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E-P1 and Panasonic 45-200

Started Sep 4, 2009 | Discussions
ChowMonkey
ChowMonkey Contributing Member • Posts: 960
E-P1 and Panasonic 45-200

Who used this combination and how does it perform?? Sample pics for example from this combo??

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Roger65 Regular Member • Posts: 260
Re: E-P1 and Panasonic 45-200

These were all taken with that combo, worked great for me:

BayAreaWZ Senior Member • Posts: 1,239
Re: E-P1 and Panasonic 45-200

I'm mobile right now so can't post examples, but I like the combo as long as I'm outdoors. Quiet focus and pretty fast in good light. I've managed some good videos as well. Plus it's pretty affordable.

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vitaminC Junior Member • Posts: 29
Re: E-P1 and Panasonic 45-200

I've only had mine out a few times, but so far I am happy with it...

Angular Mo Senior Member • Posts: 2,454
Re: E-P1 and Panasonic 45-200

May I respectfully suggest you take a look at DRabbit's posts?

Ms. Amy posted a month ago some excellent examples of this combination.... indeed, so excellent, that, I bought the lens as a result.

Many will say that the lens is not sharp, however, they (in my opinion) are not doing a scientific sharpness test (stationary object, tripod, manual focus, proper exposure), but are also testing autofocus of the camera.

Think about the focal length one gets in this size, the quality for the price, its quiet zoom for video....

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Serhan2 Senior Member • Posts: 1,473
Re: E-P1 and Panasonic 45-200

I think it is a decent lens, but I have better results in the shorter zoom range. In the max zoom, I have mixed results and some of it might be due to instability of hand holding it with EP-1 without a viewfinder. Even when I tried to stabilize it, it is below the performance of my $200 Canon 55-250IS lens. So far there is no other option currently for a similar size autofocus lens. I have similar results with a 135mm f/2.5 M42 lens with EP-1 so it is maybe more related to the instability of hand holding the EP-1 though there is IS. Here is couple low light photos that I took:

1/125s f/5.6 at 61.0mm iso800

1/200s f/5.6 at 84.0mm iso1000

You can read the review of the lens at photozone, which is close to what I observed:

"The lens produced very good resolution figures from 45mm to 100mm. The resolution distribution is also very even across the image field in this range. The center quality remains very high at 150mm whereas the borders worsen slightly. There's a fairly sharp downturn in image quality at 200mm - the center performance remains fine but the borders are quite soft and stopping down to f/8 improves the quality only marginally here."

http://www.photozone.de/olympus--four-thirds-lens-tests/417-panasonic_45200_456

Serhan
http://www.pbase.com/sc_20170/

seakayaker Regular Member • Posts: 195
Re: E-P1 and Panasonic 45-200

I like the combination as well . some examples are here: http://www.pbase.com/seakayaker/ep1_with_panasonic_45200_mm_lens

I took the 2 to a Boston Red Sox's night game last week and will post those as well this weekend

ChowMonkey
OP ChowMonkey Contributing Member • Posts: 960
Re: E-P1 and Panasonic 45-200

Thnx all of you for samples. To be honest I'm not yet convinced on the higher focal ranges yet. But it's difficult to see on small jpg's. I think I need some raw files to check
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AdamT
AdamT Forum Pro • Posts: 62,282
I asked about this lens ages ago -->

I asked about this lens ages ago and the concensus was that it was pretty poor at 200mm - may as well get the Panasonic 4/3 to M43 adapter and the Cheapo Oly 40-150 for the same money as the Panny 45-200 and you'll end up with a sharper lens PLUS an adapter you can use on other 4/3 lenses such as the superb 35mm macro etc ..

with the panny 45-200 you're paying for OIS you don't need and 151-200mm which isn't very good on reports I saw.

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Derek Bach Contributing Member • Posts: 866
Re: E-P1 and Panasonic 45-200

I've only had this lens for two weeks as part of a G1 Twin Lens Kit. Like most long zooms its performance is not at its best at 200mm but it as good as most and very good value.

You certainly need to use a high shutter speed at 200mm hand held eg. 1/500.

We all know the "rule" that the minimum shutter speed should be more than the focal length of the lens but often forget that this applies to full frame. For 4/3 it has to be more than twice the focal lenght of the lens. I think shake control helps but is best used to increase the probabilty of sharp images at the long end of long zooms.

In UK, Panasonic are selling G1Twin Lens kits including this lens for under 650 pounds sterling which means you get this lens for about 150 pounds over the single lens kit price. No doubt this is connected to the arrival of the E-P1, GH1 and GF1.
Derek

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ChowMonkey
OP ChowMonkey Contributing Member • Posts: 960
Re: I asked about this lens ages ago -->

I check pricing and indeed it makes sense..
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Derek Bach Contributing Member • Posts: 866
Re: I asked about this lens ages ago -->

AdamT wrote:

I asked about this lens ages ago and the concensus was that it was pretty poor at 200mm - may as well get the Panasonic 4/3 to M43 adapter and the Cheapo Oly 40-150 for the same money as the Panny 45-200 and you'll end up with a sharper lens PLUS an adapter you can use on other 4/3 lenses such as the superb 35mm macro etc ..

with the panny 45-200 you're paying for OIS you don't need and 151-200mm which isn't very good on reports I saw.

I have both these lens and the 4/3 to M4/3 adapter to which you refer and think the Panasonic 45-200mm is as good or better than the Olympus (latest version) between 45 and 150mm and not much bigger with the adapter.

I must admit however, that I'm still in the "attitued reinforcement phase" with the GI and lenses were I believe it can do no wrong!

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Spunky8 Senior Member • Posts: 1,054
Re: Panasonic 45-200

The reports seem consistent that the lens is not a terrific performer at 200. But that focal length is quite long and presents steadiness problems even with IS. I'd love to know whether the same deficiencies appear when the lens is tripod mounted at that focal length. It's very, very easy to screw up an image when hand holding at the 35mm equivalent of 400mm. Any reports about the sharpness of the lens at 200mm when tripod mounted?

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Marla
Marla Veteran Member • Posts: 8,994
Agree with Adam

I purchased the 45-200 and got fairly good results up to 100 - sometimes 150mm. However, I wasn't 100% happy and had to work too hard for the best results. I ended up purchasing the Oly 40-150mm and for my uses, it works just as well. I think the IQ on both are comparable. So because the Oly is lighter in weight, and $100 cheaper, it was my final decision. I've grown to like it, and it serves me well for as much as I use longer zooms. I recently changed my editing program to PSE7 and have to set it up - so I'm sorry I can't upload the images yet.

Maria
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DElliott Senior Member • Posts: 1,154
Re: Panasonic 45-200

The slrgear.com review of the 45-200 indicates that it's rather mediocre at 200mm. I presume they were not hand-holding the camera during the tests.

Brian Mosley Forum Pro • Posts: 20,741
Sounds about right Adam,

It is a nice, smooth focusing lens and the reach is useful... but I made the decision to stick with wide angle / fast legacy prime lenses with m4/3rds

Cheers

Brian
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Lamprecht Contributing Member • Posts: 864
Re: Panasonic 45-200

This is absolute nonsense. I have been using this lens is all weather conditions with shutter speeds of less than 200s, and have had no problems nailing the focus with really sharp results at 200 mm. I am willing to post many examples if you want.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardlamprecht

nniko Junior Member • Posts: 48
Re: undecided between Pana 45-200 vs. Oly 40-150 (on E-P1)

hm, was about to give Pana the 2nd lens victory over Oly (1st one: canceled 17/f2.8 pancake order to wait for 20/f1.7) for choice of the tele-zoom. am hesitant right now. summing up:

  • both lenses with comparable IQ in the 45-150mm FL range

  • prices (best prices for Europe): Pana 280€, Oly 170€ + 150€ (adapter)

  • bulk: Pana 380g, length 10cm, diam 7,0cm / Oly 220g + 80g, length 7cm + 2cm (ca.), diam. 6,4cm

so according to this data, there's not much difference between the two. Pany solution slightly more expensive, Oly more versatile (adapter included gives more FT lense options), Pany more bulky (heavier, longer, and diameter too big - lense sticks out at bottom so that camera doesn't sit square any longer).

open questions re AF-performance:

1. Is Oly FT + adapter fully auto-focussable (at least same handling as with the other two Oly MFT lenses)?

2. Is Pany AF performance better (as is with other lenses)? Is it the better video solution (CAF actually works in video, less motor noise)

Help appreciated!
Niko

nniko Junior Member • Posts: 48
Re: undecided between Pana 45-200 vs. Oly 40-150 (on E-P1)

for a graphic illustration of 45-200 vs. 40-150 comparison on E-P1...

Walter A23 Contributing Member • Posts: 928
Re: Panasonic 45-200

The build is very good, autofocus is silent, and the image stabilizer is nice (I turned off E-P1 in body IS when I used it), but it does suffer some CA problems. It's fairly sharp, even at 200mm, but the CA is a pretty big deal with this lens, noticable even at moderate print sizes. CA is better at shorter focal lengths.

I think the reported softness of the lens is really just the result of the CA corrections done by Panasonic. Put it on an olympus body and the details all look pretty sharp at 200mm, but CA fringing is nasty.

Having said all of that, I probably would have kept mine except that it had an autofocus problem (glitchy motor)... returning it just gave me an excuse to hold out and see if Olympus comes up with something better in the next couple of months.

Lamprecht wrote:

This is absolute nonsense. I have been using this lens is all weather conditions with shutter speeds of less than 200s, and have had no problems nailing the focus with really sharp results at 200 mm. I am willing to post many examples if you want.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardlamprecht

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