Lenses for Panasonic GH3

[South Side Dreamer]

Hello everyone. I bought the gh3 about a month ago with the sigma 19mm lens. But I did not know that dslr's do not zoom(!). Apparently neither does the lens. So now that I've read up on some information for lenses, I've been wondering what lenses I should get next. I'm probably going to get the canon fd 50mm lens for sure. I also want a zoom lens (probably a 70-300mm). So my question is what other lenses are recommended for me to use? I plan on having at least 5 total.

The most I'd spend on a lens would probably be $500. And that would be only if it's a very good lens.

Also, anyone have any recommendations on what tripod, and mics I should get? I was thinking on the Panasonic Ms2 and maybe some lavalier mics.

All help is appreciated.

 

[brunerww]

Hi South Side Dreamer - sorry you were disappointed in the Sigma. You can indeed buy power zoom lenses for the GH3. If you want a power zoom for your camera, you can get the $300 Panasonic 14-42mm PZ and/or the $360 45-175mm PZ.

Also, I have a classic Canon FD 50mm f1.8, and I like it a lot. Here it is on my GH3:

As you probably already know, this is a 100% manual lens and your autofocus and aperture control won't work with it. You will have to set both manually. This lens also requires an inexpensive FD to micro 4/3 adapter to work with your camera.

All of that said, the 5 lenses <$500 I would recommend for you are:

1. Panasonic 100-300mm on sale for less than $500 at Adorama and Amazon right now (this is a full system lens with autofocus and autoiris - much better than buying a manual 70-300mm)

2. Panasonic 45-175mm Power Zoom - $360

3. Canon FD 50mm f1.8 for low light portrait shots and to experiment with manual lenses

4. Panasonic 14-42mm Power Zoom - $300

5. Your Sigma 19mm f2.8 for low light at the wide end.

The best value for money tripod I recommend is the $120 (on sale) Ravelli AVTP Professional - I have this tripod, and it is terrific.

And I recommend you not buy the $225 MS-2. For a little more money, you can get a $220 Audio Technica AT897 pro shotgun mic, a $15 Campro shock mount, $10.64 worth of XLR cable, a $17 XLR to 3.5mm transformer/adapter, a $6 hot shoe to 1/4" adapter and a $20 light stand and either put the mic on the camera or take it off the camera and put it on the light stand to improve your sound by getting the mic closer to your talent.

Here is a picture of the GH3 with an Audio Technica AT835b pro shotgun mic on it, mounted on the Ravelli AVTP:

Here's the AT835b on the $20 light stand with the $6 shoe mount adapter:

Hope this is helpful!

Bill

 

[South Side Dreamer]

Thanks for this information, I really appreciate it! By the way I was not disappointed with the sigma. I was just surprised that dslr's don't zoom like regular cameras do.

 

[brunerww]

Thanks for this information, I really appreciate it! By the way I was not disappointed with the sigma. I was just surprised that dslr's don't zoom like regular cameras do.

You're welcome. Do you mean "most DSLRs don't power zoom"? Most DSLRs come with manual zoom lenses.

Bill

 

[South Side Dreamer]

You're welcome. Do you mean "most DSLRs don't power zoom"? Most DSLRs come with manual zoom lenses.

Bill

Yeah power zoom.

 

[ARTnVIDEO]

My lens of choice on all my GH cameras were FD lenses. Great results on any GH camera, and low cost.

I used a rode video mic with my GH cameras with good results.

 

[South Side Dreamer]

My lens of choice on all my GH cameras were FD lenses. Great results on any GH camera, and low cost.

I used a rode video mic with my GH cameras with good results.

And which FD lenses do you use?