Lenses for GH4

[Chris Tompkins]

Start with a wide lens.
Get a zoom lens.
Faster the better.

Chris

[James Dow]

Yeah….pretty much figured that…:) was looking for some specific recommendations. (Hey you shot some footage for me this winter….Gtretchen Corbin)

I thought your name was familiar.

Thanks,
Paul

JPD

[Chris Tompkins]

Ahh, yes.

I have a 25mm Lumix f1.4 that is amazing, I would recommend something close to that. (Should have used it on that job)

You can get old Canon glass for a deal and an adapter too.

Take care and good luck. The GH cameras take great images.

Chris

[William Carr]

If you can afford it, get a zoom lens with a fixed f-stop at the fast end. This will prevent a noticeable stopping-down of the diaphragm during zoom-ins if you’re shooting in low light with the f-stop wide open. I shoot lots of documentary and I’m still in the old-school ENG habit of wanting a hand-driven zoom in the shot.

Cheaper zooms like the LUMIX G Vario 45-150mm f/4.0-5.6 have a range of f-stop at the fast end, as opposed to the awesome Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm f/2.8.

It may seem like a simple thing to always start your shot with the zoom stopped down to the higher bottom value (that way it won’t force a stop-down if you zoom in), but when the action is frenetic and you’re in the thick of a low-light situation, it’s nice to have one less issue to figure.

And, if you shoot handheld a lot– the transition from HVX to GH series is challenging. Because the system is so small, every little nuance of your grip is magnified into the shot. Stabilizer cages and such can help, but even so, try to stick with lenses that have OIS. Some fast wide lenses like the LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7, which gets you amazing low-light ambience, do not have OIS.

[James Dow]

@William…Thanks for the input.

JPD

[William Carr]

You’re welcome. But who is @William?

[Bill Bruner]

Hi JPD – you’ve already gotten some great advice in this thread – but if you’re coming from camcorders, you might want to consider the Panasonic power zooms (14-42mm and 45-175mm). They aren’t constant aperture, but, if your shooting style includes focal length changes during the shot, they’re a lot smoother than cranking manually.

Here’s the 45-175 on the GH3 – rendered at 720p, but please note the smooth zoom at 0:32

https://youtu.be/Moe6tidEYMc

Hope this is helpful!

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

[James Dow]

🙂 That was intended for you. (William)

JPD

[James Dow]

Thank you Bill!

JPD

[Kevin Paolillo]

I have been a GH guy since the GH1, so I have tried a lot of them. The Panasonic lenses have come a long way since the first iteration, both in terms of build quality and low light performance. When almost every lens will fit the camera, Panasonic realized they better get their act together and The Panasonic 12-35 and 35-100 constant 2.8’s are very good go to lenses that take full advantage of the camera’s internal stability system and fairly quick autofocus. But for my money the Voightlanders, particularly the 45mm .95 is the winner. It looks good at .95 but really shines at around 1.4. especially on interviews. Built solid as a rock.