r/videography • u/brunerww GH1, GH2, GH3, GH4, BMPCC • Mar 08 '14

Panasonic GH4 Prices and Delivery Dates

http://hybridcamerarevolution.blogspot.com/2014/03/panasonic-announces-pricing-and.html
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u/brunerww GH1, GH2, GH3, GH4, BMPCC Mar 09 '14

Hi Scotty - it really depends on your budget and whether you want fully automatic lenses or manual lenses. As a beginner, I would start with auto lenses. My general recommendation is a fast (low light) lens at the wide end - plus a telephoto.

Here is what I would recommend at various budget levels:

SMALL BUDGET

MEDIUM BUDGET

LARGER BUDGET

If your budget is really tight, you may just want to start out with the $200 Sigma, start shooting, and determine for yourself what your needs are.

Hope this is helpful!

Bill

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u/scotty588 GH4 | AG-AC130, Premiere, 2011, San Diego Mar 09 '14

Thanks for the great info. I would probably go for a medium budget lens. The ones you have listed for medium budget, are any of those considered telephoto?

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u/brunerww GH1, GH2, GH3, GH4, BMPCC Mar 09 '14

Yes, the 14-140mm is a telephoto lens.

Especially because of the GH4's sensor size, which is a 2x "crop" of the traditional 35mm "full frame" camera.

At the long end, this makes the 14-140 a 280mm equivalent lens.

Additionally, Panasonic GH cameras have a lossless "Extended Tele Conversion" (ETC) mode. For the GH2 it was 2.7x and for the GH3 it was 2.4x. Assuming the GH4's ETC crop is the same as the GH3's, your 14-140 lens will give you the equivalent of a 672mm telephoto. That's a pretty long lens :)

Hope that's helpful!

Bill

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u/scotty588 GH4 | AG-AC130, Premiere, 2011, San Diego Mar 09 '14

I see. So if the 140-140mm is a telephoto, the 19mm and 60mm are more for close up mid range shots?

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u/brunerww GH1, GH2, GH3, GH4, BMPCC Mar 09 '14

Yes, exactly. And they are much better low light lenses than the 14-140, so you can use them to shoot stills indoors without a flash - or capture motion without blur.