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Bargains for micro four third
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 8:41 am    Post subject: Bargains for micro four third Reply with quote

Hi all,
a friend is looking on offer for byuing a second hand camera. He was looking between aps-c and mft cameras with the latter being more affordable.
G3 for example costs around 130 euros and it has touch screen, hot shoe and the ability to change lenses and even more important viewfinder.

I am thinking though what bargains you can have with the 2x crop factor? Are there affordable adapted-lenses in the 30-70mm full frame equivalent for such high crop factors?

Can you give suggestions for wide enough full frame lenses that can be bought with just 30-60 euros and still give a not very tele range in the g3?

Regards
Alex


PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 9:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nothing cheap can be comparable to the kit lens 14-42mm if you want a wide angle.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 9:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

For 30-60€, I don't see any manual focus FF wide lens.
Enough wide : 30mm for instance, would give a full frame 15mm. I just know a Zenitar 16mm fisheye and it is over your budget limitations.

I follow calvin with his 14-42mm kit lens, or samyang MFT lenses.

The 2x factor is limitating for MF wide lenses, and is interesting for long focals. Wink


PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 10:24 am    Post subject: Re: Bargains for micro four third Reply with quote

No, there's no such option as bargain full-frame wide-angle lenses.
Your limit here will be some Vivitars and Sigmas 24/2.8, and on very rare occasions Sigma 18/3.5 and alike.

As suggested above, a native Panasonic Lumix 14-42 lens is the way to go. It has quick AF, IS, it's cheap and has decent image quality.

You can also buy an m4/3 speedbooster which will give you a bit more of wide angle with old MF lenses. I bought a noname Chinese one, for under $100, and it is surprisingly good, built like a tank and does its job well without any noticeable quality loss.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 10:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

what about vivitar at 24mm? or at 20mm?
Can these be mounted at the mft cameras?


PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 11:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

alaios wrote:
what about vivitar at 24mm? or at 20mm?
Can these be mounted at the mft cameras?


Yes they can. But 20mm is much more expensive by itself.
Vivitar is only a trade name, these lenses can be found under different names.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 12:30 pm    Post subject: Re: Bargains for micro four third Reply with quote

alaios wrote:
Hi all,
a friend is looking on offer for byuing a second hand camera. He was looking between aps-c and mft cameras with the latter being more affordable.
G3 for example costs around 130 euros and it has touch screen, hot shoe and the ability to change lenses and even more important viewfinder.

I am thinking though what bargains you can have with the 2x crop factor? Are there affordable adapted-lenses in the 30-70mm full frame equivalent for such high crop factors?

Can you give suggestions for wide enough full frame lenses that can be bought with just 30-60 euros and still give a not very tele range in the g3?

Regards
Alex


How about Tamron SP 24-48? It is about $100 this side of the pond and would be 4/3rd equvilent of 50-100mm. Slightly longer than what you specified but the performance is bloody marvelous.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 2:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The choice of budget 15-35mm (effective 30-70mm with a 2x crop factor) is not huge and the kit lens would compare well to them in terms of IQ at common apertures. I find that on my m4/3 bodies in this range I tend to stick to the kit lens or use my Canon FD 35mm f2 or Nikkor-N 35mm f1.4, which are not really budget.

Still, there are some interesting options if you want a change of pace lens, or need large aperture. IMHO most interesting are c-mounts since they are also tiny. For instance, here's Pentax/Cosmicar 25mm/1.9: http://forum.mflenses.com/viewtopic,p,1279508.html#1279508
I have 3 of those, 2 of them are for sale for 25-30 Euros each.

Another lens that is close to your budget is Prost/Weltblick/Universar 35mm f1.8. I have one for sale for 70 Euros. Here's my thread on this lens: http://forum.mflenses.com/auto-universar-pc-hi-d-35mm-f1-8-t49764.html


PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 5:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You may like to check if the camera your friend is interested in has a manual focusing aid. I bought one for £100 from a clearance store near me, and while it did everything I wanted it to it didnt have a focusing aid other than a magnified view. The screen wasn't high enough resolution to focus properly.

I took it back and got a refund.

I concur that your kit lens is the widest choice. I recently acquired a 17mm lens which is great on my Minolta or Pentax film camera but doesn't quite do it on my Sonys.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 7:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

With the Olympus Pen E-P2, I have in body image stabilisation, great focusing aid (x7 and x10 magnification). I equipped it with an EVF.
For wide I have kit lens Zuiko 14-42mm and a Lumix 2.5/14mm asph.
speaking about MF lenses, I mount the Tamron SP 3.5-3.8/24-48mm, the Nikkor 2.8/24mm or the Carl Zeiss Jena 4/20mm.


PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 2:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You will need the OIS in the kit lens as the G3 does not have in-body image stabilization. It enables you use a MUCH lower ISO for landscapes under low light condition.

I do have a Tokina 17mm and Topcon 20mm but I always bring my 18-55 kit lens when I need a wide angle.


PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 7:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Agree, you can't go wrong with the kit lens it's the cheapest lens with AF for quick snapshots and general use.

Full frame lenses on m43 are often not wide enough. You can consider some C mount or D mount cine / CCTV lenses such as some 12-120/2.8, 11-110/1.8 superzooms with large aperture. But I am not familiar with them and not sure if they can cover 43 sensors and how practical they are on m43 cameras. Some other members here have a lot more knowledge about this then I do I am sure.


PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 9:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have the following and I was very happy with it.

Olympus E-PL1
Olympus VF-2 (silver) electronic viewfinder
AF Olympus 14-42mm 3.5-5.6 L ED (aftermarket hood but have vignetting at wide end)
AF Olympus 40-150mm 4-5.6 ED MSC incl. Olympus lens hood LH-61D
AF Sigma 19mm 2.8 EX DN (with factory hood)
AF Sigma 30mm 2.8 EX DN incl. Nikon lens hood HN-E5000

and nice set of Konica and Olympus OM lenses to compliment tele end.
At some point I will update the body to E-M10...

BTW - The AF Sigma 19mm is excellent for the money.


PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 12:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's a good point, Calvin. With manual lenses in mind, an old Olympus body makes more sense because every manual lens is stabilized on it. I also had E-PL1 that I was very happy with. Not selling it either, as the prices are ridiculously low for such a good cam. I simply have it permanently attached to one of my Photosnipers.


PostPosted: Sat Oct 18, 2014 2:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For what you pay, the Samyang/Rokinon 12 mm f/2 is truly a bargain , and also comes in m4/3 mount. It's manual focus only, but that is of course no different from any vintage, adapted lens. Some examples, shot with an X-E1:

Bench by scepticswe, on Flickr


Split by scepticswe, on Flickr


Reluctant model by scepticswe, on Flickr


PostPosted: Sat Oct 18, 2014 2:48 pm    Post subject: Re: Bargains for micro four third Reply with quote

alaios wrote:


Can you give suggestions for wide enough full frame lenses that can be bought with just 30-60 euros and still give a not very tele range in the g3?


Alex


Why not (at least) consider the Pentax 110 18mm? It is within your price range even considering need to purchase the Chinese adapter (circa US$20).

Acknowledged:

The 110 lenses are all fixed aperture. But others have found ways easily to work around that limitation.

Thing is they are m4/3 compatible and of quite good quality. At the upper end of your price range (€60) you could likely afford to buy both the 18mm and the (Pentax 110) 24mm, along with the adapter . . . if you shop a bit. That would give you some lens flexibility.