach or barricaded off. Regards.

Skeeterbytes · Apr 27, 2021

The Oly 8/1.8 fisheye on a newer Oly body gives the option of the native focal length and corrected (rectilinear) shooting. Unusual for a lens that wide to be so fast. Also, the Laowa 7.5 mentioned earlier is a much more affordable option, so long as you don't mind manual focus and aperture.

If you're shooting the interior and not just the artwork, you'll want something no longer than 12mm, and wider is better for tighter spaces.

Good luck!

Rick

Chuck_G · Apr 27, 2021

There have been plenty of times where I would have liked something wider. I was thinking of picking up a lens 15mm or wider. For most interior shots manual focus would not be a problem. I wasn't sure how good some of these non Oly or Pana lenses were optically and build construction. I have seen some that were fairly inexpensive. O might just rent a couple of lenses and try them. I did look at the PL 10-14 zoom but it's out of my budget for now.

jeffharris · Apr 27, 2021

Gnine said:
Be daring, go a bit wider. The Laowa 10mm f/2 is brilliant. Wide enough that you can get the distorted ultrawide look, not so wide that you can also get the plain Jane wide angle feel to your images.

I love the 20mm angle of view!

My fave film lens was my Nikon 20mm f2.8 AI-S.

That Laowa looks really tempting!

jeffharris · Apr 27, 2021

CruisinonRt66 said:
Hi, I have both PL15mm 1.7 and the PL25mm 1.4. Both do great indoors and recommended for museums. The PL 25 is very fast and lets in the most light, combined with your stabilzed camera you can get good hand held shots without flash. The focal length is good for getting closer from a bit of a distance to the exibits that might be out of reach or barricaded off. Regards.

My favorite 2 lens combo are the 17.5mm and 42.5mm. They give a nice range and knowing when to swap lenses is a no-brainer.

I could see the 15mm and 42.5mm f1.7 set for AF lenses.

Chuck_G · Apr 27, 2021

Thank you all for the suggestions. While I would love to get some of the PL lenses, they may be a bit out of the budget especially the 12mm 1.4. Has anyone used the Rokinon 12mm 2.0? I read a couple of reviews and it has received generally good reviews. The price is attractive at about $300 U.S. right now. The Laowa 10mm someone mentioned looks intriguing as well.

Eric Nepean · Apr 27, 2021

Skeeterbytes said:
The Oly 8/1.8 fisheye on a newer Oly body gives the option of the native focal length and corrected (rectilinear) shooting. Unusual for a lens that wide to be so fast. Also, the Laowa 7.5 mentioned earlier is a much more affordable option, so long as you don't mind manual focus and aperture.

If you're shooting the interior and not just the artwork, you'll want something no longer than 12mm, and wider is better for tighter spaces.

Good luck!

Rick

What is the field of view of the 8mm F/1.8 after it is converted to rectilinear?

I'm guessing that because some of the edge material will be discarded, it will have a FOV similar to a slightly longer focal length rectilinear lens.

I presume that converting to rectilinear will drop the resolution towards the edges of the image, and increase it in the center.

I wouldn't see this a negative, I've been looking for a 10mm-ish rectilinear native lens, it seems possible that a converted and trimmed images from the 8mm F/1.8 fisheye migh actually be that.

Skeeterbytes · Apr 27, 2021

Eric Nepean said:
Skeeterbytes said:

The Oly 8/1.8 fisheye on a newer Oly body gives the option of the native focal length and corrected (rectilinear) shooting. Unusual for a lens that wide to be so fast. Also, the Laowa 7.5 mentioned earlier is a much more affordable option, so long as you don't mind manual focus and aperture.

If you're shooting the interior and not just the artwork, you'll want something no longer than 12mm, and wider is better for tighter spaces.

Good luck!

Rick

Click to expand...

What is the field of view of the 8mm F/1.8 after it is converted to rectilinear?

I'm guessing that because some of the edge material will be discarded, it will have a FOV similar to a slightly longer focal length rectilinear lens.

I presume that converting to rectilinear will drop the resolution towards the edges of the image, and increase it in the center.

I wouldn't see this a negative, I've been looking for a 10mm-ish rectilinear native lens, it seems possible that a converted and trimmed images from the 8mm F/1.8 fisheye migh actually be that.

Per Oly support:

The three levels of the in camera compensation are :
1 (widest): approx 5.5mm (11mm equiv. to 35mm)
2. approx 7mm (14mm equiv. to 35mm)
3. approx 9mm (18mm equiv. to 35mm)

I didn't see a pixel dimension spec for the two cropped image options in the place I snagged this. Suspect part of the advantage of handling it in-camera is you see the final image in the viewfinder while composing.

Cheers,

Rick

bofo777 · Apr 27, 2021

If 17mm is wide enough for you the Olympus 17mm 1.2 would be the best bet .. One of the fastest lenses and also a lens you would never never want to return ..

Tatouzou · Apr 27, 2021

Chuck_G said:
Thank you all for the suggestions. While I would love to get some of the PL lenses, they may be a bit out of the budget especially the 12mm 1.4. Has anyone used the Rokinon 12mm 2.0? I read a couple of reviews and it has received generally good reviews. The price is attractive at about $300 U.S. right now. The Laowa 10mm someone mentioned looks intriguing as well.

The Oly 12mm f2 is a high end AF prime, truly wide, highly praised and very tiny.

It is expensive but nevertheless half the price of the Panasonic Leica 12mm f1.4.

bs1946 · Apr 27, 2021

I have the Panasonic-Leica Summilux 15mm f1.7 and the Olympus M. 12mm f2.0. Both excellent wide-angle lenses and I would highly recommend either one.

I also briefly used the Laowa 10mm f2.0, which I currently have for sale on eBay. Nothing wrong with this excellent lens but wider than I expected. It's a bit unusual in that it's a manual focus lens but laowa removed the aperture ring, and added electrical contacts to allow the user to set the aperture in the camera, like most AF lenses, and also provide exif data.

generationfourth · Apr 27, 2021

Mark Thornton said:
> Nearly all of them are at 18mm, roughly 27mm FF equivalent.

Because that is the widest you had. Might indicate that you could usefully use something wider.

I noticed this with my LR stats. Most were at 12 or 100 mm. First thing I did, as an admitted prime addict, was learn to use the full range of my zooms. Second is I ventured past those lengths; the 8-11mm in particular was a whole other world.

Cruisin66 · Apr 27, 2021

Chuck, here is an interesting article I came across and he talks highly of the Rokinon 12mm this might help you. i did have used a Rokinon 7.5mm and was impressed with the color and sharpness.

Loading…

shotkit.com

jeffharris · Apr 27, 2021

bs1946 said:
I also briefly used the Laowa 10mm f2.0, which I currently have for sale on eBay. Nothing wrong with this excellent lens but wider than I expected. It's a bit unusual in that it's a manual focus lens but laowa removed the aperture ring, and added electrical contacts to allow the user to set the aperture in the camera, like most AF lenses, and also provide exif data.

I find that a really bizarre design choice.

If you're buying a manual lens, a big part of the appeal is the aperture ring.

I like manual lenses because they're 100% manual. A mechanical aperture is just a great thing to use.

Wide angle fast prime

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