Panasonic 14-140mm OR Olympus 40-150mm f4-5.6?

Hi

The latest version Panasonic 14-140, the Mk II which allegedly suffers from shuttershock is F3.5-5.6,  not F4.0-5.6.  Is that the one you have?

I've had one for a couple of years and whist I haven't used it that much I find it to be outstanding for a zoom, with good colour rendition and sharp end to end.

I also find the shutter shock issue to be a damp squib as I'd not been aware of it if it weren't for this forum.

It's a gem of a lens.

Dave

Before all, I want to clarify one thing: current version of Lumix 14-140 is 3.5-5.6.

Now

I know both lenses, I used to have Oly 40-150, and 14-140 is my current favorite. These lenses are very different because Oly lens is missing crucial 14-40 range. Presence of this range makes Lumix very special and superior. Also, build of Oly feels cheap. Price reflexes these differences,

Optically, Oly is good, delivers clear sharp images, Lens does not have OIS, and did not deliver fun and joy for me, which makes my opinion very personal.

Pana, as I confessed before, is my current favorite. Lens has very good build and feel in hands, This lens delivers versatility, IQ, fun and joy of photos taking. Focus is fast and nimble - the best amid all lenses I have. I've retired 14-45 and 45-200 (both Pana) and have no regrets.

I have less than little experience in videos, so here I have a blind spot. Also it is difficult to comment on shutter shock and how it affects the lens. My current GH2 has sensor mortally attached to the body - shock either minimal or totally absent. I did not find any presence of this shock, but I've taken only 3200 shots with this lens, so maybe it'll come later...when I get new camera body - it remains to be seen

Yes, this lens is not fast - 3.5 @ 14 mm, but it is not bitterly expensive (I've paid $400 on amazon for mine).

I'd spend more and bought 14-140.

WGPhotography wrote:

saudidave wrote: The latest version Panasonic 14-140, the Mk II which allegedly suffers from shuttershock is F3.5-5.6, not F4.0-5.6. Is that the one you have?

Sorry, yes that's the one. My mistake

I would keep the 14-140 then. It really is a gem of a lens and tough too! I dropped mine on a ceramic floor from a metre high and apart from the tiniest ding (almost imperceptible) to the barrel, it suffered no harm and still works perfectly.

I've used it with a G6 & a G7 body and I can't say I've had any shutter shock although since I became aware of it , as  an aperture priority shooter I keep an eye on shutter speed and if it falls below 1/100th I change to e shutter, which i have set up on an fn button

Dave

The 14-140 f4-5.6 is not the latest issue.  You have purchased the original lens.

For me the choice was very easy.  The 14-140 is so much more useful because of the 14-40 that is missing from the  Oly lens.  When I am out taking pictures, I hate to change lenses.  This summer, when I went to Yellowstone, i found that the 14-140 was on my lens most of the time and at least 60% of the time I was in the 14-40 range.  In fact, when I was not using the 14-140, I was using the 12-35 lens.  Indoors or in poor light I used the 15MM 1.7 lens.  I have other lenses but these three are the ones I have to have in my bag.

Hal

LMNCT wrote:

The 14-140 f4-5.6 is not the latest issue. You have purchased the original lens.

The OP confirmed in response to me, many hours before you posted that he did indeed have the F3.5-5.6 Mk II

saudidave wrote:

LMNCT wrote:

The 14-140 f4-5.6 is not the latest issue. You have purchased the original lens.

The OP confirmed in response to me, many hours before you posted that he did indeed have the F3.5-5.6 Mk II

To be clear, the 2 versions are:

14-140mm f4.0/5.8  and

14-140mm f3.5/5.6 (newer version).

There is no f4--5.6

Diane R

If I had to choose between those two lenses, I'd choose the 14-140. While you may have limited use for a superzoom now, they are really useful down the track for things like  travelling.

WGPhotography wrote:

- I've heard of shutter shock issues with the 14-140mm and the GX8things.

I believe not many people have used the Oly 40-150mm on Panasonic bodies (due to lack of IS), and therefore shutter shock with Panasonic bodies would not be widely reported even if it was there. The odds are high that the 40-150mm is not any better than the 14-140mm in this regard. Personally I use silent shutter almost all the time and it eliminates the problem 100%.

v11f wrote:

Yes, I agree using electronic shutter eliminates shutter shock 100% - I had some real shockers with the 14-140 using the normal shutter before I switched - but it is prone to rolling shutter effect when taking moving objects / action pics: do you agree, and: is there a fix with the G6, or would the problem be reolsved with the G80/85 ?

Rolling shutter can be a problem, and you can't use flash with electronic shutter. Also, the readout is only 10bit instead of 12bit, which means lifting shadows several stops will introduce noise that otherwise would not be there (not sure about G80/85).

G80/85 has a new electromagnetic shutter that eliminates about 90% of the shock (according to Panasonic, if I remember correct). G80/85 also has an electronic first curtain, that alone should get rid of the shutter shock.

For 90% of the cases electronic shutter is perfectly fine in my use. I even used it when I was shooting a floorball game last week. 1000 mechanical shutter counts would have been 1% or 2% of the shutter lifetime, depending on how it is counted.

saudidave wrote:

Hi

The latest version Panasonic 14-140, the Mk II which allegedly suffers from shuttershock is F3.5-5.6, not F4.0-5.6. Is that the one you have?

I've had one for a couple of years and whist I haven't used it that much I find it to be outstanding for a zoom, with good colour rendition and sharp end to end.

I also find the shutter shock issue to be a damp squib as I'd not been aware of it if it weren't for this forum.

It's a gem of a lens.

Dave

"Damp squib"!  Perfect analysis.  Thanks.

As you have a Panasonic camera body you are probably best sticking with a Panasonic lens as Panasonic offer dual IS with most of their lenses and this is of most value at longer FLs. If you did wish to compare with an Olympus lens the obvious one would be the 14-150 f4-5.6 version 2 which has comparable range and is weather sealed. It is a good lens but the lack of in lens OIS would rule it out unless you were using a Panasonic camera with the most recent 5 axis image stbilisation such as the GX80/85.

I started a thread regarding any issues about shutter shock with the 14-140 and had some very informative replies. https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4064814

Basically with the GX85 and G85 due to dual I.s., there are no issues, but sorry, not sure about the GX8.