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Archive 2014 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question

  
 
mitch fennell
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


I am traveling to China and am considering buying Olympus 9mm-18mm wide angle lens. I already have a 12-40 2.8 that will be coming with me. My question is will I get a great deal of difference between the 9mm and 12mm on the wide end of either lens?

Mitch



May 06, 2014 at 02:45 PM
FlyPenFly
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


Yes, but the 9-18 is significantly worse, I've had 3 copies. If you don't care about far corner sharpness, it's an okay lens. The Olympus 12-40mm is very good at 12mm, better than the 12mm F2 prime.

Personally, I'm waiting for the Olympus 7-14mm F2.8 PRO.



May 06, 2014 at 02:55 PM
mitch fennell
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


So really not worth the money relative to the cost and the quality of 12-40?


May 06, 2014 at 03:03 PM
Uncle Mike
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


Yes, there's a big difference between 9mm and 12mm.

The wider the angle, the harder it is to compose pictures. If you've never used a 18mm-equivalent focal length before, you should practice a lot before leaving for China. Ultra-wide-angle is not everybody's cup of tea. For casual travel photography, if you're not a serious photographer, 12-40mm is all you need. But there are serious travel photographers and photojournalists who like the UWA look and who use a UWA lens as their main lens.

Although FlyPenFly has trashed the 9-18mm image quality, (1) it's not clear to me that the 9-18mm is really any worse than similarly priced lenses from other manufacturers; and (2) I think it produces better image quality than any of the m43 kit lenses I've used, as well as the 17mm and 14mm prime lenses. I also find that it's almost as good wide open as it is stopped down from 9-14mm (although wide open isn't that wide open on an f/4-f/5.6 lens).

The 12-40mm is also a kit lens, but not one that I own, and I will give it the benefit of the doubt for being at an IQ level above all other m43 lenses.



May 06, 2014 at 03:32 PM
FlyPenFly
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


mitch fennell wrote:
So really not worth the money relative to the cost and the quality of 12-40?


It's significant in that it's incredibly compact for a 18mm field of view zoom. No other system has anything like that but you pay for that in significant degradation in the corners.

It's just physics.

This is a weird case of people accusing me of hating this lens, I think its not very sharp (relative to what I am used to) and not worth the money but it's not like you can't take decent photos with it.

http://500px.com/photo/62941305/every-window-has-a-story-by-jae-yoon?from=user_library

http://500px.com/photo/62950079/just-one-of-those-days-by-jae-yoon?from=user_library

The Olympus 12-40 is the only reason I still own a E-M1 really, there's no zoom on the market that can match it on any mount for it's size, quality, and price along with extremely rigorous weather sealing. The PL25 used to be the other reason but since I really enjoy the Sony ZA 55mm F1.8 on my A7, I've sold my PL25 which I never thought I'd do.



May 06, 2014 at 03:49 PM
bobbytan
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


Instead of the 9-18 try to pick up a used Panasonic 7-14 instead … and replace that with the Olympus 7-14 when it comes out next year. The 7-14 is very sharp … but watch out for the CA and flare when you are shooting with the sun in front of you.


May 06, 2014 at 03:56 PM
mawz
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


Another option is to get a 4/3rds 9-18 and an MMF-2 or MMF-3. It's a better lens and the combo can be had for similar cost to the m43 version. Size is larger, but still reasonable.


May 06, 2014 at 07:28 PM
bobbytan
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


I still think you are better off with the Panasonic 7-14. Aside from being sharper than the 9-18 you have a much wider coverage which can come in real handy. And there is less of an overlap with the 12-40 lens. Personally I am not a huge fan of super-wide-angle-lenses and I used to think that 24mm (in 35mm terms) is plenty but I surprised myself at how often I shot at the 7mm end (14mm) of the 7-14 lens when I was in Italy:

http://yinyang.zenfolio.com/p499365997/h589a8520#h589a8520
http://yinyang.zenfolio.com/p499365997/h57ee109c#h57ee109c
http://yinyang.zenfolio.com/p499365997/h57ee1082#h57ee1082
http://yinyang.zenfolio.com/p499365997/h589a2a5e#h589a2a5e
http://yinyang.zenfolio.com/p499365997/h589a2a2c#h589a2a2c
http://yinyang.zenfolio.com/p499365997/h57ee10bc#h57ee10bc



May 06, 2014 at 08:00 PM
deadwolfbones
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


I did a head-to-head between the 7-14 and 9-18 here: http://cameras.reviewed.com/features/head-to-head-olympus-9-18mm-vs-panasonic-7-14mm


May 06, 2014 at 08:23 PM
FlyPenFly
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


mawz wrote:
Another option is to get a 4/3rds 9-18 and an MMF-2 or MMF-3. It's a better lens and the combo can be had for similar cost to the m43 version. Size is larger, but still reasonable.


I almost went down this route and I think it's a good one.



May 06, 2014 at 08:47 PM
verbiage
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


Mitch,

To answer your question in the OP, yes, there's a very significant difference between 9mm and 12mm on mft.

And, like others have suggested, I would recommend at least trying the Panasonic 7-14mm along with the Olympus 9-18mm. First, 7mm opens up a whole 'nother world, second, it's a sharp lens in a package that's still pretty small; third, it just feels much sturdier than the retractable Olympus 9-18. Downsides: vignetting and chromatic aberrations (removed in-camera if you use a Panasonic). Ben above has an excellent side-by-side comparison - the only thing I really can add is that the 7-14mm is even better on a Panasonic.



May 07, 2014 at 12:03 AM
mitch fennell
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


Thank you everyone for your great advice and insight. I think patience might be my best choice . If a used 7-14 shows up I might go for it. The 9-18 just has too much overlap and you all seem to agree the image quality is just acceptable at best.
Mitch



May 07, 2014 at 12:56 AM
Savas K
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


Have they fixed the purple blobs that show up when there is bright light in the frame when using the 7-14 on an Olympus body? I returned my 7-14 for that reason and used a 9-18 since.

If the OP is point and shooting in a fast paced scenario on tour and uninterested in absolute quality in the lens, a 9-18 is versatile, especially in daylight. Small packing, lightweight, able to take a polarizer easily, you can keep it at 36mm for general street work and go wide when needed, perhaps saving the physical space of carrying 2 lenses in its range.

With this link you are placed into the middle of a thread dedicated to 9-18mm examples. Along with commentary of those who've shot with the lens. The beginning of the thread has missing images due to the thread's age and people moving their galleries around. http://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=2537&page=29

For what it's worth, I once took an LX5 to the west coast in the US and squeezed it for what it was worth. Came away with a trove of nicely shot memories. Was it the absolute in best optics? No. But the shots speak for themselves and I'm not bothering to zoom into corners on a pixel level. I had intentionally left the 5D II and fast lenses at home. The limitation imposed by the lone LX5 coupled with the lightweight freedom to move and shoot is what led to my getting into Micro 4/3 gear.



May 07, 2014 at 02:01 AM
cputeq
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


Uncle Mike wrote:
The 12-40mm is also a kit lens, but not one that I own, and I will give it the benefit of the doubt for being at an IQ level above all other m43 lenses.


I can't speak for the 9-18, but the Olympus 12-40 is not a "kit" lens in any sense of that word - I believe it's occasionally bundled with an EM-1, but that's just retailers selling you both retail items at once (and even if it were a "kit" lens, it's far beyond the quality that word typically implies).

It's one of the best lenses I've ever used, and I've used a hell of a lot of lenses from several different systems. Definitely the best overall m43 *or* 43 lens I've ever used and one that I really miss having moved over to Fuji X again.





May 07, 2014 at 03:35 AM
FlyPenFly
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


Yes, the 12-40 is something special.


May 07, 2014 at 06:56 AM
pbraymond
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


mitch fennell wrote:
Thank you everyone for your great advice and insight. I think patience might be my best choice . If a used 7-14 shows up I might go for it. The 9-18 just has too much overlap and you all seem to agree the image quality is just acceptable at best.
Mitch


I would suggest that the good to acceptable IQ (depending on who you ask) from the 9-18 beats not having the 9mm wide angle coverage if you tend to shoot that wide. I've not used a 7-14, but I was considering the same lens scenario and have happily traveled and shot with the 9-18 due to the cost, size and weight difference between the two lenses, and the fact that for my style of shooting I find the added zoom range of the 9-18 more to my liking.

You could always pick up a used 9-18 and for possibly a small "rental" fee resell it if you don't like it.



May 07, 2014 at 07:29 AM
Uncle Mike
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


cputeq wrote:
I can't speak for the 9-18, but the Olympus 12-40 is not a "kit" lens in any sense of that word - I believe it's occasionally bundled with an EM-1, but that's just retailers selling you both retail items at once (and even if it were a "kit" lens, it's far beyond the quality that word typically implies).

It's one of the best lenses I've ever used, and I've used a hell of a lot of lenses from several different systems. Definitely the best overall m43 *or* 43 lens I've ever used and one that I really miss having moved over
...Show more

Amazon sells "Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera w/ 12-40mm F 2.8 Lens Kit'

That makes it a kit lens.



May 07, 2014 at 08:19 AM
cputeq
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


Uncle Mike wrote:
Amazon sells "Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera w/ 12-40mm F 2.8 Lens Kit'

That makes it a kit lens.


I'll be darned, I stand corrected I found a link to the actual kit box (which I hadn't been able to find until now) under someone's link to a Q&A for that product - must be an international thing, as I was unable to find this at Olympus's US website store.

That said - It's about as "kit" as a Canon 24-70/2.8 MKII is "kit"



May 07, 2014 at 09:00 AM
Sagar
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


There are also dealers selling Canon and Nikons FF bodies with 24-70f2.8 as kit. By same logic would you say, 24-70/f2.8 from CaNikon also a kit lens?

I think safer definition of kit lens could be a lens thats packed in box containing body+lens and where lens box does not come as a separate box (it may be sold separately in retail) when purchased as a kit

Uncle Mike wrote:
Amazon sells "Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera w/ 12-40mm F 2.8 Lens Kit'

That makes it a kit lens.




May 07, 2014 at 09:00 AM
mawz
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Micro 4/3 wide angle question


Sagar wrote:
There are also dealers selling Canon and Nikons FF bodies with 24-70f2.8 as kit. By same logic would you say, 24-70/f2.8 from CaNikon also a kit lens?

I think safer definition of kit lens could be a lens thats packed in box containing body+lens and where lens box does not come as a separate box (it may be sold separately in retail) when purchased as a kit



Note Oly does exactly that, you can buy an E-M1+12-40 kit in one box.

Sony does something similar with the A77 and their 16-50/2.8

Neither is anything approaching a 'kit lens' in terms of optical quality. But there's many outright kit lenses about which you can say the same, such as Nikon's 18-70DX, Oly's original 14-54 f2.8-3.5, Panasonic/Leica's 14-50's, Nikon's 24-85VR and 24-120/4 VR, all of which have been kitted at some point in their career.



May 07, 2014 at 11:45 AM
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