Olympus 12mm f2 As a Vlogging Lens? + Ultrawide Conversion

I'm currently looking at the Oly 12mm f2 as a lens to be used primarily for vlogging on youtube. Yes, I know there are other options out there, but they're either not fast enough (like the zooms), not wide enough (like the PanaLeica 15mm), or don't have AF (which is a must). So I need to know how this lens performs with AF for video, and specifically how it would perform with C-AF for video on a Panasonic body like the G85.

I'm also looking into wide angle adapters for the lens as ideally I would like to use an fov wider than the typical 12mm angle for videos so that I can more easily record myself. I know that the Panasonic DMC-GWC1 wide-angle converter can work with the 46mm filter thread on the Oly 12mm, but does anyone know what the results of that would look like? Would that mess up the optics or the C-AF performance? Are there any other UWA converters out there that might work better than the GWC1?

Thank you in advance for any help or answers you can provide.

I have that lens and a GH5.  I don't tend to use AF much for my video work but I did a quick, informal test and it seems to take about 2-3 seconds to rack from near focus (holding something close to camera) to mid-range focus (someone framed at a comfortable distance from the camera). YMMV.

I haven't used the 46mm wide angle converter you mention though I've always been curious to try it.

A past thread here detailed trouble using wide converters as they protrude too far into the field of view. I'd love to be proven wrong if someone has had success.

Elemental Photography wrote:

A past thread here detailed trouble using wide converters as they protrude too far into the field of view. I'd love to be proven wrong if someone has had success.

Hmm, I was hoping to see some examples of images from the combos they tried. Not a very long thread, unfortunately, and they didn't try the combo of the Pany wide converter with the Oly 12mm either, so I'm still not quite sure if it would work or not (I'm assuming the Pany converter is higher quality than some of the cheaper converters one can buy from amazon and the like, so maybe that would change the results?)

Elemental Photography wrote:

I have that lens and a GH5. I don't tend to use AF much for my video work but I did a quick, informal test and it seems to take about 2-3 seconds to rack from near focus (holding something close to camera) to mid-range focus (someone framed at a comfortable distance from the camera). YMMV.

I haven't used the 46mm wide angle converter you mention though I've always been curious to try it.

Hmm, would you say that's about average for most lenses on your GH5? Could you test the performance in continuous AF? Video samples would be amazing if you have the time haha

I know this is asking a bit, but if you've been curious to try out the converter and you have the lens already, maybe you could find a used sample on ebay from a seller with a good return policy and test the results for us? Could always return it then if it doesn't work out.

Would something like the adapter used here work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9ClygpMG60

It's a wider adapter so would it be possible to just get a 46mm stepping ring to attach it to the Olympus 12mm?

Elemental Photography wrote:

A past thread here detailed trouble using wide converters as they protrude too far into the field of view. I'd love to be proven wrong if someone has had success.

A small vignette may be okay for my needs as I only need it for video and the G85 crops in for 4k recording.

Paulmorgan wrote:

Save your money and just get the Panasonic 14mm, some here use an adapter that makes the lens even wider, not enough light, add some of your own.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMif5MNt8so

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZxwxYh7ucA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlgX2lEPGk8

That is an option, but I'm hoping to use that as a last resort as I don't really know that it's worth giving up an extra 2/3 stop of light just for 1mm. Honestly I may just prefer to use the 12mm by itself at that point, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I need this combo for run and gun video shooting where lugging around lighting equipment isn't an option. So yes, the 2/3 less of a stop would be a pretty significant negative.