Oly 25mm F1.8 / Oly 12-40?

Good afternoon all,

Having got into Mft through a secondhand EP-3 to complement my wonderful E5, I fell in love with the primes. I have the Oly 45mm f1.8, a little marvel, and the 75mm F1.8, an amazing piece of kit, complete with the Pana 14 F2.5!  I have now taken the plunge and just bought an E-M1 c/w 12-40mm.

I am still learning, but this camera is already delighting me, and confusing me, and giving me plenty to learn!  

My question:  I am really taken with the idea of supplementing my primes with the Oly 25mm F1.8. For those who have both  zoom and primes, do you find that you are not using the primes due to the quality of the 12-40?  I appreciate the size/weatherseal/wider aperture differences, just wonder about usability?  I hope that makes sense.

Apologies in advance if this has already been asked.  My ability to search this forum needs to improve.

Regards

Paul

elichelley wrote:

Good afternoon all,

Having got into Mft through a secondhand EP-3 to complement my wonderful E5, I fell in love with the primes. I have the Oly 45mm f1.8, a little marvel, and the 75mm F1.8, an amazing piece of kit, complete with the Pana 14 F2.5! I have now taken the plunge and just bought an E-M1 c/w 12-40mm.

I am still learning, but this camera is already delighting me, and confusing me, and giving me plenty to learn!

My question: I am really taken with the idea of supplementing my primes with the Oly 25mm F1.8. For those who have both zoom and primes, do you find that you are not using the primes due to the quality of the 12-40? I appreciate the size/weatherseal/wider aperture differences, just wonder about usability? I hope that makes sense.

Apologies in advance if this has already been asked. My ability to search this forum needs to improve.

Regards

Paul

The 25 1.8 is a terrific lens, very sharp, lightweight and great for street shooting and any low light situation. It works well indoors when you don't want or need to use flash and it is a take everywhere lens.

I have both of these excellent lenses.  I normally use the 12-40.  Still in low light were f2.8 is just not fast enough the 25/1.8 does become very useful.  Also f1.8 does give you a little bit more subject isolation.  So I am glad I own both.

I own the 12-40 and the 25 1.8

Sometimes I take the zoom, sometimes the prime(s).

The 12-40 is definitely sharp enough, but it's big and heavy (for an m43).

So I tend to do this: When I know what to expect (going to a restaurant or party with friends) with lowlight, I go for the 25mm or the 17mm. Also when I want to save weight or do street photography without getting a lot of attention.
The primes are great for all that.

The 12-40 joins me when I feel lazy, don't need the 1.8, wanna do wide angle (I don't own a 12mm prime) or if just go outside without really knowing what I want to shoot ^^

lol I don't know if that was any help.

All I can say is: you're probably fine without the 25mm, but if you have it, you are certainly going to love it and you will use it.

Oli4D wrote:

I own the 12-40 and the 25 1.8

Sometimes I take the zoom, sometimes the prime(s).

The 12-40 is definitely sharp enough, but it's big and heavy (for an m43).

So I tend to do this: When I know what to expect (going to a restaurant or party with friends) with lowlight, I go for the 25mm or the 17mm. Also when I want to save weight or do street photography without getting a lot of attention.
The primes are great for all that.

The 12-40 joins me when I feel lazy, don't need the 1.8, wanna do wide angle (I don't own a 12mm prime) or if just go outside without really knowing what I want to shoot ^^

lol I don't know if that was any help.

All I can say is: you're probably fine without the 25mm, but if you have it, you are certainly going to love it and you will use it.

Couldn't agree more with this scenerio for the lenses mentioned. I don't have a 12-40 but use the 12-50, not as capable, but good enough for my purposes. The 25 1.8 really comes in handy when you need it:-D

Before you buy the 25, check out the 17 and see which prime suits you better. I find the 35mm focal length more natural than the 50mm focal length. To each his own.

Michael M Fliegel wrote:

Before you buy the 25, check out the 17 and see which prime suits you better. I find the 35mm focal length more natural than the 50mm focal length. To each his own.

Agree. But they are quite different. The 17mm is better for indoor group shots, the 25mm better for indoor single person shots. (Or group shoots as well of course if you can step back from the subjects a bit).

Nice too have both ^^

But since Paul already has a 14mm, I don't know if a 17mm would be a good choice.

They are a bit close... kind of.

superstar905 wrote:

See, and we are all different. I find for group shots indoors, the 12mm f2 is best. I almost always need the extra width.

Hmm yes... depends on the amount of people and the room of course.

However, I don't like how 12mm starts to distort faces, specially of people close to the border of the image.

Nothing dramatic, but I kinda dislike that... that's the main reason why I prefer the 17mm or 25mm for people group shots

People look more natural.