Lens choices for a MFT system

I am considering a MFT system to replace my ageing D200 system.

I think a camera like the Olympus EM1 might be a good compromise for me, but I am not sure what lenses would be right.

On my current system, my most-used lens is the Tokina 10-17, which I like because its wide and focuses very close. Most of my diving is in gloomy green water, so getting close is essential.

I also want a macro lens? What magnification is possible?

I'd be grateful for the benefit of the collective wisdom.....

For wide angle there are a couple of nice lenses, but mostly I shoot macro. The olympus 60 is a great lens, fast focus and sharp and is 1:1 on the u4/3 sensor so 17 mm or so full frame.

Bill

I agree with Bill that the Olympus 60mm macro is an excellent choice for macro. I also use the Panasonic 45mm macro which is also a 1:1 lens in m43.

The Panasonic 8mm fisheye would be the lens which will most closely replace the Tokina 10-17mm and with better image quality. The difference is that you will need to zoom by moving closer to the subject. The 8mm will focus all the way to the dome port. You can get both glass (ZEN) and acrylic (Nauticam) ports in the 100mm range.

An 8mm image is attached, close focus at about two inches.

Olympus will have a 7-14 lens available in 2015. It won't be a fisheye zoom like the tokina but may (or may not) offer close focusing. If you were to buy an EM1, I would think you might want to get the 60 macro and 8mm fisheye lenses and then see what the Oly 7-14 looks like for you when released.

Panasonic makes a 7-14 currently, but it does not offer particularly close focusing.

I assume 12mm (24mm equivalent in 35mm terms) would not be wide enough for your purposes, otherwise the Olympus 12-40 is nice and allows pretty close focusing.

Thanks for these replies. One of the attractions of the MFT system is the availability of a wide range of u/w suitable lenses.

What is the working distance of the 60mm macro? I was wondering about diopters too- is there the possibility of using a dry diopter, or just wet?

I'm still unsure about whether MFT is right for me, and how it will feel coming from dslr.

It also occurs to me that there might be a successor to the em1 before spring...

Hi,
i have the 60mm macro, the 8mm fisheye and the 12 - 60mm in underwater use.
The 12mm has not seen water yet ;-)) That will change next year.
The 60mm you can use with a Subsee +10 as well.
http://www.reefdesign.eu/anilao_2014.html
All pics here marked with Wolfgang are made with the OMD5e and the lenses from above.
Regards,
Wolfgang
PS: @ Phil
The water is to blue for Anilao last february, or?

Hi Wolfgang,

That would be Cozumel for Underwater Digital Fiesta where I teach every April. 2015 will be our fifth year lots of fun and great people.

Charles, The E-M1 is Olympus top of the line pro camera and like the E-1, E-3 and E-5 only replaced about every four years. I would NOT expect to see a new E-M1 release before about Photkina in Nov. 2016.

I use the 60mm macro with +5, +10 and +15 C/U lenses. I also use the wider Panasonic 45mm macro with a +5. Dry C/U lenses (diopters) do not work well beaches the ports are designed to get the lens as close to the flat port glass as possible. The more mm between the lens and the back of the C/U lens the less magnification so it the lens sits back far enough in the port for dry C/U lenses it will to be as effective with wet lenses.

We all or most of us anyway came from DSLR cameras. For me it was a Nikonos RS film camera then Olympus DSLR cameras with the 43 sensor. I feel like the gains far out weight the losses and the M43 format is on par with APS-C cameras as a total system.

I used the 8mm panasonic fisheye with my EM-5 for the first time last week on a trip to PNG and was very impressed.

Does anybody knows if exist a M4/3 lens doing wide angle to moderate zoom and have a macro function switchable under water?

This lens would go on a Panasonic GH4 mainly used for video work.

Thanks

Chris

The 12-50 is moderately wide and moderately macro. The nauticam port lets you switch;

Bill

Chris, you might want to consider the Panasonic Lumic G X Vario 14-42mm instead of the Olympus 12-50mm. The Panasonic has Power O.I.S, which is important for video. The Olympus won't have any sort of Image Stabilization on the GH4. Go over to the video section of the forum and Peter from Australia is some info and video showing the use of the 14-42mm. You can use diopter on it (+10 is recommended). For wide angle, you can find a wet lens that work for it.

I just get my GH4 and the 14-42mm lens today, but I haven't get the housing yet. I plan on using my Opteka .45x 67mm lens on it for wide angle.

Moses

Hi Wolfgang,

 

That would be Cozumel for Underwater Digital Fiesta where I teach every April. 2015 will be our fifth year lots of fun and great people.

 

Charles, The E-M1 is Olympus top of the line pro camera and like the E-1, E-3 and E-5 only replaced about every four years. I would NOT expect to see a new E-M1 release before about Photkina in Nov. 2016.

 

I use the 60mm macro with +5, +10 and +15 C/U lenses. I also use the wider Panasonic 45mm macro with a +5. Dry C/U lenses (diopters) do not work well beaches the ports are designed to get the lens as close to the flat port glass as possible. The more mm between the lens and the back of the C/U lens the less magnification so it the lens sits back far enough in the port for dry C/U lenses it will to be as effective with wet lenses.

 

We all or most of us anyway came from DSLR cameras. For me it was a Nikonos RS film camera then Olympus DSLR cameras with the 43 sensor. I feel like the gains far out weight the losses and the M43 format is on par with APS-C cameras as a total system.

 

Encouraging comments; thanks Phil. MFT seems to tuck the boxes for me, but it seems like a big step. I'm off to have a look at some housings in the flesh, so to speak.

Rokinon (Samyang is other name, but same lens) makes 8mm f3.5 Fisheye lens for dirt cheap price. You can find them used under $200.

It could be a very economical alternative to Panasonic 8mm.

I have both lenses and I actually likes flare pattern of Rokinon better than Panasonic. It makes very clear star-like flare.

You may need to create a focus ring using 3D printer if you want to focus though.

I also use Olympus 12mm for underwater portrait. It's just about right angle of view to shoot human size subject from 10 feet or so.

This image is taken with Panasonic GX7 in Nauticam housing, Olympus 12mm f2. I used a burst mode (40 frames per second!) so I can choose an perfect image later.

http://shinsakuarima.zenfolio.com/p943403279/h22975e87#h22975e87