Panasonic - GX7 - Which kit lens to go for?

<p>Guys - Please bear in mind I am a novice/beginner and growing from Point and Shoot and working to get the kit sorted quickly to start with.<br>

2 options to chose from !<br>

1. G 20mm F1.7 II - Prime Lens - Highly recommended - Usually expensive kit option - Also Expensive than the option 2 if you buy separate (GBP 225 Approx) - Cost of Kit = GBP680<br>

2. G VARIO 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II - Most commonly offered Kit lens. Cheaper to buy separate compare to option 1.(GBP 100) - Cost of Kit = GBP750<br>

On just one one website I have managed to find the price of option 1 kit cheaper than the option 2.<br>

So the question is selecting one of the 2 options:<br>

1. Buy above option 1 kit only for GBP 680<br>

2. Buy above option 2 kit only for GBP750<br>

3. Buy option 1 kit and G VARIO 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II lens for GBP 780<br>

Please could you help.</p>

<p>Regards</p>

<p>I have both lenses, although not on that camera, and I use both. Your options 1 and 3 aren't mutually exclusive, so I'd go with 1, as that prime is a great lens that you will definitely want. Then buy the zoom later if you want it. Or, you might prefer to go with all primes. If you're new to serious photography, starting with only one lens, a prime, I think is a good way to start.</p>

<p>Would you miss the ability to zoom? I guess that's a question you really first have to answer for yourself. If you want to use the camera for the usual tasks, you'll probably miss the wider angles at times.</p>

<p>I'd bite the bullet and get Option 3. You will want the zoom and there are times the 20mm will be the best lens. So get both NOW and enjoy it.</p>

<p>If you're coming from a point and shoot you're going to find a zoom lens to be more in-line with your existing experience. I would start there and then add a another lens /after/ you figure out which one best meets your needs. The 20mm might not be what you need for your photography. </p>

<p>As Marc says, the two lenses are not mutually exclusive. You could buy both if that is possible, or else the zoom to begin with and, later, whatever your work demands. The 20/1.7 cannot be "highly recommended" for all kinds of photography.</p>

<p>You need a kit lens for general shooting. However the 20/1.7 will show you what the m4/3 system is really about. It is particularly useful when used indoors in low light conditions.</p>

<p>go with the prime as that fulfills the premise of m4/3 the most, adds low-light capability and sharpness, and keeps things compact. upgrading should be about challenging expectations and raising the learning curve, not embracing the familiar. best thing any P&S shooter can do to improve their actual photography is shoot with a prime lens. for 100 pounds the kit lens might be worth it to add, but check the used prices on that lens first.</p>

<p>14-42 is a kit lens ,should be more than ever to know system and choose direction ,may be mount again and once more</p>

<p>I always suggest beginners to choose a standard zoom to start with, because the first step to learn photography is to understand focal length and perspective distortion. Then a prime to understand aperture and DoF.<br>

GX7 is a very compact camera, so I consider 12-32 over 14-42.</p>

<p>But bear in mind that no matter which lens suggested here, it is hardly possible to get sharpest image. You may do a test by putting your GX7 with Panasonic lens on tripod, set manual focus and then shoot with timer or shutter release. When you view the image on GX7 with 16x magnifying factor, the image is not SHARP! I had sent mails to engineers in Panasonic Corporation to ask for reasons but received no reply. Not until I put a Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f2.8 lens on Panasonic m43 camera did I understand the real reason. And it is the fact that lenses produced by Panasonic (no matter it is labelled as Leica or not) fail to produced sharp image! I took images by Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f2.8 lens by handheld and got very sharp images, for example, eye brow hairs can be counted in the LCD of my m43 camera.</p>

<p>In fact, so-called Leica Lens by Panasonic is NOT lens produced by Leica in Germany. That lens is produced by Panasonic in Japan with Leica design. The glasses in the lens may be some artificial glass with special coatings and may be plastic. I currently put Leica or Contarex lens on my m43 and very satisfy with the result although I don't have auto focus which is not a problem for me.</p>

<p>I expect writers for Panasonic in the forum may counteract very soon by putting their sharpest images as proof here, to defend lenses from Panasonic to be sharpest in the World. I will not argue with them since they are paid to do so. But for you, as potential buyers, please go to camera showroom or dealer shop with your own SD card and then take some photos there with manual focus and times when putting the camera on table. When you examine the images at home by Photoshop or other software, you may know what I mean.</p>

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<p>I expect writers for Panasonic in the forum may counteract very soon by putting their sharpest images as proof here, to defend lenses from Panasonic to be sharpest in the World.</p>

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<p>Why would anybody do that? Bear in mind that the Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f2.8 you mentioned is $2,200 new at B&H. Currently, Panasonic has two PL lenses, the 25/1.4 and 45/2.8, The two combined is just over $1,000, still far less that this single Leica lens that you have. M4/3 lenses are generally pretty good for the price they ask, a result found by many review sites on line, not by Panasonic. If your personal results differ substantially from that, may be you should look into other factors, defective lens?</p>

<p>A contarex 50mm lens costs around $400 - 500 at ebay.<br>

<br />$1,000 to buy two plastic lenses!? In June 2007, Panasonic told me the beauty of M43 at its headquarter in Osaka, using legacy lens was the main merit of the whole system. And I was given the sample of GF1 for testing in 2008. I think Japanese was not fool enough to provide defective lenses for testing.</p>

<p>Just do yourself a favor if you want to buy plastic lenses, go to dealer shops' or showroom with your own SD card, take photos with the camera and Panasonic PL lens by putting it on table or tripod and timer. And watch the image at camera LED by 16X. Take images home and examine at your own photo editing software. You can judge if you like the images. Not trust on-line reviews only. Sometime, writers are paid to write for the cameras.</p>

<p>You don't need to trust me. The money is yours. When you pay just over $1000 to buy Panasonic PL lenses of 25/1.4 and 45/2.8, you may want to know the actual performance of them. Just do a simple test!</p>

<p> </p>

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<p>Panasonic told me the beauty of M43 at its headquarter in Osaka, using legacy lens was the main merit of the whole system.</p>

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<p>Is this not true? You just said in the previous post that you got great results with your Leica so what seems to be the problem. </p>

 

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<p>A contarex 50mm lens costs around $400 - 500 at ebay.</p>

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<p>The <strong>brand new</strong> 45/2.8 is $700 on Amazon, but it has AF, OIS, and macro. What is your point again? My point is that you complained Pansonic lenses that cost far less are not as sharp as your Leica that costs $2800 new. </p>

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<p>Not trust on-line reviews only. Sometime, writers are paid to write for the cameras.</p>

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<p>When reviews do not agree with you, you blame the reviewers. You can also check user reviews on Amazon and B&H, and of course Panasonic pays them all. BTW, I had the 45/2.8 until it was stolen so I know how it works as compared to my Nikon pro lenses. (I am expecting Nikon to pay me more now so I would change my opinions) Do you? Do you also have the 25/1.4? Do you have their f2.8 zooms? You are among the very few that complained about the performance of these lenses after factoring in their cost. If the letter you wrote to Panasonic is similar to your writing here, I can understand why you got no response. It is important in a forum to provide balanced information as to not mislead other readers. The 25/1.4 is particularly well loved by many many users. </p>

<p>I am not going to convince you as I had said that writers were paid to convince potential buyers. Sometimes 'well loved' is enlarged for 16X. I just urge potential buyers to conduct their own tests.</p>

<p>I'm a prime guy (see thread posted two minutes ago). I find the only thing I ever use a kit zoom for is to get the 85mm equiv. focal length, so for me, there is no real need for a zoom; I just want the new insanely expensive Leica 42.5mm prime.<br>

You don't buy a u4/3 to muddle about with a mediocre kit zoom. Get the 20/1.7 and start having fun. Or if it is at all possible, get the GX7 body only and the Leica 25/1.4. Actually I recommend getting a<strong> GX1</strong> and the Leica 25/1.4. In Shanghai they are selling the GX1 body only for 1,500 RMB. The GX7 is going for 6,000.</p>