Panasonic 7-14mm flare with OMD?

[NozBzh]

Hello

I just bought my OMD , and I need to decide on which wide angle lens to get next.

Still not sure I ruled out the 8mm fisheye, but guyharrisonphoto has a good point in favour of the 7-14mm or 9-18mm. I think having zoom capability can be a plus. From what I understand (I never shot with a fisheye or rectilinear lens, I just upgraded from a G12), unless you are really close to your subject (or you shoot a whale shark or a whale), your subject (say a shark) can look pretty small. This can be a problem as I dont often get big subjects I can get really close to (except mantas, but I assume it's still possible to shoot mantas at 7mm on a rectilinear lens). I get lots of reef sharks, but nothing huge.

And I'd love to have a lens I can use topside as well! I know some say you cant choose your UW lenses based on whether you can use them on land or not, but when you spend over $5000 on a new rig, it counts!

Bear with me, I'm getting to the title of my thread.

Since I want to get as wide a lens as possible, I (almost) decided on the 7-14mm. It costs more than the 9-18mm, but I think it's worth it (and cheaper than getting either the 7-14mm or 9-18mm for topside AND the 8mm fisheye!).

That's where my question comes in. I read on various m43 forums that the 7-14mm does have a lot of purple flares on OMD bodies, more so than on other m43 bodies. That's of course for land use, but I was wondering about how it performed underwater as far as flaring is concerned.

And, while we're at it, anyone using it topside can comment on the flares?

Thanks

Noe

 

[jd950]

Flare is rarely an issue underwater. Never even heard it discussed. I have the 7-14 but don't often use it topside and do not have an OMD so I can't help you there. From what you have said however, and depending on the housing you are using, I would make the following comments:

I think the 7-14 is an excellent lens underwater, offering the widest view short of a fisheye, but also allowing the ability to zoom.

The 9-18 is also a good choice and still very wide and with Nauticam housings and ports offers the benefit that the same 4" wide angle port will also work with several other lenses, such as the 14-42 and 12-50 potentially making it easier to expand your lens selection.

Getting the most out of a fisheye lens can take a little practice.

FWIW I enjoy the 8mm FE lens but as you noted, unless your subject is quite large or you can gt quite close, it can be less useful than other choices.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

I think what you are reading refers to purple fringing or chromatic aberration. This shows itself as a slight purple fringe at the edge of dark objects that are against very bright backgrounds. It is very raraly a problem underwater.

This is an issue inherent in the optics of the lens. ALL wide angle lenses have aberration, and especially ultra-wide zooms. The aberration on the 7-14 is actually well corrected for this type of lens.

Now, this lens is made by Panasonic. Panasonic, in the software in its camera bodies, automatically corrects for (i.e, eliminates) the chromatic aberration in its image processing software, even in RAW files. Thus, the purple fringing never shows up on your computer, even though it is still very much there in the "true" optical image from the lens.

Because the OM-D is made by Olympus, it does not have the built-in software correction for panasonic lenses, so the uncorrected "true" image, aberratrions and all, are what show on you computer. In Lightroom, there is an easy aberration "quick fix" that you can set up for this lens, so that you can easily fix it.

So the issue is not whether the aberration is present or absent on different cameras (it always exists and has nothing to do with the camera), but only in how it is corrected (in-camera versus post processing on the computer).

The 7-14mm is superbely sharp and versatile, regarded as the best wide angle in entire 4/3 lineup. It is a wonderful lens for use on land, subject only to the qualification that it cannot take filters. If filters are part of your work, go with the Oly 9-18 instead, as it is another excellent lens.

As for "flare" in the traditional sense, which are colorful bursts of light created by the sun directly striking the front element of the lens and then reflecting off the internal elements, the 7-14 has amazingly good flare correction, but of course you can always make flare happen and must be careful with such a wide lens to shade the front element at all times.

My OM-D rig is the 7-14mm in the dedicated dome, plus the 12-50 in the dedicated port, which also holds the 60mm macro. Can't go wrong with that . . . Much more versatile than the fisheye.

 

[NozBzh]

Thanks.

I have been reading quite a bit on this forum about lenses for the OMD and it's true that I never read anything about flares. It's just that I read a lot about it for land use, so I was wondering if it would be an issue. I guess the fact that no one ever mentioned it means it's nothing to worry about

I'll get the Nauticam housing and the very expensive 12-50 port, so I wont be needing a dome port for my 12-50mm. If I want to use the dome, it means I want to shoot wide, so I'll take the 7-14mm. And the 60mm macro fits in the 12-50 port so I'd only need 2 ports for 3 lenses (when I decide to get the 60mm, that's gonna have to wait!).

I might decide to get the 8mm FE later (the 60mm will have priority though), but for now I'll have to settle for 2 lenses. I have seen some amazing shots taken with that lens.

---------- Post added April 5th, 2013 at 12:47 AM ----------

guyharrison, I'll have the same rig as yours then

See this link to see what I'm talking about. It's not chromatic aberration. As you said, this is present on all Olympus bodies and (apparently) easily fixed in post. Again, I'm no expert, but from what I read it seems to be more frequent on the OMD than any other body (Panasonic or Olympus).

Anyway, good to hear that it's not a problem underwater. It doesnt sound too bad on land either, just that you need to be careful how you position your camera.

---------- Post added April 5th, 2013 at 09:24 PM ----------

Just a quick update to say I bought it today. It IS wide! I didn't have a lot of time to play with it yet, but I like it.

I got a pretty good deal too. It's very hard to get US prices out of the US, I find no matter where you are it's always more expensive. I am in Kuala Lumpur right now, where I bought my OMD 2 days ago for $1150 with the 12-50mm. I was quite happy with that as amazon France (I am French) has it for $1450. I even paid a little less than amazon US ($1200).
Then today I went looking for that 7-14mm. First shop I check has it for $1300! I did a bunch of shops, all similar prices, $1200 being the average. That's what I was expecting to pay as I checked prices in Indonesia and Singapore and saw that sort of prices as well. I was about to leave Low Yat Plaza (mall specialising in electronics in Kuala Lumpur) when I saw another camera shop. I was shocked when the guy told me $880! I bought it right away haha!

Again, I paid a little less than amazon US ($959) and a lot less than amazon France ($1215). Altogether I saved almost $650 buying it here (compared to French prices). Next, Singapore for housing, ports and strobes.

I haven't seen any flaring in my shots with the 7-14mm but I was shooting just before sunset so no harsh sunlight. I might go out now and see how it performs at night with all the street lights.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

I have not seen this problem discussed much. Of course, flare can be an issue underwater, like anywhere, if you are shallow and have the sun in the frame. You have to look before you shoot and maybe reposition the camera. I have not shot the 7-14 at night with streetlights in the frame so can't comment on that issue.

Also, you will notice in shallow water on bright days that the lettering on the front of the lens can reflect off of the dome and show up in your shot. Again, this is rare and only if you have the sun in the frame. I am going to make a ring out of black felt that I can place over the lens letters to prevent this.

You did get good deals, congrats!

I am loving this camera. It is now my "go to" camera for any trip that is not a dedicated photography expedition. I take the OM-D with the 14-150, and the 9-18, and I have everything covered in a tiny hip bag.