Old lenses for G6 - tight budget

[Jodan]

I hope I can get some good advice from you - at least I'm sure I'm at the right place here.

Ever since the G6 came out I'm having an eye on it's price. Unfortunately rumour has it that it's not produced anymore and also price drop is stagnating. Because of that I'm thinking of getting it soon.

If I had the money, I of course would go for the 14-140mm bundle as a start and later on buy one or two primes to complete the kit but 750€ for the kit is just more than I want/can affort. I was looking for more affordable alternatives for that lens but it seems there are none.

 

So I thought why not just get the G6 body for about 370€ and some old, even vintage lenses and a adapter along with it? I'd much prefer all manual lenses anyways (at least for photography), but although I've read quite a bit about it I simply have no clue which ones I should go for in specific or what adapter would be needed. I can tell you that lens size/weight doesn't matter to me and even that the lenses don't have to be top notch - but I also don't want to waste my money on crap.
In the long run I might even get a speedbooster so the lenses you suggest should be ok with but also without one and just using a adapter instead (as that's how I'm going to start) and preferably the same lens mount. Of course that's another story if a lens is available for 30-40€ only - then the mount is not that important as long as there is an adapter.

 

I'd be using the G6 for indoor videography - with more than enough lighting though. To give you an idea what lenses could be needed, here's what I'm using it for:

• I'm mainly filming products from a distance of about 1-2 meters
• The objects usually are below 10cm wide/high/deep
• There's basically only two options to film such a product: Either them alone, all over the screen or along with my forearms and hands holding/moving it.

But I also would use it for photography and I appreciate a nice bokeh in most cases for:

• the products I'm filming, of course
• portraits
• of course the standard family/friends pictures every now and then
• I want to get into night sky - astrophotograpy (milkyway, so no extrem zooms but a wide angle lens), also time lapses of that
• street life/nature photography is something I'm doing rather seldom

Ok, I really hope you guys can help me with lens suggestions as I just don't like the idea of getting the standart zoom bundle. Hopefully the lense junkies in this forum will assist me with their knowledge. Every answer helping me with my decision is very appreciated.
 

[utsira]

What about optical stabilisation?

 

If you're absolutely sure you don't care about stabilised lenses, then choose a classic DSLR mount, and get a dumb adaptor for now. Nikon Ai-S glass (F mount) is really nice, readily available, and cheap as long as you don't want to go wider than 24mm. Later you could get a speed booster. I got a lens turbo (speedbooster clone) but I'm not impressed with the IQ, so save for the actual speedbooster.

 

But if you think you might want to shoot handheld, or with a light rig, then you might want to consider lenses with optical stabilisation (perhaps Canon EOS), in which case you'll need a smart adaptor (ie one with electronic contacts) to power the lens. This is the more expensive route, but will give you more options in the long run.

 

Another thing to bear in mind, without a speedbooster, it's difficult to go wide if you're adapting vintage 35mm glass. ie 24 mm is standard wide, which equates to almost 50mm on an m43 sensor. 

 

It is definitely worth looking at second hand Panasonic M43 glass though. I got a second-hand 20mm 1.7 for 23,000 yen (about 170 euro). Very fast and sharp (no optical stabilisation though). The 14mm 2.5 is even cheaper 2nd hand, about 70 euro. You could get the smaller kit zoom, the 14-42 second hand for around 70 euro too (with optical stabilisation). I see in Europe now they're only offering the G6 with the 14-140 lens, but if you get it body only you can buy one of the smaller kit zooms. Given that the G6 has a good telephoto setting (where it samples a smaller area of the sensor) I think you can do without a super-long zoom at first.

[Pascal Garnier]

I would suggest you don't buy a G6.

 

For two simple reasons :

- the crop of the G6 won't allow you to film that close to objects, without buying both a wide and fast lens AND a speedbooster.  This means your budget will never do.

- photography with a G6 is not a pleasant experience, this camera is a much better videocamera than a stills camera.

 

You'll be much better off with a Sony A6000 or a second hand NEX5N.  Smaller crop factor and slightly better low light performance than a G6.

 

I have owned a NEX5N and own both a G6 and A6000, so I know what I'm talking about.

[Nikkor]

But the nex5n does horrible video.

[Pascal Garnier]

I wouldn't call the NEX5N horrible for video.  When I used it, I liked it's footage better than that of my T2i and T3i.
At high ISO's the colours suffer, but for filming in daylight or proper lighted spaces, it's still a great camera for people on a budget.

And for stills it kicks the G6's butt.

[Prefabsprout]

I wouldn't call the NEX5N horrible for video.  When I used it, I liked it's footage better than that of my T2i and T3i.
At high ISO's the colours suffer, but for filming in daylight or proper lighted spaces, it's still a great camera for people on a budget.

And for stills it kicks the G6's butt.

 

Agree!

[fuzzynormal]

One option: Get a dumb adapter and buy really old and used lenses. The Pentax mount stuff is cheap kuz they were the goto SLR for beginners back on the day. A fast 50mm, perfect for interviews, can be found for 25-50 bucks.

Another option: I bought a Pentax a110 camera with three primes on eBay for $65. 12mm, 24mm, and 50mm. The adapter for these lenses was $10.

I've had a lot of fun with this glass. It has character and really makes my Lumix footage look less sterile. (A lot less sterile) I really like 'em and what they give me. Bought adapter rings to mount the same thread ND's and lens hoods for all 3 lenses. Spent about 150 total, plus got a fun old camera (with a half roll of shot film in it) with the glass.

Works good.

I even appreciate the flaws and flares they render. Your mileage may differ, but I'd recommend giving them a try since you budget is tight.

[Pascal Garnier]

Cosign on the Pentax 110 lenses.  One remark though : they won't focus to infinity wide open and there's no aperture ring, so it takes a DIY fake smaller aperture that you place inside the lens to get infinity focus (losing a few light stops by doing so).

So it's a pretty big compromise.

[fuzzynormal]

With those a110 lenses I can get focus on distant objects no problem. You've had issues doing this?

[fuzzynormal]

BTW, the a110 lenses are all set at f2.8. Which is kind of the FF equivalent to f5.6 on m43. Sorta the traditional cinematography sweet spot for DOF.

[andy lee]

the Pentax 110 70mm is a nice lens and has character -

[Pascal Garnier]

With those a110 lenses I can get focus on distant objects no problem. You've had issues doing this?

No focus to infinity on none of the 110 lenses I have.  I can focus until 5 to 6 metres, not further.  Houses 40 metres away = fuzzy.  Problem solved if you buy an adapter with built-in aperture, but that cost me $70 and at the expense of less light coming in.
 

[Nikkor]

Maybe if you file down your adapter a little bit you get back infinity.

[fuzzynormal]

Houses 40 metres away = fuzzy

 

Not an issue for me.  I got a "Pixco" adapter off ebay (for whatever that's worth).  Anyway, here's an example.  You can see blurriness around the edges of frame, but like I say, I think that vignetting adds character.  Center of image is decent even into the distance.  

 

I'll admit if you get these lenses you're not buying the world's best glass, but it does the job.

 

Again, if you're on a real tight budget, these lenses will give you good options with various focal lengths and are super cheap.

 

[Nikkor]

Nice photo, where's that? (left border is very soft)

[noone]

 

 

So I thought why not just get the G6 body for about 370€ and some old, even vintage lenses and a adapter along with it? I'd much prefer all manual lenses anyways (at least for photography), but although I've read quite a bit about it I simply have no clue which ones I should go for in specific or what adapter would be needed. I can tell you that lens size/weight doesn't matter to me and even that the lenses don't have to be top notch - but I also don't want to waste my money on crap.
 

 

I'd be using the G6 for indoor videography - with more than enough lighting though. To give you an idea what lenses could be needed, here's what I'm using it for:

• I'm mainly filming products from a distance of about 1-2 meters
• The objects usually are below 10cm wide/high/deep
• There's basically only two options to film such a product: Either them alone, all over the screen or along with my forearms and hands holding/moving it.

But I also would use it for photography and I appreciate a nice bokeh in most cases for:

• the products I'm filming, of course
• portraits
• of course the standard family/friends pictures every now and then
• I want to get into night sky - astrophotograpy (milkyway, so no extrem zooms but a wide angle lens), also time lapses of that
• street life/nature photography is something I'm doing rather seldom

Ok, I really hope you guys can help me with lens suggestions as I just don't like the idea of getting the standart zoom bundle. Hopefully the lense junkies in this forum will assist me with their knowledge. Every answer helping me with my decision is very appreciated.
 

If the budget is tight, just get whatever is ending soonest and cheapest on Ebay and a cheap dumb adapter to match to start.

For your product stuff you can also get a cheap 2x macro converter for the same that will get you closer.

 

I wish m4/3 cameras had a variable digital zoom like Sony has in some of its cameras as that is something I think would be great for product shots with fast primes.     It is pretty much lossless at lower magnifications.   Or rather I wish ETC on Panasonic cameras was variable.

[fuzzynormal]

Nice photo, where's that? (left border is very soft)

California. And yeah, the borders go soft on the 24mm, but it's a $15 lens. Besides, for certain shots it's nice to have a bit of edge softness.

[andy lee]

Canon FD lenses are great optically and cheap

 

as a general all rounder you cannot beat the 35-70mm f4 it costs about $25 on ebay and is optically amazing almost as good as my Zeiss lenses , add it to a FD speedbooster and you have an approx  25-50mm f2.8 all metal constant apperture zoom (with internal zoom and focus!!) with practically zero distortion across the whole range this lens is great

[Jodan]

Alright guys, thanks for your answers so far.

As for stabilisation: I don't thinks stabilisation is a must as I'm using tripods in most cases. Also, thanks to NFC and wifi I can trigger the shutter from my smartphone so there won't be any shaking from that. Only on the portrait lens (and maybe the privat events lens) some sort of stabiliser was nice.

Althought the Pentax 110 are good in price, I guess I should have mentioned before that those manual lenses should also have a aparture ring. That's kinda important to me. I don't like the idea of having to build a DIY fake aparture and stuff - it should be possible to put the lenses on the cam and use them as they're originally meant to be used by turning rings.

Of course I could get just any cheap lens on ebay, but I'd rather buy those that are actually of good use for my projects... which is why I tried to tell you exactly what I need them for. What I'm saying is that I also need your advice on what focal lenghts to get... hence the detailed information on the product videos setup.

So again, here's what I think I need:

• One portrait lense, something that has 40mm to 55mm on the G6, so a 80-110 FF equivalent? A lens that gives a nice blur of the background to seperate the person from the background?
• 2 lenses or a zoom to film the products in the beformentioned settings. I don't know which focal lengths would suit that on a m43 cam - so I don't know what length too look for on the used market.
• A zoom (20-80? on the G6) for family/friends event/party pictures. The typical standard zoom (18-55) I once had to use on a 700D was too short for my tastes.
• Due to the small sensor of the G6 I need a fast lens for astrophotography - or should I rather say for nightscapes with the milky way. And it should be a wide one. So from 18mm (again, on the G6 - not on FF) or shorter (under 10 was great) and as fast as possible would be nice for that task. But maybe I should go for that one sometime later if there's no "cheap" options.

And I'd assume those lenses would also suit all my other needs and things I might do with the cam. And, this is just a set for the start - of course I'd get other lenses (or a speedbooster) in the long run.

Hopefully that made my needs even clearer and you have more advice for me. Thanks in advance for your time and effort.

[Jodan]

Canon FD lenses are great optically and cheap

 

as a general all rounder you cannot beat the 35-70mm f4 it costs about $25 on ebay and is optically amazing almost as good as my Zeiss lenses , add it to a FD speedbooster and you have an approx  25-50mm f2.8 all metal constant apperture zoom (with internal zoom and focus!!) with practically zero distortion across the whole range this lens is great

Now this one sounds quite interesting as it's still big enough for when I upgrade to a speedbooster. There's none available for that little money so I had to buy one for at least 60€ or get one form overseas, pay extra shipping and taxes and end up with about the same amount, but it's affordable and it even has the aparture ring as far as I know.

 

Maybe I got the crop factor stuff not completely right, but with a speedbooster, shouldn't it be back to about the same as on FF - instead of being even shorter and faster? I mean, on the G6 with just a basic adapter it's equivalent to 70-140 on FF, right?

 

Anyways, I could use it for portraits and the family stuff... and have still money left for other lenses.