More Panasonic GH2 - More M Mount lenses

Panasonic GH2 Voigtlander 75mm f1.8 Heliar Classic


Back when I put together my "review" of the GH2 I did say that I would be having a look at how my M-mount lenses performed on it. However, other than some brief indoor tests with the Zeiss Planar 50mm f/2 - http://soundimageplus.blogspot.com/2010/12/panasonic-gh2-part-6-jpgs-50mm-f2-macro.html - I never got round to it. I've only been doing all this because my 90mm came back from Leica a few days ago and I thought I would see how it performed on the GH2. In the post mentioned I did say that the GH2 seemed to show up the difference in lenses more, but for some reason I never followed that up. I'm sure that was because of the results I got with all the other m4/3 cameras I used. I really couldn't see that M-mount lenses were significantly better than the 4/3 or m4/3 lenses I was using. 


Yesterday I took out the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 and 75mm f/1.8, Zeiss 50mm f/2 lenses in addition to the 25mm f/0.95. Just like with the Leica 90mm, they all produced stunning results. 

Panasonic GH2 Zeiss 50mm f/2 Planar

The Zeiss 50mm f/2 Planar was especially good. I took out my 45mm f/2.8 macro lens to compare it with and couldn't believe the difference. The 45mm is a great lens and when I got my second copy recently I was really pleased with the first pictures I took with it. However the Zeiss betters it! I was so surprised by the difference that I went and took more comparison shots to see if what I was seeing was right. It was. I've said before that the Zeiss 50mm is a VERY sharp lens and its certainly the best I've ever used on my Leicas. It is now the best I've ever used on m4/3 as well.

I used the two Voigtlander M-Mount lenses for the first time on the GH2 and both were really good. Very impressive results.

 

Panasonic GH2 Voigtlander 75mm f/1.8

Panasonic GH2 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 Multi Image Panoramic Stitch.

I also used the Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95 Nokton which as far as I'm concerned is the best "native" m4/3 lens. I'm going to send a pleading letter to them to make a fast wide-angle!!

I created this image with it.

Panasonic GH2 Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95 Multi Image Panoramic Stitch.

It consists of 28 separate images stitched together in Photoshop. The stitched file was 325MB. That the equivalent of a 114MP sensor!!  The level of detail was unbelievable. However it took a while both to take and to stitch together. 

So why the difference with the GH2?

A good question and one I really don't have an answer to. Is there a weaker anti-aliasing filter on the GH2? I can't say I've seen any comments that would indicate that, though it may be the case. The results I've got from all my Panasonic and Olympus lenses on the GH2 have been a slight improvement over the GH1 in terms of sharpness, though I have noticed that they are somewhat "grainier". This is similar to what the Leica M9 produces. Very sharp images but I usually have to employ a noise reduction programme to smooth out the skies. Maybe it is a weaker AA filter that is doing this or different in-camera processing. All of this refers to raw files by the way. The jpgs the camera produces are very similar to those from other Panasonic cameras. They are less noisy, less "grainy" and slightly softer. Also all pictures are taken at ISO 160, and apertures of f/5.6 to f/11. The majority of the images shown in this series are at f/8. I should also point out that at these apertures I got very little, and in some cases none at all, chromatic aberration or fringing.

Whatever the reason for this increased sharpness, I'm quite excited by what it offers. I've also come up with some Adobe Camera Raw parameters for raw development that give me results very close to the Leica M9. A kind of digital Fuji Velvia look if you like. In addition I'm shooting with what the camera regards as slight underexposure. I've always thought that Panasonic m4/3 cameras work in a kind of "holiday snaps" exposure mode anyway. What they think of as "correct exposure" is way too light for me. The M9 will usually come up with an exposure reading thats about 1 stop below what the Panasonic indicates. I usually have the GH2 set at about -2/3 stop. It gives better highlight detail, contrast and colour saturation, all of which I prefer for landscape photography. 

Though I'm excited by the prospects this can offer, it does pose somewhat of a dilemma, as to what I'm currently using. However I'm going to postpone that debate for a while and just enjoy the results. 

Finally, if this gives the impression that I'm advocating that all GH2 owners immediately rush out and buy expensive m-mount lenses, then I must say very firmly that I'm not. The lenses I'm talking about are all manual focus and some of them, though small, are pretty heavy. Its a fiddly, slow process getting precise focus on these lenses and if you're looking for a fast shooting response to a situation thats moving quickly, these lenses are completely useless for that. As ever these are personal subjective observations.

There are however lots of good S/H lenses out there that compare very favourably in terms of price with the Panasonic and Olympus lenses, which after all aren't particularly cheap. Since its introduction m4/3 has always been a great vehicle for legacy lenses. With the gradual growth of the "native" lens ranges this has become less talked about somewhat, but it still gives m4/3 the widest range of options of any camera system.

Words - David

Images - David and Ann

Leicas by Panasonic

Shot with a Panasonic GH1 fitted with my Olympus Zuiko 50mm f2 macro. One of the problems of a pin-sharp macro lens is that it shows all the dust!. 

Video with Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f1.8 Classic - updated

Video with Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f1.8 Classic on a Panasonic Lumix GH1.


Mostly shot at f1.8. There's a fair bit of CA and purple highlight fringing on some of the sections with a bright sky behind.  Obviously with the outdoor location, there was no real need to use f/1.8 but I wanted to see how the lens looked wide open. 


This was the first opportunity I had to see what difference the Tester13 GH1 hack has made. It has resulted in a cleaner output. Previously some shots I'd taken with running water were full of compression artefacts and these are better. It will be interesting to run a comparison between this and the GH2. 


I'm going to put together a low light video using both this lens and the other fast lenses I now have. I now have available:-
Lumix 20mm f/1.7 pancake. (40mm 35mm / Full-frame equivalent)
Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95 (50mm 35mm / Full-frame equivalent)
Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 (70mm 35mm / Full-frame equivalent)
Olympus 50mm f/2 (100mm 35mm / Full-frame equivalent)
Voigtlander 75mm f/1.8 (150mm 35mm / Full-frame equivalent)


The obvious gap in all of this is a fast wide-angle. At the moment I can't see where this might come from. The Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 is the fastest option at the moment. Whether or not its possible to produce something like a 10mm f/1.8 or a 12mm f/2 I can't say. There may be something to come from Voigtlander in the future, but at the moment there are fairly limited options. I'm not at all interested in c-mount lenses and both the Panasonic and Olympus zooms, while being good quality have slow maximum apertures. 


Wide-angles are currently the least well served area of m4/3 and there's not really any options available on the legacy lens front, due to the 2X crop of the sensor. 


D 

Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 Classic on Panasonic GH1 - Part 2

Review of Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 Classic on panasonic GH1 - Part 2

In Part 2 I'm including some samples shots at f/1.8 and f/8 with blown up sections to show the quality. Clicking on these leads to a larger version in flickr.

Conclusion

The Cosina Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 Classic is a fine well-made lens that performs very well. There is some CA and fringing wide open and in keeping with many lenses of this type is sharpest in the mid-range, f/5.6 and f/8 being especially good. The results on my GH1 echo the results on my Leica M9, and its a very useful lens for both systems. For some time I used a Nikon 85mm f/1.8 on my m4/3 cameras and while it gave excellent results it was very large and bulky and unbalanced the camera(s). The 75mm is better in that regard and "fits" the GH1 very well. From the samples here and in Part 1 you can see how I've used the lens, which is for landscape / location work and for low-light interiors. For both of those requirements I found that it produced excellent images and most importantly, did so wide open at f/1.8. I would have no hesitation about using it at that aperture, and while it doesn't reach the heights of the Olympus 50mm f/2 wide open (and I'm beginning to think that not much does!) its perfectly suited for low light work.


However as I have indicated there could be difficulties attempting to use the lens with m4/3 in fast-moving situations when precise and speedy focusing is required. This is not the fault of the lens and more to do with the manual focusing capabilities of m4/3 cameras, which are excellent in terms of obtaining accuracy but are not designed for speed with lenses such as the Voigtlander. For example if I use the Olympus 50mm, which only focuses manually on my GH1, one touch of the focusing ring brings the magnified view into the viewfinder, and after focusing by touching the shutter button the magnified view disappears and I'm ready to to take the shot. Because lenses like the Voigtlander are not electronically coupled to the camera, I have to press two buttons to get the magnified view, which slows the process down somewhat. Olympus has a different system, but it still requires two button presses to get to the stage where I'm focused and ready to take the shot. 


Its important to remember that lenses like the 75mm f/1.8 are rangefinder lenses and not designed for use with m4/3 cameras. Using them on these cameras is an "extra" and those who do so, myself included, are prepared to put up with the difficulties of using them. Personally I can't see myself using the 75mm f1.8 much on m4/3 for stills work. This has nothing to do with the lenses performance on the format, but more to do with how it fits in with the way that I work. The Olympus 50mm f/2 macro suits what I do much better, and with its extraordinary capabilities wide open, and more user friendly operation for my GH1 and E-P2 that is much more likely to be my lens of choice. I can however see myself using it a lot for GH1 video, where its much more suited to the kind of work that I do. I generally manually focus for video anyway, and use a tripod so the lens will be very useful indeed for low light situations.


Finally, just to say that I have the first Voigtlander m4/3 lens, the 25mm f/0.95 on order and its apparently due in the UK sometime in November and its going to be interesting to see if there is any difference between that & the Voigtlander m-mount lenses on m4/3 other than the mount itself.


D

Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 Classic on Panasonic GH1 - Part 1

Review of Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 Classic on Panasonic GH1 - Part 1





Yesterday I finally got round to trying out the Cosina Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 Classic on my Panasonic GH1. 



f/8 ISO100


Build 
The first thing to say is that this is a beautifully made lens. Voigtlanders are well put together generally but this one is especially good. Lovely smooth focus ring and aperture click stops. It feels substantial but not over heavy. Its a thin design and medium long. (From review with M9 at
http://soundimageplus.blogspot.com/2010/10/voigtlander-75mm-f18-classic-heliar-on.html) Since the GH1 is a smaller lighter camera than the M9 there is a different feel to the outfit. At 427g the lens is slightly heavier than the camera. However there's a nice solid feel to the combination. 

Focusing

Anyone who has ever focused a telephoto lens manually on a m4/3 camera will know that its not easy. If you are working hand held there's a lot of "wobble" in the viewfinder and to get the point of focus sharp its often the case that you have to open the lens up fully, in this case to f/1.8, focus and then stop down to whatever aperture you want to use. Even with the GH1's magnification aid to manual focusing, this takes time and isn't particularly easy. However if you are prepared to take that time precise focus can be achieved. I had no problem getting a 100% success rate, but if you are working in a fast-moving situation then be prepared for a fair few mis-focused shots. 

f5.6 ISO100

f8 ISO100

Performance

Overall this is a very sharp lens. Performance at f/5.6 and f/8 is excellent. Wide open at f1.8 its slightly softer, which is to be expected, but still very satisfactory. During the course of the day I went into a dark church to give it a low light test.

f1.8 ISO 640

f1.8 ISO 1600

f1.8 ISO 3200

As you can see the results are pretty good. The pictures don't show it but it was pretty dark in there. Focusing was quite difficult, particularly with the viewfinder image breakup that affects the GH1 at high ISO's. These shots did take a while, but were achieved hand-held.

In common with many Voigtlanders the bokeh is pleasant without being spectacular, though if the subject is far enough away from the background it can be very nice indeed.

f1.8 ISO100

f1.8 ISO100

f1.8 ISO100

It does work very well wide-open and working as a 150mm f1.8 (35mm or full-frame) equivalent is a very fast telephoto. Obviously hand-held, you have to make sure that your shutter speed is fast enough to ensure sharp results. There's no image stabilisation on the GH1 or any Panasonic camera, so you have to be aware of that. An Olympus m4/3 body does have IS but I've never found mine to give more than 2 stops of assistance. I tried to keep my shutter speed at 1/160th sec or higher. I did get the odd successful shot below this but also many affected by camera shake.

f8 ISO100

Is it useful for m4/3?

This really depends on what you plan to use it for. If you have the time for focusing then its very useful indeed. Its a wonderful lens for landscape. I would suggest that for grab shots and any situation that you have to work quickly its not so useful. If you can use pre-focusing then it could work but a lot of practice would be required. It is of course an m-mount lens, designed for rangefinder focusing, which is a lot quicker than m4/3. The GH1 may enable precise focusing but  its certainly not quick. Using it on an Olympus would be even slower. If you're intending to do a lot of work at f/1.8 then its important to be aware of the possible difficulties of this. I've mainly bought this lens for my Leica and as a video lens for the GH1 (GH2). Being a telephoto on m4/3 I found it very difficult to achieve sharp focus without going through the whole magnification rigmarole. You may be better at this than me, but its not easy under most circumstances. 

f8 ISO100

f5.6 ISO100

Bottom Line

This is beautifully made quality lens that deliver excellent results. The chances of this focal length length and speed ever being released by Panasonic or Olympus are fairly remote I suspect. The Leica 75mm f/2 is £2000+ so its a bargain really!! Though there are some Leica S/H alternatives available. Its a great lens for m4/3 under certain circumstances, those circumstances being how much time have you got to focus it? If you are a manual focus speed merchant or you use it in relatively unpressured situations then it could be a wonderful addition to a lens collection. If you're looking to be Cartier-Bresson then do be aware your "decisive moment" could be long gone before you've even got it in focus.

f.2.8 ISO100

f5.6 ISO100

f5.6 ISO100

Words - D

Images - D & A

Voigtlander 75mm f/1.8 Classic Heliar on Leica M9 - continued

Taking out this lens in a "real world" situation I'm even more impressed with it. I never really feel that I've got a good idea about the quality or otherwise of a piece of equipment unless I've spent a few hours with it, using it in the way that I would normally.

After an unpromising start yesterday afternoon turned out to produce really nice light, with bright sunshine and dark storm clouds. I took out the Leica M9 with the Voigtlander 75mm f/1.8 Classic Heliar and left it on the camera most of the time. Its surprising how versatile a 75mm lens can be, and I didn't feel restricted by using just the one lens.

I took a few shots at wide apertures, and the bokeh is very pleasant. Focusing accurately with this focal length at f2, f2.8 etc. can be quite tricky with a rangefinder unless you have some strong edges to lock onto but I managed OK and found it easier than I thought it was going to be. The focusing ring is a joy to use and as mentioned yesterday, this is a very well made lens which performs very well and in a "photographer - friendly" way.

For the most part I used either f/8 or f/11 and found it to be very sharp at both settings. Absolutely no problems at all. As is often the case the picture when taken was somewhat bigger than the 75mm frame lines on the Leica indicated and I learnt to adjust accordingly. 

I must admit after years of working with 35mm I'm still much more comfortable judging composition with prime lenses on full-frame than I am with smaller sensors. I would often see what I wanted to include, walk to where I thought the lens would cover it and usually found that I wasn't far out.  Using rangefinders with prime lenses is very different to DSLR's with zooms and I wondered if I would have problems with the 75mm as I haven't used one for a while. However it worked very well and I enjoyed using the focal length more than I thought I would.

Overall I'm very pleased with the lens. Its a very useful addition to my lens range and will be useful both as a fast lens for low light and as a landscape lens. How it compares to Leica or Zeiss 75mm lenses I can't say as I don't have them to compare. As I said yesterday its very similar in performance to my 90mm f/2.5 Summarit-M and everything from build quality to performance wide-open to CA / fringing and overall sharpness is excellent across the board. My experience with these Cosina Voigtlanders has generally been very positive. I had some issues with a 50mm f/1.1 Nokton, which was not great wide open and had some screws which kept working loose, but apart from that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. This 75mm is certainly one of the best I've used and is beautifully put together. There's no compromise on image quality here and I'm sure that it will produce excellent quality images for me for many years to come.

Finally my thanks to Leica Rumors for putting a link to these posts on their site. Its much appreciated.

Words - D

Images - D & A

Voigtlander 75mm f/1.8 Classic Heliar on Leica M9

FIRST IMPRESSIONS.

Build

The first thing to say is that this is a beautifully made lens. Voigtlanders are well put together generally but this one is especially good. Lovely smooth focus ring and aperture click stops. It feels substantial but not over heavy. Its a thin design and medium long. 

Specs.

Smallest Aperture: F16
Lens Construction: 3 Groups, 6 Elements
Aperture Blades: 10
Nearest Distance: 0.9m
Diameter: 57.9mm
Length: 73.8mm
Weight: 427g
Filter size: 52mm
Hood: Included
Colour: Black

As is common with many m-mount lenses it doesn't focus that closely. It has a handy 52mm filter size and there's a hood included.

Whats it like wide-open?

Always the first question with a fast lens. 

The following are at f/1.8. 

(N.B. Ignore exif data as I've used a manual preset on the M9. The nearest was a 75mm f/2. f2 in the exif data is f1.8 on the lens)

I'm pretty impressed with the wide-open performance. The sharpness doesn't match what it does at f/4 onwards, which is produce excellent results, but its really very good. There's also virtually no CA or fringing on my copy which is good to see. I had one of the 75mm f/2.5 Colour Heliars and that was quite unpleasant wide open with lots of purple fringing. This new lens is much better than that and produces very "clean" results at f/1.8.

Overall image quality.

The lens works very well the M9 and for this first run out with it I was mostly using it either wide open or up to f5.6 only. Very impressive at f/5.6 and very good at f/2.8 and f/4. It performs in a similar fashion to other Voigtlanders I've used. Great sharpness with a real "bite" to the images and with nice, but not great, bokeh.

I'm going to work with it over the next few days and try it in a variety of situations, but my first impressions are very positive. I was surprised by how good the performance at f/1.8 was and  certainly better than I was expecting. I will be using it on my M9 and on my m4/3 cameras for stills and video, where it turns into a very handy 150mm f/1.8 FF equivalent. I was also impressed by the build quality which is really very good indeed and is the best Voigtlander I've used in terms of that.

I've always liked these Cosina Voigtlanders and haven't been disappointed by one yet. The nearest Leica lens I can offer a comparison with is a Summarit-M 90mm f/2.5 which I have. The Voigtlander 75mm f1.8 is easily on a par with that lens in terms of sharpness. 

Its a well-made, fast, relatively cheap (for an m-mount) lens and is capable of beautiful, detailed images with the M9. There's not really a lot more to say, except that I'm off to take more pictures with it.

D