G2 general questions

[wbesz]

Austin,

I would ignore those ratings and choose the focal length you will use most.
I believe the rating are biased at the open end, and so you
will not notice any difference unless you always take photos
at max aperture.
(Nonetheless, I believe the 45 is my sharpest lens, even though my 28 is the most used lens!)

Cheers, William

 

[erichard44]

> I think the issue is far more which angle of view you prefer, rather than sharpness issues. I have used both lenses and the 35 is consistent with the other G series lenses. Few lenses compare to the 45. The only other problem is that the 28 is so nice that once you have it you don't use the 35 very much.

. >

 

[wilsonlaidlaw1]

Austin, I'm in the same dilemma. I think I've come to the conclusion that the 35mm is just too close to the 45mm to be worthwhile. If the standard lens was a 50 or 55mm, I might think differently. Pity - they are often good value in UK shops - sometimes as low as GBP100 but I presume this reflects their desirability. I regret that the 28mm is an f2.8 rather than f2, as I find when I use wide angles, I am often closer to subject and lighting is more critical. I assume that f2 would have vignetted as the technology is certainly there to make one. I suspect I will however, eventually get a 28mm. Wilson

 

[afranklin]

Hi Wilson,

> Austin, I'm in the same dilemma. I think I've come to the conclusion > that the 35mm is just too close to the 45mm to be worthwhile. If the > standard lens was a 50 or 55mm, I might think differently. Pity - they > are often good value in UK shops - sometimes as low as GBP100 but I > presume this reflects their desirability. I regret that the 28mm is an > f2.8 rather than f2, as I find when I use wide angles, I am often > closer to subject and lighting is more critical.

EXACTLY my thoughts as well, hence why I asked the question! Thanks for the confirmation.

Regards,

Austin

 

[jgban]

Wilson, Austin:

This is a matter of opinion only to a point. The angles provided by the 35mm and the 45mm are indeed different: 63° vs. 51°. (The 45 is actuallt 46.9, very close to a "normal" 50mm). How different is that?

The best answer I can come up with is on the Zeiss website, and unfortunately NOT on the 35mm section (so the images will be only an approximation). In the 6x6 section there is a page that shows the angle covered by different lenses looking at the same scene from the same point: This is the link:
http://www.zeiss.de/C12567A8003B58B9/allBySubject/545B96746192711FC12569590045CF25
(if this does not work, just go to the Zeiss page on photo/cine lenses (http://www.zeiss.de/C12567A8003B58B9?Open) and go to Medium Format and then Hasselblad. There is a link called "Focal Length Comparison 6x6")

According to their table of 6x6 lenses, the difference between the 35 and the 45 in 35mm (63° vs. 51°) is similar to the difference between 60 and 80mm in 6x6 (66° and 52°). You can see the effect on the image from the link above, and everybody can decide if the difference is significant or not.

Is that significant enough to have both lenses?
This question is absolutely personal-- some people prefer one angle and some the other. I thought I preferred the "normal" focal length of 50mm until I started using a 35mm with the SLR. Now I have discovered I prefer 21-35-90 to 28-45-90. I would not carry 35 and 45 at the same time. But that is definitely subjective.

Juan

 

[wilsonlaidlaw1]

Juan, I don't disagree with anything you say and when I bought my G2 I thought long and hard as to whether to get a 45 or 35 on it, especially as I would have saved about GBP30 in buying the 35. The pro-shop I bought it from did not have a black 35 in stock and I thought a black body and Ti lens would look pretty odd and I had in mind that I would eventually want a wider lens. This would have to be the 28mm as I am not prepared to mess around with top viewfinders for the 21mm on a "carry around" camera. I might as well then carry my RX with an ultra wide zoom I have. If I had bought the 35mm as my standard lens, I would then be in the same dilemma that both the 45mm and the 28mm would look too close to what would be my standard lens of 35mm. Given unlimited funds and a Sherpa porter to lug everything around, I would like all five prime lenses plus the zoom - dreams, dreams! Wilson

 

[diane_kramer]

I'm considering buying the 28mm lens(I have the 45) but am concerned about postings regarding the difficulty encountered when switching lens.

Please advise just how tricky or frustrating this is. I bought the N24-85 to keep lens switching/equipment to a minimum when I travel. However, the rebate offer is tempting me to consider another piece of equipment.

Thanks.

 

[arrow]

No problem i've noticed putting the 28mm on. The back of the lens extends into the body way more than a 45 so you do need to intall it carefully so maybe takes 45 seconds to switch vs. 30. You will love the 28!

 

[erichard44]

> I would agree with the previous post. The lens changing is slower than with a slr, and with the 28 one is also concerned about the exposed lens elements. It just takes a bit more care. On the other hand, the results are worth it.

>

 

[afranklin]

Question on the G2 and the TLA-200. The manual doesn't say what to set the shutter speed dial to when using the TLA-200 in TTL mode, but it eludes to simply setting it to "Auto"...and has a chart that says it uses 60 up to 200, depending on the light meter reading... Can anyone explain why it would want to do that, instead of simply using 1/200 (X)?

I noticed that when I set it to X with the TLA-200 in TTL mode, the underexposed down arrow is indicating and is solid (not blinking). I believe I know what a blinking down arrow means (I believe the manual says it means underexposure when blinking), but what does a solid down arrow mean, and why on earth would the down arrow be indicating when using X with the TLA-200 in TTL mode? I'm sure it wants me to set it to "Auto", but I'm still not understanding why...shutter speed shouldn't be an issue for flash, as long as it's equal to or slower than the sync speed, and the camera can sync at 1/200...

Regards,

Austin