Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Shooting on primes with a shallow depth of field is great if every shot is precomposed/staged. If you intend to shoot live events then having moving subjects constantly going in and out of focus and not being able to re-frame shots from one position with a zoom will be a huge bear with those other lenses. To maximize the things you can shoot the 12-35 can't be beat. You can get a shallow dof with it by separating foreground and background elements, zooming in/getting up close, etc. If you need a longer range, engage ETC. Have a manual prime for the lower f stop and manual focus barrel. Perhaps a Canon FDn 50mm f/1.4 for $100.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Also, autofocus and IS are invaluable for live event shooting. You can always turn those off, but you can't turn them on if they don't exist.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Thank you Patrick for that advice, much appreciated.

Thinking ahead :)

What screw on filter would advise for this lens?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ilpage_o00_s00

Its just I wouldn't want to get the lens scratched.

From reading these forums, I see a lot of don't bother with filters.

As usual, thanks in advance.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

If you're shooting in a dusty/dirty/damp environment, or into the sun, a UV filter is what you're looking for. To minimize reflections in glass/water and to bring back richness in the sky, a polarizing filter is good. To maintain shallow depth of field while maintaining low f stop and 180 degree shutter in bright environments, get a variable ND. Those are the three main ones to get. A lot of people will jack their shutter sky high to maintain shallow dof, but it makes the image strobe-y. When you're shooting live events where every second counts, a lot of people don't fiddle with filters. It all comes down to what you're shooting. When you have plenty of time in a controlled environment then yeah, change lenses, change filters, etc.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

I shoot alot of weddings and currently use 3 lenses for the GH2

20 f1.7
14-42 3.5-5.6
nikon AI 50 1.8

12-35 is great in some ways, but I've been in plenty of venues where f1.7 is barely enough. 2.8 would be too slow for sure. I would say a fast prime <25mm is pretty critical.

I also think 35 @ 2.8 is too short and slow for a lot of beauty shots. Canon FD and Nikon AI lenses are cheap, especially the fast 50s.

To me the 12-35 is sort of good but not quite in a lot of ways. Still, I'd love to add it in if I could afford, I would just consider a faster wider lens and longer lens to be more important.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Hi Steven, thanks for your input

Can you check out these links please, so to know the lens your talking about. :)

20 f1.7
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lu...ywords=20+f1.7

14-42 3.5-5.6
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-M-ZU...2+3.5-5.6+lens

nikon AI 50 1.8
Nikon 50mm F1.8 AIs Standard Prime Manual Lens - 3222972 | eBay


What one would you have in mind Steven?

Thank you.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Thank you Patrick, that's great advice thanks.

I shoot mostly weddings and I was thinking of a screw on filter, just to protect the lens, that's all.

I seen this on Amazon.

Hoya 58mm Circular Polarizing Filter: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Will a filter like this take away for the image quality of the GH4, say on the Lumix 12-35mm?

I wouldn't want that of course, but don't want he lens scratch either :)

Thank you.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

OK, with this lens for the GH4
Panasonic H-HS12035E Lumix G X VARIO 12-35mm Lens
How do you zoom in and out? :)
I don't see a zoom lever on the camera.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Did you seriously spend that much money on that lens and are asking *now* how to zoom in and out? Haha, I like you, you are crazy.

The lens has 2 rings on it. The ring that is closer to the camera is the zoom ring. You turn that clockwise to zoom in and counterclockwise to zoom out.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

:) lol, glad you like me Luc. Naw, nothing bought yet, I'm just doing a lot of YouTubeing ( is there such a word) and didn't see a zoom lever on the camera, like my RX10.

Thanks for letting me know :)