kit 14-42 or used prime wide such as Panasonic 14mm?

Actually, I can get the 14mm 2.5 used here in Japan in excellent condition for $160! Seems like a bargain but I have heard good things of the kit lens in either Panasonic or Olympus. Your thoughts or recommendations?

Sincerely,

Adam

K25

Many thanks for your input.

Regards

adamandbean wrote:

Actually, I can get the 14mm 2.5 used here in Japan in excellent condition for $160! Seems like a bargain but I have heard good things of the kit lens in either Panasonic or Olympus. Your thoughts or recommendations?

Sincerely,

Adam

Two different lenses although are both touching the 14mm fl.

14mm f/2.5 is faster, smaller and lighter. But due to its fixed 28mm eq fl, its application would be relatively more limited (going back to the pros and cons of Prime vs zoom). It is considered as one of the cheaper prime for low light shooting.

14-42 kit (Panny's MII would be sharper than MI) is relatively larger and slower. But having a eq 28mm to 84mm fl (wide angle-standard-short tele: portrait) which would be very good for general purpose shooting under reasonably good lighting condition. Comparing to that 14 prime, it would be relatively more convenience.

In terms of IQ, 14 of 14-42 and 14 prime should be very close in real life shooting.

I did the exact same thing as you are currently thinking! I hated the stiffness and size of the 14-42 I kit lens and thus I refused to put it on my camera anymore, now owning just telephoto lenses (funnily enough, 45mm became one of my favourite focal lengths and I didn't feel limited to even require a wide angle for the shooting I was doing).
I went on Ebay and bought one of those Japanese-stock 14mm F2.5's for $169 and I have not at all been disappointed! Optically, it is as good as the 14-42 but it fits in your pocket!! ... And it's 1 stop faster - matching or even beating the 14-42 when shot at F2.5 so there's definitely nothing to complain about. It makes for an excellent lens in the street where the pancake size is much more inconspicuous. It will also be better kitted if you eventually buy the 20mm pancake or especially if Panasonic (and I really hope they do) release a pancake telephoto around 45mm as an equal quality, more expensive but smaller design vs the Oly 45mm.

The only criticism of this lens seems to be the large sample variation resulting in some dissapointed owners - but my copy is excellent from corner to corner.

Opt for the 14 2.5.  It is a good lens.

Why not both?  They're both very inexpensive and above average if I may say so.  I love the kit lens and find it very useful.

Greg.

Everything depends on where you are and what you shoot.

For normal outdoors daylight photography I prefer kit zoom - zoom gives me versatility.

I have the 14, 20, 25, 45, 14-45, and 45-200.  I almost never use the zoom lens.  I do use the 45-200 for fall color during my fall trip to the N.C. mountains but that is about it.  If I knew what I know today, I would only have the 14, 25 and 45 mm lens.  The 20 quality is about the same as the 25 mm lens, but the 25 mm is tack sharp and nails the focus better than the 20.  Then the 20 is much smaller than the 25 so you have to judge for your self.  My 14 is soft around the corners if the subject is of the street taken from a distance.  Go to the museum and shoot glass or a painting and it is very sharp.  I think that the camera chose a smaller f/stop for the street shot where I set the settings for the museum shots at f/4 its sharpest setting.  I went to Chicago a year ago, and have several shots on my web page from Chicago.  The only lens that I had with me was the 25 mm lens.  The size of the 14 makes it easy to carry in a pocket to go along with that larger lens.  Don't really remember how fast the 14 was to focus.  It really is a lens that any prime shooter should have in his kit.

One thing about the primes.  when you go to look at reviews of people who are shooting with them, these fast primes are best when stopped down to f/4.  Bad for a zoom when that is nearest the fastest f/stop and you really need to stop down at least two stops from wide open.  Just not enough light for a fast shutter speed with a zoom.  That said, on a tripod that kit lens does a really nice job.  I just shot primes for so many years that it fits my style better.

www.photosbypike.com

I might just get both because the e10 without the kit lens is only 40 dollars cheaper !

Thanks again to all of you

I use the 14-42 R as my video lens, and the Pany 14mm as my match for the Sigma 30mm. I often use the GWC1 as my wide angle of choice. My 14mm seems to be very good at 22mm with the GWC1 (Not quite as good as the Nikkor 12-24 I have, but good enough for most microstock agencies) and is easily fix of any distortion or fringe in either LR or ACR//Photoshop. The Kit zoom is very good for video and is very cheap (when gotten with camera or refurbed).

For me each is a different tools that has its uses.

adamandbean wrote:

I might just get both because the e10 without the kit lens is only 40 dollars cheaper !

Thanks again to all of you

Always take the deal and get the 14-42 II as part of the bundle. If everyone had to pay the stand alone $299 MSRP price for the 14-42, no one would ever buy it.

Hi Adam

A difficult choice, actually. My experience with the Oly 14-42 II R was that it was pretty much on an IQ par with the Panny 14.

However, I tended to use the 14 as my walk around lens on the E-PL3 with the 45 or 40-150 in my pocket/pack.

The 14's advantages were:

• Very compact size and light weight
• The extra stop - f2.5 vs f3.5
• Better rendering of lights within the frame, e.g. a bit of starry stuff where the zoom produced a blob (which was actually more accurate, of course!).

The 14-42's advantages were:

• Very light and compact when compared with most other lenses - but it stuck out twice as far as the 14
• The extra length if you wanted it out to 42.

I have now switched to the Panny G6 and also switched my walk around lens to the Panny 12-32. I like that bit of extra width and the option for a bit of zoom in a very compact package. I back it up with the Panny 45-150 in my pocket/pack.

Cheers, geoff

Great, I will get it with the camera.

Many thanks,

Adam