Olympus 25 1.2 for Italy

[Ig7]

I am planning a trip to Florence and Venice in November. Bringing my OMD EM-1ii with 12-100. I was wondering if I need my 25 1.2 for this trip?
Appreciate advice

 

[TNcasual]

My two cents: something wider than 50mm FOV for your fast option. Maybe the Panasonic 15 or Oly 17 1.2. The "streets" of Venice are narrow.

 

[Ig7]

Thank you, good point. I did not want to invest a lot of money into a lens I will not use often.

 

[Chris5107]

Agree with advice. 17 or 12/1.4 would be better than the 25.

most of my pics there were on the 12 end of the 12-35 lens.

 

[Ig7]

Chris,
Were you shooting wide open? Can i get away with just my 12-100?

 

[Replytoken]

You are talking about a 2-3 stop difference between a fast prime and the 12-100. Are you planning on using a tripod? Do you want to shoot in low light, or at night when Venice is also quite beautiful? The 12-100 is a decent lens handheld at low shutter speeds for static subjects, but there are limits. Personally, I would grab a moderately fast wide angle like the 12, 15 or 17. They are compact and can prove useful in low light. An f/1.2 lens seems a bit much for my shooting style with that shallow DOF, but YMMV.

Have fun,

--Ken

 

[saladin]

Simple question:. Why do you own the 25/1.2 ? By which I mean, is that "your" focal length? The fov that works best for you in how you see? You love it's versatility and how it renders? You shoot street and general images with it? If so, take it and use it. You'll find shots that justify it if you work for them. But if you only like it for portraits and little else, then possibly Venice isn't the ideal place for your 50mm.

The 12-100 can cover for all your general stuff. Especially in daylight. And it may be worth checking your use of that lens for most common focal lengths.

 

[threeOh]

My best Florence trip was a single 35/1.4 equivalent. I might have used a 28mm as well. Venice in November, assume rain. About the only use I can see for a long lens is shooting sundowns across the canals. 20 to 30mm otherwise. The nights are special. Your 25 would get some use. A 12 or 15 a lot more.

Both are cities with lots of atmosphere you might want to consider including in your shots. With m4/3 I’d bring my 15/1.7 and 12-35/2.8.

 

[Pluttis]

For travel i always bring my 12-100 + one or two fast primes. (Usually 17mm and 45mm)

 

[Ig7]

I got the 25 1.2 planning to use it for newborn photos tor my grandchildren. Looks like it is staying home. If I am to rent a fast prime to add to my 12-100 for the trip, should i go with 15 or 17?
Expecting rain, unfortunately its the only time we can go, so making the best of it

 

[ijm5012]

Rent the 17 PRO. It's weather sealed (unlike the PL15), and balances great on the M1.2 (it's basically a clone of the 25/1.2)

I'll offer a different viewpoint though. Everybody is saying "go wide, go wide", but you've already got that covered with the 12-100 PRO. When I owned the PRO primes, my least favorite was the 17 PRO. Not because it was a bad lens, but because even at f/1.2, the lens really couldn't deliver a ton of background separation like what you see with 35mm lenses on a FF body. The 25 on the other hand is fantastic at this, and was one of my favorite lenses.

While I've never been to Venice before, I've been to London twice, which has many of your tight, old-world European streets. The first time I went I shot with a PL25, and the second time I shot with a Nikon 58/1.4 (on a FF body). I actually liked shooting a bit tighter with a 50mm FoV, even in the narrow streets.

Just something else to think about...

 

[threeOh]

While I've never been to Venice before, I've been to London twice, which has many of your tight, old-world European streets. The first time I went I shot with a PL25, and the second time I shot with a Nikon 58/1.4 (on a FF body). I actually liked shooting a bit tighter with a 50mm FoV, even in the narrow streets.

Just something else to think about...

There are no cars in Venice. The streets are the canals. The rest are sidewalks. Think wide.

 

[Chris5107]

Chris,
Were you shooting wide open? Can i get away with just my 12-100?

In most cases, I shot the 12-35 at f4 or 5.6 on that trip. More of the scene in focus and sweet spot for lens.
In a museum or church, f1.2 or 1.4 would be nice. From my view, given the close quarters, wider than 25 is needed.
with the reportedly great IS of the 12-100, I would just take that. Most of the art and beauty is not moving so long shutter time is ok.
I have been to Florence and Venice twice now and mainly just used the 12-35 for everything.

 

[ijm5012]

There are no cars in Venice. The streets are the canals. The rest are sidewalks. Think wide.

Oh, so wider than the 12mm of the 12-100 PRO? And I’m not really certain why you bothered to mention cars, since I didn’t see anybody say anything about cars in the previous posts.

What do you suggest then? The 7-14 PRO? PL 8-18? PL 10-25?

It’s also entirely possible that the OP has a different eye for composition than you, and therefore would use a different focal length than what you would use.

 

[TNcasual]

I would bet the 12 end of the 12-100 is plenty wide enough, it is the speed that may not be ideal in less than good conditions.

Since the OP asked about taking the 25 1.2, I made the suggestion that maybe a wider fast lens would be more useful. If OP is happy with the 50mm FOV of their current lens, than there is no need to go any further. It's just that European streets, and specifically Venice, might call for something wider as a fast lens.

 

[ijm5012]

I would bet the 12 end of the 12-100 is plenty wide enough, it is the speed that may not be ideal in less than good conditions.

Since the OP asked about taking the 25 1.2, I made the suggestion that maybe a wider fast lens would be more useful. If OP is happy with the 50mm FOV of their current lens, than there is no need to go any further. It's just that European streets, and specifically Venice, might call for something wider as a fast lens.

But the E-M1 II has Sync IS when paired with 12-100, allowing for multi-second handheld exposures. Surely that should be sufficient, no (unless the OP plans on shooting black cats in the alleyways at night)?

If wide and speed is the need, then the 7-14 PRO gives the best of both worlds. I did use my 14-30 f/4 quite a bit while in London, but that was pretty much for architectural/building shots. For walking around, taking photos in the markets, and just general trip documentary photos, I used my 58/1.4. But then again, I don't mind the tighter FoV a 50mm lens offers, as IMO is creates a more immersive image by allowing the photographer to pick out and highlight details in the scene.

I think it really comes down to the OP's preference in terms of FoV and the types of images they want to take. If it were me, and I would only be in the city, my two-lens kit would be a PL 8-18 and 25 PRO.

 

[TNcasual]

I think it really comes down to the OP's preference in terms of FoV and the types of images they want to take. If it were me, and I would only be in the city, my two-lens kit would be a PL 8-18 and 25 PRO.

That's funny, being that you wouldn't have a body to mount them on.

 

[Pluttis]

There are no cars in Venice. The streets are the canals. The rest are sidewalks. Think wide.

Have been in Venice and sure wide angle can be nice to have in certain places where its really tight but think 12mm is wide enough for most places.

In the end i would say it comes down to style and what kind of photos you prefer to take.

 

[ijm5012]

That's funny, being that you wouldn't have a body to mount them on.

You bring cameras with you when you travel? I just bring the lenses, hold them up to my eye, and look through them. That's how I document my memories.

 

[Ig7]

So, thank you everyone. Great advise on all fronts. Got me thinking. And, Ian, my eye for composition is so bad, I always look at other people's work for inspiration :-( I actually reached a point where I realizes I cannot compensate lack of composition with getting better camera/lens combo.
Considering E-M1 II has Sync IS when paired with 12-100 is excellent, I might just take a monopod with me.
Definitely a lot of options mentioned here, thank you