IS lens for BM Pocket

[j-oc]

What it says basically.

I realise I'm super late to this party but I have the chance to get a basically free BMPCC, but I'd only really be interested in it with a normal to wide stabilised prime lens. Something like a 28-50 FF equiv.

What would the hive mind recommend / have been using?

[dbp]

Panasonic 12-35 has always been the walk around IS go-to. More like 36-105 equivalent though.

[BenEricson]

1 minute ago, dbp said:

Panasonic 12-35 has always been the walk around IS go-to. More like 36-105 equivalent though.

Agreed. This is the best walk around lens for the pocket. There are more options with a speed booster/Canon EF lenses, but the weight and battery drain is an issue there.

[cantsin]

A budget alternative is the Panasonic 12-32mm/f3.5-5.6 (which can be cheaply found second-hand since it's the kit lens for a number of smaller Panasonic MFT cameras).

[mercer]

I recently used the 14-45mm with the BMPCC and it worked fairly well for an inexpensive lens, but it is more like a 40-130mm. Here's a quick test I did with this lens handheld. It's boring and the color work is... meh... but it should give you an idea of how stable the OIS is.

There's also the 14-42mm PZ lens which is interesting because when used with a small LANC controller, you can get a power zoom with the BMPCC, for smooth zooms, if that interests you. 

[cantsin]

A high-quality alternative to all the lenses mentioned above is the old Panasonic-Leica 14-50mm/2.8-3.5 with Four Thirds (not MFT) bayonet. It's better than its MFT equivalents because it's fully optically corrected whereas the MFT zooms rely on in-body software geometry correction (which is neither available on the BM Pocket, nor makes sense on a native 1920x1080 sensor). 

Four Thirds lenses are electronically fully compatible to MFT, and cheap electronic adapters are available.

[TwoScoops]

2nd/3rd vote for the Panasonic 12-35mm. 

[dbp]

53 minutes ago, cantsin said:

A high-quality alternative to all the lenses mentioned above is the old Panasonic-Leica 14-50mm/2.8-3.5 with Four Thirds (not MFT) bayonet. It's better than its MFT equivalents because it's fully optically corrected whereas the MFT zooms rely on in-body software geometry correction (which is neither available on the BM Pocket, nor makes sense on a native 1920x1080 sensor). 

Four Thirds lenses are electronically fully compatible to MFT, and cheap electronic adapters are available.

This a good point. The 12-35 definitely distorts on the wide end, which bugs me. 

[j-oc]

Thanks for the tips guys. Is there a stabilised prime anyone likes?

[cantsin]

13 minutes ago, j-oc said:

Thanks for the tips guys. Is there a stabilised prime anyone likes?

Panasonic is, to date, the only manufacturer of stabilized MFT lenses. The only Panasonic primes with stabilization are the 30mm and 42/45mm lenses, i.e. tele lenses. If you're looking for a stabilized normal or wide angle prime, your only option is a Metabones EF Pocket Speed Booster with stabilized Canon primes (such as the 35mm/f2, 28mm/f2.8 and 24mm/f2.8).

[dbp]

The Rokinon 12mm f2 is a good prime for the pocket. Minimal distortion and not too bad for going handheld, even though it lacks IS. 

[cantsin]

...and just to mention the obvious for any owner of the BM Pocket: getting an IR cut filter for your lens is almost as important as the lens itself.