Finally settled on my lens selection

[jhawk1000]

I agree with all of you. I agree because it is the way that you want to do photography. I am somewhat in the middle, I love zooms but still have a few primes with my Olympus gear. I have the marvelous 40-150mm 2.8 Pro which my wife and I use for sports and she uses in her studio for portraits along with her full compliment of Nikon cameras and glass. I also have the lightweight but still good Lumix 25mm 1.7, a Sigma 60mm 2.8, a kit 40-150mm, and a 12-40mm 2.8 Pro on the way to me. I had the 14-42mm kit lens but it bit the dust. All of the lenses I have get used by us. I like the 25mm 1.7 for low light and under the basket basketball photos. I used it a lot on our recent trip to Ireland. The kit 40-150 is not the sharpest but it is still a great travel lens and I used it a lot in Ireland as was the 14-42mm. I suspect the 12-40 will wind up on my wife's camera a lot. We still own Nikon gear (D2x, D750, D800) and have lenses from 12mm to 300mm 2.8 with lots in between and each and every one, including the primes (50mm 1.8, 180mm 3,5 Macro, 24-85mm 2.8/4, 85mm 1.8, 300mm f4, 300mm 2.8, 70-200mm 2.8 VR, 28-75mm Tamron 2.8, 12-24mm Sigma, plus older ones) has a place for me to use. My goal is to sell the Nikon gear and get comparable M43 lenses to lower the weight on my recently broken wrist.

 

[Bushboy]

Mate, those are beautiful lenses!
Congratulations. Excellent choices.
I too, think those lovely Olympus lenses are the just the most beautiful thing. One day, I hope to own one too.

 

[PakkyT]

None of you noted the "for my liking" part of my post then? I'm just a bit OCD about crossing focal lengths whatsoever. Atm I have a 12mm, 25mm, 60mm and 100-300mm - nothing overlaps. Whatever suits you, that's great! I just see over-lapping as waste

Well if you look at his original post you will see that he doesn't appear to be carrying these around all at the same time. So while the, for example, 14-140 certainly overlaps his other lenses, if he leaves the house with ONLY that lens, then it is overlapping nothing.

In my opinion yes, for the most part, why the need for both {FL prime within the FL of a zoom}?

Because you typically do not get the faster apertures in a zoom and also primes can often be much smaller than zoom if you want to walk around light. I have 25mm covered on my Panny 12-35/2.8 but my Oly 25/1.8 is both faster & smaller and I often prefer to just carry the prime. Other times, when I feel I need to cover a range of focal lengths or if I need its weatherproofing, then the Panny goes with me. Each has their purpose and normally I do not carry both at the same time.

 

[Mike Wingate]

Well, tomorrows photography group meeting is indoors at the new library. We have been asked to bring a desktop tripod. So my lens selection is, P25mm, P42.5mm and Raynox DCR 250 plus Manfrotto Pixi Evo 2 and a Z Flex. plus the Aperture AM-L9 led light. 3 pocketable lenses.

 

[mumu]

Guys, please remember that this is mu-43, not Dpreview! ;-) Let's keep it friendly.

Regarding the OP's lenses, I'd love to have the 45-150/2.8 just to try it out and for those times when I need that particular reach and f/2.8. But I've already got the 35-100/2.8 which I love for traveling and the 100-400 for when I really need the reach. The 40-150 would be a very, very lavish expenditure. I may regret the 100-400's slower aperture when we go back to Costa Rica this spring, though.

My most-used lens is the P12-35/2.8. Sometimes I wish I had a wider range "normal" zoom but I like the 12-35's small size and weight. I no longer use a camera strap and either carry the camera in my hand or attached to my belt or a backpack shoulder strap via a Peak Design Capture Clip. Heavy camera/lens combos tend to bounce around a lot when carried that way. But that kind of a carry system makes it very easy to manage two cameras at the same time, so my typical setup is my G85 with the 12-35 and a GX7 with either an 8-18 or 35-100 mounted on it. If I ever had to reduce my carry weight, I'd look more seriously at the 12-60 options or perhaps the 12-100.

 

[speedy]

He he he. You want to talk overlap, I'm the king of overlap
Let's see, PL 8-18, Lumix 12-32, Lumix 14 f/2.5, PL 15 f/1.7, Lumix 20 pancake, Lumix 25 f/1.7, & PL 25 f/1.4
How's that for overlap? Do I carry them everywhere, all the time? No. Do I need them all? No. Does that make me a gearhead? Who cares. Certainly not me. If you need to go around labelling people to make yourself feel better, then that's your problem not mine

 

[snaimpally]

You should at least try the O 75 mm. That lens rarely leaves my EM5II. Fortunately, I also carry a GX85 body. The O 75 is magical.

 

[tkbslc]

You should at least try the O 75 mm. That lens rarely leaves my EM5II. Fortunately, I also carry a GX85 body. The O 75 is magical.

I got some magical test shots with mine and then it sat on the shelf for a year until I sold it. It never seemed to be the right lens for any job.

 

[JDS]

I got some magical test shots with mine and then it sat on the shelf for a year until I sold it. It never seemed to be the right lens for any job.

Funny, I shoot with it all. the. time... Love it! Indoors, outdoors, candids, details at car events. An amazing lens, even though my used example doesn't always focus that fast or accurately.

 

[The Kathmandu Cat]

I have three primes- Laowa 7.5 f2; Panasonic 20mm f1.7; Oly 45mm f1.8. I also have the plastic fantastic 40-150mm zoom. Happy with my collection.

 

[pdk42]

I find that I go through zoom periods and prime periods. Right now it's mainly zooms. My landscape bag is the EM1.2 with PL8-18, 12-100 and the 8/1.8 fisheye. My travel bag is the Pen with 12-40 and the 17/1.8 for low light.

I have a few other lenses too for specialised use:
- 40-150/2.8 + TC for what little long lens needs I have
- 30/1.4 as a short portrait lens
- 75/1.8 for indoor events/sports

For sure, m43 is a great system for lens choice.