Lens suggestions for Olympus Pen e-pm1

[aimeeinohio]

I have the lovely Olympus pen mini first gen, and I only have the kit lens for it. I purchased it super cheap refurbished. We are going to WDW in August, and I am considering a new lens for it. I go to the parks bagless- just my lanyard pouch, phone, and camera.

I've been looking at the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 Aspherical Pancake Lens . What do the experts think?

Then again, I am considering not even taking my camera and just using my iphone and photo pass people.

 

[Pugrpooh]

I have the 20mm and while many people love it and the quality is excellent and I've also gotten some great pics with it, I'm thinking of selling it because I just don't use it, especially since I got the Panaleica 25mm f/1.4.

That being said, the most versatile lens I have that would get the most use at Disney World is the 12-50mm kit lens that came with my OM-D. It's a wider range than the 14-42mm and it also has a macro switch and takes decent macro pictures.

Another option is the 14-150mm lens if you only want one lens.

If you want a lens for dark rides, either the 20mm or 25mm would do very well.

 

[HPS3]

I can vouch for the Panasonic 25 f1.4. Its just awesome.

 

[aimeeinohio]

Purgpooh, how far does the lens that cane with the om-d stick out? You know that's the camera I REALLY Wantef but its out of my price range right now.

I've found the Panasonic 20mm for less than $300.00... Haven't pulled the trigger yet though.

 

[Pugrpooh]

Purgpooh, how far does the lens that cane with the om-d stick out? You know that's the camera I REALLY Wantef but its out of my price range right now.

I've found the Panasonic 20mm for less than $300.00... Haven't pulled the trigger yet though.

Well, it's certainly not pocketable. Here's a picture of it on the E-PM1.

http://www.four-thirds.org/en/special/matching.html

But that's as long as it gets. It doesn't extend further when zooming. My camera is always out though when I'm at Disney World and I have a Vera Bradley backpack purse that I can stick it into if I need to. I bought some neoprene wraps for the lenses for extra protection for when I just stick them in my purse.

A couple of other smaller options are the Panasonic 14mm/f2.8 and the Oly 17/f2.8. The website above is a useful one to see what the different lenses would look like on your camera.

 

[jewood1234]

Just got back from the last days of the flower and garden festival with my E-PM1. Took the 12-50 and 45/1.8. Worked great and while not quite "pocket sized", it was no problem to have in my wrist the whole time there!

 

[aimeeinohio]

Thanks ladies
While I'm not concerned with it being pocketable, because I will be wearing it, I just was afraid to have a huge lens hanging off the front to whack around on stuff.

 

[aimeeinohio]

Hmmm so what about going with the Panasonic 25mm and the oly M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 EZ?

Or would I be better served with just getting the 14-150?

 

[boBQuincy]

If you can stand the price Panasonic's 12-35 is as good as it gets for micro 4/3 zoom. This lens is at it's sharpest wide open at f/2.8! Unfortunately Panasonic thinks very highly of the lens from the price they are asking. I think it is worth it though.

 

[aimeeinohio]

If you can stand the price Panasonic's 12-35 is as good as it gets for micro 4/3 zoom. This lens is at it's sharpest wide open at f/2.8! Unfortunately Panasonic thinks very highly of the lens from the price they are asking. I think it is worth it though.

But is that redundant since I have a 14-42 lens? I don't know much about the lenses

 

[oogieboogieman]

I'm like you, I like to go to the parks without carrying a lot of baggage. I carry my camera, an extra battery, and an extra SD card, and now a quart sized Ziploc bag, just in case of when it rains.

The 20mm lens is a good option. I've been looking at the 14mm as a wider option.

I've been using an Oly Pen for about a year and I love it!

 

[Pugrpooh]

Hmmm so what about going with the Panasonic 25mm and the oly M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 EZ?

These are the two lenses I use most often. The advantage with the 14-150 is the extra reach, but you get a large aperture and excellent IQ with the 25mm, which you'll also appreciate AFTER you return from Disney. The macro function on the 12-50 also works pretty well.

I'm waiting to see what Olympus is coming out with regarding a fast zoom. If it's anything like the 4/3 12-60mm lens, I'm getting it for sure.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'm like you, I like to go to the parks without carrying a lot of baggage. I carry my camera, an extra battery, and an extra SD card, and now a quart sized Ziploc bag, just in case of when it rains.

The 20mm lens is a good option. I've been looking at the 14mm as a wider option.

I've been using an Oly Pen for about a year and I love it!

Long time, no see! Did we know you had a PEN??

I haven't been to the World with the PEN yet, but the pancake (25mm f/2.8) worked out great on my Oly dSLR a few years back. (Which was not much bigger than the PEN.) It was very good in low light.

 

[boBQuincy]

But is that redundant since I have a 14-42 lens? I don't know much about the lenses

The 12-35 is redundant with the 14-42 in focal length only. It is almost one stop faster at the short end and two stops faster at the long end. The viewfinder will be brighter and focus will be faster in low light.

 

[JoeDif]

I just got the Sigma 19mm & 30mm f/2.8 lenses and both have been very impressive so far

 

[MACUSER]

I just got back from WDW. I took the 12-50mm, 14mm f2.5, 25mm f1.4 , Rokinon 7.5 fisheye. My two most used lenes were the fisheye and the 25mm f1.4 could have left the others at home. I used the 12-50 at animal kingdom and on splash since it was water proof.

here are some of the fisheye photos.


Magic Kingdom by MLR Photography, on Flickr


Everest by MLR Photography, on Flickr


Monorail by MLR Photography, on Flickr

 

[SplashMo]

Since you have the zoom. Two choices. Oly 45mm awesome lens for portraits not so awesome for Disney as you need wider. 20mm is a good choice. 25mm is nicer but much bigger as well.

 

[oogieboogieman]

Long time, no see! Did we know you had a PEN??

I haven't been to the World with the PEN yet, but the pancake (25mm f/2.8) worked out great on my Oly dSLR a few years back. (Which was not much bigger than the PEN.) It was very good in low light.

Yeah, I held out on the whole m4/3 deal until Cameta ran them at those silly prices last year. I have the "el-cheapo" EPL1.

 

[imsoscared]

as i also own a epm1 my kit i brought last year was only the olympus 14-150, the 7.5 fisheye, pan 20mm.
so the deal with the 20mm is yes its a little slow to autofocus and it will hunt a bit at night. but its the right focal length for alot of my shots, especialy at night for the mnsshp parade(granted last year was the 1st time i had that lens and didnt quite get all the manual settings right so half my pics came out like crap)

the pan 25 is a terrific lens but its also another $250 over the 20mm
for me the oly 14-150 was what i used most of the time and worked out great for me the last few years

as for the fisheye, im just not creative to come up with shots to use it that way. i have it for when i want some ultra wide angle shots, then defish them since the oly 9-18 and especially the pan 7-14 lens's are just way out of my price range for how much id actually use them

forgot to add http://www.mu-43.com/forum.php is a terrific place m43 users.