Mirrorless/CSC/MFT - General Discussion Thread

AMc

The Panasonic Power Zoom "pancake" lens I was referring to has a switch driven zoom and manual focus.
Panasonic LUMIX 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 G X ASPH. O.I.S Micro Four Thirds Lens  (H-PS14042E) - Wex Photographic
It extends when in use.

The new Olympus equivalent which claims to be the slimmest yet - has zoom and focus rings but the zoom (at least) is still powered.  There is a video under the "Further details" here along with a side by side with the kit lens from the E-PL5.  If my kit lens was worth anything for trade in I might be tempted to change but as it covers the same range it's quite an expensive choice to make the camera slightly more portable.
Olympus 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ M.ZUIKO Lens - Black (V314070BE000) - Wex Photographic
Also extends in use

Finally I have this Olympus 17mm prime
Olympus 17mm f2.8 M.ZUIKO Digital  Micro Four Thirds Pancake lens (N3593592) - Wex Photographic
When it powers on - your guessed it - it extends slightly but not so much you'd even notice.

Qactuar

Ah so that pancake zoom (that @shotokan101 was selling), is manual and not powered? That'd be ideal for me But I did enjoy my 50mm f/1.8 on the Canon, which is why I'm keen for a nice prime that can cope with indoor conditions.

That said, I've not had enough time with the kit zoom, to determine its indoor low-light capabilities at f/3.5. I'm sure someone can tell me more before I play with my own!

AMc

No according to the WEX description it has a zoom ring and a focus ring but the action is powered.
I think that's the only way you can squeeze that into that size body.
shotokan's pricing was very keen (just seen that ad is archived sorry) when you consider they're £299 (and out of stock) new, you can buy unbundled ones for £249 from SRS on ebay.
The E-PL5 kit zoom is all over eBay with Buy it now of £85 - I can't justify the spend to myself by YMMV.

snerkler

Nope, it's powered Just found this video, I do like that it has 3 zoom speeds which should (in theory) give you more control.

Qactuar

Yeah I get what you're saying. It's a lot to compress the size of the lens (even offsetting the kit lens sale), but I suppose for some, if the aim is complete compactness, then it's worth it.

What's the kit lens like indoors, assuming you've used it for such tasks?

shotokan101

I must say that I'd without hesitation pick up the pancake zoom again at a more modest price once they become more commonly available as it does make a VERY portable and functional combo. IMO

Jim

shotokan101

I did sell it

Qactuar

How accurate/controllable was the electronic focus motor? I assume that it's not quite as likely to "skip" focal lengths as much as a W/T lever?

AMc

It's pretty good.  I tend to use the smaller kit lens most of the time.  I often take snapshot portraits indoors without flash with good results.  I don't tend to post those online though as they're family and friends and unless a picture is particularly amazing I don't put them up "in public".
I got the 17mm for the odd landscape but mainly to get a fast(er) lens for indoor stuff.  I have had some success with it but my inexperience sometimes means I miss focus on the subject because of the limited DoF at low aperture.
At the back of my mind I keep wondering if a faster prime around 25mm would be worth buying but I'm trying hard not to spend money but learn to get the best of what I've already got

Qactuar

You say smaller - you mean the 14-42mm, rather than the 40-150mm (which seems logical!) - what sort of ISO settings are you having to use, in order to get sensible results, if you don't mind my asking?

On my old 350D (ancient, I know) with 50mm prime (80mm @35mm equivalent), I would be pushing ISO 800 indoors at f/2.2 to get acceptable shots, that could be used. At f/1.8 the lens struggled to focus on anything. Grainy, sure - but acceptable enough given the equipment and the age/technology.