Telephoto Lens that can keep up with my G7?

I purchased a Lumix G7 around 3 months ago.  Can't be happier with it, it's a fantastic camera.

The first thing I did was ditch the Panasonic 14-42 that came with it.  Theyre a poor lens optically.  I replaced it with the older 14-45 which is a much better lens optically.  The problem with the 14-45 is that being an older lens, it struggles to keep up with the G7 when shooting bursts of images.  As the camera will only fire (due to my required settings) once it has achieved focus, rather than the 7fps it is capable of with more modern lenses (like the 14-42, it drops down to around 3fps and has the super high speed mode totally greyed out.

Now for general use, this doesn't bother me all that much.  I generally shoot in AF-S mode so burst rates don't even come in to question, however, I'm looking to buy a telephoto lens for which I will be shooting moving subjects where a fast burst mode will be very useful.  3fps would be ok, but making full use of the G7s capabilities would be better.

I've been looking at used lenses and the 45-200 and 45-150 are the lenses that catch my eye.  The 45-200 being the older lens out of the two, but also (apparently) being the better lens optically, which is very important to me.  I have no doubt that the newer 45-150 will perform better with the G7 body (AF wise) but has anyone used a 45-200 on a G7 or more modern body?  How capable was the lens in burst mode (at being able to acquire focus between shots at high FPS).  Likewise for the 45-150.  Is it any better?

Thanks

The 14-140 pairs really nicely with the G7 - a tremendous walk-around combination.  The 100-400 is a completely different price bucket but also seems to "sing" with the G7 Conversely, the older 100-300 has lots of issues with slow focus / focus hunting.

the cheap pana 35-100 focuses quick

and oly 40-150R version is cheap but focuses fast.

i bought the older 4/3 version and that one does not fit your description.

there may be some primes too.

MysteryLemon wrote:

I purchased a Lumix G7 around 3 months ago. Can't be happier with it, it's a fantastic camera.

The first thing I did was ditch the Panasonic 14-42 that came with it. Theyre a poor lens optically. I replaced it with the older 14-45 which is a much better lens optically. The problem with the 14-45 is that being an older lens, it struggles to keep up with the G7 when shooting bursts of images. As the camera will only fire (due to my required settings) once it has achieved focus, rather than the 7fps it is capable of with more modern lenses (like the 14-42, it drops down to around 3fps and has the super high speed mode totally greyed out.

Try getting a VERY fast memory card. You'd be amazed how performance improves overall, from startup time to saving image files. I just picked up a Lexar 2000x (300MB/s) memory card and my GX8 does everything MUCH faster.

Be sure to reformat your memory cards occasionally, instead of just dumping images.

Now for general use, this doesn't bother me all that much. I generally shoot in AF-S mode so burst rates don't even come in to question, however, I'm looking to buy a telephoto lens for which I will be shooting moving subjects where a fast burst mode will be very useful. 3fps would be ok, but making full use of the G7s capabilities would be better.

I've been looking at used lenses and the 45-200 and 45-150 are the lenses that catch my eye. The 45-200 being the older lens out of the two, but also (apparently) being the better lens optically, which is very important to me. I have no doubt that the newer 45-150 will perform better with the G7 body (AF wise) but has anyone used a 45-200 on a G7 or more modern body? How capable was the lens in burst mode (at being able to acquire focus between shots at high FPS). Likewise for the 45-150. Is it any better?

You've got it backwards. The 45-150mm is better optically and it's much smaller, lighter and the autofocus is much faster.

For a single lens solution, check out the 14-140mm II.

Have you tried using back button focus ?. You might find that this helps if the subject distance isn't changing as it saves refocussing each time.

How to do this can be found at:

http://www.funtechtalk.com/how-to-back-button-autofocus-af-on-panasonic-lumix-dmc-g7-camera/

I wasn't so sure about doing this but have found it works really well on the G7 (but not so on the GX8 as the AE/AF button is further away). I don't bother going to a single AF point but often have the focus selector in MF so you get the peaking display  - although it can get in the way. Quite strange being able to use auto-focus in MY but you get used to it.

My 45-150 has been excellent - tack sharp, super fast focusing, and able to support continuous autofocus and burst shooting. It's my favorite lens for my G7.

i think the OP is just asking for lenses that can keep up with the g7 as there are some that do not and focus slow.

I own a couple of them too and the technique may work good but it may not for every situation.