The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

a question for 7-14 owners

pellicle

New member
Hi

just wondering, do you use the lens more at one end or the other or do you take advantage of the range of zoom?

Ages ago I had a 28-80 lens and found myself using it pretty much at 28 or 80. When I got a 24 I was stoked and fairly much just used that and a 50mm for most of my stuff.

Now that I'm using 4/3 I find myself using the 9-18 but mostly at something like 9 or maybe 11. When using it at 9mm one has to be careful of the subjects ... especially people (of course)



or one worse



... this makes me think I'd like something like a 11mm compact prime lens more.

heck it doesn't even have to be faster than f2.8 really
 
Last edited:

swandy

New member
Pellicle, I don't have the 9-18 lens (yet - might get the m4/3 version) but I can see your point about generally using one end or the other of a zoom. I generally start at one end or the other (depending on subject) but will then adjust the zoom depending on the crop I am looking for.
Also, yeah - UWA lenses are not the best for closeup portraits (unless you are intentionally trying for a distorted look).
The 7-14 looks very interesting, but at the current price (around $1000) I did not think I would get enough use out of it to justify it. Hopefully the Oly 9-18 will be a lot less where I can justify getting it for the amount I will use it.
Steve
 

mark1958

Member
I got my 7-14mm before i went to Japan and Hong Kong. I found i used that lens quite often for the cityscapes. I cannot say i used one end more than another if you take my average use. It is a great lens. I highly recommend.
 

f6cvalkyrie

Well-known member
Hi pellicle,

I plead guilty of using my 7-14mm most often at the 7mm end.
It gives yu the extra margin to correct the perspective of architectural shoots, and still have the possibility to crop a little.

C U
Rafael
 

kwalsh

New member
I used it a fair bit on a recent trip for landscape shooting and while for shots where UWA perspective distortion is desired and you have few other constraints on the composition the tendency is to go to 7 for maximum effect ("this one goes to seven" does rhyme with "this one goes to eleven" - bad Spinal Tap reference, sorry). That said I do have a number of shots at other focal lengths with the lens. I tend to compose without the camera (just a cardboard viewfinder) and once I've found what I want I take the camera out and figure out what lens to attach and where to zoom it to match the composition I want. As a result I usually end up with a more even distribution of used focal lengths than folks who compose through the camera.

But yeah, I can imagine a nice prime in the 7-9 range giving the UWA zooms a run for the money. Problem is, I'd really want a zoom that started at 12 instead of 14 if this was the case, I'd find the gap from 14 down to 9 too far to bridge in many cases.

Ken
 

laptoprob

New member
If a prime 7 existed I just might have preferred it. I think most zooms are mostly used at the extremes. And zooms have the risk of looking less, no need to work/search more for the best frame.
I got a faster 12,5 C-mount. Needs to be cropped to get a rectangular frame, can zone focus, just might be best for regular use.
 

pellicule

New member
Hi,
it is for that very reason I gave up using zooms and switched to primes. I found that I mostly used them at the very ends of their zoom limits. now I carry much smaller lenses, lighter and faster than a zoom, and in many cases much much cheaper than a zoom that would cover the size.
I usually walk about with a 35 f2 mm on my D700 and of course the 20 f1.7 on my GF1, and with a nikon f to m4/3 convertor they are all available for my GF1.
 

f6cvalkyrie

Well-known member
I understand, pellicule, and I also use fast primes.
But, where did you find a 7mm (fast or not) prime that covers the sensor ?

I have been looking at the Samyang 8mm, but that's a fisheye, and I am afraight such effects wear off quickly ???

C U
Rafael
 

pellicle

New member
folks

thanks for your inputs. I'm currently using the 9-18 (as I mentioned) but thinking of selling it and waiting for the Oly micro 4/3 unit which will swing me in either the direction of that or the 7-14

unless a 9mm prime comes up
thanks :)
 

kit laughlin

Subscriber Member
Hello pellicle,

every zoom I have (except for the long one) I find I use the same way as you describe, either being on one end or the other. So, on the kit lens, it's always 14 or 45! Makes you think that Leica was on to something with their Tri-Elmars and so on.

Having said that, I prefer zooms to carrying a bunch of primes and changing them in the field; too often I have missed a shot mid change.
 

pellicle

New member
I prefer zooms to carrying a bunch of primes and changing them in the field; too often I have missed a shot mid change.
amen to that ... on my trip to India last year I was glad to have the point n shoot for the wide stuff and left the 300mm on my 10D for the wild life.





so now I'm thinking I need a wide on my wife's camera (maybe a EP-2) and leave the 300 on my G1 ( and it'll still be more compact than my 10D was ;-)
 
V

Vivek

Guest
... this makes me think I'd like something like a 11mm compact prime lens more.

heck it doesn't even have to be faster than f2.8 really

Oly-D 17/2.8 plus Ricoh GW-1 (0.75X) (Use it at your own risk).
 
Top