new micro 4/3 camera and goes underwater
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shoturtle
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fallingspeaker
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Would the m43 9-18mm be as nice as the regular 9-18 if there was a dome to put it in? (assuming a 3rd party makes housing & dome port)
On the fotopus site, theres a lot of corner softness with the 9-18mm in the flat port of the oly housing.
On the fotopus site, theres a lot of corner softness with the 9-18mm in the flat port of the oly housing.
PHIL RUDIN
Contributor
Regarding the 35 mm F/3.5 macro lens, no question it is a razor sharp lens and a steal at around $200.00, however at F/3.5 it is a bit slow which presents a bit of a problem for the EPL-1. It appears that while this camera is faster than the P&S consumer type cameras it is still a bit slower than the Pany GF-1. While I prefer the 50 macro for its F/2 speed and as a super macro lens I use the 35 as a fish lens because of its wider angle of view. At 1:1 (life size) the 35 mm is focused so close to the subject that it can not be used in many cases.
Regarding the 9 to 18 zoom behind the flat port, many will be able to live with the corner softness because their is little light falloff with the wide 4/3 lenses and the image will appear properly exposed if not soft in the corners. With the main subject centered many will not detect this softness. For me the 14 mm end of the 14 to 42 zoom at an angle of view of 75 degrees is about as far as I would like to go behind a flat port. The 100 degree AOV of the 9 mm end of the 9 to 18 zoom is pushing it and the Pany 7 to 14 would be even harsher.
I am looking forward to giving this camera and housing a try, I think it is the first affordably priced system to bridge the large gap between fixed lens P & S type cameras and the current crop of mid level DSLR's.
Phil Rudin
Regarding the 9 to 18 zoom behind the flat port, many will be able to live with the corner softness because their is little light falloff with the wide 4/3 lenses and the image will appear properly exposed if not soft in the corners. With the main subject centered many will not detect this softness. For me the 14 mm end of the 14 to 42 zoom at an angle of view of 75 degrees is about as far as I would like to go behind a flat port. The 100 degree AOV of the 9 mm end of the 9 to 18 zoom is pushing it and the Pany 7 to 14 would be even harsher.
I am looking forward to giving this camera and housing a try, I think it is the first affordably priced system to bridge the large gap between fixed lens P & S type cameras and the current crop of mid level DSLR's.
Phil Rudin
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shoturtle
Contributor
Well for true macro at 1:1, you would really want to stop down to f9-22 and shoot it for tripod work, for underwater work, it is a bit harder to keep steady, and the 2/3 stop of f2.8 for most higher price macro lens would help out.
I don't think f/3.5 is that much of an issue with a camera that has good ISO800 performance. I heard a pro underwater photographer talking at DEMA last year, and he said he only used two different f-stops: f/8 for wide angle, and f/22 for macro.
With digital cameras that work at high ISO levels, I've stopped worrying so much about big aperture lenses. There's sometimes a use when you want selective focus and a blurred background, but in general I prefer underwater photos where you can see the background-- which means f/2.0 and f/3.5 and f/5.6 lenses are all the same to me, because I don't use such wide apertures.
With digital cameras that work at high ISO levels, I've stopped worrying so much about big aperture lenses. There's sometimes a use when you want selective focus and a blurred background, but in general I prefer underwater photos where you can see the background-- which means f/2.0 and f/3.5 and f/5.6 lenses are all the same to me, because I don't use such wide apertures.
PHIL RUDIN
Contributor
Hi Daveiew,
While I agree that many of todays DSLR cameras and the interchangeable lens Olympus EPL-1 camera can work well at ISO-800, the ISO setting you use has little to do with the auto focus speed of the camera.
On the same camera body, be it the EPL-1 or a $7500.00 Nikon D3x an F/2 lens is always going to focus faster than an F/5.6 lens all things being equal because it brings a greater amount of light to the AF sensor regardless of what F/stop is being used at the time.
Since the EPL-1 is not as fast to focus as most DSLR's faster lenses would be a plus.
Phil Rudin
While I agree that many of todays DSLR cameras and the interchangeable lens Olympus EPL-1 camera can work well at ISO-800, the ISO setting you use has little to do with the auto focus speed of the camera.
On the same camera body, be it the EPL-1 or a $7500.00 Nikon D3x an F/2 lens is always going to focus faster than an F/5.6 lens all things being equal because it brings a greater amount of light to the AF sensor regardless of what F/stop is being used at the time.
Since the EPL-1 is not as fast to focus as most DSLR's faster lenses would be a plus.
Phil Rudin
shoturtle
Contributor
The EPL-1 does focus as fast as the GF1, if you put the panasonic lens on the epl-1. I am going to get the panny 45-200mm zoom for my epl-1 and form my testing it is much quicker then the olympus lens.
The sharpest point of any lens in general is between f9-f20, so this is where you really want to be when shooting macro at 1:1, there are no true macro 1:1 with a aperture bigger then 2.8.
The other big reason for the oly 35mm vs the panasonic 45mm for macro is the panny is 850 dollars while the oly 35mm with the panasonic 4/3 adapter is under 320 dollars. I got my setup for 247 dollars with allot of hunting around.
The sharpest point of any lens in general is between f9-f20, so this is where you really want to be when shooting macro at 1:1, there are no true macro 1:1 with a aperture bigger then 2.8.
The other big reason for the oly 35mm vs the panasonic 45mm for macro is the panny is 850 dollars while the oly 35mm with the panasonic 4/3 adapter is under 320 dollars. I got my setup for 247 dollars with allot of hunting around.
I mentioned ISO because some people like to compensate for low light with a wider aperture, but I think it's better to use ISO to control the light and aperture to control the DOF. So for me, a wide aperture doesn't improve my low-light shooting as much as a low noise, high-ISO sensor.
I know that SLRs use the max aperture for autofocus, but I thought that live view MFT cameras didn't change the aperture to autofocus. Now that I think about it, that doesn't really make sense. I don't know where I got the idea, and I have no evidence to back it up.
I'm going to dig up the kit lens for my E-P1 and do some experiments tonight, but my guess is that I am wrong and you are right.
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