Lens suggestion for G7 (indoor use)

just got a G7 with the 14-42 kit lens. Was wondering if there’s a solid “upgrade” i can buy for use inside the house. So maybe something wide and bright, as in house lighting usually sucks. Budget wise, maybe around$200-300 max. Although i am looking more for bang for buck. So if a $100 lens is almost as good as a $300 lens, i’ll get the cheaper one if performance is close. Main use will be taking pictures of my daughter, or family gatherings, that kind of stuff.

Would be nice if i can use it for macro shots ( watches) as well, but not necessary. I’ve used my cellphone camera before, so even the kit lens is already a big step up for that use.

Thanks in advance

With your budget and use case I would suggest a prime lens with a bright aperture such as the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 or the (cheaper) Panasonic 25mm f/1.7.

If you would like to have an option with zoom ability, then I'm afraid you need to save some more money.

Simply go for one of the prime lenses and you'll never go wrong.

Definitely something in the standard prime range.

I just shot a bunch of photos over the weekend at a friends party.  All indoors, with the 25mm f/1.7 and got great results running it wide open.  On my list is the 20MM f/1.7 as well as possibly the 15mm.  The 20MM new will be near the top of your price list, but a lot of people prefer it to the 25mm Panasonic.  Also consider used, they've been out about as long as the system has so there are plenty out there.

The 15 can be had used at the top of your price range, but you may have to buy the DJI branded version (same lens as the pan-leica one, just branded dji)

Eric Gerards wrote:

With your budget and use case I would suggest a prime lens with a bright aperture such as the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 or the (cheaper) Panasonic 25mm f/1.7.

If you would like to have an option with zoom ability, then I'm afraid you need to save some more money.

Simply go for one of the prime lenses and you'll never go wrong.

Given your price range, the 20 or 25 f/1.7 sound like your best bet.  If you can find the 15mm f/1.7 in that range, I'd recommend it instead as it is a little nicer lens.  The Olympus 17mm f/1.8 isn't bad either, but I think it is a little behind the Panasonic 15mm and 20mm.

I have both the 15 and the 20. In terms of image quality, they are fairly comparable, both very good. The 15 is faster focusing. The 20 is not even capable of being used in CAF (continuous auto focus) mode. I think the 15's wider focal length is better for indoor use. The manual aperture ring on the 15 is nice to have, but that's not a huge reason to buy it IMO.

My recommendation is to wait and save a bit more money and buy a used 15, either Panasonic or DJI branded as others have said. You won't be disappointed. You might be disappointed in the slower focusing of the 20.

I have not used the 25mm f/1.7, but I've read many so-so user reviews/comments about it. I do have the 25mm f/1.4, which is a terrific lens, but the focal length is not as useful indoors (or, for my usual purposes, outdoors) as the 15.

My 15mm is better from a build quality standpoint, and it renders lovely images.  I don't think the sharpness is very different from the 20mm, and both are a little more sharp than my 25mm f/1.7.  Also, the wider angle of the 15mm is much better for indoor shots when we you have a group of people.  While I love the 20mm, it is a little narrow field of view if you have more than a couple of people in the shot indoors unless it is a large room.

brentbrent wrote:

I have not used the 25mm f/1.7, but I've read many so-so user reviews/comments about it. I do have the 25mm f/1.4, which is a terrific lens, but the focal length is not as useful indoors (or, for my usual purposes, outdoors) as the 15.

Honestly I really like the 25 f/1.7, I really dont think the focal length is bad for indoor party use, I often shoot from the waist line to keep the camera out of view of the subjects which may be why.

Also from what I have seen the newer examples of the panasonci 25 f/1.7 has been generally good to excellent for most people.  Mines just as sharp as my 42.5 f/1.7 which really is saying a lot

Acydstyne wrote:

WIDEr angle. Makes sense, as none of my relatives or friends live in huge mansions. I think i will do that: save money and go straight for the 15mm 1.7 (maybe get a used one to lower $$$ cost)

thanks!

ps. I noticed nobody recommended non panasonic brand. Is it because I don’t have IbIS, and most other brands don’t have Os on the lens?

The Panasonic lenses seem to have the low cost area covered in the standard to wide primes very well.  Olympus has great options as well, but they tend to be a little more steep.  Their 17 f/1.8 might be a nice option at $350, but their 25 is $250 vs the Panasonic at $150.  Unless you want on of the Olympus f1.2 lenses, where I would say bring your check book (17mm and 25mm f/1.2 are both $1k ish)

Also none of the primes mentioned are stabilized, take that into consideration on how you shoot and you should be OK, the shorter focal lengths stabilization tends to not be as big of a priority.

20mm/1.7 has fantastic photo quality and I love it. However I do get frustrated by the focusing times - it really is that slow. Especially when trying to capture transient moments with people in motion. For me this is also a bit awkward focal length - neither wide nor tele, often I can't fit a whole group of people at the table. I recently use it more for objects than people.

42.5mm/1.7 has great quality as well, it focuses very fast and I find it awesome for portraits and details/closeups. It obviously is too long for capturing whole groups of people (unless in a larger space), however I noticed I use it more often than 20mm at social gatherings.

I consider now saving for 15mm/1.7 to be able to capture the whole interior scene/group and use it instead of 20mm. I do not consider 25mm/1.7 as I don't feel it will bring something new/different, and is even less wide than 20mm.

Not sure about prices in your place, I got each of these slightly under 300$, second hand, waiting a few months until a suitably priced one comes up. I hope to get 15mm under 350$.

Acydstyne wrote:

ps. I noticed nobody recommended non panasonic brand. Is it because I don’t have IbIS, and most other brands don’t have Os on the lens?

I'm pretty sure that all Panasonic lenses (prime or zoom) with a focal length longer than 25mm have OIS, so that is a factor to consider. Also, most of those lenses are Dual IS capable with the newer Panasonic bodies, so that would be good for you if you ever upgrade from the G7. I can't recall now whether the G7 has DFD autofocus (I think it does), which only works with Panasonic lenses, and might give slightly faster autofocus than an Olympus lens.

BUT, Olympus makes some very good lenses as well. Their 12-100 f/4 lens has OIS that works quite well on a Panasonic body. I acquired one of those not long ago and sold my Panasonic 14-140 v.II and 35-100 f/2.8 lenses. The 12-100 is fabulous, and for my purposes that zoom range and the constant f/4 aperture work great (I have fast primes and the 12-35 f/2.8 for indoor use), though it is a bit on the large and heavy side.

So don't ignore Olympus lenses. Being able to mix and match from both brands is one of the big benefits of the MFT system.

hindesite wrote:

Acydstyne wrote:

ps. I noticed nobody recommended non panasonic brand. Is it because I don’t have IbIS, and most other brands don’t have Os on the lens?

None of the primes suggested have OIS, either.

The G7 has DFD so the suggested lenses can take advantage of that, since only Panasonic lenses can do this, and this might affect focusing in lower light.

However, if you are new to the G7 I wouldn't be in a hurry to "upgrade". The kit lens is very good and the G7 has extremely good low light performance, better than the GH4, for example.

Lack of OIS/IBIS was never an issue for me when I used the 15mm PL on my G7 or my GM5.  Just break out the tripod when you want a long exposure time.

20mm Pannycake does focus faster on the more recent Panasonic bodies such as the G7, but it’s still slower than any other MFT lens I’ve used to shift between extremes of focus.