Can ya help me choose a lens?

[aimeeinohio]

Ok I'm getting myself a lens before we go to Disney. I've got the Olympus e-pm1 ( Pen Mini) with its kit 14-42 mm lens. The lens is ok but it does not do well in low light- it hunts around a lot!
So here's what I've narrowed it down to on my low budget:
25mm f/2.8
17mm f/2.8
Fisheye lens super wide HD
A NIKON 18-70mm f/2.5-3.5 if it will fit on my camera.

I've been looking for a 40-150 mm but can't find one in my price range.

 

[hakepb]

I was going to guess 17mm, but

Your kit lens is f/3.5 at 14mm the 17mm may not be much different in low light ability. The 25mm may be a bit faster at that length..but you may need an f/1.8 or less to really notice an improvement in low light....so then at least the fisheye is a useful creative option (since there is rarely enough space to backup at WDW)

The Nikon lens would certainly require an adaptor, and then you may have to manually control everything..time consuming but may be rewarding to some.

 

[Nickunited]

Ok I'm getting myself a lens before we go to Disney. I've got the Olympus e-pm1 ( Pen Mini) with its kit 14-42 mm lens. The lens is ok but it does not do well in low light- it hunts around a lot!
So here's what I've narrowed it down to on my low budget:
25mm f/2.8
17mm f/2.8
Fisheye lens super wide HD
A NIKON 18-70mm f/2.5-3.5 if it will fit on my camera.

I've been looking for a 40-150 mm but can't find one in my price range.

What about shooting at a higher ISO?

Its hard to say a 2.8 will solve your issues because we dont know how low the light is.

There are other ways to fix the lighting issue either with ISO, flash or longer shutter speed, however that might require a TRIPOD.

 

[aimeeinohio]

Thank guys

I just spent a few hrs with a photo buddy and he pretty much said save my money and up the iso in low light situations. So I've got to look at the manual and see how to do it lol

 

[Nickunited]

Thank guys

I just spent a few hrs with a photo buddy and he pretty much said save my money and up the iso in low light situations. So I've got to look at the manual and see how to do it lol

Cheers - best of luck

 

[Pugrpooh]

Ok I'm getting myself a lens before we go to Disney. I've got the Olympus e-pm1 ( Pen Mini) with its kit 14-42 mm lens. The lens is ok but it does not do well in low light- it hunts around a lot!
So here's what I've narrowed it down to on my low budget:
25mm f/2.8
17mm f/2.8
Fisheye lens super wide HD
A NIKON 18-70mm f/2.5-3.5 if it will fit on my camera.

I've been looking for a 40-150 mm but can't find one in my price range.

Where have you been looking for the 40-150mm? It can be had for less than $200 and the 17mm f/2.8 is $299. Cameta often has the 40-150mm in stock as a refurbished lens for even cheaper. The 40-150mm has good reviews and for the price it's definitely worth picking up, especially if you only have the kit lens.

Is the 25mm f/2.8 the 4/3 version? If so you would need the adapter which would add to the cost. You can also look for the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 used which would be a good option for the Pen. It's quite small too.

 

[aimeeinohio]

I've just looked on eBay and amazon. I'll check out cameta though thanks for the tip! If I could get a 40-150 mm for under $200 I could swing that. Although our trip is a week away now!!

 

[aimeeinohio]

Thanks for the Cameta tip. I found a 40-150 mm for my sweet little pen mini. Now can I leave the kit lens at home or should I take it too?

 

[havoc315]

Thanks for the Cameta tip. I found a 40-150 mm for my sweet little pen mini. Now can I leave the kit lens at home or should I take it too?

The 40-150 is a telephoto lens. So you still need your kit lens, unless you only want to take telephoto shots. Typically, I only use telephoto in Animal Kingdom. Use a wide angle all other times.
And your kit should also be better in low light than the 40-150.

 

[Pugrpooh]

Take both lenses! Then you're pretty well covered with focal lengths of 14-150. You'll probably use the 14-42 the most, especially indoors.

 

[aimeeinohio]

Thanks everyone I'm sure hubby won't mind carrying the lens around in his cargo shorts, right?

 

[SplashMo]

The kit lens is the more important one for WDW. The other one will be a blast at AK. Perhaps other places. Carry it in a ziplock bag.

 

[aimeeinohio]

Ah yes a ziplock bag! Thanks for the tip!