I need to rent a fast 4/3 lens - which one?

[Contegni]

Hey everyone
My grandfather is turning 90 in a couple weeks and my family is having a big party at his house. He probably doesn't have too many days left and we don't have a lot of recent pictures of him at all. I, being the only one in my family with a decent camera (olympus e520), feel responsible for taking some nice pictures. The lighting inside isn't going to be very good, and my 14-42 f3.5-5.6 kit lens probably won't cut it. I need something fast and sharp. The lens also has to AF quickly - it's very hard to MF on the e520 because of the small viewfinder, especially indoors in low lighting. Rental cost is not an issue but I just can't afford buying a new lens right now. I was thinking of getting the zuiko digital 50mm f2 lens but the house will crowded and I'm going to need the flexibility of a zoom lens. I was also considering the 14-35mm f2 lens but a common complaint is that it autofocuses very poorly in medium-low light. Would anyone mind offering their input about this?

Thanks a lot!

 

[SonyShooterA200]

Try these guys out. Good prices on the rentals.

LensRentals.com - Rent Olympus Lenses and Cameras

 

[lockwood81]

The 50mm f/2 is a very sharp fast lens, but like you said it does require some room to work with. I don't know about the 14-35 f/2...

I do have a 14-54 f/2.8 and that is also quite sharp, just not as fast as the 50mm. Guess I wasn't to much help.

Nice site:

Try these guys out. Good prices on the rentals.

LensRentals.com - Rent Olympus Lenses and Cameras

 

[Dao]

What about a flash that allow you to bounce off the ceiling or walls?

 

[lockwood81]

What about a flash that allow you to bounce off the ceiling or walls?

Yes, good point.

 

[Contegni]

Try these guys out. Good prices on the rentals.

LensRentals.com - Rent Olympus Lenses and Cameras

I never used them before but I found them on Google and was going to give them a try. Are they any good?

About the flash. I don't have one (still saving my pennies...) so that's probably not an option unless I rent one of those too. It will be a daytime party so there will be more light than normal, but it still won't be great.

 

[SonyShooterA200]

I never used them before but I found them on Google and was going to give them a try. Are they any good?

About the flash. I don't have one (still saving my pennies...) so that's probably not an option unless I rent one of those too. It will be a daytime party so there will be more light than normal, but it still won't be great.

From what I have heard, they are one of the best to rent from. I have found that they have the best selection and prices.

 

[Dao]

Indoor, low light party type pictures.

Fast prime with higher ISO setting may work in some case. However, I think bouncing the flash off the wall or ceiling still better especially in a party type situation. Of course, it may work if everyone will stand/sit still while have the picture taken. The shutter speed may not be fast enough in some cases if kids are in the photos.

Also, for group picture, you may need to watch out the Depth of Field when using a larger aperture (lower F/number) especially at the longer focal length.

i.e. Using a 50mm at f/2 and taking a picture of the subjects in about 10 feet away, the Dof is about 0.72ft. So watch out for that.