Hi Gary, in response to your asking: I was given the GX9 as a gift in 2019 with kit lens P12-35 f3.5-5.6. Then in order (there was a lens bundle offering at the time so three lenses and camera in one go): P 25 f1.7 P 45-150 f4-5.6 Then this year I bought P 42.5 f1.7 P 12-60 f3.5-5.6 What do I shoot: Landscape, some portraits, general environment, buildings and cityscapes, nature (flowers, leaves, small animals where I sometimes screw on close-up lenses for macro). Sometimes videos to use as short pre-recorded lectures for my university classes I teach. I use the 45-150 the least. The 42.5 was missing from your review although you talk about it in another video. It is really light and sharp plus you can get a bit closer to the object (minimum focus distance) and it is still in focus compared to the other lenses. Also it is a great portraits lens to get in some background as well (say a couple or small family) at the right distance. I think next will be the Laowa 7.5 f2 and/or P 15 f1.7 and then my problem will be that I won't have a bag 🎒 for it all 😕 plus the tripod et al. I agree as you said and other reviews/viewers comment: our needs and style vary, so some might need even wide aperture others might want a longer zoom still others value portability or sharpness over other factors. A lens may be technically good 👍 but not good for me 👎. Then there is price 💰 as well.
HI Miljomupp, thank you for the comment, looks like you already have a solid set of lenses for your photography needs. I am curious about the 42.5 too, but my Oly 45 is still serving me really well although it can't focus as close. Happy shooting :)
I have a number of lenses and must say that the 15mm f1.7 and 20mm f1.7 are great, as are the 12-40 and 40-150 pro Olympus lenses. I hope the 20mm f1.7 II is faster than the first version., but the first version is still one of the sharpest lenses in the MFT arsenal. I have bought a Sigma 56mm F1.4 for portrait, and light telephoto shooting as well. Beautiful lens.
That's a solid setup right there, seemed like you have all the focal lengths covered, except for maybe the ultra wide focal lengths. Thanks for sharing your setup, happy shooting :)
Hi Michael, yes I heard that the 12-40 2.8 oly is amazing. I haven't tried it but I am sure it is a good alternative for the pan 12-35 2.8. Happy shooting
I did this choice for my G9 : 25 F/1.4 for street photo because the 50mm equivalent is my favorite focal lens. 12-40 F/2.8 for traveling, sharper than the 12-35. And the excellent 75 Olympus for portraits (and sometime for street photo too...). If I was found of sport or animal photo, I'll probably look at the awesome 100-400 Panasonic closer.
Hi Marc, thanks for sharing your setup, I think you have a really good combination of lenses there, covering a lot of different focal lengths and needs. Happy shooting :)
For my Panasonic G9 and GX85..... 1. Olympus 25mm 1.8 2. Sigma 16mm 1.4 3. Olympus Pro lens 12-40mm 2.8 I've had other lenses but find I never use anything else.
Hi WHO IS SERAFIN, thank you for the comment! That's a very solid setup, covering important focal lengths, all with relatively large aperture. Very nice! Happy shooting! :)
Agree with you regarding Laowa 7.5 and PL 15 - I own them both and both are great lenses. 14-140 has poor IQ. 20 1.7 is very close to PL 15, but has poor AF, so I would replace it with something more tighter: P25, PL25 or sigma 30 1.4 (if small size is not so vital) There are better alternatives to 12-35: 12-40 has better build quality and PL 12-60 is simply a better and more versatile lens. I would also sold the mzuiko 45 and 75 in favor of Sigma 56 1.4 - it is a brilliant lens is in the middle between them and can replace both of them. Plus it has weather sealing
Hi Vasyl, thanks for the comment. And also thanks for the suggested alternatives, some of those lenses might be more useful for some other people as well, thank you :)
When I switched to MFT last year (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III), I bought the Olympus 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3 as my first lens to use as my everyday lens and I still love it. I have several others now as well, but they are usually for more specialized situations. I'm considering grabbing the Laowa 7.5mm f/2 for astro since it's a decent bit faster than the Olympus 7-14mm f/2.8 Pro (which I also love of course).
Hello Mark, thank you for sharing your setup. Good to hear that you enjoy using Oly 12-200mm. That's a good lens. Regarding Laowa, it's a great lens and I love it so much. Cheers :)
Very useful video! Thank you Gary. This helps me greatly to know which focal length lenses I'm going to be prioritizing on buying first. I really like the 20mm, 15mm, and 7mm. Also I really enjoy the humor in the video lol. Subbed.
@@Gary_W Thank you :) Yes I am picking up the Panasonic 20mm 1.7 for $200cad($156usd) as my first lens for my Olympus OMD E-M5 Mark II camera. Excited to start using it! I just have to wait for the seller to come back to our city in 2 weeks hahah. Darn. After that I'll actually pick up the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm because it's on sale on B&H and I actually heard it's a sleeper lens. Meaning I heard it's really sharp and good but not that known.
I am retiring my 2005 Canon G7 7.1MP (yes..still using this remarkable camera). Its spoiled me because of its F2.0-F3.0, 35-150mm equiv lens and optical viewfinder with diopter. After 50 years of photography and owning up to a Nikon D700 with grip and 24-70 2.8 for work, I always returned to this little camera to carry around. Its only drawback is its not wide enough for the sorts of landscapes I want to do now. I need 24mm. M4/3 allows for smaller bodies and smaller lenses. Thats the whole idea for me. Your advice about using smaller M4/3 lenses is very valuable. I also know that the sensor that you get on the tiny GM1 is the same as on the big models and will give me the same quality landscapes images for very little money in a small package. Thats what I am going to do.
Hi Technik Mesiter, thank you for the kind comment and for sharing the knowledge of Canon G7, I have a similar Canon G15 that I still use in the office for advertisement work. You can't go wrong with GM1, although I haven't use it but I heard nothing but praises. Micro Four Thirds offers a set of specifications that are really best suited for travel photography. All the best and happy shooting :)
@@WhoIsSerafin The G7 I believe is still quite a solid camera, even today in 2020. It is a great entry/mid level camera for both still and video that's really on a great price point with all the essential features.
Mas Gary, keren reviewnya. Lebih straight forward dari review2 yg dari luar sana. Mau nanya dong, saya lagi mau beli lensa portrait utk panasonic gx9 saya. Apakah ada issue kalau pakai olympus 45mm? (Karena yg panasonic 42.5 mm sedikit lebih mahal). Thanks! Keep up the good work!
Hi Kak Rama Ishwara, terima kasih comment nya kak. Kalau GX9 dan 45mm tidak ada masalah kok kak, saya pakai di GX8 dan G85 semua aman tanpa masalah. Semoga membantu Kak, happy shooting :)
Thank you for showing us your personal choices. The Panny 20mm was the first prime lens I purchased after getting an mFT camera, an Olympus E-M5. It was very SHARP. But I soon realized it was extremely slow focusing. I eventually sold the 20mm, replacing it with an Oly 17mm. A big difference on an Olympus camera, and the manual-focus clutch is a bonus.
Hello Bob, thank you for the comment! Yes I agree if you are using the 20mm on an Olympus camera, the autofocus will be slower. I used this lens on my Olympus E-PL6 and it was significantly slower compared to 20mm on my Pan GX7/GX8. However, the Oly 17 is also a great lens, used to have that one a long time ago and quite satisfied with the result. Cheers!
I just got the OLY 17mm 1.8 secondhand. Very nice. I did however previously fancy the Panasonic 20mm because that was the equivalent of the old OM system full frame 40mm pancake lens from the 90s that was so sought after .... and still is I think. Focus on the 17mm is pretty instant and silent.
My lens lineup is Zuiko 17, 45, 60, 12-40 and the 40-150 kit zoom and the Lumix 25. I'm considering getting the Lumix 14, 20 or Sigma 56 to add to my bag. Leaning towards the Sigma first, then the 14, and lastly the 20 simply because people rave about it.
Hello Adrian, thank you for the comment and for sharing your setup! Looks like a great setup, you covered all the essential focal lengths! Happy shooting 😊
The video is old but it still helps us who are new to the lenses world. I have a RU-vid channel and I am a G9 owner. This makes me very interested in this video. I subscribed to your channel 🙏
Good to hear Wolftick, I do have specific videos on some of the lenses mentioned here, hopefully those could help you to understand more about the lenses. Thank you :)
Hi PetitOgre DeBarback, thank you for the suggestion of the Oly 12-100, I want to try it myself. Seems like a good candidate for a superzoom. Thank you :)
@@Gary_W Cheers Gary! I now also have a secondhand 17mm f/1.8 and also the 75mm f/1.8 (very naughty). Plus the 12-40mm f/2.8 version 1 at the last minute, as the mark 2 came out since it gpt cheaper as did the 75mm - by quite a lot. I have to wean myself off the desire to but mpre wide angle mgle primes covered by the 12-40. I like the close focus on the 12-40 - but it's a lot bigger than the 17 and the 45. Maybe a Laowa 7.5mm or 10mm one day but I want macro stuff. 60mm macro and the flash setup and an E-MI mark ii maybe one day - but I need to budget now!🤯😳
Instead of the Laowa .5mm f2, you have the TTartisan 7.5mm f2, that is much cheaper ! I think this is better choice. In combinason with the 14-140mm zoom, this is perfect for travelling with 2 lens
Hello, thank you for the suggestion! The TTartisan 7.5mm f2 looks like a solid lens, however it is a fisheye lens and the Laowa is rectilinear wide angle lens rather than a fisheye. They're different although they have the same focal length and aperture.
wow lensa sultan semua hehe btw saya rencana beli GX9 kit 12-32mm, kalo buat landscape / street foto apa udah cukup tajam mas 12-32mm? dan rencana sekalian sama lensa prime portait juga, pilihan sementara ini sih 42.5mm f1.7 , oly 45mm f1.8 atau sigma 30mm f1.4. prefer yang mana ya mas? bajet untuk lensa prime sih maksimal 5jt
pagi kak Sendy, 12-32 review nya cukup baik, saya sendiri belum coba, tapi 14-42 saya yang jadul udah cukup tajam dan bagus kak hasilnya, hanya aperture nya saja f/3.5-5.6 memang agak susah untuk low light. Untuk prime portrait, saya sendiri pakai oly 45 1.8, sangat memuaskan, tapi tiga2 nya pilihan yang baik semua kok kak.
Hi Gary. I enjoyed your video and I agree with most of your propositions about micro 4/3 lenses. I would like to ask you, because just bought it, what do you think about LAOWA 17 1.8 lenses for street photography and specially for video. Have you thought to buy it? thanks and keep shooting...
Hi Peris Hellas, thank you for the comment and for the kind words :) I haven't personally tried the Laowa 17 1.8, but I've used an Olympus 17mm 1.8 before and it was a really good lens that I can recommend. I assume that if the quality of both lenses are the same, then the only different things are the autofocus(on Oly) and the manual aperture(on Laowa). If you are okay with shooting manual focus and manual aperture, then I think the Laowa could be a good option.
I really like your lens selection for the MFT system! It's right for your purposes. For my needs I'd leave out both the 15mm/1.7 and the 12-35mm/2.8 (because I prefer the 14-140mm for its versatility)! I'd replace the 15mm/1.7 with the Panasonic 14mm/2.5 so that I could take wide angle shots when my kit zoom does NOT gather enough light! For my taste there are enough "primes" to cover the range of the kit zoom and I don't need this small range of the 12-35mm ...(14mm and 20mm/1.7) I'm undecided now which super wide angle I should buy because this is really not the strength of the MFT system because of its small sensor ... ;( On the tele end I'd love to use the 100-400mm but its poor f-stop makes it unusable for Wildlife while the Olympus 300mm/4.0 is too expensive and still with an equivalent of f8.0 a little too dark for Wildlife. *sigh*
Thanks for your comment MusikPiratCH :) That's a good reasoning too, using 14-140 to cover most of the focal lengths and add a 14mm/2.5 for lower light situation. I had a similar setup when I first start to use MFT back in 2014 with 14-140 and an Oly 17/1.8, and it is quite versatile too. The Laowa 7.5mm that I use is so far a fantastic lens, and if you can tolerate manual focus, then it is a good candidate for the super wide angle. I used Pan 7-14mm f/4 before, and it was a good lens too, although it doesn't have filter mount and large aperture. I still have my Oly 9-18mm f/5.6 as a backup for the Laowa 7.5mm, it is a good walkaround lens when you don't really need ultra wide. Yes, I agree the tele options for MFT is still a bit difficult. I currently still use the old Pan 100-300/5.6, but I haven't used it for wildlife yet. Oly 300/4 and Pan 100-400 are both good candidates. The upcoming Pan 50-200 2.8-4 might also be a good candidate if you don't need ultra long telephoto, but I imagine it will be expensive. Happy shooting! And thanks for the comment once again :)
You want to downgrade from the sharp and fast pl 15mm 1.7 to the mediocre and slower 14mm 2.5? 😂 ummmm no. I just ordered the pl15mm 1.7 cause it's one the best lenses in the mft system.
@@marioarias9942 I really doubt the 15mm 1.7 is "one of the best lenses in the MFT system"! Look at the 0.95 lenses. They are even much faster (of course with manual focus only)! You'd also keep in mind that a f1.7 is equivalent to f3.4 FF. You'll don't get what you expect! ;( You cannot really speak of "downgrading" because if you have none of those lenses you cannot even downgrade. Even buying a 14mm 2.5 is an upgrade to the 14-140mm kit! xD
@@MusikPiratCH I was comparing the 15mm 1.7 with the 14mm 2.5 . I do have the 12-40 2.8, 40-150 2.8 ,45 1.8 and waiting for the 15mm to arrive which I have tested .
Hi Catnice Yan, both are very compelling. If you like shooting zoomed in a lot, the 12-60 could be a better choice for zooming in on a distant object, or to double as a basic portrait lens. However, I still prefer the 12-35 2.8 due to its constant 2.8 aperture. I don't shoot at the telephoto end that much, so I'm fine with 35mm. Hope this helps, happy shooting :)
I think if you are planning on not just stills but also video that the 12-35 with constant aperture would be better. Unless you plan on doing a lot of zooming while filming
Leica 15mm f1.7!!! Thats my go to for almost everything that i do! you are right about being creative with it, it took me awhile to get used to the focal length.
Kalau saya pribadi lebih 12-32mm kak, soalnya lebih kecil, sama tajamnya. Tapi kalau perlu tele, Panasonic 12-60 aja kak, lebih oke daripada Oly 12-50mm
Yes I do use all the lenses mentioned here, some more often than the others but lately I've been trying to use the less frequent ones more often. I recently uploaded a new video comparing the sharpness of similar focal length lenses, currently on wide angle focal length but in the next few weeks I will do the test on telephoto focal length as well, you can check it out in my channel. Thank you 😁
Hi Matt, thank you for the comment :) The 75 is definitely a good lens for tight portraits and for the ultimate blurred background. A bit of a step up from a 45, and nowadays probably you can find a good used 75 with a good price. Your setup of 20, 45 and 14-140 is definitely very flexible.
Mau beli lumix G7 yg sama lensa kit, tapi harganya sama ky G85 non lensa. Mendingan mana ya? Pertimbangannya bugdet ngepaa harus beli gimbal dan mic jga
Saya masih lebih menganjurkan ke G85. G85 support in body stabilization, yang walau tidak sestabil gimbal, tapi cukup membantu kalau shoot video nya tidak sambil jalan atau lari. Kalau lebih banyak shooting sambil jalan atau lari, tetap perlu gimbal dan mungkin G7 aja dengan gimbal sudah cukup. Semoga cukup membantu ya :)
Thank you for the thoughtful guide. I just picked up the 20mm and 45mm you mentioned. I am amazed at the improvement in image quality compared to the 12-32mm kit lens. Great advice.
Hi, Is 14- 140 mm good for bird videography for about 100 metres away and for music videos. I have made up my mind to purchase a lumix g7 as my first camera, because it got unlimited 4 k recording and lastly can lumix g7,s usb has a usb to headphones converter adapter facility? Thanks, Antonio DaGama
14-140mm is definitely a bit short for bird photo/video, but you can make it work with 4K recording and crop it to 1080. I don't think the G7 has USB to headphone option, or even headphone plug. Hope this helps
Kak, kalau foto pertama kebetulan emang pas ambil gambarnya baru blue hour menjelang malam, ISO 400an kalau ga salah, wide open f1.7, edit pakai Lightroom, shadow highlight black white dimainin semua, clarity tambah sedikit, dehaze juga sedikit biar tajem aja. Foto train, cuma tambahin shadow dikit, kasi clarity, terus tambahin contrast dikit pakai slider black dan slider white. Semua cuma Lightroom kok kak, semoga membantu :)
@@Gary_W thank you so much, sejauh ini baru 2 dedicated reviewer m43 yang sangat sangat membantu dan informatif, Sulantoblog dari finland sama mas Gary w. Semangat terus!
Halo kak, kalau saya pribadi paling suka Panasonic Lumix 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 atau Olympus 14-150mm f/4-5.6 (kalau body Olympus enak yang ini). Ada yang lebih murah, Tamron 14-150mm, tapi tidak ada stabilizernya kak, dan hanya kepaut beberapa ratus ribu lebih murah, saya tetap pilih Lumix 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 atau Olympus. ini review saya 14-140mm ya kak: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-myYucH6BOV8.html
Mas kalau pakai lensa murah kayak meike, 7 artisans utk gx9 kira2 hasilnya gmn ya? Saya perlu utk video in music lesson tapi studio saya kecil dan gak terang2 banget lampu nya. Sementara ini pakai kit lens. Bs kasih saran gak? Thnx.
Saya kira tetep oke kak, asal lighting baik, lensa apapun hasilnya pasti oke kak untuk video. Kit lens pun sudah sangat baik di GX9, 12-32mm cukup handal performanya kak.
Hi BumbleBi99, I haven't got the chance to try the sigma yet, but it was on my wishlist for a few months before I bought the Pan 15 1.7. The reason why I ended up with 15 1.7 instead is because of the smaller size of the lens, which makes it so much easier for travel. 16 1.4 is a bit too big(dimension and weight), although looking at some tests there's no doubt that it is sharp and will produce excellent result :)
Hi there, I have heard about it, but never actually use it. I think it will be useful for off-camera flash photography, or maybe for mounting video lights or other photo/video accessories.
@@Gary_W I just made a video how to build one It can take heavy camera as well not just light or flash units. I think it was a genius idea from Justin. All the best.
I must say your contents are fine, yet you unnecessary move too much especially when i watch at a much quicker pace (x1.5), it's pretty dizzy to the eyes, keep up the good work cheers
Thank you for the suggestion. I will try to reduce the movement on future videos. Meanwhile please watch my recent videos and let me know if the movement is still too much.
Thanks for letting me know. Maybe my problem with the 20mm was because I was using an older Olympus PEN E-PL6, that camera doesn't have a fast AF to begin with.
@@handikurr Siap mas bolehh makasih mas. Kalau IG slow respond, boleh di RU-vid langsung juga kok mas, salah satu video saya dicomment aja gapapa hehehe. Happy shooting :)
@@bangasep8699 saya dulu kebanyakan beli bekas kak. Utk 15mm f/1.7 itu sekitar 6jt waktu itu, 20mm f/1.7 sekitar 4jt, 14-140mm sekitar 7jt, 12-35mm f/2.8 dan 75mm f/1.8 sekitar 8jt kak. Kalau Laowa 7.5mm f/2 itu dulu preorder sekitar 7jt juga. semoga membantu kak :)
@@bangasep8699 untuk g9 atau gh5, tergantung kebutuhan kak. untuk foto, g9 performanya lebih baik, tapi untuk video gh5 lebih fleksible kak. kalau kualitas hasil gambar foto dan video keduanya sangat mirip setahu saya.
Hi Myst ique, thank you for the comment! Yes, 14-140 is a bit slow at f/3.5-5.6 as well, and the 20mm is a bit slow to focus, but both are still very good for the price :)
My 14-140mm mk2 is very good for sharpness. You might not be aware but there were two versions of this lens (actually now 3 because there's a weather sealed update to the mk2). The mk2 optical formula is very good, especially for such a wide zoom range. It's not perfect but at most apertures and focal distances, it will produce very good results. Sharper zoom lenses are only available at a much higher price point (Oly 12-100), or with reduced range (PL12-60, Oly 12-40, P 12-35mm). In fact, my copy of the 14-140mm matches my Oly 17mm f1.8 and is nearly equal to my Pana 25mm f1.7 for sharpness at the same focal lengths. Sample variation plays a role, and there's some softness at the edges in the extreme ends of the zoom range, but good copies of the 14-140mm are quite good in general. In all, Gary's recommendations are very practical and solid for most m43 users.
😁😁😁 I have this thick Javanese-Indonesian English accent that happens to sound very Russian. And yes, my ancestors were Chinese, although I am Indonesian 😁😁
i actually liked them, but they are too big and bulky for my taste. yeah that's totally true, we had to sprinkle MSG to everything we eat just to save some money 😆😆😆