Good MFT Lens to start with?

[Henry Gentles]

Santa is bringing me a BMPCC for Xmas and now Santa is extremely broke!!

 

What's a great MFT Lens to start with like say the nifty 50mm 1.8 for the Canon is? Is there a good bargain Lens to start with? I've got an M43 adapter on its way for my Canon Lenses but that makes my 35mm my widest atm, an 80mm so I need to know a good cheap option for MFT to start with, or maybe a link with recommendations? Thx!!

 

ps. Do the Komputerbay 600X Sd Cards work ok on BMPCC?

[richg101]

Santa is bringing me a BMPCC for Xmas and now Santa is extremely broke!!

 

What's a great MFT Lens to start with like say the nifty 50mm 1.8 for the Canon is? Is there a good bargain Lens to start with? I've got an M43 adapter on its way for my Canon Lenses but that makes my 35mm my widest atm, an 80mm so I need to know a good cheap option for MFT to start with, or maybe a link with recommendations? Thx!!

 

ps. Do the Komputerbay 600X Sd Cards work ok on BMPCC?

 

if you can stretch to it, the lumix 20mm f1.7 is a stunner.  there are a few firmware issues but according to the bm forums they are looking into it.  

 

 

[andy lee]

Panasonic 14mm f2.4 is very very sharp great lens

[Andrew Reid]

Good luck controlling the aperture of your Canon EF lenses on the BMPCC :)

 

The SLR Magic 12mm T1.6 is a nice one to go for wide angle but isn't as cheap as the 14mm F2.5. I rate it far more highly though.

Then you need a fast 17mm or 25mm and it gets a bit more complicated because the good ones are $600+

 

Try a c-mount 25mm F1.4 and pray :)

[Henry Gentles]

Good luck controlling the aperture of your Canon EF lenses on the BMPCC :)

 

The SLR Magic 12mm T1.6 is a nice one to go for wide angle but isn't as cheap as the 14mm F2.5. I rate it far more highly though.

Then you need a fast 17mm or 25mm and it gets a bit more complicated because the good ones are $600+

 

Try a c-mount 25mm F1.4 and pray :)

Oh ok EF has no aperture control only manual? I have a Zeis Jena 35mm 2.4 pb mount which I use with the PB -  EF adapter it is manual aperture so that should be fine? Do the c-mount lenses require an adapter, aren't they threaded lens mount? 

[Julian]

There aren't many cheap native MFT lenses. I'd say go with a 14-42mm Panasonic kitlens, so you have a lens for general use with image stabilisation. And score some cheap manual primes with big aperture. The Zeiss Jena 35mm 2.4 will work fine with adapters. C-mount lenses will work too with with an adapter and are pretty much the only option if you want something wide. Check the sticky C-mount topic for options.

[Henry Gentles]

There aren't many cheap native MFT lenses. I'd say go with a 14-42mm Panasonic kitlens, so you have a lens for general use with image stabilisation. And score some cheap manual primes with big aperture. The Zeiss Jena 35mm 2.4 will work fine with adapters. C-mount lenses will work too with with an adapter and are pretty much the only option if you want something wide. Check the sticky C-mount topic for options.

There are alot of cheaper Olympus 14 -42mm is the panny kit lens better? I'm gonna save up for SLR magic wide, but one of these will have to do for now. What about all those cheap 25mm 1.4 c mounts I see on ebay for $30 do they work?

[andy lee]

get the Pentax c mount 25mm f1.4 its a great lens very sharp nice bokeh

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cosmicar-Pentax-TV-lens-25mm-F1-4-1-1-4-C-mount-USED-free-ship-/131020777936?pt=BI_Security_Fire_Protection&hash=item1e817269d0

[Henry Gentles]

Thanks for that, I'll definitely get one Andy, I only have $120 budget atm, I'm still a fulltime Film Student but I may have some casual work in Jan. I found this review on the 14 -42mm lenses. The cheaper Panny Lens is the better of the 3 and DX0 say it is surprisingly good. Under $100 on ebay posted too.

 

 

 http://www.dxomark.com/Reviews/Panasonic-Lumix-G-VARIO-14-42-f3.5-5.6-II-Asph.-Mega-OIS-review-The-Cheapest-Standard-Zoom-for-Micro-4-3-and-Surprisingly-Good/Panasonic-Lumix-G-VARIO-14-42-f3.5-5.6-II-Asph.-Mega-OIS-versus-competition

[nigelbb]

I was very pleasantly surprised at how good the Panasonic 14-42mm PZ kit lens is. It was only the equivalent of an extra $100 or so when I bought my G6 so I thought 'Why not?' & am glad that I did. The Olympus equivalent is supposed to be a good lens too but of course lacks the IS of the Panasonic & the newer lenses like mine have power zoom too.

[Julian]

There are alot of cheaper Olympus 14 -42mm is the panny kit lens better? I'm gonna save up for SLR magic wide, but one of these will have to do for now. What about all those cheap 25mm 1.4 c mounts I see on ebay for $30 do they work?

 

Panasonic has image stabilisation, Olympus doesn't.

Cheap 25mm f/1.4 c mount lenses will work for sure and are nice to experiment with for next to nothing.

[Henry Gentles]

Yeah I read on the BM website the IS on the 14 -42mm does not work on the BMPCC because it is only activated by software, presumably they mean the Panasonic firmware on their cameras. However the DXO review indicates the panny 4/3 zooms are better than the olympus and the olympus 4/3 primes are better than the panny primes. I'll still have to get a panny 14 -42mm as it's all I can afford atm and covers a few bases for now and a cheap 25mm for the bokeh close ups maybe? Shame there is no nifty 50 bargain for 4/3rds tho!!

[andy lee]

there is a nifty fifty bargin - pentax 110 system 50mm f2.8 - great small tiny lens and very sharp

$20 on ebay just get a pentax 110 to micro 4/3 adaptor

[Henry Gentles]

oh I didn't mean literally 50mm but rather like the bargain lens for EF is the 50mm 1.8, dirt cheap and is sharp and great IQ. M4/3 doesn't seem to have a bargain no brainer lens, just an ok 14 -42mm?

[Pascal Garnier]

Hey andy, I bought the Pentax auto 110 18mm thanks to you.  Splendid little lens and perfect for my steadicam shots.  I was wondering if you have any experience with the Pentax auto 110 20-40 zoom ?  Looking for an all-purpose lens for my G6 and since this one is 2.8 constant aperture it looks promising.  However, I have no idea if it has infinity focus throughout the entire zoom range.  Any idea or experience with this lens ?

 

Thanks in advance

[andy lee]

yes I have this lens sat infront of me now!

 

its a useful lens to have not as sharp as the 18mm but constant aperture (but does get a tiny bit brighter when on wide 20mm ) and it is a push pull zoom - not a rotating barrel zoom

 very small and light - gives a retro fell to you images - not panny kit lens super sharp and clean

[Damphousse]

oh I didn't mean literally 50mm but rather like the bargain lens for EF is the 50mm 1.8, dirt cheap and is sharp and great IQ. M4/3 doesn't seem to have a bargain no brainer lens, just an ok 14 -42mm?

 

Physics and size of market.  A 50mm lens is easy to make and every decent lens manufacturer has been making them for decades.  And Nikon and Canon sell tons of them.  The problem with m4/3 is to get a normal or mild telephoto you have to make a wide angle lens which is more difficult to make and there are fewer buyers.  The panasonic cameras are nice for video but the lens situation is something you have to consider before making the leap.

[andy lee]

if you want a good cheap 'standard lens' on a g6 or BMPCC the Sigma 24mm f2.8 is a sharp great cheap lens

with a very filmic look to it

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/sigma-super-wide-II-24mm-f2-8-multi-coated-macro-lens-for-pentax-k-mount-/251402813770?pt=UK_Lenses_Filters_Lenses&hash=item3a88c6814a

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sigma-24mm-f2-8-super-wide-II-lens-Canon-FD-fitting-manual-focus-exc-/330807976039?pt=UK_Photography_VintagePhotography_VintagePhotoAccessories&hash=item4d05b12067

[gj91]

I have the pocket camera and i'm using the panny 20mm 1,7 lens and the panny 12-35 lens.  You have to be careful because I don't think mega ois works, but OIS does like the 12-35 lens.  I also forget I have the panny wide 7-14.  Usually after I shoot something I think I should have used it.

 

I recently bought a Kowa Bell and Howell and working on getting a lens for it.  I'm waiting for the redstan clamp to come in. 

 

So I went down the m43 adapter path.  it seems the M43 to EOS is a pretty adaptable mount, there is a lot of EOS adapters.  So I bough a contax zeiss 44mm 2,8 MM pancake lens and used a kiwifotos EOS to M43 and then a C/Y to EOS adapter plate.  it works...but man the zeiss pancake is tiny - smaller then the adapter and c/y ring.  Then once you add the 49mm to 62 mm step up ring for the redstan clap, there is no room to focus.  I was trying to find the slimmest adapter without the aperture ring and the m43 to c/y seemed bigger then the m43 to eos.  So I will probably end up back to the panny 20mm and the kowa, but I will also look at one of the SLR Magic lens.

 

Jim

[ntblowz]

14-45mm is a pretty good all rounder lens on Blackmagic with OIS to boot, less jitter/shacky footage for handheld stuff. The more expensive all rounder lens would be 12-35mm.