So I need something cheap...

[dissembled]

I've recently bought a silver GX7 and I'm stoked! Problem is that I bought the body only version so I have no u4/3 lens as of yet. What inexpensive lens would you recommend to a new owner? By "inexpensive", I mean cheaper than $250...

I prefer primes but also know that a good, adequate zoom lens is essential to any collection.

I'm also a Nex owner and own a Nex 6. I bought the GX7 due to its robust feature set and for the myriad of lenses available for the mount. I'm opting for the 20 1.7 but I can't afford it yet, sadly. I really want to be able to play with my camera as soon as possible so I need something relatively inexpensive at the moment. What lens would you recommend? I dabble in both street photography and spontaneous portraiture.

Many thanks!

 

[ramseeker]

I've recently bought a silver GX7 and I'm stoked! Problem is that I bought the body only version so I have no u4/3 lens as of yet. What inexpensive lens would you recommend to a new owner? By "inexpensive", I mean cheaper than $250...

I prefer primes but also know that a good, adequate zoom lens is essential to any collection.

I'm also a Nex owner and own a Nex 6. I bought the GX7 due to its robust feature set and for the myriad of lenses available for the mount. I'm opting for the 20 1.7 but I can't afford it yet, sadly. I really want to be able to play with my camera as soon as possible so I need something relatively inexpensive at the moment. What lens would you recommend? I dabble in both street photography and spontaneous portraiture.

Many thanks!

There's a member here with two 20mm 1.7 lenses for sale at under $200.00 each.

https://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=71642

I have no affiliation with the seller, but that's a pretty good price and is under your $250.00 budget.

 

[Jonathan F/2]

The 20 1.7 is probably the best starter lens on M43. Cheap, sharp and fast aperture. Though AF speed isn't the best, but decent enough.

 

[Deleted member 20897]

First thing that comes to mind are the Sigma 19mm and 60mm. ($200 each)

Then you also have the body cap fisheye lenses from Oly 15mm f/8($50) and 9mm f/8 ($100)

Now we can look into some used stuff:

Olympus: (saw these over at KEH.com)
14-42/3.5-5.6
17/2.8
40-150/4-5.6

IQ wise out of these, the Sigma primes might be the better options. Don't know as I've not used them first hand. Only seen some really nice stuff others have posted with them.
I used the 40-150 all the time and while it will never win any praises for being the best lens, it punches well above its price.

 

[Cruzan80]

There is also legacy glass (GX7 has IBIS) which should easily be under your $250 budget.

 

[dissembled]

Thanks for the replies!

I definitely want AF though so legacy glass isn't an option for me, sadly.

I've been looking at the Sigma primes...Thing is that I've had a bad experience with the E mount version of the 30. AF accuracy was really poor. Every photo I took with it was out of focus. It wasn't me or the camera because my native lenses didn't exhibit such behavior.

The used 20 1.7 looks enticing but sadly, I'm penniless at this very moment so I can't purchase it as of yet. I'm currently looking at possible options purchasable in the near future.

 

[Deleted member 20897]

Thanks for the replies!

I definitely want AF though so legacy glass isn't an option for me, sadly.

I've been looking at the Sigma primes...Thing is that I've had a bad experience with the E mount version of the 30. AF accuracy was really poor. Every photo I took with it was out of focus. It wasn't me or the camera because my native lenses didn't exhibit such behavior.

The used 20 1.7 looks enticing but sadly, I'm penniless at this very moment so I can't purchase it as of yet. I'm currently looking at possible options purchasable in the near future.

I hear you about the Sigma focusing issues. I had several friends who purchased Sigma DLSR lenses and had nothing but issues with the focusing systems. When they worked, the Sigma glass was sharp as anything...but when they got them new, there were a lot of issues with front and back focusing.

From everything that I've heard with the new contrast detect systems, that is not as big an issue for Sigma anymore. Hopefully you have a store close to you that will let you try before you buy it. If not, places like KEH have a very good return policy as well as a 6 month guarantee.

Whatever you decide to do in the future, good luck!

 

[demiro]

I've recently bought a silver GX7 and I'm stoked! Problem is that I bought the body only version so I have no u4/3 lens as of yet. What inexpensive lens would you recommend to a new owner? By "inexpensive", I mean cheaper than $250...

I prefer primes but also know that a good, adequate zoom lens is essential to any collection.

I'm also a Nex owner and own a Nex 6. I bought the GX7 due to its robust feature set and for the myriad of lenses available for the mount. I'm opting for the 20 1.7 but I can't afford it yet, sadly. I really want to be able to play with my camera as soon as possible so I need something relatively inexpensive at the moment. What lens would you recommend? I dabble in both street photography and spontaneous portraiture.

Many thanks!

Also a new GX7 owner. I bought the camera used with the 20/1.7 mkII lens. Great combo, and the AF speed is not that much off what I was used to with Olympus primes on E-M5 or E-P5. I also picked up a 12-32 zoom. Very impressive little lens. I'd recommend either, just depends if you want prime or zoom to start.

 

[alex66]

Sigma 30 is a good low cost option, if you find one the 20mm seems to work very nicely on the GX7 alternatives are the 14mm Panasonic and the 17, 2.8 Olympus the first is better IQ wise the latter a more normal field of view. The good thing with our cameras are that the AF does not suffer the issues that SLR's do due to the sensor focusing its self it tends to be far more accurate if a little slower sometimes, if it is in focus in the VF it is in focus

 

[demiro]

I've recently bought a silver GX7 and I'm stoked! Problem is that I bought the body only version so I have no u4/3 lens as of yet. What inexpensive lens would you recommend to a new owner? By "inexpensive", I mean cheaper than $250...

I prefer primes but also know that a good, adequate zoom lens is essential to any collection.

I'm also a Nex owner and own a Nex 6. I bought the GX7 due to its robust feature set and for the myriad of lenses available for the mount. I'm opting for the 20 1.7 but I can't afford it yet, sadly. I really want to be able to play with my camera as soon as possible so I need something relatively inexpensive at the moment. What lens would you recommend? I dabble in both street photography and spontaneous portraiture.

Many thanks!

Also a new GX7 owner. I bought the camera used with the 20/1.7 mkII lens. Great combo, and the AF speed is not that much off what I was used to with Olympus primes on E-M5 or E-P5. I also picked up a 12-32 zoom. Very impressive little lens. I'd recommend either, just depends if you want prime or zoom to start.

 

[dissembled]

I'm looking at the Sigma 19 and the kit lenses at the moment...Sigma's 30 is a bit too long for me.

I wonder what kit lens is best? Or should I buy the Sigma, instead?

 

[Deleted member 20897]

Does size matter? The 12-50 is decent, weather sealed and has a macro mode. The Oly 14-42 or the Pany 12-32 are smaller pancake like deals. All are pretty slow(aperture), but AF is decent.

 

[Ulfric M Douglas]

I've been looking at the Sigma primes...

Sigma 30mm is ridiculously cheap for what it does, and mine is very accurate on AF.

 

[dissembled]

A question for GX7 owners if I may...Are there lens 'incompatibilities' I should know about? The EM5 bands at higher ISOs with the 20 / 1.7 for some owners for instance. Are there advantages using only Panasonic-branded lenses?

Thanks.

 

[bassman]

I use the Oly 17/1.8, 45/1.8, 14-42/4.0-5.6 and 40-150/4.0-5.6 on my GX7 and don't notice any issues.

 

[Dayam]

I've owned the Sigma 30mm beforr deciding to sell it because I couldn't get used to the focal length. IQ was great! About the AF, I never had any problems like you mentioned. It was a bit slower to focus compared to the Oly primes, but it was nailing focus.

I'd probably go with either the 19 or 30.

 

[agentlossing]

Get the Sigma primes! AF has been flawless on my 30mm, and especially if you get the older models, the value can't be beat.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Mu-43 mobile app

 

[dissembled]

Thanks for the responses! I'm currently leaning towards either the Sigma 19 or one of the kit lenses. I haven't done research on the kit lenses yet. I see the Panasonic one was recommended. Is that the best optically out of the various (inexpensive) kit lenses available? If not, what is?

 

[HarryS]

You could go on a mission to find the best kit lens and spend over $200 for a Panasonic 14-45 or 12-32, or you could buy the Olympus 14-42 II on sale in the for sale section of this forum. He's asking $65.

 

[Bif]

You could go on a mission to find the best kit lens and spend over $200 for a Panasonic 14-45 or 12-32, or you could buy the Olympus 14-42 II on sale in the for sale section of this forum. He's asking $65.

If budget is a serious issue go for the Oly 14-42 II mentioned in the quote. While this "kit" lens is often put down (by what I refer to as "lens snobs") it is actually not a bad performer. I compared the 14mm end of it with a Panasonic 14mm f2.5 on the same subject under the same light at the same aperture (f8) and any difference was so slight I had to "pixel peep" to see any difference at all.

What this lens does for you is gives you a "workhorse" wide angle (28mm full frame equiv) to moderate "portrait perspective" telephoto. The maximum aperture of f3.5 at the wide end when combined with the high ISO performance of the GX7 (I use my GX7 at up to 3200 for video and higher for stills) is actually usable in limited light if you learn to "see" light and use what's there.

The Oly 14-42mm "kit" lens will work just fine with Panasonic cameras and will be a nice "starter lens" that will still be carried in a small bag when you get other lenses. Plus it will help you learn what other focal lengths you will likely want.

I just bought one of these myself, from a member here on this site for about the same $65 price mentioned in the quote. It's well worth that. I use it on an Oly OMD E-M5 but also put it on the GX7 when I want to be "inconspicuous".