Is the Panny 14-140 worth $150 more than the Oly 14-150?

Right now, Olympus has $150 off on their 14-150mm zoom. The Panasonic 14-140 is selling for around $600 or so.

Is the Panasonic that much better to make it worth $150 more?

I have read every review and comparison I could find and it seems that the Panasonic lens is thought to be better than the Olympus.

I'll be using whichever lens I buy on my Panazonic GX7. I did try out the Olympus lens today and it handled fine. Poor lighting at dusk made me have to use an ISO of 800 & 1600 to get decent exposures, but the images are quite acceptable for the short tryout I had.

I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Thanks

I have the Olympus 14-150 original and the Olympus 14-150 II.

They share the same optical formula but the construction of the II is much more solid and a bit heavier.

My II version is noticeably sharper then the original version.   I think it comes down to better centering of all the optical elements.

There have been quite a few reports by users that the Panasonic 14-150 was better than the Olympus original lens, but at the same time I have seen reviews in German magazines that showed excellent of performance of the original Olympus version.  So it is my believe that there is very little difference between the lenses when you get a good Olympus one, and by getting the II version you are much more likely to get a good one.  That is the way it worked out for me.  But I have not actually compared a Panasonic against the Olympus.  I am getting such good results out of my Olympus 14-150 II there is no reason I would want to try the Panasonic.

By the way, I got the II version because I need the weather resistance.  I was not expecting the boost in image sharpness that I got.

Panny has lens stavbilisatipn which might be helpful if you are shooting with pànny bodies

I'd say no unless you need stabilisation. Oly 14-150 Mk II has weather sealing and that makes it worth more, assuming you take advantage of it.

Noku Dzu wrote:

I'll be using whichever lens I buy on my Panazonic GX7. I did try out the Olympus lens today and it handled fine. Poor lighting at dusk made me have to use an ISO of 800 & 1600 to get decent exposures, but the images are quite acceptable for the short tryout I had.

I have the original 14-150mm and its a great lens.Very sharp at both ends and it delivers great images.

If the new Oly is even better then that surely must be a fantastic lens.

I have heard lots of good things about the Pana 14-140mm as well, but there is supposed to be a shuttershock problem. You might want to research that if you consider buying it.

Btw. the GX7 has IBIS but should you want to use the lens on Pana bodies without IS in the future then I would consider that as well. Stabilization is a must have for me.

Noku Dzu wrote:

Right now, Olympus has $150 off on their 14-150mm zoom. The Panasonic 14-140 is selling for around $600 or so.

Is the Panasonic that much better to make it worth $150 more?

I have read every review and comparison I could find and it seems that the Panasonic lens is thought to be better than the Olympus.

I'll be using whichever lens I buy on my Panazonic GX7. I did try out the Olympus lens today and it handled fine. Poor lighting at dusk made me have to use an ISO of 800 & 1600 to get decent exposures, but the images are quite acceptable for the short tryout I had.

I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Thanks

To pair up with panny body, 14-140 II is your obvious choice.

A few shots by my wife on her GX1 from 14-140II recently:

GX1 + 14-140II, f/4.7, 1/400", ISO160 @40mm

GX1 + 14-140II, f/5.4, 1/640", ISO160 @69mm

GX1 + 14-140II, f/5.0, 1/200" (within the possible SS zone), ISO160 @24mm

GX1 + 14-140II, f/5.6, 1/13", ISO400 @69mm

Good point, I would not even consider the Oly lens if the GX7 did not have in body stabilization.

So, the issue is image quality and build quality of the Oly lens.  Some say they are so close in IQ that it's a moot point.  Others say the Panny is noticeably better, sigh, what to do ...

Unfortunately there aren't a lot of good side-by-side comparisons.

DxO places the Oly MkII rather dramatically inferior to the Panny. SLRgear places the MkI behind the Panny, but hasn't tested the MkII. Ephotozine seems to like them both, but says the Panny is "worth the premium".

I have the MkI Panasonic and like it a lot, but the weathersealing of the Oly is tempting. I wouldn't be willing to give up sharpness for $150 though - superzooms already live on the edge.

I have both. I will try to do a rudimentary comparison in the next few days. Both are comparably sharp. The Olympus probably is slightly sharper. The Panasonic is a higher contrast lens. My preference is the Panasonic, though right now I'm shooting with just Panny bodies.

Joe - Southeastern PA

No-one mentioned the Tamron 14-150mm f/3.5-5.8 Di III
As I was also looking for a new allround lens, this one came along my search on the internet.
How do you guys think about the quality of this lens compared to the Oly II and Panasonic 
power ios version?
Is it to be considered?

Noku Dzu wrote:

Good point, I would not even consider the Oly lens if the GX7 did not have in body stabilization.

So, the issue is image quality and build quality of the Oly lens. Some say they are so close in IQ that it's a moot point. Others say the Panny is noticeably better, sigh, what to do ...

True, GX7 is the first Panny camera to have IBIS, but in a very primitive way.

According to some experienced members' opinion, likely equivalent to around the first generation of Oly's IBIS. IMHO, likely would give 1~1.5 stop or slightly better (from my experience with 14 f/2.5). Comparing to the >3 stops power OIS of 14-140II, the choice would be yours.

I searched a superzoom last summer. Tried all except the Tamron lens.

I made some dozen test shots (architecture, close up, portrait) and gave "points" to the result.

Here is my averaged rating (10=perfect even for pixel peepers like me, 5=shows weakness on web sized photo or small print):

1. 9,5/10 Olympus PRO 12-40 / 40-150
2. 8,2/10 Pana Leica 14-150
3. 7,2/10 Panasonic 14-140 II
4. 6,5/10 Olympus 14-150 I
5. ~6/10 Panasonic 14-140 I (did not do further testing)

The two lenses you asked for have these properties (note that Oly I and II are quite similar, as far as I have heard from other people, the new version has same optical formula but seems to have better colors/coating and less onion effect in bokeh):

• Olympus 14-150 I:
  + Quite good from 18-50mm, smooth bokeh for a 10x zoom
  - very soft close up, little bit soft at long end
• Pany 14-140 II:
  + Quite good from 70-140mm, good close up lens, OIS for pany bodies
  - little bit soft from 14-40mm, susceptible to shutter shock (use fast speed, EFC or electronic shutter)

Choose whatever you need most (wide angle versus tele and close-up), I choose PL14-150(good but heavy) + O14-150 (not perfect at all but light) but could have been happy with 14-140 II alone.

Christof

Here are some 100% crops to illustrate what I was talking about:

Architecture shot, 100% crops from center

Architecture shot, 100% crops from left edge

Cristof,

Wow! Thank you, thank you for those images and your comments.  Those give me something tangible to consider.

The PanLeica is obviously superior.  At first glance, it looks like the PanLeica is almost a collectible, no longer made it seems, out of my price range too.

So, for me it will be as my subject line says.  I'm hoping to get back to try out the Oly 14-150 again, when there is decent light.

I will be getting one of these zooms because of wanting the longer reach on a walkabout lens.  I have the 14-42 II kit lens (better quality than I would have expected) and an Oly 60mm macro if I need 'serious' quality.

Thanks again for your helpful emperical evidence.

and comments.  I really appreciate you taking the time to share them.  When I tried out the Oly 14-150 zoom in poor lighting in and outside of the camera shop, it seemed that the GX7 was doing a pretty good job with its built-in stabilization.  I hope to try it out again when there is decent lighting available.

Noku Dzu wrote:

Right now, Olympus has $150 off on their 14-150mm zoom. The Panasonic 14-140 is selling for around $600 or so.

Is the Panasonic that much better to make it worth $150 more?

I have read every review and comparison I could find and it seems that the Panasonic lens is thought to be better than the Olympus.

I'll be using whichever lens I buy on my Panazonic GX7. I did try out the Olympus lens today and it handled fine. Poor lighting at dusk made me have to use an ISO of 800 & 1600 to get decent exposures, but the images are quite acceptable for the short tryout I had.

I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Thanks

On an Olympus body there is no question that the answer is "no, the Panasonic is not worth it." The Panasonic lens has OIS: that's what you paying for. So I suppose it comes down how good the IS on your GX7 is. Your experience with the Olympus lens suggests that the GX7's stabilisation is good enough to buy the Olympus lens.

Noku Dzu wrote:

Cristof,

Wow! Thank you, thank you for those images and your comments. Those give me something tangible to consider.

The PanLeica is obviously superior. At first glance, it looks like the PanLeica is almost a collectible, no longer made it seems, out of my price range too.

So, for me it will be as my subject line says. I'm hoping to get back to try out the Oly 14-150 again, when there is decent light.

I will be getting one of these zooms because of wanting the longer reach on a walkabout lens. I have the 14-42 II kit lens (better quality than I would have expected) and an Oly 60mm macro if I need 'serious' quality.

Thanks again for your helpful emperical evidence.

Yes, the PL14-150 is quite rare and it works best on EM1.

For most people this lens is to special, the modern zooms are easier to handle.

By the way, if you are really happy with the 14-42 lens and you don't mind changing lenses:

You could consider the excellent 40-150/4-5.6 or 45-150 compact zooms. Very cheap and very good image quality. Also very good for occasional close-ups. I have a 40-150/4-5.6R and quality wise it sits between the little bit soft 14-150 tele and the excellent 40-150/2.8 lens. I have heard very good comments about the Panasonic 45-150mm lens too ...

Christof

Sharper by an order of two, less vignetting, less chromatic aberration.