M43 primes for portrait/half-body

[curveshooter]

Which M43 prime lenses are suitable for portrait to half-body to full-body?

I'm thinking the Oly 45mm f/1.8 for portrait and Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 for body.

Great to have a dedicated MILC section!

 

[brunerww]

I would get the Panasonic 25mm f1.4 and take a couple of steps back for body. Much better lens than the 20mm, in my view. Marked down to $499 from $599 at Amazon. For portraits, the Oly 45 1.8 is a great lens, but you may also want to look at the $199 Sigma 30mm f2.8. A lot of lens for the money.

And yes, great to have a mirrorless forum!

Cheers,

Bill

 

[usayit]

I would agree with the 45mm f/1.8 and the 20mm f/1.7. The main problem i have with the 20mm is that it is relatively slow to AF compared to its newer counterparts (it was an early micro 4/3 lens). In your situation, it probably wouldn't matter much. The Panny/Leica 25mm f/1.4 is going to cost noticeably more than the 20mm. IMO, I didn't find enough there to warrant me trading up to the 25mm f/1.4.

For portraits especially, I would invest less on the lens and worry more about the lighting. The lighting, whether a full strobe set (ex. Alien Bees) or a bargain set of umbrellas, stands, powerful compact flashes, and triggers, is going to be far more important.

 

[JAC526]

I have the 45mm 1.8 and I love it.

Here is a sample:


dad by JChick526, on Flickr

 

[Patriot]

Have you tried looking into older Russian lens? There are tons out there. Jupiter 9, helios 44, helios 40 are just a few to name. Most are gems that most over looked until the MILC's came out.

 

[BrianV]

M42 is the older screwmount for Pentax and other SLR's, most popular during the 1960s. Micro-43 is the newer Panasonic/Olympus mount. I end up abbreviating it "u43" which avoids confusion with "m42".

With that stated: the Helios-44 58mm F2 was quite good on my EP2. Jupiter-9 is a 85mm F2, I modified mine for a Leica. This required moving the rear element closer to the front, and changing the shim. Of course it works on the EP2, is a nice/fast short telephoto. Never had the Helios-40, 85/1.5. These used to sell under $100. Now- they have shot up.

The Jupiter-8 50mm F2 is very nice on the EP2. Very small. This lens is usually under $50 or so.

At F2

and F4

 

[BrianV]

Same lens, at F2, on the Leica full-frame.

 

[Patriot]

I can't wait to use my jupiter 9 (s/n 5400110) since it doesn't work on my camera because the lens is the rangefinder version. So I'm waiting to find another body to use with it. My d7000 is too big to carry around all the time, and I offend don't like to take it everywhere I go.

 

[BrianV]

Sn 54: means made in 1954. That one probably has German glass in it. You can get a Leica thread mount adapter for u43 and almost any mirrorless camera. If you ever get a Leica: you need to check that it will focus both near and far when used wide-open. The Russian lenses (most of them) in 39mm mount are made to the Zeiss standard. I shortened the focal length on my J-9 by moving the rear element in 2.5mm. I can use it close-up to infinity wide-open.

 

[Ron Evers]

Another vote for the Oly 45/1.8 from me. Here is a candid shot of a waiter taken with it: