Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

I see Amazon UK have the GH4 (Body Only)

Panasonic DMC-GH4EB-K Compact System Camera: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

but having never, bought a lens for a camera before, I wouldn't have a clue what lens to buy, so asking for advice.. again :)

What middle of the road lens would you recommend for the GH4, to use for recording weddings.
As you know, most wedding receptions can be quiet dark, so if this make a difference to choosing a lens.

Thanks in advance.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

If I were new to filming with the GH4 and had to pic a first lens for weddings on a budget, I'd get a 42.5mm f/1.7. Then I'd add an Olympus 12mm f/2.0 and a stabilizer for my second choice.

A 25mm f/1.4 is a great lens, but doesn't have enough reach to get up front from the back of the crowd. All the f/2.8 zoom options are not fast enough IMHO to work well with dimly lit wedding location generally.

Just my $0.02 for a place to start.

Cheers,
Pete

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Plunk down for the 12-35mm Lumix.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

If you shoot handheld and don't want to change lenses to often the 12-35mm f2.8 is the obvious choice because it's stabilized and has a usable focal length, 12mm is the minimum you need for shooting wide, especially when you shoot in 4K because that crops even further and 35mm is decent enough but not if you want to use it as static camera from the back of the church.
Only starting from reception f2.8 is not enough, you need at least f2.0.

If you don't shoot handheld the sigma 18-35mm f1.8 with a speedbooster might be a good choice, you will loose stabilization but this lens should cover shooting all day, even in candle lit only venues. I only don't have any experience with this combo so don't know about aperture controll and if the auto focus will work, maybe other owners can comment on that.

Pete's recommendation for the new 42,5 f1.7 and 12mm f2.0 is also a solid choice if you don't mind changing lenses, it will keep it within the price of one 12-35mm lens. Those 2 focal lengths should also allow you to shoot anything you need throughout the day and also cover very dark venues and because the 42,5mm is stabilized you could do some handheld shots as well. I have the 12mm and it's a very good lens considering it's mini size. The 42,5 is one I am planning to get as it's the only focal length I don't have yet between 25 and 75mm, it's stabilization, fast f-stop and low price are just icing on the cake :)

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Thank you Guys, as usual :)
I would like a lens that will auto focus and work well in low light :)
I doesn't have to have reach from the bottom to the top of the church.
It probably would be used as much on a tripod as hand held.
Cant see me changing lenses, so, if one lens would cover most, that would be ideal.

Gary, that lens looks good but a bit expensive for me just now :( £800 on amazon, unless I'm looking at the wrong one :(

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

That 12-35mm f2.8 is worth it's price but it's not fast enough for darker receptions, you can shoot handheld with a 12mm lens but you will have to deal with some microvibrations, 35mm is not suitable for handheld without stabilisation.

There is not much else choice if you want to have a stabilised fast zoom lens

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Thanks Noa, sorry, what do you mean by not fast enough?

OK, I do intend to get myself a stabilizer a bit later.

Thanks.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

I mean the f-stop, f2.8 won't be sufficient for very dark reception, f2.0 is what you need at least.

If you will be shooting from a stabiliser, like a gimbal or steadicam then I would suggest looking into that sigma 18-35mm f1.8 with a speedbooster.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Thank you Noa for your advice.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

I shoot weddings, bar mitzvahs, quince's, etc. and my go-to lens for 85% of the shots is the 12-35mm f/2.8. To gain more light just boost up your ISO and/or make sure you have a good on-camera LED. I use the Neewer CN-160, available at Amazon for $30. It's super bright and comes with a clear daylight balanced filter and an amber tungsten balanced filter. I use the slim Sony F550 rechargeable batteries which last forever and are super light.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Hi Patrick, thanks, just to know what lens your talking about can you please link to it, say on amazon.
I have one of those lights CN160 btw.

Thanks.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/865111-REG/Panasonic_H_HS12035_Lumix_G_X_Vario.html

I know you want middle of the road, but you really need this lens to pull off a wedding. It's so versatile. You get what you pay for. Buy cheap buy twice.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

:) Is this the same one Patrick?

Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO 12-35mm/F2.8 ASPH.: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo

Sorry if this is a silly question, Is a speedbooster needed for this lens btw and is it the same lens Gary also advised me to get?

Thanks Patrick

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

No, you don't use a speedbooster with native lenses. That's the same as my link and what Gary mentioned.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Thanks Patrick.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

I'm a GH3 wedding shooter for 2 years now, and last month I bought a GH4 with the 12-35mm lens mentioned here. I did NOT want to buy that lens because I was afraid I was going to have low light issues with it at wedding receptions. However, the deal I got on it was too good to turn down.

Pros and cons? Well...

+ the stabilization on it is great, it's saving me from a lot of stabilization in post

+ versatility, as mentioned before - it's great in church, for example, because you can get a wide shot when something important is happening, then quickly zoom in all the way and get some good looking close-ups when something boring is going on that you know you won't include in their video

+ the GH3/4 actually looks and feels like a "serious" camera with this lens, as opposed to what it looks like with the Panasonic 14mm pancake lens on (a toy)

+ I have and tested both these lenses and apparently I am getting the same amount of light with both, even though the 12-35 is f/2.8 and the pancake is f/2.5, no difference whatsoever in the exposure meter

- a bit too much depth of field (full frame equivalent of f/5.6, remember!), so not that great for the first part of the day where you need a lens with a shallower depth of field to get those good looking shots of the rings and so on (I use the Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 lens here)

- it makes you a bit lazy :) makes me not want to change lenses that often and instead of getting a better looking shot with my f/1.4 lens, sometimes I feel like saying "screw it" and just zoom in all the way to 35mm to get the shallowest depth of field that way and get the shot

Hope this helps somewhat.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Thanks Luc, yes, that does help, especially when I wouldn't know one lens from another :)

Thanks.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

I'm not sure whether I made that clear Anthony, but the lens turned out to be a decent performer in low light, better than expected. And with the GH4 you can just go ahead and shoot 4k if you need to go past ISO 3200 and downscale to 1080p later, it will look better.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Yes Luc, you made it very clear, you explained it well.

Sorry for asking, but I just don't know :) and just to confirm,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-LU...ords=H-HS12035

Will I have auto focus with this lens?
Is there a built in stabilizer?

Thanks everyone for your patience :)

UPDATE:
Just read this review on Amazon, don't know how true it is!

...!The image stabilisation does not turn off when switched for tripod work.
This may not show at the wide end...but zoomed optically &/or digitally it jitters & shakes!..."

Just saw an update to the above statement..."Just got to make an update for this lens... a previous reviewer didn't like it because you cannot turn the Image Stabilisation off when using a tripod ?
Just need to let you people know.. there is a great big switch on the Lens Barrel for doing just that... no need to go into the menus or muck around, just slide the switch to off position when using tripod.. simple"..

So that's answered my question then, thanks.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Yes it has autofocus (but you won't be using continuous autofocus anyway), and so far I've never had a problem with the stabilization not turning off. The lens is solid. Expensive, but solid.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Thanks Luc, now, all I need is the £££ :)

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

You can get a good deal on a new one on eBay: Panasonic Lumix G x Vario 12 35mm F 2 8 ASPH Lens for Micro 4 3 Black New 5025232681365 | eBay

I'm probably going to get that as I need a second one for my backup camera.

That tripod comment was nonsense. Just remember to click off image stabilization when on a tripod, steadicam, jib, or slider. I don't always remember to do that, but the footage generally comes out fine regardless.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Thanks Patrick, good to know.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

So, down to these two lens.

17.5mm 1.8 Olympus. Ian used this one in the link he provided in another post a few days ago.

Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 17mm 1:1.8 Lens - Black: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

and this one a few of you recommended.

LUMIX G X VARIO 12-35mm/F2.8

Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO 12-35mm/F2.8 ASPH.: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo

I suppose you cant got wrong with these two :) ?

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

You want to buy both? If so, don't. Go for the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 instead, exceptional lens at a cheap price. That 17.5mm will not be usable handheld, the Panasonic will. And the 45mm will get you a LOT of great looking shots that your 12-35mm will not be able to.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Hi Luc, no, not to buy both at the same time, just to say from my reading into these forms those two look as if they would work well with the GH4 for weddings 90% of the time.... without changing lenses.

Perhaps I'm wrong :)

Thank you Luc.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

If you want to start of with only one lens then the 12-35 f2.8 is the best choice, if you want to add a second lens later it depends how you want to use it, plan to use it on a steadicam or gimbal then the 12 or 17,5 mm is a better choice, the 45mm is a great lens for talking heads at the reception, beautyshots during makeup or even during a ceremony on a locked off camera + you can handhold this lens because of it's build in stabilizer which is a big advantage.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Hi Noa, its along those lines I was thinking of, camera & lens now, then add to what I have later.
That's sounds perfect then.

Thanks Noa and Luc.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Sadly this one does not have IS, but I remember you being excited about a very similar lens (maybe 42.5mm?) that does have IS. But it's more expensive, I paid $250 for my 45mm and I think I could have gotten it even cheaper, I just was in a hurry to get it at the time.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Right, there are so many different lenses it's easy to mix up focal lengths :) I meant the new one from panasonic:

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

So, (sorry) just to get this right.

This is the new one Noa was thinking of.

Panasonic 42.5mm F1.7 (£303)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lu...ic+42.5mm+F1.7

and the other is the Olympus 17.5mm 1.8 (£359 . was £300 first time I looked)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-M-ZU...8+Olympus+lens

Any preference.

Thank you again.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Like I said before, depends on what you will be using the lens for, 17.5 and 42.5 mm are very different focal lengths. Do you have a zoomlens at this moment that covers 17 and 42mm? In such a case you can set it to those focal lengths to see how the field of view both lenses will give you will work for you.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

OK, thanks again Noa.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

I use the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 with OIS with our GH4.
its compact, light and the OIS is great when doing hand held.

It can be used fully manual but lacks focusing ring hard stops.

We have set picture profiles on the GH4 to shoot with Sony F3, EX3 and PMW350, all with IR filters and when all camera are correctly white balanced we get great matching pictures. Although the panasonic lens is a bit slow in comparison to the other cameras lenses, we usually tweek the luminance of the GH4 footage in post.

I have also used PL prime lenses, for certain static T/pod shots, which give fantastic image and bokeh, but shooting moving subjects at f1.9 with primes give you a very limited in-focus area. And they are bigger and heavier than the micro four thirds native lens. These are very difficult lenses to use hand held especially if your shooting video

I have also experimented with old 24m 50m 110mm canon FD (35mm) lenses which i have had since 1986 with MTF adapter, and get great results, but these do not have image stabilization.

Having used a variety of lenses, for the type of work we do, I prefer the panasonic lens.

Noa's mentions some other good lens options.

Check out Sol's web site below, for details on other GH4 lens option.

4 Reasons Zoom Lenses are Awesome for the Panasonic GH4

Andy

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Would you use auto focus much with this lens Andy?

Thank you for all that info and the link was very informative, a great help.

Thanks.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Hi Anthony

I never use auto anything, I always shoot manual focus and manual exposure.

Although the camera does have a number of focus assisting buttons which I personally don't use, but what is a great help for me in the type of work I do is focus peaking. I use it every time.
The intensity of the edge peaking and colour can be customised in the menu to suit your shoot.

Check out Dave Dugdale's web site, he does a great tutorial on shooting video with the GH4, informative, to the point and will save you hours in menu surfing.

If you're shooting on t/pod, the sigma 12-35mm f1.9 without image stabilisation is worth considering.

Body only price emailed to you earlier


Andy

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Thank you again Andy.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

As you know, the zoom lens speed on the RX10 is very slow.
Those two lenses, would the zoom on them be as fast as a video camera?
I like to zoom in, adjust focus and them come out to frame the shot, it only takes a few seconds with my .pmw320.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

These are the two lenses I use most often. You need to have both. This brings us back to my very first post here, a wide and a portrait lens that are fast enough f-stop to work in lower light are essential IMHO. Again, just my opinion, but f/2.8 is not fast enough and makes for a sterile image.

I suggested the 12mm f/2 instead of the 17mm f/1.8 because it allows you to get those wider landscape type views. I wish I had bought the 12mm first instead of the 17mm. The 17mm is a bit too standard of a view and kind of boring to me when shooting in 4K. The 42.5mm will give you the beautiful portrait and close up images you need. With a 12mm and 42.5mm you have everything you need and lack almost nothing.

The beauty of filming in 4K is that you can then crop in to get additional fields of view for your final 1080 output.

Re: Lens for Panasonic GH4.
 

Thanks Pete