I guess I'm still having second thoughts on the lenses setup

gary0319 wrote:

Hmm...if you were happy with the the 35mm on a DX body (52mm Full Frame Equiv FOV). then you might want to consider the Oly 25mm, 1.8 (50mm equiv FOV). Excellent little lens for indoors or out. However it is too tight for those family-around-the-table intimate shots, stick with the 12-40 for those.

The history behind how I get the Nikkor 35mm is a funny one: I've switched from film to digital only a few years ago (2012) and I had no idea what FX, DX and equivalency were, and I bought the D5200 imagining I'd have the same results I had with my Pentax ME + 35mm. You can imagine the rest! As you explained above, the 25 would be to narrow, indeed, so I guess I'll stick to the 17mm for daily shooting, too.

3dwag wrote:

the app is called "Lens Exchange"

I just can't find it in the US appstore. Is your phone jailbroken?

sellera wrote:

gary0319 wrote:

Hmm...if you were happy with the the 35mm on a DX body (52mm Full Frame Equiv FOV). then you might want to consider the Oly 25mm, 1.8 (50mm equiv FOV). Excellent little lens for indoors or out. However it is too tight for those family-around-the-table intimate shots, stick with the 12-40 for those.

The history behind how I get the Nikkor 35mm is a funny one: I've switched from film to digital only a few years ago (2012) and I had no idea what FX, DX and equivalency were, and I bought the D5200 imagining I'd have the same results I had with my Pentax ME + 35mm. You can imagine the rest! As you explained above, the 25 would be to narrow, indeed, so I guess I'll stick to the 17mm for daily shooting, too.

Good plan, I'm thinking of adding the 17,1.8 as a wider complement to my 25.

Jim Salvas wrote:

An f/1.8 lens will only gain 1-1/3 stops for night shooting. If you want to shoot in available darkness, you'll need at least a 2-stop gain, at f/1.4. That is generally pretty expensive.

And bulky!

Meanwhile, the good IBIS on your camera gives you a lot of low-light versatility, as long as the subject is not moving.

Coming from SLR/DSLR, I always forget about IBIS on the Oly bodies!

I often wonder what people are shooting in the dark. At f/2.8, 1/30 and ISO 1600, you can shoot by candle light.

Very nice to know - 1/30 with IBIS is no big deal, is it?

But, sure, if you want to shoot in something darker than this, the 2.8 lenses won't do.

No, I really don't want! I just want a prime small enough and fast enough.

TY!

LS

Marty4650 wrote:

The whole family!

If you look at this photo you will notice the 17mm lens stays on my EM1, while the 25mm lens is off to the side. Sitting with the 45mm and 75mm lenses.

Nice to know, I bet she'll be living on my E-M5 II, too!

Based on my own type of shooting, the 17mm is my most used lens.

Mine too!

TY!

LS

Impulses wrote:

Go for it IMO, it's a nice varied setup... You've got something really wide, something really long, a good all around zoom and a faster & more discrete prime as an alternative to it.

That's exactly what I want!

The little Samyang/Bower/Rokinon fisheye (all 3 are the same btw, buy whichever is cheapest) is pretty versatile. You can mask fisheye distortion when pretty well by keeping the horizon level and centered, and you can go a step further and defish in post for an end result still wider than the UWA zooms (tho it's challenging to compose for that)...

OR you can embrace and leverage the fisheye distortion in other cases, whether it's because you're shooting in nature (few straight lines so it's kinda masked) or you're shooting something that fits that kinda distortion...

I'll try both, and see what comes out. Never shot this wide before!

TY!

LS

addlightness wrote:

sellera wrote:

addlightness wrote:

sellera wrote:

Right now, I'm torn between P15 and O17!

15/1.7

This is my sharpest prime (in my bag of 8 primes which includes 25/1.8 and 45/1.8). I chose this over 12/2 and 17/1.8 and I use it mainly on my GM1 (and occasionally on my EM1).

How does she goes with the E-M1? I known the aperture ring won't talk to the body, right?

Apologies - typo. My OMD is a EM10.

Yes, 15/1.7 aperture ring doesn't talk to the body but I'm so used to using the dial on my EM10 that I don't think about the ring whenever I pick up my EM10. That plus the 15/1.7 lives on my GM1 almost all the time.

She's a little more expensive, too, right?

I bought mine from an amazon/hongkong seller for less than $400.

WOW - nice price tag. I wish I could find a deal like that.

It was my most used lens during my recent 4-week summer vacation in Asia.

I bet the wider ones are always most used, indeed!

On that trip, I also have my 9-18mm and P14/2.5 + wide converter. But I chose the 15/1.7 because it's really that good and would only revert to the 9-18 or 14/2.5+wide when there is not enough room to zoom with my feet.

I know the feeling - the love for the lens identity when shooting. I had that with my Pentax.

On a similar note, I would recommend the O40-150 R - I use it more than my 75-300 II because I find the 40-150 much more useful. The 75-300 only comes along when I need the 300mm end which is not very often.

But the aperture on the equivalent focal lengths are about the same, right?

TY!

LS

sellera wrote:

addlightness wrote:

sellera wrote:

addlightness wrote:

sellera wrote:

Right now, I'm torn between P15 and O17!

15/1.7

This is my sharpest prime (in my bag of 8 primes which includes 25/1.8 and 45/1.8). I chose this over 12/2 and 17/1.8 and I use it mainly on my GM1 (and occasionally on my EM1).

How does she goes with the E-M1? I known the aperture ring won't talk to the body, right?

Apologies - typo. My OMD is a EM10.

Yes, 15/1.7 aperture ring doesn't talk to the body but I'm so used to using the dial on my EM10 that I don't think about the ring whenever I pick up my EM10. That plus the 15/1.7 lives on my GM1 almost all the time.

She's a little more expensive, too, right?

I bought mine from an amazon/hongkong seller for less than $400.

WOW - nice price tag. I wish I could find a deal like that.

It was my most used lens during my recent 4-week summer vacation in Asia.

I bet the wider ones are always most used, indeed!

On that trip, I also have my 9-18mm and P14/2.5 + wide converter. But I chose the 15/1.7 because it's really that good and would only revert to the 9-18 or 14/2.5+wide when there is not enough room to zoom with my feet.

I know the feeling - the love for the lens identity when shooting. I had that with my Pentax.

On a similar note, I would recommend the O40-150 R - I use it more than my 75-300 II because I find the 40-150 much more useful. The 75-300 only comes along when I need the 300mm end which is not very often.

But the aperture on the equivalent focal lengths are about the same, right?

TY!

LS

http://m.ebay.com/itm/NEW-BOXED-PANASONIC-LEICA-DG-SUMMILUX-15mm-F1-7-ASPH-LENS-SILVER-4-GX7-GM1-G6-/401161109492

Not quite $400, but $440 seems to be about the lowest it's going for on eBay right now...

Coincidentally, that's the seller that I got my GM1 from (he's in Taiwan), good seller. He slipped in the English manual on a CD-R and switched it over to English before shipping it, as well as including a cable for using the charger in US outlets. I gotta imagine that's more than most would do.

Obviously not much of a concern with a lens, but it shows the guy is rigorous at least. That being said, I'm not sure I'd forsake the warranty and go grey market solely to save 'just' $100-ish... Unless you really want it in silver, which isn't available in many markets (like the US).

Dunno what the situation is as far as eBay sellers shipping to your location... Brazil was it?

sellera wrote:

Jim Salvas wrote:

An f/1.8 lens will only gain 1-1/3 stops for night shooting. If you want to shoot in available darkness, you'll need at least a 2-stop gain, at f/1.4. That is generally pretty expensive.

And bulky!

Meanwhile, the good IBIS on your camera gives you a lot of low-light versatility, as long as the subject is not moving.

Coming from SLR/DSLR, I always forget about IBIS on the Oly bodies!

I often wonder what people are shooting in the dark. At f/2.8, 1/30 and ISO 1600, you can shoot by candle light.

Very nice to know - 1/30 with IBIS is no big deal, is it?

But, sure, if you want to shoot in something darker than this, the 2.8 lenses won't do.

No, I really don't want! I just want a prime small enough and fast enough.

TY!

LS

Being able to shoot under 1600 in the same lighting conditions is good enough reason to opt for a prime for some of us.

sellera wrote:

Impulses wrote:

Go for it IMO, it's a nice varied setup... You've got something really wide, something really long, a good all around zoom and a faster & more discrete prime as an alternative to it.

That's exactly what I want!

The little Samyang/Bower/Rokinon fisheye (all 3 are the same btw, buy whichever is cheapest) is pretty versatile. You can mask fisheye distortion when pretty well by keeping the horizon level and centered, and you can go a step further and defish in post for an end result still wider than the UWA zooms (tho it's challenging to compose for that)...

OR you can embrace and leverage the fisheye distortion in other cases, whether it's because you're shooting in nature (few straight lines so it's kinda masked) or you're shooting something that fits that kinda distortion...

I'll try both, and see what comes out. Never shot this wide before!

TY!

LS

Just set the aperture to f4 or f5.6, focus it once, and then mind your fingers and feet... At 180 AOV it's easy to get them in the frame.

Beginners make two big mistakes when they are "planning to buy into a system."

1. They think they need to buy everything they might need before they start
2. They seem to think that lenses won't be available tomorrow, or next year

The best way to do this is to thoroughly research all the potential systems, read the reviews, study their lens catalogs, then decided which systems might be right for you. Then, try to handle the cameras and lenses if possible, to see if the ergonomics suits you.

When you have selected a system then just buy one camera and one lens.

Then use that camera and lens as much as possible. You will soon discover what you need next. You won't have to ask forum experts what to get next, you will find out for yourself.

You see, what you will need next is entirely based on your shooting style, your subject matter, and your budget. No one can tell you what your next lens should be. You have to find out for yourself. At least, if you do it this way, you won't be buying and selling lenses off because you changed your mind, or made a mistake. That can get pretty expensive!

Use that one camera and lens and if it serves all your needs then stop right there.

But if you find yourself:

• Wishing you had more reach
• Wishing you could go wider
• Wishing you could shoot better in low light
• Wishing you had a different zoom ratio, or a different focal length
• Wishing you had weather sealing or some other feature

...then that would be the right time to consider a second lens.

And all those lenses will be patiently waiting for you. Some will even get cheaper do to promotions, rebates or sales. And there might be new lenses created in the meantime.

You might also be able to get a real bargain by buying the lens you want used from someone "who made a mistake" and bought something they didn't need or like.

Remember this photo?

It took me seven years to assemble this kit. And it all started with one camera and one lens. An Olympus EP1 plus a very humble 17mm f/2.8 kit lens that my wife still uses. And she frequently gets better photos than I do with all my fancy cameras and lenses.

You have absolutely nothing to gain by buying everything up front. If you are patient, and wait to see what you really need, then you can save yourself a lot of money and effort.

sellera wrote:

addlightness wrote:

sellera wrote:

addlightness wrote:

sellera wrote:

Right now, I'm torn between P15 and O17!

15/1.7

This is my sharpest prime (in my bag of 8 primes which includes 25/1.8 and 45/1.8). I chose this over 12/2 and 17/1.8 and I use it mainly on my GM1 (and occasionally on my EM1).

How does she goes with the E-M1? I known the aperture ring won't talk to the body, right?

Apologies - typo. My OMD is a EM10.

Yes, 15/1.7 aperture ring doesn't talk to the body but I'm so used to using the dial on my EM10 that I don't think about the ring whenever I pick up my EM10. That plus the 15/1.7 lives on my GM1 almost all the time.

She's a little more expensive, too, right?

I bought mine from an amazon/hongkong seller for less than $400.

WOW - nice price tag. I wish I could find a deal like that.

Most ebay sellers ships worldwide.  How do you deal with custom taxes, if any?  If there is none, then it's worth scouting ebay or amazon's international sellers but a word of caution there especially new sellers.

It was my most used lens during my recent 4-week summer vacation in Asia.

I bet the wider ones are always most used, indeed!

On that trip, I also have my 9-18mm and P14/2.5 + wide converter. But I chose the 15/1.7 because it's really that good and would only revert to the 9-18 or 14/2.5+wide when there is not enough room to zoom with my feet.

I know the feeling - the love for the lens identity when shooting. I had that with my Pentax.

On a similar note, I would recommend the O40-150 R - I use it more than my 75-300 II because I find the 40-150 much more useful. The 75-300 only comes along when I need the 300mm end which is not very often.

But the aperture on the equivalent focal lengths are about the same, right?

I was referring more to the useable focal lengths, not so much of apertures as both are slow lenses which doesn't bother me as I only use them outdoors under good lighting.

sellera wrote:

3dwag wrote:

the app is called "Lens Exchange"

I just can't find it in the US appstore. Is your phone jailbroken?

I just looked, I can't find it either.

No, my phone is not jail broken.  I bought this at least a few years ago, I suspect that it is no longer supported by the developer so it doesn't show up in App Store anymore, but still works with iOS 9.

Here is the splash screen, don't know if that helps - there are no links on it, so this screenshot gives you the same as I can see:

Splash screen for "LensEx", a.k.a. "Lens Exchange", no longer available in Apple App Store.

Great advice but I believe the OP is asking because he is taking a trip to the USA for the specific purpose of buying his kit. Apparently it is too expensive in his home country of Brazil. That's why he is agonizing over his decision since her can't just run back to the store or order something else latter.

To the OP, unless you have a specific need for the 75-300mm, I still recommend the 14-150 MK II over that one. The 14-150 is a great all purpose, walk around lens. It is lite, about the same size as the 12-40 Pro, and also weather resistant long with being sharp. If you want a long reach lens, save your money for the Panasonic 100-400mm and buy that later. The 75-300 is good, but the 14-150 is used more for me at least.

Marty4650 wrote:

peppermonkey wrote:

With that said, the Pan Leica 15mm, from what I have read is a better lens optically. On the top of the list of lenses I want. No real negatives that I can see.

I have actually lusted over this lens, and wanted to replace my already outstanding Olympus 17mm f/1.8 with it.

But then I heard that the aperture ring will not work on Olympus bodies.

If that is true, than that would be a huge negative for me. Since the 17mm really is a fine lens, I suppose I just saved $600.

So perhaps it is a positive?

why this would be a huge negative? So you can't use a feature on an Olympus body...it's not as if there are other lenses that have an aperture ring, certainly no Olympus lenses anyhow. So basically you are losing a feature that you wouldn't have had anyway with other lenses... And whether you could use it or not, it doesn't affect the lens functionality at all, nor does it inconvenience Oly body users so what's the big deal?

BruceRH wrote:

Great advice but I believe the OP is asking because he is taking a trip to the USA for the specific purpose of buying his kit. Apparently it is too expensive in his home country of Brazil. That's why he is agonizing over his decision since her can't just run back to the store or order something else latter.

To the OP, unless you have a specific need for the 75-300mm, I still recommend the 14-150 MK II over that one. The 14-150 is a great all purpose, walk around lens. It is lite, about the same size as the 12-40 Pro, and also weather resistant long with being sharp. If you want a long reach lens, save your money for the Panasonic 100-400mm and buy that later. The 75-300 is good, but the 14-150 is used more for me at least.

Yeah, generally I'd agree with Marty's advice, it's what I did... But the OP's situation is unique. I often complain about not having ANY camera stores where I live but I should consider myself lucky everything is still one UPS delivery away from Amazon or B&H, or a slow boat ride away via eBay seller at worst.

sellera wrote:

peppermonkey wrote:

If you 'Must' have a 35mm equivalent lens, then go with the Oly 17mm 1.8. It's a fine lens. Actually, there isn't really any dud lenses in m43 land. Sure, there are ones that are worse than others, like the other Oly 17mm 2.8 but even that one can and does produce great images (I have one).

It's not that I MUST have, it's more I'm USED to shoot (film) with a 35 for 20+ years.

ahh, well, if you can adapt to using the 15mm it would probably be worth it. If you can't, or more importantly, you don't want to, the Oly 17mm is certainly a fine lens.

With that said, the Pan Leica 15mm, from what I have read is a better lens optically. On the top of the list of lenses I want. No real negatives that I can see.

Yes, you guys seem to love this beautiful lady, I'm afraid I will fall for her, too!

TY!

LS

-- hide signature --

Date the body, marry the lenses.

Already fallen for her, but like many things in life, can't have...yet

Impulses wrote:

http://m.ebay.com/itm/NEW-BOXED-PANASONIC-LEICA-DG-SUMMILUX-15mm-F1-7-ASPH-LENS-SILVER-4-GX7-GM1-G6-/401161109492

Not quite $400, but $440 seems to be about the lowest it's going for on eBay right now...

Coincidentally, that's the seller that I got my GM1 from (he's in Taiwan), good seller. He slipped in the English manual on a CD-R and switched it over to English before shipping it, as well as including a cable for using the charger in US outlets. I gotta imagine that's more than most would do.

Very thoughtful seller - I once bought some usb 3 - 2 conversors from ebay and the seller sent me Chinese instructions!

Obviously not much of a concern with a lens, but it shows the guy is rigorous at least. That being said, I'm not sure I'd forsake the warranty and go grey market solely to save 'just' $100-ish... Unless you really want it in silver, which isn't available in many markets (like the US).

As Batman said - "does it come in black?"

Dunno what the situation is as far as eBay sellers shipping to your location... Brazil was it?

They ship directly through our postal service (correios), but it's a lottery - I may or may be not be taxed, unfortunately.

TY!

LS

Impulses wrote:

Being able to shoot under 1600 in the same lighting conditions is good enough reason to opt for a prime for some of us.

Yeah,  it definitely matters a lot!

TY!

LS

Impulses wrote:

Just set the aperture to f4 or f5.6, focus it once, and then mind your fingers and feet... At 180 AOV it's easy to get them in the frame.

I was thinking just about that - my feet. 13 1/2! Damn, the'll be in the frame

TY!

LS