I'm really glade to be one of followers to you, your review is clear and makes understand about every single piece in that lens. Thank you so much my friend.
I know that this review is over 2 years old, but its comforting to hear a professional real estate photographer say that he would (or did, or does) use micro-four thirds for his shoots. It's reassuring for sure.
I can always count on your reviews Darren I was able to pick up a used version of this lens in mint condition for $900 but I wouldn’t have made the purchase without your blessing take care buddy thanks again
Still missing your Oly reviews,Darren! Watched this one for fun as I already have the old 4/3 7-14 F4.0. A good reminder to use the 7-14 more. Finally got the 75mm F1.8 last year,& I see why you're keeping that one!
Great. I like your reviews in general. They are short but informative and you evaluate the products not pure from a technical point of view but from the view of a working photographer. That is what i like about it. Greetings from Germany.
Thank you for the review and for the lovely examples of what this lens is capable of. It is amazing to see how many professional photographers are migrating from big & heavy full frame monsters to the m4/3 and this includes yourself. I personally posses the E-M1 & 12-40 2.8 and I must confess they are a marvelous couple. The quality of images is mental. Thank you for pioneering the transition-evolution to smaller, high quality cameras which opens a whole new Era within the photography that seemed to get stuck on the full frame mammoths.
and here 7 years later most people are migrating back to full frame. So a hole new era it was not. But well there is still good stuff going on for M43 :)
Another fantastic review! Thanks for spreading the word about how awesome the Micro 4/3 system is. I purchased the 12-40 Pro and the 40-150 Pro primarily from your reviews! keep up the great work!
WITHOUT QUESTION...the BEST VIDEO REVIEW FOR THIS LENS! Hands down. Brother, you have a great brand all together. Your cuts are awesome, video quality on spot......KILL'N IT! I'm immediately hooked. A 1st time viewer fan. Please, keep it coming. I've watched 4 other reviews on this lens, this video helped me make my decision on whether to go with this one or a less expensive lens, & I see you get what you pay for. Buying it. ~ECHO~
Hi Darren... Hey! I absolutly agree with you...I got the same one : it's " the creme de la creme " ;-) Best regards from Provence, South of France. Bye !
darren, i've used this zoom for ~10 months now, and totalliy agree with your review here. one thing - this lens exhibits a slightly more color saturated image compared to the others in the group. maybe oly thought ppl will use it for skies, etc, where blue is a biggy. nevertheless this IS one great piece of glass. thx, 'cos i bought this from this review of yours. j.
Thanks for another great review. You made me buy every Olympus Pro lens you reviewed and guess what? I will do it again... ;) Can't wait to get it from my reseller here in Germany. Greetings to FL and pls. keep up your great work!
I was really interested in the Panasonic 7-14 equivilant until I saw this video, The build quality looks a tad better and they are roughly the same price when I last checked.
Great! Based on YOUR REVIEW (!) I got one of these for my Olympus M5 Mark II a few months ago and have never looked back! Thank you so much. By the way, there is a nice filter holder for this camera lens at "Phil Norton Photography" online, as well as an easy DIY version on the the Nhat Phan YT channel (I did the later and it works great).
Great Review: Please does this perform better than the Panasonic 7-14mm F4 in terms of low-light real estate video? (e.g especially house rooms - I noticed in your samples, the swimming pool shots were a dull day and the footage was dark)
Holy trinity is complete from Olympus with this and once they get 300mm f/4 out they have the holy square as well. Pre-ordered that objective and just waiting it to be shipped in few weeks (Olympus own page informs that the pouch and lens cap are shipping 24th...)
When the hand holdable high resolution mode makes its way down to the EM 1 and EM 5 mark 3 cameras this lens will make some outstanding landscape photos. The only drawback is I need a polarizer filter for landscapes and this lens doesn’t have filter threads. Bummer
Thank you for your review. Love the video, it looks great! I was looking into the Canon 16-35 f4/L, but I just could not find a camera to go with it that was a good value. This looks like the best wide zoom lens for the Lumix GH5, which has great reviews. I will be doing real estate photography as well as having some fun shooting video and stills in the L.A. area (museums, landscapes, ocean).
Hi great video, thanks. You convinced me to get this amazing lens. When I open to wide-angle (7-8mm) on my GH5 Lumix, it is impossible to have a clear focus, the image is all blur. Could you please help me? Is it a setting that I must do on my camera or is it a manufacturer issue regarding the lens? Thanks in advance.
Excellent videos Darren. Congratulations for your work. Just watched the one for the 12-40mm and the 7-14mm videos. I'm trying to decide, being an amateur, how much is needed to buy the 7-14mm for landscape shooting if I already own the 12-40mm 2.8 PRO? thanks x your answer.
Hi Darren, we bought the OMD em5 Mark II and the 7-14mm pro lens. My wife does video tours for REALTORS® in the city where we live. We're having a terrible time with image stabilization and 'jello' effect where the image wobbles? Have you every come across this? We love everything else about the camera and lens, but as she does a walking tour the poor image stabilization and 'jello' effect is not going over too well. Have you ever had issues with these items. We are using the iSm2 setting for video IS. Is this common or should we be sending the camera in for service?
Are you shooting hand held? Even the very best in body or Image stabilization systems are designed for handholding not walking. If you're walking and you need to do video you need to purchase a gimbal device that stabilizes the entire camera , handholding and walking with the EM five Mark I for video is unrealistic, you'll get all kinds of jello.
Steven Peterson I am currently not, but I absolutely would! I have the Nikon 14-24 on a D750 as my primary setup for real estate. I prefer a full frame sensor when I’m lifting shadows in post - over M43 - but the latest M43 cameras, specifically the em-1 Mark ii are adequate enough in low light whereby if I were just starting today, I’d have no problem with that combination (em1 ii and oly 7-14) - a stellar combo!
Hey - neat review. Filming video in the Arizona desert at 25fps 50p for landscape inserts into my western films is what I would love this lens for. But without an ND filter this will be very tricky. I don't have a matt box and separate ND filters so what is the possible fix please. I don't want to shoot ay 100fps . Should I look at the Samyang or the Laowa 7.5 lenses perhaps?
Really nice shots! How's the focusing on this lens? Does it have the electronic "Fly-by focus" or "focus-by-wire" ?? I have an Olympus 25mm f1.8 and for video and constant focusing is challenging.
+Movie Creations Thank you very much! It is focus by wire, but unlike Sony, the manual focus has a distance meter and does not react to how quickly you turn the focus ring, it correlates to the distance meter, which is GREAT....
I want this lens for my PEN F because the image quality is so damn good but I wish they would have made it F4 or something to keep it smaller and I want to use filters. I don't need F2.8 on a wide angle though I do know why others would such as shooting events indoors etc.
Hi! Darren ! Your comment is valuable tips before I purchase a new toy! and how's the quality compare with the Olympus ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 7-14mm f/4 ( the former version)? except the size/weight?
Hey Darren, great video review. Love the in-depth look as well as the samples to back it up. I have a questions relating to the movement of the lens in and out for stabilizer use. I also do real estate photography/videography, and I'm wondering if the movement of the lens in and out when changing focal lengths might affect the overall balance when being used on a stabilizer. Do you have any experience in this area?
Great review, Darren. I notice that your images are virtually distortion free, unlike my Olympus 9-18 which distorts noticeably at the edges. Is this due to the higher quality optics of the 7-14?
Great Darren...!!! Just great...!!! I was waiting for this lens a your angle on it, but I have to say that you are the very first review I found... (and the beauty is that i was notified automatically via Google+) By the way, great review....!!!
Hi Darren, long time lurker of your channel, first time commenter. I have a few questions for you, I'm a realtor in Montreal and I refuse to take my own pictures, I leave that job to professionals like yourself. I do enjoy videography and content creation for my own purposes tho. I was thinking of getting a gh4 or GX85 or possibly wait for the em 1 mk2 or gh5 with this olympus lens. I'm guessing dual I.S. would never work on the GX85 with this lens is that correct? I'm debating between going with this setup or a metabones speedbooster with a canon 10-18. What would you recommend?
Hi Darren, what settings did you use for autofucs with this lens on the GH4. I can't seem to get mine to AF...just shows MF in top right corner? I'm having the same trouble with the 12-40mm f2.8 - but the 40mm-150mm auto focus works straight away. Love your reviews by the way. I bought all 3 Olympus pro lenses after watching.
I shoot a lot of real estate and this makes me want to do a full switch (already have and EM-5 and a couple lenses, my go to travel kit, though have Canon and L lenses)...on the other hand I shoot a lot of concerts as well and not sure tracking can keep up. :/
Matt Szymkow The tracking function with the EM-1 has been drastically improved with the firmware version 3.0 - the EM-5ii has decent tracking - but at a slower burst rate. You can always rent one and see how it goes before you dive in...
Good call Darren Miles I always want to try my EM-5 at shows, though fear I may miss shots with it and thus its stays at home. It's been great for secondary architectural work though.
Hi Darren, great review! Couple of questions... What software do you use for your HDR processing, or do you use Photoshop? Also, any plans to do a review of the new Panasonic 8-18mm f2.8-4 as I currently have the 7-14mm Panasonic and the flare is horrendous!
Nice review, as always) Seems like an amazing lens, too bad can't justify it for myself yet, since I'm not making money with photography) Got myself samyang 12mm f/2 for wide shots, quite like it so far. Its all manual, but pretty easy to focus with focus peaking, and the fact that anything beyond 1-2 meters is in infinity focus)
Hi Darren, I plan to use this lens for landscape photography. Can it be attached with ND filter? I am curious after saw the rectilinear zoom movement in your's video. Thanks
Hi Darren, I'm shooting real estate with this lens on a GH4. It's making my rookie work look pro (most of the time!) and I'm really thankful I made the investment. But I sometimes struggle with composing shots because sometimes objects on the edges are distorted. For example, a doorway or a window on the left or right edge of the picture is stretched and looks wider than it really is. I could step back, or narrow it 10mm, or something like that, but in doing so I end up giving up the shot that I want. Do you have any training material that teaches how to compose shots with a bulbous wide angle lens like this? Or is this something that you clean up in post? The sample pictures you put in this video look great and I do not see the distortion. Thanks.
Please show us more example pictures next time Darren because the video quality of the Olympus cameras is so poor that you can't see how good the lens really is. Thanks.
Surely you did not buy an EM1 for its video qualities! For all the rest you can compare it to the DS4. R read Ming Thein's article comparing the 5DMKIII, the D810 and the EM1. If you want video, but a GH4. ET
Hi Darren, I'm looking at getting a wider lens - currently have a 12-35mm panasonic vario G, some people have said to go for the metabones and tokina 11-16mm rather than the olympus 7-14mm, what are you views on this? I'm also going to be using the lens for interior photography. Thanks
+Zade Aerial Given the choice, I'd always go with native glass first. The Tokina is nice, but even with the speedbooster I don't think it would be quite as wide, and for all it's greatness, the 11-16 suffers mightily from chromatic aberrations... The 7-14 - in my opinion - is an overall better way to go...
darren, hi. re: build quality? the 12-40mm f2.8 fell from a tripod @ 3ft onto carpet and thick pile rug. the hood took the impact. still the lense broke at the bayonet mount, which is cheap plastic. all the electronic ribbon cables are sub standard quality as well. next, my 2.8 macro stopped working two days later. now under warranty repair. this is not a pro system. it is a pro-sumer system, and is not advertised that way. j.
***** Sorry to hear that about the lens, sounds like it might have landed just perfectly to break in that manner, can't explain it, just seems unlucky to me. I've used about 20 M43 lenses and Olympus's PRO series are easily the best built ones that I've used - along with the 75mm f/1.8. I'd even argue they're better built than some of the latest Canon L Models. I can't say the same about the Oly 60mm Macro with regard to build - I'm one of the few, but I'm not a super huge fan of that lens. The OMD EM-1 is considered to be a professional camera as there are plenty of pros using it in their professional work - including me. Sure, many M43 lenses/bodies are targeting consumers, many are not. Speaking for myself, I'm not easy on my gear, but I wouldn't hesitate recommending the OMD line and the PRO line of lenses to a pro or an aspiring pro. There are plenty of professional who use lesser cameras than even the EM-1 and are making a successful living.
Darren Miles thx so much for replying, darren. it's very nice of you. agree that the macro's a bit finicky in use, but the image quality is there. re: the 12-40mm, the camera house here,(lismore, nsw, australia) is giving me a good deal on a new one = 50% off retail. and i'm buying the 7-14mmPRO as well. i have no worries with the actual lense image quality at all. totally great on all the lenses. two of my favs are the 17mm prime, and the incredible 40-150mm PRO, luckily nothing has happened to them - yet........lol. you probably checked my channel out? it's a music channel which features works of mine, since 1967. darren thank you again, and plz keep up the videos with your pictures featuring, your works are stunning. j.
Hey Darren! Was just wondering what Camera, Lense and Mic you use for your videos? You have always had superb quality in your videos and the background blur is phenomenal! Would love to know!
flyto9 I'm offering up a private seminar in the fall here in Naples that will spend a fair amount of time on how to do successful real estate photography... You may want to consider it :-)
Thanks for the excellent review as always Daren. On a somewhat different note how do you see the resolving power of this current crop of Pro Olympus m4/3 lenses holding up in the not to distant future. With new sensors being introduced such as Panasonic's latest some lenses will not do those sensors justice. The current Oly sensors while great are getting a bit long in the tooth.
fiskpad I think the PRO series lens quality far out resolves the current crop of camera sensors, but that's my opinion, I guess we'll find out soon enough :-)
Which program are you using to stitch your branket fotoes for Real Estate ? I use photomatix. I'm Real Estate photographer in Denmark. Your review convinced me to buy this linse !! Thanks for a good review.
Darren! First of, lovely videos, appreciate 'em a lot! Second, I've been looking around for ages deciding what to buy. I sold my Olympus 9-18mm as I wanted something more wide-angle that will perform well in lo-light situations. Cheap C-mount wideangle lenses didn't work for me (no infinity focus) so my question is, would this be the best solution? It's quite expensive, but I can't seem to find something similar as the Panasonic doesn't quite do it with it's F4.0.
Hey Darren, do you recommend a certain ND filter to go with this lens? Bought the lens after watching your review, and now wanting to incorporate an ND filter.... Thank you! Luke from Seattle.
Thanks Darren for the review, love the lens but it's really pricy. Love your vids and real estate photos. I'm a pro full frame shooter, even though the pro lenses can cost an arm and a leg, these pro micro 4/3 lenses ain't that far off considering I got the MFT for holiday run around. Many thanks for the review.
+Tom Bungbrakearti Thanks Tom - I would use the Olympus 7-14 tomorrow for real estate - my primary camera is the Nikon D750 for real estate as the shadow recovery of the Nikon sensor is just amazing - I love M43, but it doesn't cut it for SOME of my real estate work, particularly low light shooting which is an achilles heal for M43 - curious to see how the Pen-F's new sensor handles shadow recovery.
hey Darren, do you still use micro four thirds for your RE photography? I'm looking to pick up either this lens or the newly announced Pana Leica 8-18 for my Em1 mkii. thoughts? what would you say the value is of that extra mm on the wide end?
I'm looking forward to your Olympus reviews. I normally shoot with the Canon 5D Mark IV but recently purchased the EM 1 Mark II, 50 f/1.2 and the 12-100 f/4 in order to travel lighter when on out-of-the-country projects.
I'm really glade to be one of followers to you, your review is clear and makes understand about every single piece in that lens. Thank you so much my friend.
Nice real estate pics.
Thanks Dave!
I know that this review is over 2 years old, but its comforting to hear a professional real estate photographer say that he would (or did, or does) use micro-four thirds for his shoots. It's reassuring for sure.
You have become my go-to channel for concise and comprehensive evaluations. Thanks!
Thanks for a comprehensive review with nice sample shots - this looks like a nice addition for my new GH-5
Excellent demonstration with great images 👍
I can always count on your reviews Darren I was able to pick up a used version of this lens in mint condition for $900 but I wouldn’t have made the purchase without your blessing take care buddy thanks again
Amazing lens... thank you for the very extensive demo Darren!
Still missing your Oly reviews,Darren! Watched this one for fun as I already have the old 4/3 7-14 F4.0. A good reminder to use the 7-14 more. Finally got the 75mm F1.8 last year,& I see why you're keeping that one!
Great. I like your reviews in general. They are short but informative and you evaluate the products not pure from a technical point of view but from the view of a working photographer. That is what i like about it. Greetings from Germany.
Curth Voss Danke Curth!
Cant wait to get this lens for our vlogs! Thanks for the review.
Fantastic review, and the results speak for themselves! Thanks for posting.
Thank you! And you're welcome!
Thanks Darren. I have struggled for the past 2 days wondering why my 7-14 oly wont autofocus on my gh4. Life saver!!! Cheers
You took awhile to get to the footage and pictures but overall a superb review and look! Thanks
I love your reviews so professional, slick and to the point. Keep up the good work Darren
+Ian Moore Thanks Ian!
Perfect explanation with photographic evidence. Loved it.
Grippy and buttercream smooth. It's just velvety and sublime. SOLD.
Dominic B I stopped watching after “buttercream smooth...” 😂
This lens is, fast AF.
I'm sold
Thanks so very much Darren, your reviews are nothing less than great.
Neverland Traders Thank you very much!
Thank you for the review and for the lovely examples of what this lens is capable of. It is amazing to see how many professional photographers are migrating from big & heavy full frame monsters to the m4/3 and this includes yourself. I personally posses the E-M1 & 12-40 2.8 and I must confess they are a marvelous couple. The quality of images is mental. Thank you for pioneering the transition-evolution to smaller, high quality cameras which opens a whole new Era within the photography that seemed to get stuck on the full frame mammoths.
and here 7 years later most people are migrating back to full frame. So a hole new era it was not. But well there is still good stuff going on for M43 :)
Wow, one of the best reviews i ever seen!
Another fantastic review! Thanks for spreading the word about how awesome the Micro 4/3 system is. I purchased the 12-40 Pro and the 40-150 Pro primarily from your reviews! keep up the great work!
Thanks Gregory!!
Great video review Darren-this lens looks amazing; the quality looks sublime like other Olympus/Panasonic lenses. I'd better getting saving!
WITHOUT QUESTION...the BEST VIDEO REVIEW FOR THIS LENS! Hands down. Brother, you have a great brand all together. Your cuts are awesome, video quality on spot......KILL'N IT! I'm immediately hooked. A 1st time viewer fan. Please, keep it coming. I've watched 4 other reviews on this lens, this video helped me make my decision on whether to go with this one or a less expensive lens, & I see you get what you pay for. Buying it.
~ECHO~
Thank you very much!
Hi Darren... Hey! I absolutly agree with you...I got the same one : it's " the creme de la creme " ;-) Best regards from Provence, South of France. Bye !
darren, i've used this zoom for ~10 months now, and totalliy agree with your review here. one thing - this lens exhibits a slightly more color saturated image compared to the others in the group. maybe oly thought ppl will use it for skies, etc, where blue is a biggy. nevertheless this IS one great piece of glass. thx, 'cos i bought this from this review of yours. j.
Thank you for the review....
Amazing lens
Thanks for another great review. You made me buy every Olympus Pro lens you reviewed and guess what? I will do it again... ;) Can't wait to get it from my reseller here in Germany. Greetings to FL and pls. keep up your great work!
Holger Reisinger Thanks Holger - it's another winner from Olympus!
Thanks Darren, just the info I needed.
Very nice review. Helped me out a lot.
I was really interested in the Panasonic 7-14 equivilant until I saw this video, The build quality looks a tad better and they are roughly the same price when I last checked.
+Ian Cassanova The Oly's a bit more, but with the f/2.8 and more robust build, I think it's worth it - it's a stellar lens!!
Wonderful pictures.
Thanks Rob!
Great! Based on YOUR REVIEW (!) I got one of these for my Olympus M5 Mark II a few months ago and have never looked back! Thank you so much.
By the way, there is a nice filter holder for this camera lens at "Phil Norton Photography" online, as well as an easy DIY version on the the Nhat Phan YT channel (I did the later and it works great).
Thanks very much, Darren.
Great Review: Please does this perform better than the Panasonic 7-14mm F4 in terms of low-light real estate video? (e.g especially house rooms - I noticed in your samples, the swimming pool shots were a dull day and the footage was dark)
Holy trinity is complete from Olympus with this and once they get 300mm f/4 out they have the holy square as well.
Pre-ordered that objective and just waiting it to be shipped in few weeks (Olympus own page informs that the pouch and lens cap are shipping 24th...)
Good review.
Good salesman too (and that's a compliment).
When the hand holdable high resolution mode makes its way down to the EM 1 and EM 5 mark 3 cameras this lens will make some outstanding landscape photos. The only drawback is I need a polarizer filter for landscapes and this lens doesn’t have filter threads. Bummer
do you think you could use the olympus 12mm f2 lens for real estate photography? i would like to get into it but the 7-14mm lens is so expensive?
Thank you for your review. Love the video, it looks great! I was looking into the Canon 16-35 f4/L, but I just could not find a camera to go with it that was a good value. This looks like the best wide zoom lens for the Lumix GH5, which has great reviews. I will be doing real estate photography as well as having some fun shooting video and stills in the L.A. area (museums, landscapes, ocean).
Hi great video, thanks. You convinced me to get this amazing lens.
When I open to wide-angle (7-8mm) on my GH5 Lumix, it is impossible to have a clear focus, the image is all blur.
Could you please help me? Is it a setting that I must do on my camera or is it a manufacturer issue regarding the lens?
Thanks in advance.
Excellent videos Darren. Congratulations for your work.
Just watched the one for the 12-40mm and the 7-14mm videos. I'm trying to decide, being an amateur, how much is needed to buy the 7-14mm for landscape shooting if I already own the 12-40mm 2.8 PRO? thanks x your answer.
+gcovacev I think it's $1,299, but you can get it used for less I'm sure... The f/2.8 is a big advantage in my opinion...
+Darren Miles but I have the f/2.8 already in the 12-40...?
Great job. I really like your reviews. Thanks much!
Globe Hackers Multimedia Thank you!
I will buy one - thanks
The no filter thread is the only thing keeping me from buying this one. A polarizer just makes the videos pop like nothing else
Square filter holders like the Rollei or Nisi do work ...
Hi Darren, we bought the OMD em5 Mark II and the 7-14mm pro lens. My wife does video tours for REALTORS® in the city where we live. We're having a terrible time with image stabilization and 'jello' effect where the image wobbles? Have you every come across this? We love everything else about the camera and lens, but as she does a walking tour the poor image stabilization and 'jello' effect is not going over too well. Have you ever had issues with these items. We are using the iSm2 setting for video IS. Is this common or should we be sending the camera in for service?
Are you shooting hand held? Even the very best in body or Image stabilization systems are designed for handholding not walking. If you're walking and you need to do video you need to purchase a gimbal device that stabilizes the entire camera , handholding and walking with the EM five Mark I for video is unrealistic, you'll get all kinds of jello.
Thanks for the great reviews. Just bought an OM-D and lens choice is tricky! These are very helpful. PS love the cat 😀
Hello. Are you using the lens in your business? If so, are you still happy with it?
Steven Peterson I am currently not, but I absolutely would! I have the Nikon 14-24 on a D750 as my primary setup for real estate. I prefer a full frame sensor when I’m lifting shadows in post - over M43 - but the latest M43 cameras, specifically the em-1 Mark ii are adequate enough in low light whereby if I were just starting today, I’d have no problem with that combination (em1 ii and oly 7-14) - a stellar combo!
You didn't mention distortion. I saw a bit of stretching in the video clip where you son (I assume), jumped into the water from screen right.
Hey - neat review. Filming video in the Arizona desert at 25fps 50p for landscape inserts into my western films is what I would love this lens for. But without an ND filter this will be very tricky. I don't have a matt box and separate ND filters so what is the possible fix please. I don't want to shoot ay 100fps . Should I look at the Samyang or the Laowa 7.5 lenses perhaps?
Nice review. Just a quick "heads up" that at 1:44 you refer to the zoom ring as the focus ring.
Crap! Thanks for the heads up, every now and again I make a slip up like that :-). Thank you for the kind words!
Really nice shots! How's the focusing on this lens? Does it have the electronic "Fly-by focus" or "focus-by-wire" ?? I have an Olympus 25mm f1.8 and for video and constant focusing is challenging.
+Movie Creations Thank you very much! It is focus by wire, but unlike Sony, the manual focus has a distance meter and does not react to how quickly you turn the focus ring, it correlates to the distance meter, which is GREAT....
I want this lens for my PEN F because the image quality is so damn good but I wish they would have made it F4 or something to keep it smaller and I want to use filters. I don't need F2.8 on a wide angle though I do know why others would such as shooting events indoors etc.
Hi! Darren ! Your comment is valuable tips before I purchase a new toy! and how's the quality compare with the Olympus ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 7-14mm f/4 ( the former version)? except the size/weight?
Your reviews are amazing and the video quality is fantastic! What camera do you use to film?
JazzMYX Thank you very much! This was shot on a GH4 with the Olympus 75 f/1.8
As always a great and informative review.
halz7 Thank you very much!
Hey Darren, great video review. Love the in-depth look as well as the samples to back it up. I have a questions relating to the movement of the lens in and out for stabilizer use. I also do real estate photography/videography, and I'm wondering if the movement of the lens in and out when changing focal lengths might affect the overall balance when being used on a stabilizer. Do you have any experience in this area?
Great review, Darren. I notice that your images are virtually distortion free, unlike my Olympus 9-18 which distorts noticeably at the edges. Is this due to the higher quality optics of the 7-14?
+Carl Lum I would assume so, but I haven't used the 9-18, so it's hard for me to say, I can only speak for the 7-14, which is AMAZING!
Great Darren...!!! Just great...!!! I was waiting for this lens a your angle on it, but I have to say that you are the very first review I found... (and the beauty is that i was notified automatically via Google+)
By the way, great review....!!!
Thank you Edgar!
Edgar Harris try this
robinwong.blogspot.sg/2015/05/olympus-mzuiko-7-14mm-f28-pro-lens.html
donut070707 Thank you... Very helpful...!!!
Great review, Darren - and nice insights of your private life ;). Looks like a must buy!
***** His private life or the objective? ;)
paristo The lens ;)
***** The lens is a must buy, but the price makes it a can't buy ;)
Hi Darren, long time lurker of your channel, first time commenter. I have a few questions for you, I'm a realtor in Montreal and I refuse to take my own pictures, I leave that job to professionals like yourself. I do enjoy videography and content creation for my own purposes tho. I was thinking of getting a gh4 or GX85 or possibly wait for the em 1 mk2 or gh5 with this olympus lens. I'm guessing dual I.S. would never work on the GX85 with this lens is that correct? I'm debating between going with this setup or a metabones speedbooster with a canon 10-18. What would you recommend?
I want such a lens, I got the 12-40mm f2.8 and 40-150mm f2.8 .... I just need this one...
Hi Darren, what settings did you use for autofucs with this lens on the GH4. I can't seem to get mine to AF...just shows MF in top right corner? I'm having the same trouble with the 12-40mm f2.8 - but the 40mm-150mm auto focus works straight away.
Love your reviews by the way. I bought all 3 Olympus pro lenses after watching.
I shoot a lot of real estate and this makes me want to do a full switch (already have and EM-5 and a couple lenses, my go to travel kit, though have Canon and L lenses)...on the other hand I shoot a lot of concerts as well and not sure tracking can keep up. :/
Matt Szymkow The tracking function with the EM-1 has been drastically improved with the firmware version 3.0 - the EM-5ii has decent tracking - but at a slower burst rate. You can always rent one and see how it goes before you dive in...
Good call Darren Miles I always want to try my EM-5 at shows, though fear I may miss shots with it and thus its stays at home. It's been great for secondary architectural work though.
may i ask, what camera and lens did you used here? very sharp on 480p really.
Excellent informative video. Would you recommend this lens for a GH4? Did you try it with your GH4 and if so were you happy with it?
+Robert Stark I absolutely would, but the flare patterns are still an issue, overall image quality is excellent.
Hi Darren, great review! Couple of questions... What software do you use for your HDR processing, or do you use Photoshop? Also, any plans to do a review of the new Panasonic 8-18mm f2.8-4 as I currently have the 7-14mm Panasonic and the flare is horrendous!
Thanks Daren great video and you do get what you pay for when it comes to photography. Cheers
Awesome! Thank you for the review.
SOLD. This will complete my collection got the gh5
Would love to see videos like this but putting lenses against eachother
Nice review, as always) Seems like an amazing lens, too bad can't justify it for myself yet, since I'm not making money with photography) Got myself samyang 12mm f/2 for wide shots, quite like it so far. Its all manual, but pretty easy to focus with focus peaking, and the fact that anything beyond 1-2 meters is in infinity focus)
Hi Darren, I plan to use this lens for landscape photography. Can it be attached with ND filter? I am curious after saw the rectilinear zoom movement in your's video. Thanks
Great review thanks very much! 😉
Hi Darren, I'm shooting real estate with this lens on a GH4. It's making my rookie work look pro (most of the time!) and I'm really thankful I made the investment. But I sometimes struggle with composing shots because sometimes objects on the edges are distorted. For example, a doorway or a window on the left or right edge of the picture is stretched and looks wider than it really is. I could step back, or narrow it 10mm, or something like that, but in doing so I end up giving up the shot that I want. Do you have any training material that teaches how to compose shots with a bulbous wide angle lens like this? Or is this something that you clean up in post? The sample pictures you put in this video look great and I do not see the distortion. Thanks.
Nice review Darren. Can I fix this lens to my GH4 without any adaptor.?
Yes!
Thanks Darren.
Please show us more example pictures next time Darren because the video quality of the Olympus cameras is so poor that you can't see how good the lens really is. Thanks.
Bill, most of the video was shot on a gh4 - using the olympus lens.
Darren Miles I see, then it's due to youtube. Thanks Darren :)
MrBillMorisson Or maybe you have just read that the video quality is poor, but don't quite know how to judge it!
Steinar Knai I have a E-M1 by my own and the video quality is poor. My phone can do better.
Surely you did not buy an EM1 for its video qualities! For all the rest you can compare it to the DS4. R read Ming Thein's article comparing the 5DMKIII, the D810 and the EM1. If you want video, but a GH4. ET
btw, darren, have i ever said you are an excellent artist? well i am now. thx so much for these reviews. j.
Thank you!
Hi Darren,
I'm looking at getting a wider lens - currently have a 12-35mm panasonic vario G, some people have said to go for the metabones and tokina 11-16mm rather than the olympus 7-14mm, what are you views on this? I'm also going to be using the lens for interior photography. Thanks
+Zade Aerial Given the choice, I'd always go with native glass first. The Tokina is nice, but even with the speedbooster I don't think it would be quite as wide, and for all it's greatness, the 11-16 suffers mightily from chromatic aberrations... The 7-14 - in my opinion - is an overall better way to go...
+Darren Miles cheers Darren!
darren, hi. re: build quality? the 12-40mm f2.8 fell from a tripod @ 3ft onto carpet and thick pile rug. the hood took the impact. still the lense broke at the bayonet mount, which is cheap plastic. all the electronic ribbon cables are sub standard quality as well. next, my 2.8 macro stopped working two days later. now under warranty repair. this is not a pro system. it is a pro-sumer system, and is not advertised that way. j.
***** Sorry to hear that about the lens, sounds like it might have landed just perfectly to break in that manner, can't explain it, just seems unlucky to me.
I've used about 20 M43 lenses and Olympus's PRO series are easily the best built ones that I've used - along with the 75mm f/1.8. I'd even argue they're better built than some of the latest Canon L Models. I can't say the same about the Oly 60mm Macro with regard to build - I'm one of the few, but I'm not a super huge fan of that lens.
The OMD EM-1 is considered to be a professional camera as there are plenty of pros using it in their professional work - including me. Sure, many M43 lenses/bodies are targeting consumers, many are not. Speaking for myself, I'm not easy on my gear, but I wouldn't hesitate recommending the OMD line and the PRO line of lenses to a pro or an aspiring pro.
There are plenty of professional who use lesser cameras than even the EM-1 and are making a successful living.
Darren Miles thx so much for replying, darren. it's very nice of you. agree that the macro's a bit finicky in use, but the image quality is there. re: the 12-40mm, the camera house here,(lismore, nsw, australia) is giving me a good deal on a new one = 50% off retail. and i'm buying the 7-14mmPRO as well. i have no worries with the actual lense image quality at all. totally great on all the lenses. two of my favs are the 17mm prime, and the incredible 40-150mm PRO, luckily nothing has happened to them - yet........lol. you probably checked my channel out? it's a music channel which features works of mine, since 1967. darren thank you again, and plz keep up the videos with your pictures featuring, your works are stunning. j.
Really nice lens, but I hope their is some kind of adapter that comes out for ND filters for filmmakers.
mp4podcastDOTcom Olympus informed there is coming a filter holder for plates.
mp4podcastDOTcom its called get a matte box
Hey Darren! Was just wondering what Camera, Lense and Mic you use for your videos? You have always had superb quality in your videos and the background blur is phenomenal! Would love to know!
Usually a gh4 with the olympus 75mm f/1.8 (at f/1.8) - mic is a Sony - (don't have it in front of me, but I think it's a Sony UMP?)
Darren, can you show a tutorial on how to take those real estate picture with bright indoor and blue sky? do you use HDR? flash? or both?
flyto9 I'm offering up a private seminar in the fall here in Naples that will spend a fair amount of time on how to do successful real estate photography... You may want to consider it :-)
I dont think I can join unless it's an online session.
Awesome review!
Thanks for the excellent review as always Daren. On a somewhat different note how do you see the resolving power of this current crop of Pro Olympus m4/3 lenses holding up in the not to distant future. With new sensors being introduced such as Panasonic's latest some lenses will not do those sensors justice. The current Oly sensors while great are getting a bit long in the tooth.
fiskpad I think the PRO series lens quality far out resolves the current crop of camera sensors, but that's my opinion, I guess we'll find out soon enough :-)
Hey Darren great review, seems like a promising lens. Does autofocus work when you use it on the GH4
+Gregory Job Absolutely! I used the GH4 for a lot of the test shots.
@@DarrenMiles Thanks! Then it will work on my GH5.
I always like your videos, Darren. Can you tell me what head you use on your tripod ?
love your reviews
stephen ashby Thank you very much!
Which program are you using to stitch your branket fotoes for Real Estate ? I use photomatix. I'm Real Estate photographer in Denmark. Your review convinced me to buy this linse !! Thanks for a good review.
You'll have to watch my seminar :-)
How does one get started in real estate photography? I'm an amateur and covet this lens!
batterista I may do a seminar on this very topic in the near future...
Please do. I'd like to actually make a living off of my photography.
Darren! First of, lovely videos, appreciate 'em a lot!
Second, I've been looking around for ages deciding what to buy. I sold my Olympus 9-18mm as I wanted something more wide-angle that will perform well in lo-light situations. Cheap C-mount wideangle lenses didn't work for me (no infinity focus) so my question is, would this be the best solution?
It's quite expensive, but I can't seem to find something similar as the Panasonic doesn't quite do it with it's F4.0.
+FilmDat Both are good, edge to the Oly, plus it's f/2.8 throughout the zoom range and the Oly handles both flare and CA's better.
my fav PRO series lens. j.
Hey Darren, do you recommend a certain ND filter to go with this lens? Bought the lens after watching your review, and now wanting to incorporate an ND filter.... Thank you! Luke from Seattle.
luke salaiz best bet are the wonder pana’s from fotodiox
Great review, this the lens I have been waiting for.
(use OMD EM-1 and Sony A7)
It's a great oiece of glass!!
Wow Wow Wow , great wide angle lens. Thank Darren for doing this review :)
many Faces You're welcome! Thank YOU for watching :-)
Thanks Darren for the review, love the lens but it's really pricy. Love your vids and real estate photos. I'm a pro full frame shooter, even though the pro lenses can cost an arm and a leg, these pro micro 4/3 lenses ain't that far off considering I got the MFT for holiday run around. Many thanks for the review.
+Tom Bungbrakearti Thanks Tom - I would use the Olympus 7-14 tomorrow for real estate - my primary camera is the Nikon D750 for real estate as the shadow recovery of the Nikon sensor is just amazing - I love M43, but it doesn't cut it for SOME of my real estate work, particularly low light shooting which is an achilles heal for M43 - curious to see how the Pen-F's new sensor handles shadow recovery.
Hi Darren,
Did you have any issues with this lense and flare for your real estate work? I'm considering getting it but am worries about flare f
Ash Hashemi yes, but not anymore than most other wide angle lenses. I had a much more difficult time with the Panasonic 7-14
Another cracking review... 👍
Thank you!!
hey Darren, do you still use micro four thirds for your RE photography? I'm looking to pick up either this lens or the newly announced Pana Leica 8-18 for my Em1 mkii. thoughts? what would you say the value is of that extra mm on the wide end?
Hi Darren are you still making reviews on olympus gear or have you gone to Nikon Thanks
I am - it's just the stuff I want to review is really hard to get a hold of - the EM 1 Mark ii and the 50mm f/1.2...
I'm looking forward to your Olympus reviews. I normally shoot with the Canon 5D Mark IV but recently purchased the EM 1 Mark II, 50 f/1.2 and the 12-100 f/4 in order to travel lighter when on out-of-the-country projects.