Fun with the Lumix 14-45mm lens...

[DHart]

PLEASE ADD YOUR FAVORITES WITH THE 14-45.

I rarely see anyone praising this workhorse of a lens. Between the 20 and the 14-45, I find myself using the 14-45 the most. So I thought I'd start a thread on praise of this wonderful, versatile lens so it doesn't feel left out of the party.

When my wife and I are exploring on the Harley, we often stop at cemeteries and mausoleums... we're intrigued by them and their dignified beauty. So I do have a lot of images created in such places. Let's not forget... this is our certain future! Live well in the meantime! :angel:

The bulk of my professional work consists of verrry lively high school senior girls, so this subject matter is quite a contrast for me... and I love it.

These images are all from this afternoon.

Same image with Detail Enhancer

 

[DHart]

And a couple more which went into the evening...

It was quite dark by the time we were at the highrise location - on the way home. I bracketed three images of the building with
the lens zoomed all the way out to 45mm, one at about 40 sec., one at about 10 sec, and one at 2 sec. and merged them.

Most of the above images were bracketed and merged, typical practice for me.

Let's see what you're doing with this lens...

 

[photoSmart42]

Beautiful shots! I love this lens as well, although I tend to use the 14-140 more since that on my GH1. Love the HDR effects you're getting with it. You're using Photomatix for these?

 

[DHart]

Beautiful shots! I love this lens as well, although I tend to use the 14-140 more since that on my GH1. Love the HDR effects you're getting with it. You're using Photomatix for these?

Yes... aside from portraits, I find the final result more closely matches my visual experience when I increase the dynamic range (bracket and merge). Someday (sooner rather than later) most cameras will just do this automatically. Now that the megapixel wars have reached a point of diminishing returns, dynamic range is the new frontier. Photomatix does a pretty good job with this, though it's a lot more work than just outputting a JPG and calling it good. I like crafting images, so the effort is ok with me.

I've been thinking about the 14-140.... would sure love to have the reach. Do you think having a 14-140 pretty much makes having a 14-45 un-necessary?

 

[photoSmart42]

I've been thinking about the 14-140.... would sure love to have the reach. Do you think having a 14-140 pretty much makes having a 14-45 un-necessary?

For me, yes the 14-140 has taken the place of the 14-45. The 14-45 is now more or less permanently attached to my wife's G1, and I take the 14-140 and the 20 with me on travel for my GH1. That way we both have a kit zoom, and we can swap the 20 if we need to.

 

[DHart]

For me, yes the 14-140 has taken the place of the 14-45. The 14-45 is now more or less permanently attached to my wife's G1, and I take the 14-140 and the 20 with me on travel for my GH1. That way we both have a kit zoom, and we can swap the 20 if we need to.

Is the lens performance/sharpness comparable between the 14-140 and the 14-45? If so, I will gladly add the 14-140 as a kit lens with the forthcoming GH2, (when it arrives) and do as you've done, give my 14-45 to my wife. She's quickly bumping into the image-crafting limitations of her ZS3 and hankering to step up to a GF1 or GH1. In the meantime, I think I need to give her my unused 30D to break her point-n-shoot streak.

 

[DHart]

It's been about a year since I did much with the 14-45. The humble 14-45 doesn't seem to get much attention, what with the more extreme lenses and the fun legacy lenses. I had an inkling today to put it on my GF1, just to return to my first days of m4/3 (GF1 with 14-45 was my first foray into m4/3).

I was instantly reminded of what an amazingly capable and sharp lens this is.. just a couple of grab shots, hand held with the 14-45 @ 14mm wide open and at 45mm wide open... very close focusing. Very small. Very lightweight. Great focal length range. Excellent IS. And SHARP! This lens really is an unsung m4/3 hero, I think. GF1 and 14-45 is perfect for times when a small, simple, and versatile image making kit is all that's needed.

14mm, wide open, hand held, close up

45mm, wide open, hand held, close up - this lens can muster up a nice little bokeh as well...

14mm, wide open, hand held, close up

 

[Glenn]

I love the 14-45 too

 

[deckitout]

EPL1 and Panny 14/45, mistakingly left ISO on 1600
Doh

 

[Andrew Gough]

GH2 Pana 14-45mm @45mm

 

[DHart]

Andrew... cool image! Great, compact, versatile, sharp lens.

 

[Andrew Gough]

Andrew... cool image! Great, compact, versatile, sharp lens.

Thanks! I am just getting used to the GH2 and several lenses. The 14-45mm is an absolute steal for the price. Great quality, light and Leica to boot. :thumbup:

 

[DHart]

Glenn... where was that shot? Great composition, textures, and tones.

deckitout... tranquil beauty... thanks for posting it.

 

[Glenn]

Glenn... where was that shot? Great composition, textures, and tones.

Thanks, Glen Etive in Scotland

 

[DHart]

Doesn't seem to be much love for this lens, folks... I guess it just gets a bit lost in the shuffle of more extreme lenses and legacy glass, etc. For me, even having a whole bunch of new native and legacy glass for my m4/3 kit and the GH2 (not to mention the big gear) I still use my good old, original GF1 and 14-45 quite a bit!

This lens is an unsung hero of m4/3, I think. Lately I've been using it for a lot of product shots and it never lets me down...

More GF1 and 14-45

I'm sure lovin' micro four thirds, my friends!

 

[DHart]

Sure is a dead, sleepy thread, this.

Hoping to wake it up a bit.

Another GF1 with 14-45 image. Ladybug on a golf pencil, with a US dime as the backdrop.

(Lens reversed)

 

[turbines]

And a couple more which went into the evening...

It was quite dark by the time we were at the highrise location - on the way home. I bracketed three images of the building with
the lens zoomed all the way out to 45mm, one at about 40 sec., one at about 10 sec, and one at 2 sec. and merged them.

Most of the above images were bracketed and merged, typical practice for me.

Let's see what you're doing with this lens...

Don these are all very nice images. Is that a sun dog you captured in the backlit shot of the cemetery?

Thanks for reminding me how really sharp that lens is. I'm going to dust mine off; it's been sitting on the shelf too long.

Do you use PS or some 3rd party software for merging bracketed exposures?

Paul

 

[DHart]

Hey Paul... thanks for the comments and participating. Sometimes I think no one around here uses this lens but me! Ha!

Yes, it's a very sharp, very capable lens that is just so nice and compact. I love it.

When I bracket and merge images, I usually use PhotoMatix Pro.

 

[turbines]

When I bracket and merge images, I usually use PhotoMatix Pro.

Do you base the number and size of the brackets based on DR? If so how do you go about determining the DR of a scene? The cemetery shot looks like extreme DR. Is there any advantage to bracketing and merging scenes with normal DR?

Paul

 

[DHart]

Paul... I'm not very scientific on determining the range. I don't often bracket exposures, but I do sometimes. The range of exposures differs with the scene... I just sort of guesstimate and go with -2/0/+2 or sometimes other variations on that... on occasion -2/-1/0/+1/+2, but I don't do so in a carefully calculated way... sort of willy nilly, actually! Sometimes when I have bracketed I may only use one of the images, or I may just layer one image over a second, in PS, and erase the areas I don't want, then merge layers.