Fast zooms?

[John M Flores]

I've got the Panny 14-140, which is nice but slow. Does anyone make fast (F2.8 and faster) zooms for M43? I'm looking for good AF performance as well when mated to my GH2.

I know that they won't be small, but that's ok...

 

[~tc~]

Not yet. Rumor has a 12-50 f/2.8-3.5 coming from Panasonic this year. Haven't heard anything about it lately

 

[carpandean]

My next fast zoom will be a Minolta 40-80mm f/2.8.

 

[shoturtle]

oly 14-54 2.8-3.5 or 35-100 f2 plus the adapter.

 

[John M Flores]

oly 14-54 2.8-3.5 or 35-100 f2 plus the adapter.

How is the AF on those with the adapter?

 

[Ulfric M Douglas]

I have the 14-54 MkI which works really rather well on my e-P1 but on my unfirmwareupdated Lumix G1 it won't autofocus.

 

[Luckypenguin]

Try the Zuiko 14-54 MkII, it is meant to be a CDAF lens. The Leica 14-50 f2.8-3.5 is fully functional on Oly bodies but the AF is s...l...o...w.

 

[~tc~]

Any new rumors about when Panny will be announcing the "promised" bright zoom?

 

[harry_s]

I'm surprised there is nothing seemingly planned to roughly match the classic fast 70-200. I had a Sigma 50-150 2.8 on my D90 and it was brilliant for so many situations and still pretty compact.

So, a fast constant 30-100 shouldn't need to be too big but would be much appreciated (at least by me!)

 

[robertro]

14-54 Mk II

The only real candidate with decent AF is the 14-54 MkII (with the caveat below).

That one supports CDAF autofocus, using the M4/3-4/3 adapter from Oly or Panny. The AF performance is not stellar like that of the 14-140; it is perhaps a touch slower than the slowest focussing M4/3 native lenses.

I had one and sold it because I was not using it, preferring the 14-45 or the 20 for most uses. I also had the earlier 14-54 Mk 1, but it was far too slow to AF.

Caveat: Note that the GH2 is supposed to be faster to focus with all lenses, and my experiences were only with a GH1 and E-PL1. It is possible that the 35-100/2 focuses rapidly; that could be exciting!

I've got the Panny 14-140, which is nice but slow. Does anyone make fast (F2.8 and faster) zooms for M43? I'm looking for good AF performance as well when mated to my GH2.

I know that they won't be small, but that's ok...

 

[DekHog]

Rumor has a 12-50 f/2.8-3.5 coming from Panasonic this year........

....sounds like lens Nirvana....

 

[drd1135]

I'm confused. Isn't that the zuiko 14-45 mk II? Or is this another lens I'm unaware of? I'd normally think it was a typo but it was mentioned three times.

 

[DekHog]

Yup, the Zuiko 14-54mm Mk II is what people are referring to.... not my idea of fun mounting one of those on a m43 camera, but each to their own.....

 

[Mellow]

Interesting discussion . . . does anyone know if the even better (supposedly) Olympus 12-60mm is CDAF also? I'd also be curious how quickly it or the 14-54 MkII focus on the new Olympus EP-3.

That long-awaited Panasonic 12-50mm may cost a fortune, I fear. I was just checking on eBay, and the 14-54 MkII goes for about $350 now . . . . if you already have an adapter, it may become a viable option if it focuses quickly on new PENs.

 

[Luckypenguin]

See the video in this thread

https://www.mu-43.com/f42/olympus-e-p3-12-60swd-13709/

 

[Mellow]

Wow, thanks. Not blazing fast but pretty darn good.

 

[~tc~]

That long-awaited Panasonic 12-50mm may cost a fortune, I fear.

I don't care. So long as they continue with the great image quality demonstrated by the 20, 25, and 45, it is reasonably sized (I don't mean microscopically small, I mean smaller than any other system alternative), and it has IS, I would throw down $1000 easy. Make it f/2 or faster (at least on the short end) and I would go up from there. Throw in close-focus ability on top of all that, and I could probably talk myself into $2000 (as I would then sell the Leica D 14-50 f/2.8-3.5 and adapter and the PL45/2.8)

 

[dhazeghi]

I've got the Panny 14-140, which is nice but slow. Does anyone make fast (F2.8 and faster) zooms for M43? I'm looking for good AF performance as well when mated to my GH2.

I know that they won't be small, but that's ok...

I think there are a lot of us waiting for a faster standard zoom, like the rumored 12-50/2.5-3.3. We'll see.

f/2.8 or faster constant zooms are less likely though. Even for m4/3, they will be large and heavy, which is to say they won't make much sense for most of the people investing in the system.

DH

 

[~tc~]

Helloooooooo manufacturers ... I got money burnin' a hole in my pocket slated for an AF bright zoom .... Money you can have now in this down economy!