I'm shopping for a relatively inexpensive prime around 100mm and 2.8. I love the look of the SMC 1.4 50mm Pentax, so something similar but longer. Any suggestions?

Brian, this lens may not fill the bill for you, or it might. It is one of my favorite lenses, and have no idea if it would work with the GH1 or GH2, but I intend to find out. At under $400, the Canon 85mm 1.8 is possibly one of the best lenses for the money you can buy, if not the best. The Sigma 30mm 1.4 is another.

If you read the reviews at the Amazon site linked below the hundreds of glowing reviews for this lens will testify to the fact the lens is in the class of Canon's L glass.

I used this lens extensively before selling it along with my DSLR camera gear last year, as I had no idea I might need it again. The images I shot with it were truly beautiful, with a bokeh that was magical.

Amazon.com: Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

Here's are photos shot with the Sigma for Canon 30mm 1.4. The 85mm has a similarly gorgeous look with even greater bokeh, but I don't have any shots left from that lens. They are of comparable quality, with the Canon being better.

What camera were those stills taken with Jeff?

Jim, camera was a canon 40d

If you want the same thing then Pentax 85/1.9 Super Takumar, the trick is to search ebay for spotmatic camera which sometimes comes with the lens, but does not come up on the lens search results so you usually get the lens for the much lower price of what people are paying for the obsolete camera. For a 100, I would personally get the Contax Zeiss c/y Planar.
mamiya 80 2.8 w/ Mirex adapter also have 1.9
Rokinon 85mm 1.4 ($250)
Summicron-R 90
Helios 40-2

I'm shopping for a relatively inexpensive prime around 100mm and 2.8. I love the look of the SMC 1.4 50mm Pentax, so something similar but longer. Any suggestions?

Have you tried to put a 2x on the 50/1.4? It's the cheapest option, and for video, should be fine.

I have the Sigma 30/1.4, Canon EF 85/1.8 as well, but neither falls under the inexpensive category compared with a SMC 50/1.4.

There's a few manual focus 90/2.8 macros out there, and the Russian 85/2 Jupiter-9 "grenade" (you don't want to be holding one of those unmounted in an airport - it's the same size and shape as a grenade), that might be found in the $100- range.

You also have the choice of rangefinder 85-100mm lenses, but they tend to be a bit expensive, but I have a Leica 90/4, Canon 85/1.8, Kiev/Contax Jupiter 9 that were all in the $100- range.

BTW, on a GH1 or GF1, the 100mm range is quite long. Are you sure you actually need one?

You are going to have to have the right X Mount ---> Micro 4/3 adapter, but here are lenses I would look for:

Nikon 105mm f/2.5
Olympus 100mm f/2.8
Canon FD 100mm f/2.0

...Nikon is what I bought because it`s easy to find, including Zeiss lenses with Nikon mount.

You also might consider an 85mm f/2.0 or f/1.8 lens which is pretty much the same.

Have you tried to put a 2x on the 50/1.4? It's the cheapest option, and for video, should be fine.



I haven't, but sounds like the easiest solution. Will I lose a stop of light?

The 100mm FD f2.o looks interesting. I bought a 70-210mm FD for $29.

I haven't, but sounds like the easiest solution. Will I lose a stop of light?

A 2x TC will lose 2 stops of light, a 1.4x TC will lose one stop of light.

Otherwise, a 70-210/3.5 is a good cheap alternative.

I bought Canon FD 85 f1/8, along with a Canon FD 135 f2.5 and Nikon F 105 f/2.5 on ebay. While the Nikon is a "competent" lens and does as expected, the Canon is clearly a sharper and overall better lens regardless of lighting conditions. If I had not tested them side by side, I would not have thought so, but it's remarkable the difference in clarity and sharpness in comparing all three lenses.
There's nothing wrong with either lens, all are pretty good, just my considered opinion is the 85mm is some sort of sweet spot. You may want to put this one on your short list, even though it's 15mm short of your desired focal length.


PS I have the Canon 1.4 TC and never use it. I find it softens focus too much for my taste. I feel I am better off cropping instead.

James, the Canon is a favorite of mine, and some will say one of the best values there are.

On the other hand, the differences between the lenses you bought cannot (IMO) mean the lenses are not comparable, but certainly appreciate the information, good stuff. That Canon 85mm f/1.8 is considered by many to be comparable to L quality glass, it is quite a lens for the money. The slower Canon and Nikon are so much slower the comparison is almost unfair to them.

Jeff
To get a f1.7 50 mm lens I use my Lumix 20mm in the ETC mode without light loss. The ETC gives x2.6 of the lens. I find the image to be very sharp.
The 35mm equivalent of 90 to 100mm.

Jim, I don't have my camera right now to try it out. Say I'm shooting in regular mode, a wedding ceremony. I want to use etc mode halfway through, for example, or whenever. I stop recording, switch to ETC mode, and shoot. What dimension is the video clip? Same as previous footage? And your saying there's no loss of light?

I keep hearing this talked about, initially I didn't consider it, but I wil certainly give it a shot, thanks.

My interest in the 50mm is not just the 50mm, but the 1.4. I hear varying reports on loss of light with adapters.

Same dimensions/aspect, if just as if you were zoomed in but without changing/losing your f-stop of 1.7.
No lose of quality...read somewhere that it may even be sharper since you are using the center of the chip but don't know if that is true.

Jim, that does offer a whole new angle to things. I'm aware that you've been promoting this ETC thing, but I've ignored the conversation as I've focused on lenses. But now I see that it is a feature that can add flexibility to the lens I choose, at least for the GH2. Can I turn off the focus assist thing where the camera image expands? I would imagine that feature would be distracting while using ETC mode, for situations like being close to the altar and needing to get a closeup of the B&G.

ETC cannot be activated and deactivated while filming, is that correct?

No it can not be deactivated will filming I do not believe.
Guess you already looked at the Voigtlander 25mm f0.95?
Expensive yikes.
Bloom seems to love it but it seems to be a difficult lens to find.
[Nokton 25mm F0.95]Ginza at night on Vimeo

Yes, that is a VERY nice lens. I'm trying to outfit three cameras, it's way out of my price range! One day if I have $1k to burn, it would be nice to have!

I have to admit after the other video, the high ISO that Jim Snow keeps mentioning to me might be something to try. Maybe I can get more use out of the 14-140 than I expect. Still, 4.0 as a starting point is a bit slow, I'm just anxious to get my camera and lens back so I can start trying things with a more open mind.

Okay so I pulled the trigger on a 100mm Canon FD 2.4. Yeah I wanted the f2.0 but couldn't find it. So $75, dunno if it's too high but for $75 and the seller was reputable and gave a comprehensive description so we'll see how it goes.

Brian, what about a 85mm 1.8? 85 not long enough, eh? I'm going to get one, after I pay for my new $200 adapter. This stuff is getting expensive.