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Recommended fast 20mm prime lens with stabilisation.
  • Donnie88Donnie88
    What fast (f/1.2 - f/1.8) wide-angle lens around the 20mm focal length do you guys recommend for the GH2?

    I own a 28mm Nikkor AI-S f/2.8, but would love a faster lens that has stabilisation (for my tracking shots), and that would attach directly onto the GH2 without an adapter.
  • 12 Replies sorted by
  • kazuokazuo
    i shoot with Carl Zeiss Flektogon 20mm f2.8, it's a wonderful lens from the past. When you have a proper set up, dun understand the fuss about stabilisation
  • GabelGabel
    Well there is the pancake (20/f1.7) which doesn't need an adapter but has no stabilization, but from what I've seen only the Leica 45 macro has stabilization for a prime lens (it would only be zooms that has them) in M4/3 mount.
  • LPowellLPowell
    @Donnie88
    Aside from CCTV C-mount lenses, most of which vignette on the GH2, no one makes a 20mm prime faster than f1.8, and none of them have optical stabilization. I have the Sigma 20mm f1.8 in Nikon mount and I consider it more video-friendly than the Lumix 20mm f1.7 pancake:

    http://www.personal-view.com./talks/discussion/859/video-friendly-lenses-for-lumix-dslrs/p1

    Reviews of the Sigma 20mm have criticized it for corner softness and vignetting at wide apertures, while praising its high speed and resistance to lens flare. I find these properties make it very well suited to video, as it can easily handle the 2Mpixel resolution required for 1080p.
  • balazerbalazer
    For a fast and wide prime, I think your only option for stabilization will be to use external stabilization and/or software stabilization.

    The Panasonic Leica 14-50 mm f/2.8 Four Thirds lens has image stabilization. I think that's the fastest lens with stabilization and a wide angle that will work on m43.
  • Donnie88Donnie88
    Cheers for the response guys.

    @LPowell What are your thoughts on the Nikon AI-S 28mm f/2.8. I own that lens and contemplating going for the 20mm Pancake. Apart from the focal length and point, do you feel there is a considerable difference in their quality?
  • LPowellLPowell
    @Donnie88
    The 8-element Nikon 28mm F2.8 is reknowned for its close-focusing resolution and freedom from distortion. I tried out a Nikon 28mm f2.0 AI and it was a very nice lens, a bit sharper at f2.0 than the comparable Canon FD 28mm f2.0. The reasons I passed on the Nikon were its vintage ergonomics and incompatibility with my Nikon D5100. Compared to the Nikon 28mm, the 20mm pancake is faster and a bit more clinical to my eyes, largely due to its electronic aberration correction.
  • DouglasHornDouglasHorn
    @LPowell Corner softness and slight vignetting are common (and often slight) flaws on these moderately priced lenses. But in m43-land, we are usually center-punching the lens anyway and often completely avoid any softness, vignetting, CA or other image flaws at the corners. We basically get to use the filet mignon part of these lenses and trim off all the fat and gristle from the edges.
  • LPowellLPowell
    @DouglasHorn
    The 2x crop factor of the GH2 definitely helps the Sigma 20mm, though it's still not as sharp as the Lumix 20mm. For cinematic purposes, however, I like the looks of the Sigma better than the Lumix.
  • thepalaliasthepalalias
    @Donnie88 If you want sharp, the standard Panasonic 20mm f1.7 is pretty hard to beat. If you need stabilization, stabilize the whole camera, not just the lens, with something like this...

    http://steadydslr.com/

    or this

    http://www.tiffen.com/handheldmerlin.html

    I haven't used either yet, but I'm set to review one of them in the coming months.

    Anyway, the 20mm pancake is very easy to focus, even manually. A 25mm Voightlander f0.95 may be sharper if they are both at f2.8 (didn't test too much at f1.7), but if you are using it at apertures below f5.6, the Panasonic starts to slowly pull ahead (and completely outshines it in detail by f16).

    Anyway, definitely give the 20mm Panasonic pancake a shot and see if you like it. I keep it on one of my GH bodies almost all the time.
  • thepalaliasthepalalias
    Oh, and I forgot - it's a great price, too. There may be other "similar" ones that outperform it, but I haven't found any that are also similar in price.
  • DouglasHornDouglasHorn
    @LPowell Yes, I find the same thing. I have the Panny 20mm and like it for photos. I do use it for video when the circumstances require it, but generally, I prefer the look of my Canon FD 20mm MF lens. Something funky happens with the Panny 20mm and 14mm lenses that looks oversharpened or video-y. To me, the FD and Rokinon lenses just look better all around. I actually think that getting to shoot through the sweet spots of these lenses is part of the magic.
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    It simply cannot keep up with the high resolution demands of full-frame sensors. I respect Sigma for making a lens that no one else has tried to make, and I am generally a sucker for shooting in low light, probably an area where this lens would excel. I didn’t have the highest expectations for this lens given its age, and while it didn’t deliver outstanding sharpness at all apertures, it did deliver pretty solid center performance from f2.8 onwards

    http://www.thephoblographer.com/2013/06/18/review-sigma-20mm-f1-8-ex-dg-rf-aspherical/

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