Getting back into it with M43 equipment

[247bob]

Hi,
first post. just bought myself a Panasonic G2 so I could rekindle my juices for photography.

I had an olympus SLR many moons ago and since the digital age have been using point & shoot cams.
I thought I'd try and get into it a bit more, but didn't want to lug around a heavy kit.

With Micro four thirds there seems to be a distinct lack of lenses though. So I was wondering if there was any likely hood of other manufacturers (apart from Panasonic & Olympus) likely to get involved?
Anyone have inside information

The sort of pics I'm interested in taking is portrait and close ups (mainly of my new born grand kids)

[Shadowman]

Nikon, Sony, Lumix Kodak all have cameras available. Plus, I know that Olympus offers an adapter that allows you to third party lenses as well as lenses for their DSLR cameras.

[Boatman]

"With Micro four thirds there seems to be a distinct lack of lenses though."

Are you kidding? There are M43 adapters to put essentially any lens ever made on your G2. That's one of the big benefits of the M43 format. True, most of them will operate in manual focus, aperature pre-set mode, but still, there is a huge assortment of lenses that work very well.

I have a GH2 and particularly like my old Takumar f1.4/50 with it. The Hexanon 1.8/40 pancake is also nice and quite small. Longer lenses (they're all longer on a M43!) have some issues since there is no in-camera image stabilization. I had a nice Hexanon f4.0/200 but it had to be used with a tripod nearly all the time so I let it go on eBay to help fund a Panasonic f1.7/20.

The f1.7/20 is worth noting. It is a very popular lens for the M43 cameras. True, its focal lenght overlaps your kit 18-42mm lens, but it is much faster and sharper. I have used this lens quite a bit for indoor, party-type work and like it a lot. Due to its fast aperature it works much better with an external flash than the slow kit zoom lens does.

Check out www.mflenses.com for more ideas. But a word of caution: with the M43s it's easy to get carried away and wind up with a bunch of glass you don't need. Choose carefully, don't over pay and be willing to resell a lens you find that you don't use often. Oh, and on the adapters, the $20 variety work just as well as the $120 kind.

[247bob]

Thanks for those replys, I did realise about the adapters. sorry, I should have mentioned in my post that I wanted to know if IOS lens is/will be available with other manufacturers.
(Sorry,I knew this would turn out to be a dumb question )

[Shadowman]

Thanks for those replys, I did realise about the adapters. sorry, I should have mentioned in my post that I wanted to know if IOS lens is/will be available with other manufacturers.
(Sorry,I knew this would turn out to be a dumb question )

Iy's not a dumb question, if you review the websites of most 4/3rds manufacturers they won't mention right off that their cameras can be used with other lenses, mainly because they want you to buy their lenses first. However, at least on Olympus website, if you look at their frequently asked questions (FAQs) the true versatility of these cameras become apparent.

[xpatUSA]

Hi,
first post. just bought myself a Panasonic G2 . . . Anyone have inside information

The sort of pics I'm interested in taking is portrait and close ups (mainly of my new born grand kids)

Hello Bob (?),

For your purposes I would seriously consider the Panasonic/Leica Lumix Macro-Elmarit 45mm with Mega-OIS to go with your G2 kit lens. I've just sold a G1 combination like that and am beginning to regret it.

[jcuknz]

It is interesting how the picture has changed between 2011 when the OP started this thread and today 2013 with both Panasonic and Olympus have a good range of lenses and third party makers are joining in too Adaptors are less needed today though if you like working that way it is still an option.

I wonder how 247bob is going today in 2013?

[xpatUSA]

I wonder how 247bob is going today in 2013?

Got me wondering too, now that you mention it (Nov 2011), duh!