Olympus 14-42mm IIR ---> Panasonic 12-32mm for more pocketability?

So I'll be going into venues such as bars, nightclubs and the like with my E-M10 to do some nightlife photography and I don't want to have to explain to the bouncers what I'm carrying or why every time I do so.  These photos will go into my portfolio, so they should be at least pretty good.

I currently have the non-pancake 14-42mm II R lens.  The camera is not quite pocketable with this lens on.

I've been thinking of just taking off the lens and sticking it in a different pocket, but then I have to deal with lens/body caps and trying to attach/detach the thing inside a darkened venue.  The completely exposed mirrorless sensor makes me nervous about that situation.

OR, I've been thinking about getting rid of the IIR and buying a Panasonic 12-32mm.  If it's actually pocketable, there'll be no disassembly required and it'll have a lower profile when being used inside.  I thought of the Olympus 14-42 pancake and dismissed it as being too similar to what I already have.

All other possible lenses are too big and too expensive for me.

I know the general specs of the lens but would like to hear your opinions about whether it's worth the trade. The II R sells for peanuts on the bay while there ain't no bargains on the 12-32.  All told, it would end up costing me at least $150-175 smackers which isn't chump-change to me these days, plus the annoyance of selling stuff on ebay.

So my questions are:

1) Do you think the 12-32 would be "pocketable" enough to make it worth getting?  It's only about an inch shorter than the II R.  It would be in a lightweight coat typically worn in, say, 50 degree weather (winter in SoCal.)

2) Would the slightly increased field of view (24mm instead of 28mm equiv.) make enough of a difference to warrant a swap, since it will be used inside bars and clubs?

3) Would the slightly increased photo quality of the Panasonic make enough of a difference to warrant a swap?

Basically, I don't want to waste my time and money if the swap, and its associated costs, would essentially be a wash with what I already have.  If the 12-32 would be only slightly better, then I'll just stick with what I have and hope for a cold winter so I can wear a bigger coat.

Slarpy wrote:

So I'll be going into venues such as bars, nightclubs and the like with my E-M10 to do some nightlife photography and I don't want to have to explain to the bouncers what I'm carrying or why every time I do so. These photos will go into my portfolio, so they should be at least pretty good.

I currently have the non-pancake 14-42mm II R lens. The camera is not quite pocketable with this lens on.

I've been thinking of just taking off the lens and sticking it in a different pocket, but then I have to deal with lens/body caps and trying to attach/detach the thing inside a darkened venue. The completely exposed mirrorless sensor makes me nervous about that situation.

OR, I've been thinking about getting rid of the IIR and buying a Panasonic 12-32mm.

Get the 12-32mm. It's a much better lens and the extra 2mm of width will be welcome.

X2

It's a great little lens.

How big is a pocket ? I have an E-M10+12-32mm which I take hiking, it fits in the side pocket of a rucksack. But a jacket pocket ? Definitely not.

It's a great combination though.

I have the same kit lens, and thought about getting the panasonic pancake version instead for a compact travel kit, but just couldn't talk myself into getting another "kit lens" in the same zoom range as two of my other lenses (I also have the 12-40 pro).

However, if you're shooting inside bars, aren't you finding the "kit" zooms to be a bit slow? I would think a fast prime would be a better bet. The 20mm f/1.7 pancake will be great for that purpose, and still allow your E-M10 to fit into a cargo shorts pocket, and you can drop your ISO by at least 2 stops.

Get the whole GM1 kit, if you decide to go along. I think if you keep the EM-10 body, the size difference of the lens won't be noticed. GM1+12-32 on the other hand will be a considerable difference. It also looks less like a "real camera" so might get you by the bouncers more easily. At least here in Germany, the price difference is small. GM1 kit sells for 444EUR at amazon at the moment.

But as the others said. 20 mm pancake might make more sense, because of the aperture.

Hmm or it looks like I could get the GM1 with kit lens, keep the lens, and sell the GM1 body.  Looks like that would be less expensive than buying the 12-32mm lens on its own!

Slarpy wrote:

So I'll be going into venues such as bars, nightclubs and the like with my E-M10 to do some nightlife photography and I don't want to have to explain to the bouncers what I'm carrying or why every time I do so. These photos will go into my portfolio, so they should be at least pretty good.

I currently have the non-pancake 14-42mm II R lens. The camera is not quite pocketable with this lens on.

I've been thinking of just taking off the lens and sticking it in a different pocket, but then I have to deal with lens/body caps and trying to attach/detach the thing inside a darkened venue. The completely exposed mirrorless sensor makes me nervous about that situation.

OR, I've been thinking about getting rid of the IIR and buying a Panasonic 12-32mm. If it's actually pocketable, there'll be no disassembly required and it'll have a lower profile when being used inside. I thought of the Olympus 14-42 pancake and dismissed it as being too similar to what I already have.

All other possible lenses are too big and too expensive for me.

I know the general specs of the lens but would like to hear your opinions about whether it's worth the trade. The II R sells for peanuts on the bay while there ain't no bargains on the 12-32. All told, it would end up costing me at least $150-175 smackers which isn't chump-change to me these days, plus the annoyance of selling stuff on ebay.

So my questions are:

1) Do you think the 12-32 would be "pocketable" enough to make it worth getting? It's only about an inch shorter than the II R. It would be in a lightweight coat typically worn in, say, 50 degree weather (winter in SoCal.)

Right now, I have an E-M10 and a GM5 which came with as a kit with the 12-32 f/35-56. Before getting the GM5, I had an EPL-5 kit which of course came with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II R. I don't like zooms and so beyond taking each of these lenses for a test drive to make sure they worked, I didn't use them and never put either one on my E-M10. My requirement is that the GM5 or the EPL-5 before will fit in my pants pocket with one of my primes mounted on it. The lenses I have that meet that requirement are the

• Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 FE
• Olympus 12mm f/2.0
• Panasonic-Leica 15mm f/1.7
• Olympus 17mm f/1.8
• Olympus 25mm f/1.8
• Olympus 45mm f/1.8

Except for the fisheye, all of these lenses have blazing fast autofocus, plus all of them, are small and light, well made, and are sharp with excellent image quality. The 15mm and 25mm arrived after the GM5 so, I can't compare them with the 14-42mm The 14-42mm is longer than the other four but not quite as wide as the 7.5mm, which is the widest and heaviest. The 12-32mm is smaller than any of the six, including the 17mm f/1.8 which is the smallest prime I have. The 15mm is the largest and about the same size as the 14-42mm.

While the E-M10 is somewhat small, it isn't really a pocketable camera, mainly because of the EVF hump, unless you have a coat with a fairly large pocket. I have a Lance camera strap on mine and carry it cross body, unless I swap out for my wrist strap which I use just when shooting sometimes.

2) Would the slightly increased field of view (24mm instead of 28mm equiv.) make enough of a difference to warrant a swap, since it will be used inside bars and clubs?

12-32mm gives you a couple of millimeters at the wide end but looses 10mm at the long end compared to the 14-42mm. Considering that these lenses are slow at the wide end and get even slower at the long end, they are fine for shooting outdoors during the day or even in well lit rooms but, I wouldn't think either is a great choice for shooting in bars or clubs.

3) Would the slightly increased photo quality of the Panasonic make enough of a difference to warrant a swap?

Basically, I don't want to waste my time and money if the swap, and its associated costs, would essentially be a wash with what I already have. If the 12-32 would be only slightly better, then I'll just stick with what I have and hope for a cold winter so I can wear a bigger coat.

You seem to be more concerned about both image quality and shooting at the wide end. I have no idea what your budget is but the two best choices for wide would be the 12mm or 15mm but, they are not cheap. You might want to look at the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5. It's faster and smaller than either one of the zooms.

Slarpy wrote:

Hmm or it looks like I could get the GM1 with kit lens, keep the lens, and sell the GM1 body. Looks like that would be less expensive than buying the 12-32mm lens on its own!

Or you could just keep the GM1 + 12-32mm and truly hide it in your pocket. It's an amazing combo.

Then I'd have to sell the E-M10 though and I do like that camera a lot.

bs1946 wrote:

You seem to be more concerned about both image quality and shooting at the wide end. I have no idea what your budget is but the two best choices for wide would be the 12mm or 15mm but, they are not cheap. You might want to look at the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5. It's faster and smaller than either one of the zooms.

You might be right, most of my shots will be taken at 12-14mm (24-28mm equiv).  Perhaps a prime would be a better choice.  Thanks for the 'fo.

As some others have suggested, buy the Pana GM1 kit with the 12-32 lens. But try out the GM1 before you decide to sell it. It's much more pocketable than the E-M10 and takes great images. The lens by itself is selling for about $325 at Adorama while the lens plus GM1 can be had for $450.

lahsrah wrote:

I have both the E-M10 and the 12-32mm lens. I say get it. Its not quite pocket-able but its less than half the size of your Olympus lens in terms of how much it sticks out of the camera when folded. And in terms of image quality its on par if not better.

I sold my 14-42mm IIR lens specifically for the 12mm wide angle. I find most of my shots with this lens are at the 12mm end too. Well worth the swap.

For true MFT pockatability nothing comes close to GM1+14mm prime though. Yes the 12-32mm lens is almost as small but i feel uneasy putting it into tight pockets due to its moving parts. The 14mm is much sturdier.

Yes, the 14/2.5 is very good and much faster focusing than the old 20/1.7.

Here's a link comparing the GM1/12-32 with the E-M10/14-42...

http://j.mp/1e4Tjbo

The 12-32 is tiny, if you want small, that's the way to go.

However, shooting at bars/nightclubs, you want something with a lot wider aperture. The 20mm will allow you to shoot in lower light with faster shutter speeds and lower ISO, but it doesn't focus as fast as the others. If you're not trying to get ninja pics, it should be fine. If you are going to be taking snapshots with fast moving people, almost everything else will focus faster than the 20mm. if it was me, I'd use the PL15 or O17. Both are still small, focus fast, and have wider aperture than the 2 lenses you're thinking about.

Well I think much depends on the pocket. I use the GM-1 with any of those mentioned lenses. Panasonic 15, 20, 25 and the smallest 35 - 100. The latter is a great combination. And the 12-32 only when I need extra wide. If it's raining I use EM-5 and my sharpest lens; the "big" Pana 35-100, and the Oly 12-50. And, if the rain continues, I use deeper pockets.

My favorite combo is GM-1 and 15 (1,7). Small and with aperture-ring.

I second the 14/2.5 option. It's the smallest autofocusing lens in the system, and it's a stop faster than the 12-32. In terms of handling, my girlfriend likes her 14/2.5 better than either her 20/1.7 or my 12-32.

If you're in a dark venue, just ignore the f/3.5 kit zooms. Even with the 14/2.5, you'll be pushing ISO 6400 if you end up using a 1/60 or faster shutter speed (required for freezing motion) - unless you're only doing posed shots, where you can slow the shutter down to maybe 1/15 depending on how steady your hands are and how much you trust IBIS.

If your budget were bigger, I'd say go for the 17/1.8 or the 15/1.7, which are each a stop faster than the 14/2.5. A bit bigger, but if you're looking for low light wide(ish) angle, these are the lenses to try. The 12/2.0 is supposedly great too, but I've never tried (or even seen one).

Alternatively, you could go somewhere like Lens Rentals and rent the different options for a weekend to figure out which you'd like. Maybe not the best option if you're seriously budget constrained though.

Thanks guys, I'm now strongly considering the Panasonic 14mm 2.5.  What's the image quality of that one vs. the Olympus 14-42mm IIR (non pancake) kit lens?  I'm especially looking at sharpness at 14mm.  Distortion I can deal with.

Thanks again!