Hi Guys,

Old Yashica 28mm f2.8 ML or 24mm f2.8 ML. Both must be ML type.

Two real gems surpassed only by their zeiss counterpart for better coating. They come with a Y/C mount.

The 28mm ML is quite cheap.

@apefos

The theory is not about all wide angle lens, but RangeFinder ones; I personally noticed really bad results (terrible loss of sharpness not only in the corners, but in 20% of the picture borders) from a leica M mount 35f1.7 Voigtlander supposed to be good , and @bitcrusher shows in his video a highly rated lens performing poorly too.

Using good RF lens is tempting because they are very small and very good for stills (with film bodies). I also have a Voigt 50f1.5, but this one performs well on the GH2.

I can't be sure if my 35mm has a problem, but I think the "theory" is not without foundation

@Mirrorkisser I have the 20mm FD lens. It works fine on the GH1 I have and is brighter at f2.8 than the two Minolta Rokkor's at f2.8 I have. I should start using it more, to get a better feel for its strengths and weaknesses. If it's inexpensive and you need a 20mm, then I'd give it a go...

I am just testing a Tokina RMC 17 f3.5 on the Lumix cameras. Resolution appears to be similar to Lumix 14 mm Pancake, but without digital sharpening. Seems to be pretty close to ideal for video with minor barrel distortion, but no color issues. Tokina RMC 24 f2.8 is not bad either. For both lenses contrast is slightly reduced at full aperture, but manageable.

Vivitar above appears to be nice. If the serial on Vivitar's starts with 37****, then they are supposedly the same lens as the Tokina RMC 24 f2.8. As a sidenote, when using lower contrast lenses, it is a good idea to try other Film Mode than Smooth or Nostalgic (Vibrant, for example) to capture the highest amount of hues.

I believe this theory (old lenses below 35mm performs badly in GH2) is completly wrong. Of course there are lenses better than others. And using the old lenses you need to stop down one fstop to get good sharpness, because m43 sensor enlarge the middle of the lens image and this increases imperfections.

Ive just been given an old OM 24mm 2.8 Olympus / Vivatar and for a freebie its pretty darn good! It was made by Cosina in either 1986 or 76 judging by the serial. :-)

I have a Rokkor 24mm 2.8 VFC, and that beast is tack sharp from the start.

I've tried the Sigma 20, 24, 28, 30, and 50mm primes in Nikon and Four Thirds mounts. While they're a little soft wide-open for still photography, they're plenty sharp for HD video resolution. The Sigma 20, 24, and 28mm in Nikon mount have manual focus rings with hard stops at each end. making them very usable with follow-focus gears. The Sigma 30 and 50mm have HSM focus rings that lack hard stops. However, the 30mm has virtually no focus breathing and is very fast at f1.4.

I tried a Vivitar (Komine) 28mm f2.0. Almost no contrast and very soft when wide open, and when stopped down a couple of stops still easily beaten by the short end of the14-45mm Lumix. Avoid.

Thanks everyone for your answers, it seems there are some alternatives, more in the f2.8 range than the f1.4, and more in the reflex then the RF, but good to know !

@lenuisible
It is true, I had horrible results with a Contax G 28mm lens. Apparently there is an issue if the rear element gets too close to the sensor. Something that wide angle range finder lens do. It was a big bummer for me. I guess film emulsion thickness solved that issue. Our sensors don't work that way.

Thats a good price on the FD if its in good shape, you could resell it for a profit or break even with out too much trouble. I had the 24mm FD F2 which is suposed to be a better performer then the 1.4L -

Here is a test I did with the 24mm F2 I did a long time ago.


Here is a test with the Contax G so you can check out the IQ issues with using a wide RF lens on a m43 camera.

@ :15 look at the corners. No way a contax G lens would do that on a contax g body.

I got a Yashica ML 24mm f/2.8 in C/Y that works really well. I noticed some CA/fringing in overexposed white areas against dark branches when they were in focus etc.. though that kind of situation you'd want to advoid anyway.

I have the Canon FD 24mm f/2.8, 20mm f/2.8, and 17mm f/4 lenses. The 17mm is one of my more expensive FD lenses and honestly, I don't really love it. I typically slap on the Panny 14mm pancake instead. The 17mm is rare for legacy glass this wide in that it's rectilinear, but I'm planning to buy a modern 12mm manual focus lens for wide angle use. (Either the Nokton or Olympus) Modern glass and the m43 format really do have a hands down advantage at this focal length.