Question, 75/1.8 on G9

Hey all,

I recently went from an E-M1 to a G9.  I was wondering how well the focus works on the 75/1.8 on a G9?  Anyone using it?

It is one of those lenses that has always been an almost buy... as in since it came out.  Trying to fight the GAS... but the switch to the G9 kind of caused some cracks in my anti-GAS shielding...

The 75 is a great lens but it is a tad slower than newer lenses to focus or feels that way to me. The one thing about it is you have to really look for occasions to use it. I doubt it would be a frequent lens tat you use. I'm considering getting rid of mine for that very reason.

Works fine take into account this lens is not exactly lighting at focus speed on any camera

Shadowfixer wrote:

The 75 is a great lens but it is a tad slower than newer lenses to focus or feels that way to me. The one thing about it is you have to really look for occasions to use it. I doubt it would be a frequent lens tat you use. I'm considering getting rid of mine for that very reason.

I have the opposite experience. Not only is this a lovely lens in terms of optical quality. I also find it extremely useful for all kinds of things: Portraits, including full-figure portraits, stage shooting, street shooting, architecture, landscapes, close-ups, you name it. Some examples of this multifarious use below. I very often shoot it wide open (where it is already very sharp) or thereabout. Examples 1, 2, 4, and 5, below are all at f/1.8, the other two at f/2.8.

Stairway to heaven with love locks. Shot hanging out of a window in Tübingen, Germany.

Violinist at a Vysotskij concert in Stockholm, Sweden

The sun setting on Red Rock Canyon State Park, California

Street shooting in Zadar, Croatia

Cute doggy in Los Angeles, California

Shooting star in Yosemite National Park, California

NoTx wrote:

Hey all,

I recently went from an E-M1 to a G9. I was wondering how well the focus works on the 75/1.8 on a G9? Anyone using it?

It's not one of my most-used lenses, but I think it produces lovely images.  Terrific build quality and I think quite compact for what it is.  Silky smooth focus ring.  Does not come with a lens hood, and the Oly hood is expensive, but there's an aftermarket hood which works fine and is reasonably priced.

I recall trying to use it, I think with my G9, in quite low light and it hunted and hunted for focus and often would not lock on.  I gave up and switched to manual focus.  It really was dim light, but I feel that my Panasonic lenses would have handled it.  Aside from very low light, I don't recall ever having an issue with AF hunting or with its AF speed.  I have used it many times as a compact two-lens kit with my 12-35.

NoTx wrote:

Hey all,

I recently went from an E-M1 to a G9. I was wondering how well the focus works on the 75/1.8 on a G9? Anyone using it?

It is one of those lenses that has always been an almost buy... as in since it came out. Trying to fight the GAS... but the switch to the G9 kind of caused some cracks in my anti-GAS shielding...

SAF is quick and accurate.

CAF is really slow, causes max burst speed to be low and its not very accurate at all at tracking/moving subjects.

I still love it.

Gnine wrote:

Considered the Sigma 56 f/1.4? It works brilliantly on the G9. You'll get the same or possibly better subject isolation due to the f/1.4 & standing a bit closer to your subjects to get the same framing. It's tack sharp wide open, with lovely colour, contrast & bokeh. It does AF-C really well too on the G9.

From all I've read and seen, that is certainly a lens worth considering as an alternative to the 75. But the OP has the 45 f/1.8, so perhaps the 75 makes more sense for him. It would give significantly more reach for concerts or sporting events. I seem to recall someone here getting some great roller derby shots with the 75.  And the 75 can work well for the portrait shots that you describe.

I considered the 56 after it came out and people were posting their reviews and photos. I ended up deciding that I didn't need it since I have the Nocticron, the 75, and the Oly 60,

brentbrent wrote:

NoTx wrote:

Hey all,

I recently went from an E-M1 to a G9. I was wondering how well the focus works on the 75/1.8 on a G9? Anyone using it?

It's not one of my most-used lenses, but I think it produces lovely images. Terrific build quality and I think quite compact for what it is. Silky smooth focus ring. Does not come with a lens hood, and the Oly hood is expensive, but there's an aftermarket hood which works fine and is reasonably priced.

I recall trying to use it, I think with my G9, in quite low light and it hunted and hunted for focus and often would not lock on. I gave up and switched to manual focus. It really was dim light, but I feel that my Panasonic lenses would have handled it. Aside from very low light, I don't recall ever having an issue with AF hunting or with its AF speed. I have used it many times as a compact two-lens kit with my 12-35.

I now recall the situation where I used the 75mm in CAF burst

I had a G9 with sigma 56mm a lens that is also very slow to focus and an EM1MKII with the 75mm 1.8

The G9 nailed almost all shots the 75mm even on the olympus camera had many shots out of focus when there was some action going and did fine on semi-static shots

I have since sold the Olympus camera but kept using the 75mm on the G9 but not for action shots.

I would not think fast action is the main use case for this lens and therefore this should not preclude usage. The key consideration is to have a use case for it.

To be frank if I have to pack a lens for a trip I usually pack the Sigma 56mm because it has a good compromise between performance, bulk and focal length. I have 42.5 56 and 75 mm so I can make that choice

If the OP does not have any of the 42.5/45 56 75 mm I would say unless you do concerts or similar there are other lenses that you should buy first

NoTx wrote:

Hey all,

I recently went from an E-M1 to a G9. I was wondering how well the focus works on the 75/1.8 on a G9? Anyone using it?

It is one of those lenses that has always been an almost buy... as in since it came out. Trying to fight the GAS... but the switch to the G9 kind of caused some cracks in my anti-GAS shielding...

It performs quite well actually. It doesn't use DFD of course but in my experience DFD doesn't change much, i mostly see improvement in video AF. I used the 75 on my G9 and it was a great combo.

I use mine on a G9, to be honest it doesn`t really work for most of what I shoot and being fixed at 75 makes it a one shot pony. I`d turn to my 40-150pro or my 12-100 pro for more flexibility.

Gnine wrote:

Interceptor121 wrote:

I had a G9 with sigma 56mm a lens that is also very slow to focus and an EM1MKII with the 75mm 1.8

The G9 nailed almost all shots the 75mm even on the olympus camera had many shots out of focus when there was some action going and did fine on semi-static shots

I have since sold the Olympus camera but kept using the 75mm on the G9 but not for action shots.

I would not think fast action is the main use case for this lens and therefore this should not preclude usage. The key consideration is to have a use case for it.

To be frank if I have to pack a lens for a trip I usually pack the Sigma 56mm because it has a good compromise between performance, bulk and focal length. I have 42.5 56 and 75 mm so I can make that choice

If the OP does not have any of the 42.5/45 56 75 mm I would say unless you do concerts or similar there are other lenses that you should buy first

There must be something wing with your Signs 56, as mines about indistinguishable from a native lens on my G9. AF-C is no problem on relatively fast moving subjects.

The sigma focuses slow compared ton Panasonic lenses is well known. Moreover many sigma lenses are slow to focus on all formats

your guys there are also going nowhere fast so those would not be an issue as when I took shots of horses jumping it was also ok. But the moment you have a child running erratically it starts having issues compared to another panasonic lens

Totally agree. This is a stellar lens in the mft platform and my absolute fave. Works equally well on my Lumix GX9 as on my OMD EM1ii

Anders W wrote:

Shadowfixer wrote:

The 75 is a great lens but it is a tad slower than newer lenses to focus or feels that way to me. The one thing about it is you have to really look for occasions to use it. I doubt it would be a frequent lens tat you use. I'm considering getting rid of mine for that very reason.

I have the opposite experience. Not only is this a lovely lens in terms of optical quality. I also find it extremely useful for all kinds of things: Portraits, including full-figure portraits, stage shooting, street shooting, architecture, landscapes, close-ups, you name it. Some examples of this multifarious use below. I very often shoot it wide open (where it is already very sharp) or thereabout. Examples 1, 2, 4, and 5, below are all at f/1.8, the other two at f/2.8.

Stairway to heaven with love locks. Shot hanging out of a window in Tübingen, Germany.

Violinist at a Vysotskij concert in Stockholm, Sweden

The sun setting on Red Rock Canyon State Park, California

Street shooting in Zadar, Croatia

Cute doggy in Los Angeles, California

Shooting star in Yosemite National Park, California