Newbie here with EPL1 and lens question

[Beena]

Hi there.  I'm a proud new owner of an EPL1 with the 14-44mm kit lens. I've been blundering through photography on and off for a couple of years and never really given it much thought but im going to try and learn how it all works and attempt to take some decent photos. I'm loving the EPL1 already having had it a few days.  It's so much nicer than having to lug around an SLR and I love the way it looks. I'm thinking of buying a prime lens but can't really afford the Panasonic 20mm that everyone raves about so was thinking of the Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm pancake. Would I regret not holding off until I can afford the Panasonic? What's the quality and performance like of the 17mm? I want a lens that makes the camera even more portable, which is why I'm looking at the pancakes.

Anyway, here is a piccie I took today with my new pride and joy.

[Em5 Pete]

First off... welcome

Well, they're 3 popular pancakes...

Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 ASPH (28mm in 35mm Full Frame terms)
Olympus 17mm f/2.8 (35mm in 35mm Full Frame terms)
Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 (40mm in 35mm Full Frame terms)

The Panasonic 14mm has stellar performance and very low Distortion "out of box"..Many like the 28mm field of view for a general all around lens by many (me included)

The Oly 17mm is the most popular for an overall moderate wide angle. The Performance is better than the Kit lens

The Panasonic 20mm offers a little more than a 2x speed increase (f/1.7 vs f/2., and is better in Performance than the 17mm  (not by much.) The extra stop may be more important than the field of view (40m vs 35mm)

I own the 14mm, 20mm, Plus a 14-42 Oly Kit MkI...... had the 17, but I wanted a faster normalish lens....

[Beena]

Thanks for the reply and info. Would you say that the 17mm is worthwhile getting then? Is it markedly better than the kit lens?

[Em5 Pete]

it is a bit better than the kit lens.. but, you will find the kit lens is very useful also...sometimes a moderate zoom range is a better choice... convenience...

[lisandra]

the 20mm is the sharpest of all the pancakes, by a noticeable amount. Thats why its so popular

[lisandra]

thats a beautiful photo BTW

[pretzston]

Seriously, your best, least expensive and creatively inspiring lens will be to go buy a $20 adapter on Ebay and pick up a Canon FD 50mm 1.8 or a OM 50mm 1.8.

It will change your whole world.  Screw getting a 17mm or a 20mm, start with a $50 lens off Ebay and a $20 adapter.  It is awesome.  Many others in here will attest to that.

Good photo.  Welcome.

[Em5 Pete]

the 20mm is the sharpest of all the pancakes, by a noticeable amount. Thats why its so popular

The 14mm is no piker either...Full-size.. reduced compression to fit the 5mb limit..but the 20mm still does better with really fine detail clarity
Click through to full-size enlargement

Details

17mm
14mm
20mm

[Em5 Pete]

Seriously, your best, least expensive and creatively inspiring lens will be to go buy a $20 adapter on Ebay and pick up a Canon FD 50mm 1.8 or a OM 50mm 1.8.

It will change your whole world.  Screw getting a 17mm or a 20mm, start with a $50 lens off Ebay and a $20 adapter.  It is awesome.  Many others in here will attest to that.

Good photo.  Welcome.

YES, but to have a 35mm FOV, a 17mm FF kens would be needed... But, for 58mm above FOV, an old Manual 28mm - 50mm lens is tops... Get the f/3.5 or f/2.8 on a 28mm or 35mm to keep cost down, and f/2 or f/1.8 on a 50mm..... 

I have a 55mm f/3.5 Macro Nikkor (Pre-Ai), and a Canon FL 50mm f/1.4 (Early 6 element version)... under $100 for each including adapter.

[voyager]

Welcome to the forum! What a lovely and festive photo.

[GrandadHarry]

Yis is an interesing discussion. All the lenses named should give excellent results so it comes down to what you prefer & can afford. Myself i went for the Oly' 17mm for my E-P1--- reason I have always thought 35mm gave just that bit more than 50mm for general use. we can always use our legs to get closer & further away when needed.
 i like the festive picture very much but at the enlarge size it show signs of much OverShapening  for me.
 

[Beena]

i like the festive picture very much but at the enlarge size it show signs of much OverShapening  for me.

That could be because I used PS Elements to save it for the web at a lower resolution? Otherwise is it untouched from the camera.

[asterinex]

Well if money is tied, why not buy an adapter and a cheap legacy lens.
The OM 50 1.8 is a really good prime. Very sharp and very nice colors.
Adapter one ebay and this lens will cost you maybe 40 dollars and you are ready for some professional pictures.
I started that way.

I would not buy the 17mm. Because it costs still a lot of money, is a bit older and not the best there is.

 

[cosinaphile]

IVE GOTTA AGREE  an adapter and some good old legacy glass , often practically free at flea markets etc is fantastic  and  fast, and will help hone your eye and mind as a shooter , your shot above is nicely done  so you defintely should stick with it

 adapters are 15 20 dollars and a nifty fifty fast prime become s a perfect portrait length on the m 43 format , a great gp short tele\ portrait prime
mf is easy once your "break in"

cheera form nyc

welcome to the community

[corgifan]

To what the others wrote I would suggest that you spend quite a lot of time exploring the camera and it's full capabilities with the kit lens while you gather up funds and then are ready to buy your next lens based on your research and shooting experience.  With photography patience is a virtue.

Nice shot by the way, of the cookie!

Doug
 

[Beena]

To what the others wrote I would suggest that you spend quite a lot of time exploring the camera and it's full capabilities with the kit lens while you gather up funds and then are ready to buy your next lens based on your research. and shooting experience.  With photography patience is a virtue.

Nice shot by the way, of the cookie!

Doug
 

That's good advice. I think I will give it a while and see how I get on.

[overflow]

Although all valid comments about learning to use the camera before investing and purchasing legacy lenses to save money, neither of those address the need for compactness... I think getting a used 17mm on ebay for ~$150 is worth it for the size, and if you decide to upgrade to the 20mm f1.7 later, you can sell the 17mm for almost as much as you got it for...

[Beena]

You're right that everyone kind of missed the point about me wanting to make the camera even more compact but some good advice here nevertheless.

[corgifan]

You're right that everyone kind of missed the point about me wanting to make the camera even more compact but some good advice here nevertheless.

For what it's worth, the difference between the 20mm Panny lens and the kit lens when it's collapsed is 3/4 of an inch or 19mm.   That amount of difference may or may not be significant depending on what you want to do.  I usually carry the camera with the kit lens collapsed and just pop it open as needed.  However, I do love my 20mm Panny, it's my preferred lens for the camera but not because of the size.

Doug

[Beena]

Annoyingly I saw a 17mm Oly lens on eBay yesterday for £135 and after mulling it over for an hour decided to buy it. My broadband connection had other ideas though and crapped out on me for the night. I went to buy it at work at lunchtime today and it had been sold Maybe it's destiny.

[cosinaphile]

a nice russian jupiter  lens for rangefinder is very inexpensive  the Leica screw mount adapter is about 10 bucks a 50mm f2 , [i own one is extremely timy on my ep1]

another possibility for legacy glass is Pentax 110 lenses , but you are stuck at 2.8 and nothing else, but still they are useful very good and dirt cheap , these were baby slr lenses from the 1980s , the 24 mm f 2.8 is literally the size of a soda bottle cap and the adapter does not stick out too far

but the recommendation for the 17mm for compactness sake or the panny 14 which makes it look big is a good one , the 17 is a nice lens too i own it as well

so for compactness quality and speed a small russian rf lens 50mm f2 or a pentax 110 lens with their thin adapters is a good option , so is  a af pancake prime
butsome legacy glass will help you develop as a shooter too , while afs , and i love em
allow you to shoot without thinking

[vdub_er]

I've had my e-pl1 a year now and haven't had any other lens apart from the Kit Lens. Can't say that I've had any problems with the size of it at all and have loved using and exploring the camera capabilities. I've only just started to think about my next lens which looks like I'm going to go for a telephoto.

[voyager]

I think you would have been unsatisfied with the 17mm anyways.

[Beena]

I think you would have been unsatisfied with the 17mm anyways.

How come?

[voyager]

It's generally seen as the lowest performer of all Micro Four Thirds primes, because of its cheap price and sometimes unappealing focal length. Most people take the 20mm over it each time.