Lumix GH4: What lens/adapter?

[seb123seb]

Hello,

I am planning on buying a Panasonic Lumix GH4 for filming 4K. I need some advice on an all-round lens for it. I was thinking about an adapter coupled with the Tamron 24-70 2.8 since I will be using that one for photos. It would save me some money and perhaps still prove a solid all-round lens for filming as well. The question is then, what adapter? I am not experienced using adapters and unsure if it is worth it or if I should go for a lens like the "Panasonic AF 12-35/2,8 G X Lumix Vario ASPH Power OIS".

Any tips and recommendations are welcome.

It will be used mainly for documenting events, weddings and for ad-films.

 

[ThomHaig]

Hi Seb,

The combo of a GH4 + Metabones adapter seems a popular one. The EF XL version would be the best one if you want to use the tamron 24-70mm f2.8. It supports autofocus and the image stabilisation also. Compared to the panasonic 12-35mm you'll have an extra 1+1/3 stop of light, though it won't go quite as wide. The other payoff is the tamron will be significantly bigger and heavier.

Hope that helps.

[jonpais]

Why are you buying GH4? ? Also, the Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 is not only better quality, it is significantly less expensive than the Tamron as well. 

[Cary Knoop]

15 minutes ago, jonpais said:

Why are you buying GH4?

Same question here!

Buying a GH4 right now does not make much sense unless you get it really cheap. 

In my opinion the quality of the GX85 and G85 already surpassed the quality of the GH4. 

I would either wait till late spring/summer for the GH5 or buy a G(X) 85 right now.

 

[webrunner5]

1 hour ago, Cary Knoop said:

Same question here!

Buying a GH4 right now does not make much sense unless you get it really cheap. 

In my opinion the quality of the GX85 and G85 already surpassed the quality of the GH4. 

I would either wait till late spring/summer for the GH5 or buy a G(X) 85 right now.

 

Or even a Panasonic G7 is a great option until we see what the GH5 brings. The GH4 would have to be $750.00 or less before I would buy one now. They are a great camera no doubt. 

You really need an even wider lens than a 24-70mm when you figure in a 2x crop with MFT and it is even higher than that with the GH4 using 4K. Like a 2.3x crop factor. That ends up at 55mm on the wide side! Not terrible but..

[funkyou86]

As a GH4 owner I really do not understand the current GH4 bashing. Yep, there are much more "advanced" cameras in the market. There'll always be. The GH4 is still a solid performer for 700GBP (amazon). But not to go offtopic.

I have a Lens Turbo and it performs absolutely great, there is not much difference between the Zhongyi and the SB. Check out this video:

 Of course, If you wish to use your canon lenses, SB's got the aperture control. Lens turbo is great for vintage lenses where you set your aperture manually.

[Cinegain]

Yeah, the newer ones rock purely because of the sensor performance & stabilization (and price/value of course!). The GH4 is still a production tool with the most bells 'n whistles of 'em all. Be it just for the headphone jack (or mic-in), the advanced slowmo, anamorphic mode, V-LOG L (paid option), 10-bit out, timecode, et cetera. You run it on sticks or a gimbal in more controlled set-ups, it might be the better option. Handheld and do not really need those features? Then yeah, would be a shame not to consider the G(X)80... or to wait for the GH5.

Not sure about the lens you're adapting. You say you will be using it for stills. Does that mean, you already have said lens and an APS-C camera? Like... a 60D or something? Because else, I would have to say as well... better stick to native glass unless the zoom you're using is e.g. a Sigma, Tokina or Nikon. And depending on you budget, might make more sense to get the Nikon version... see, the Canon lenses allow aperture control only though electronic means, that means an adapter with electronics to support that. These are vastly more expensive. Metabones has the best offering here, the SpeedBooster XL 0.64x is the no.1 choice. Also the priciest. The Ultra 0.71x doesn't make much sense anymore since we have the XL. Much cheaper you'll find the excellent just mentioned Zhongyi/ZY Optics/Mitakon Lens Turbo II. They come in at 149,- USD on their site, VS the Metabones XL 649. That's a whopping 500 bucks perhaps better spent otherwise. Of course the XL version in Nikon mount is a little cheaper. You know, Nikon lenses are driven by a mechanical interlink which allows for a cheap mechanical ring construction, opposed to some more expensive electronical interface. But even going with the little cheaper Nikon mount still leaves quite the gap. Below that you have the Aputure Lens Regain. It's more of a system and is only for adapting Canon EF-mount lenses. Below that you'll find e.g. the R.J. Lens Turbo, Kipon BAVEyes and the brandless one sold at the Roxsen eBay-store... but these are priced somewhat similar to the Zhongyi Lens Turbo and the Zhongyi is vastly better. If you're not looking for a focal reducer, I'd say get a K&F Concept (Kent&Faith) or Leinox adapter from eBay. Those are very basic and inexpensive adapters.

[seb123seb]

Thanks a bunch for all the answers!

 

The reason I am thinking of going with the GH4 is mainly that I heard good things about it.

The G7 has to be restarted manually every 30 min and it doesnt have the slow-motion feature of the GH4. That is why I rather go with the GH4.

1 hour ago, Cinegain said:

Yeah, the newer ones rock purely because of the sensor performance & stabilization (and price/value of course!). The GH4 is still a production tool with the most bells 'n whistles of 'em all. Be it just for the headphone jack (or mic-in), the advanced slowmo, anamorphic mode, V-LOG L (paid option), 10-bit out, timecode, et cetera. You run it on sticks or a gimbal in more controlled set-ups, it might be the better option. Handheld and do not really need those features? Then yeah, would be a shame not to consider the G(X)80... or to wait for the GH5.

Not sure about the lens you're adapting. You say you will be using it for stills. Does that mean, you already have said lens and an APS-C camera? Like... a 60D or something? Because else, I would have to say as well... better stick to native glass unless the zoom you're using is e.g. a Sigma, Tokina or Nikon. And depending on you budget, might make more sense to get the Nikon version... see, the Canon lenses allow aperture control only though electronic means, that means an adapter with electronics to support that. These are vastly more expensive. Metabones has the best offering here, the SpeedBooster XL 0.64x is the no.1 choice. Also the priciest. The Ultra 0.71x doesn't make much sense anymore since we have the XL. Much cheaper you'll find the excellent just mentioned Zhongyi/ZY Optics/Mitakon Lens Turbo II. They come in at 149,- USD on their site, VS the Metabones XL 649. That's a whopping 500 bucks perhaps better spent otherwise. Of course the XL version in Nikon mount is a little cheaper. You know, Nikon lenses are driven by a mechanical interlink which allows for a cheap mechanical ring construction, opposed to some more expensive electronical interface. But even going with the little cheaper Nikon mount still leaves quite the gap. Below that you have the Aputure Lens Regain. It's more of a system and is only for adapting Canon EF-mount lenses. Below that you'll find e.g. the R.J. Lens Turbo, Kipon BAVEyes and the brandless one sold at the Roxsen eBay-store... but these are priced somewhat similar to the Zhongyi Lens Turbo and the Zhongyi is vastly better. If you're not looking for a focal reducer, I'd say get a K&F Concept (Kent&Faith) or Leinox adapter from eBay. Those are very basic and inexpensive adapters.

I did not even consider the GX80/85 because I hadnt heard about them. I will check them out. 

I own a Canon DSLR but not the Tamron 24-70 2.8 yet.

Since the finer adapters seems to be pretty expensive I might just go for a native Panasonic lens instead. I'm not sure of which one but I am thinking about this one:

- Panasonic AF 12-35/2,8 G X Lumix Vario ASPH Power OIS

It seems to be an alright all-round lens but I'm not sure if how well it performs with the competition.

7 hours ago, jonpais said:

Why are you buying GH4? ? Also, the Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 is not only better quality, it is significantly less expensive than the Tamron as well. 

Is the Sigma really better and cheaper? I will check it out, but if I am not mistaken it lacks image stabilization?

[jonpais]

Not bashing the GH4, I'm liking the images I'm getting with it; it's just that it appears the OP is on a budget, so a G7, GX85 or G85 would fit the bill, and he could use non-stabilized lenses with the latter two, giving more options for glass. The G Vario 12-35mm f/2.8 wouldn't be suited for weddings if that was your only lens, since it is not ideal for portraiture. I don't shoot weddings, but from what I've read, you might want faster glass for interior shots, and when you want to throw the background out of focus.

[seb123seb]

13 minutes ago, jonpais said:

Not bashing the GH4, I'm liking the images I'm getting with it; it's just that it appears the OP is on a budget, so a G7, GX85 or G85 would fit the bill, and he could use non-stabilized lenses with the latter two, giving more options for glass. The G Vario 12-35mm f/2.8 wouldn't be suited for weddings if that was your only lens, since it is not ideal for portraiture. 

The budget is pretty flexible, I want to avoid compromising too much image quality and features.

That's true, I would need something with a greater range. Perhaps this one? 

Panasonic AF 35-100/2,8 G X Lumix Vario Power OIS

It is a bit expensive but if it can serve the purpose of an all-round lens it should be worth it. Unless it perhaps is better to go for various lenses with fixed range? I am thinking about the price difference. I believe the best quality is achieved by fixed lenses if I am not mistaken.

There is also the:

Panasonic AF 12-60/3,5-5,6 G Lumix Vario Power OIS

and:

Panasonic AF 14-140/3,5-5,6 G Lumix Vario ASPH OIS

 

About the GH5 I heard it might release around summer of 2017. That will be too long of a wait.

 

[jonpais]

The Panasonic 35-100 f/2.8 is a beautiful piece of glass, absolutely wonderful for portraiture, but not really suited to group or table shots. The OIS suffers from jitter, though, since even Panasonic's firmware update did not completely fix the problem. I understand that with the recently released Panasonics with IBIS, the jitter is not noticeable. The two variable-aperture Panasonic lenses are too slow and are not of the same caliber as the two fixed-aperture lenses you mention. I would avoid them if you don't want to compromise on quality. Panasonic also offers a number of fine, relatively fast primes (from what I've read), including the 25mm f/1.7, the 42.5mm f/1.7, and the 20mm f/1.7, three of which would cost little more than one fixed aperture Vario zoom lens. However, as I'm not a wedding photographer, I don't know whether most photographers prefer to use zooms or primes. Here in Vietnam, though, they all use zoom lenses, from what I've seen. 

[webrunner5]

You really don't need long zooms when doing Video unless you are going to shoot Lions in Africa! Panasonic, Olympus cameras have a 2x crop factor on the lens you use. You Have to go really wide to use one well for video. And manual focus usually works better than auto most of the time. Low light is MFT weakness, so you need fast lenses to make them work. That is why most use a Speed Booster to help with that.

There is Nothing really wrong with a GH4. Tons of great stuff have been made on them, and will continue to be made on them. But right now a ton of new stuff is coming out fast from every manufacture now that video has "caught on" LoL. Just having the latest and greatest really doesn't make anyone a great filmmaker, skill does that, and skill can be used on just about any camera made in this day and age to produce an acclaimed film. It is a fun hobby, an expensive one, but well worth it. You might even make a living doing it! Best advise is to is to shoot, shoot, shoot, and edit, edit, edit.

[Mat Mayer]

Many people have removed the 30 minute time limit for 4K on the G7. There is a Youtube video and Reddit thread with instructions. Didn't work for mine though.