Choosing the Right Lens: Lumix 7-14mm f/4

Today’s Post by Mark Toal

Both Olympus ($1149) and Panasonic ($797.99) make 7-14mm wide-angle zoom lenses. The maximum aperture of the Panasonic Lumix G Vario 7-14mm ASPH is f/4 and the Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 7-14mm PRO Lens is f/2.8.

If you’re a wide-angle photographer like I am this is the best lens you have to have. It’s light, small and extremely sharp at all apertures. One of the things I especially like about a lens this wide is that almost everything is in focus at every aperture. Covering a 35mm equivalent range of 14-28mm, I have found that this lens is perfect street photography, interiors or landscapes.

I was so excited about this lens that I bought it the day it was announced and it’s the only lens that is always with me. As you can see in these photos I have used it in almost every type of situation including shooting in Infrared as you can see in the below Quadcopter photo.

The 7-14 isn’t cheap but if you shoot a lot of wide angle it’s worth every penny.

Special offer for this blog’s readers that’s good for the next 30 day: If you want to save $50 off at LifePixel for Priority Processing Upgrade when converting your camera to infrared, use the coupon code “MarkToal17.”

Joe’s book, “The Complete Guide to Digital Infrared Photography,” is out-of-print but used copies are available from Amazon at affordable prices. Creative Digital Monochrome Effects has a chapter on IR photography and is available from Amazon with new copies under $6 and used copies at a giveaway—less than a buck— price.