OMD EM5 mII and Neewer case: 12-50 or mm?

[Ardy]

I have both of these lenses. I love macro, so most of the time I use the 60mm. For bigger fish (stone fish, grouper, large angel fish), or turtles, rays & shark, the 60mm has too much zoom. Backing away from the subject gives me less options on lighting the background vs foreground, so I find it trickier.

The 12-50 is a good overall lens for fish portraits and coral pictures. Its macro capability is poor in comparison to the 60mm.

h2sk1 - NOt a bad call. One of the long time members of this forum uses only the 12-50 with a diopter and has very good results. The advantage to this call is that you are not in the - "Which lens will I use for this dive" dilemma.........

If I had not bought the 50mm macro lens for my E520 rig then I would most probably been happy with 'One Lens to Rule them ALL!' A great macro lens ruins you for a compromise.


BTW I would love to have a 9-100mm 1:1 or greater macro lens. Nothing else needed for >90% of all my UW and AboveW pics.

 

[bvanant]

The 60 is indeed the better lens but I suspect trying to get one for $50 US is a dream. Right now on eBay, you can find used ones for $350 or so. Never saw one much less than that.
Bill

 

[Ardy]

The 60 is indeed the better lens but I suspect trying to get one for $50 US is a dream. Right now on eBay, you can find used ones for $350 or so. Never saw one much less than that.
Bill

HI BIll I think that JMartel was talking about the 14-42 lens.

Having read some stuff on the TG-5 the OP might be better placed to sell the OMD and get a TG-4 or TG-5?

 

[jmartel]

The 60 is indeed the better lens but I suspect trying to get one for $50 US is a dream. Right now on eBay, you can find used ones for $350 or so. Never saw one much less than that.
Bill

I never said it was $50. I said the 14-42mm is $50. And you can typically find 60mm macros now for $300. That's what I paid for mine.

 

[h2sk1]

HI BIll I think that JMartel was talking about the 14-42 lens.

Having read some stuff on the TG-5 the OP might be better placed to sell the OMD and get a TG-4 or TG-5?

My wife and I dive with an OMD-EM1 and a TG-4. The IQ of the OMD-EM1 with either the 14-42 or the 60mm is definitely better than the TG-4. Don't get me wrong -- the TG-4 is amazing, and it's macro mode is the best of any compact camera, but the speed of focus, the larger sensor, and ability to adjust depth of field makes the micro 4/3rds body + lens combination a winner. For local diving where my pictures are kinda boring, or for days where I'm not sure I want to spend the entire dive doing photo, the TG-4 is the choice. If I want a really good fish portrait, I'm using the OMD-EM1. I wouldn't sell the new EM5-mark 2 -- that's a great body and sensor.

 

[bmorescuba]

The 60mm can definitely be tricky when shooting anything bigger than medium-sized fish. But it's such a great lens! So crisp and colorful! If you can use your 14-150, or get a cheap 14-42 as others have suggested, then I'd spring for the 60mm (especially if you can't access the macro mode of the 12-50 in your housing). All of these were taken with the 60mm. It is versatile, but it takes practice, and clear water helps a lot for larger subjects, since you do have to move back pretty far to get them in frame (or just do eye portraits