Best Bright Prime Lenses for E-PL6

Dreeke wrote:

alexisgreat wrote:

Does Olympus have anything good in that area- I'm thinking 8mm or 12mm.

The olympus 12mm f/2.0 http://www.dpreview.com/products/olympus/lenses/olympus_m_12_2

Thanks, I'm considering getting that one and the 45mm for starters.

alexisgreat wrote:

Wellington100 wrote:

alexisgreat wrote:

Wellington100 wrote:

alexisgreat wrote:

I was looking through my B&H catalog and found some lenses I might be interested in, any thoughts on these bright primes for astro and landscape photography with the E-PL6?

Olympus

17mm f/1.8

25mm f/1.8

45mm f/1.8

75mm f/1.8

Panasonic

15mm f/1.7

20mm f/1.7

25mm f/1.7

25mm f/1.4

42.5mm f/1.2

Rokinon

24mm f/1.4

35mm f/1.4

85mm f/1.4

Looks like Panasonic has the largest selection of these lenses.

I'm also looking for a great 300mm telephoto prime. Is Rokinon's 300mm f/6.3 better than Olympus's 75-300mm or Panasonic's 100-300mm lens? What about Tokina's 300mm f/6.3 prime? Both of those primes are reasonably priced (are they the same lens?), so I'm not sure how good they are. The Panasonic 100-300mm is the fastest. How much do these weigh (do any of the above weigh too much for my camera?)

Have you considered a wider lens as well. The incredible Oly 12mm comes to mind.

It a great focal length for both landscape and astro and the lens is tack sharp.

Then there is the Panny 14mm pancake, another sharp lens but at a giveaway price. Owning one of these is a no brainer because they are tiny even by M4/3 standards, sharp and dirt cheap. So even if wide does not interest you normally, it's worth having one of these for occasional use.

Thanks, I'm thinking about it now, are they both f/2.8 lenses? Giveaway price? I noticed that I use certain focal lengths a lot- 14mm, 25mm 40mm, 75mm and 150mm. Not much in between those. So I figured I would have better image quality with primes around those focal lengths, rather than a couple of zooms to cover the entire range. I'd like to keep them at f/2.8 or brighter.

The Oly is an f2 and may well be the standout prime of M4/3 aside from the exotically priced lenses.

The Panny is a f2.5 but don't let that put you off, if not for the thickness of the lens caps, it a lens you could carry in a shirt pocket without noticing it's there.

Well, now I have some choices to make! I figured I would start out with two lenses, one ultra wide and one moderate zoom (50mm or under). Oly 12mm and Oly 45mm?

Great choice, how could you possibly go wrong with two fabulous lenses.

Wellington100 wrote:

alexisgreat wrote:

Wellington100 wrote:

alexisgreat wrote:

Wellington100 wrote:

alexisgreat wrote:

I was looking through my B&H catalog and found some lenses I might be interested in, any thoughts on these bright primes for astro and landscape photography with the E-PL6?

Olympus

17mm f/1.8

25mm f/1.8

45mm f/1.8

75mm f/1.8

Panasonic

15mm f/1.7

20mm f/1.7

25mm f/1.7

25mm f/1.4

42.5mm f/1.2

Rokinon

24mm f/1.4

35mm f/1.4

85mm f/1.4

Looks like Panasonic has the largest selection of these lenses.

I'm also looking for a great 300mm telephoto prime. Is Rokinon's 300mm f/6.3 better than Olympus's 75-300mm or Panasonic's 100-300mm lens? What about Tokina's 300mm f/6.3 prime? Both of those primes are reasonably priced (are they the same lens?), so I'm not sure how good they are. The Panasonic 100-300mm is the fastest. How much do these weigh (do any of the above weigh too much for my camera?)

Have you considered a wider lens as well. The incredible Oly 12mm comes to mind.

It a great focal length for both landscape and astro and the lens is tack sharp.

Then there is the Panny 14mm pancake, another sharp lens but at a giveaway price. Owning one of these is a no brainer because they are tiny even by M4/3 standards, sharp and dirt cheap. So even if wide does not interest you normally, it's worth having one of these for occasional use.

Thanks, I'm thinking about it now, are they both f/2.8 lenses? Giveaway price? I noticed that I use certain focal lengths a lot- 14mm, 25mm 40mm, 75mm and 150mm. Not much in between those. So I figured I would have better image quality with primes around those focal lengths, rather than a couple of zooms to cover the entire range. I'd like to keep them at f/2.8 or brighter.

The Oly is an f2 and may well be the standout prime of M4/3 aside from the exotically priced lenses.

The Panny is a f2.5 but don't let that put you off, if not for the thickness of the lens caps, it a lens you could carry in a shirt pocket without noticing it's there.

Well, now I have some choices to make! I figured I would start out with two lenses, one ultra wide and one moderate zoom (50mm or under). Oly 12mm and Oly 45mm?

Great choice, how could you possibly go wrong with two fabulous lenses.

I just saw someone post a color coded lens chart on here- great timing!

Astrotripper wrote:

alexisgreat wrote:

Astrotripper wrote:

alexisgreat wrote:

I'll stay away from Rokinon and the mirror lenses though. Can only the Olympus lenses be autofocused?

Sigma also makes AF lenses for MFT. Those are the trio of f/2.8 primes and the new 30/1.4 that was just announced.

What about these Rokinon lenses you mentioned:

But they also make some lenses designed for mirrorless systems, for example the 10/2.8, 12/2. Their 12/2 is a very good choice for astro landscapes, provided you get a good copy.

AF with these?

No, Samyang (Rokinon/Bower is just a brand name for their lenses) only makes MF lenses.

About the tracking mount, I do have one, but it's the one that came with my telescope. Would that work fine with the 75mm lens?

Yes, with some limitations. Alt-Az mounts cause field rotation and their tracking precision may vary greatly depending on where you point them at.

I've been told I can do AP with it, but limited to 30 seconds (but that's by using the 2000mm OTA as the lens). I should be able to do a minute or more with just the 75mm lens, no?

Maybe, will depend on what you're aiming at. I was able to get 30 seconds with Oly 45mm (see here )

About the tele primes, I need something to bridge my camera lenses to my telescopes. Looks like the Oly 75-300 is my best option.

Well, Panasonic has OIS, which is probably more effective than E-PL6's 2-axis IBIS.

Good point, can the IS of the lens and the IS of the body be added together?

No.

I already have mirror lenses I want to use with my camera, they are telescope OTAs, the Nexstar 8 2000mm and ETX 90 1250mm telescopes. I assume I wont have any issues using these with the camera? The former is f/10 (f/6.3 with reducer) and the latter is f/13.8

I guess shutter shock might be an issue. I think we were already discussing this some time ago.

Yes, but I'm talking using these in long exposure times only....shortest would be 15 sec and longest about a minute. Shutter shock is only an issue between 1/40-1/400, right?

No. You may still get some unwanted effects on very bright stars. But for long exposures, it's trivial to work around. Just place some cover in front of the telescope (but don't touch it), fire a shutter, count to three and move away the cover. Problem fixed.

AT, check out the new thread I posted, which was also on CN, the guy posted some magnificent pics with a modified E-PM2, I guess he found a way around shutter shock? He also said it is great for live time viewing.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/57393387

alexisgreat wrote:

Astrotripper wrote:

alexisgreat wrote:

Yes, but I'm talking using these in long exposure times only....shortest would be 15 sec and longest about a minute. Shutter shock is only an issue between 1/40-1/400, right?

No. You may still get some unwanted effects on very bright stars. But for long exposures, it's trivial to work around. Just place some cover in front of the telescope (but don't touch it), fire a shutter, count to three and move away the cover. Problem fixed.

AT, check out the new thread I posted, which was also on CN, the guy posted some magnificent pics with a modified E-PM2, I guess he found a way around shutter shock?

No, he just had no problems with it. It's not like shutter-shock is something that manifests with every setup. For example, it was never an issue with my newtonian telescope, while being a big problem with my small MAKs.

Astrotripper wrote:

alexisgreat wrote:

Astrotripper wrote:

alexisgreat wrote:

Yes, but I'm talking using these in long exposure times only....shortest would be 15 sec and longest about a minute. Shutter shock is only an issue between 1/40-1/400, right?

No. You may still get some unwanted effects on very bright stars. But for long exposures, it's trivial to work around. Just place some cover in front of the telescope (but don't touch it), fire a shutter, count to three and move away the cover. Problem fixed.

AT, check out the new thread I posted, which was also on CN, the guy posted some magnificent pics with a modified E-PM2, I guess he found a way around shutter shock?

No, he just had no problems with it. It's not like shutter-shock is something that manifests with every setup. For example, it was never an issue with my newtonian telescope, while being a big problem with my small MAKs.

It sounds like a weight issue where the lighter weight of the MAK causes a bigger "shock".

baxters wrote:

-Panasonic released a dud in the 24 mm f1.7. Don't buy it . Something is wrong in its focus algorithm. I'm hoping there will be an software update.

Sorry I totally dispute the observation that the 25 1.7 is a dud. I like mine a lot, and have had no focusing issues whatsoever, in a variety of lighting conditions. You might not like it, but making sweeping generalisations that it's a dud is rubbish.

Roderick Balle wrote:

baxters wrote:

-Panasonic released a dud in the 24 mm f1.7. Don't buy it . Something is wrong in its focus algorithm. I'm hoping there will be an software update.

Sorry I totally dispute the observation that the 25 1.7 is a dud.

Actually, it really might be.

I like mine a lot

I actually like mine as well.

and have had no focusing issues whatsoever

Are you sure? I was, and turns out I was wrong.

Looks like AF on my copy is botched as well. Which explains underwhelming sharpness I get from it in some situations. Print out page 17 of this document and follow the instructions to verify if you are affected as well.

So this is kind of a bummer. I like it, but 180 EUR for a lens with not fully functional AF is way too much. Too bad I noticed this so late.