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I [edit: WILL BE BUYING] the X5s, sans a lens. The Olympus 45 is a given.

A question for cinematographers and experienced filmmakers: Considering that a majority of shots are done within that 35-85mm prime range, is it worth getting the 12mm?

I'm an experienced videographer and photographer, but focal lengths from the sky I'm not as experienced with yet and I've watched a ton of YouTube comparisons. Based on all my experience, my gut tells me to get the 45mm, and the 17mm and/or the 25mm and just skip the Panasonic Leica 30mm. Thus, acquiring the three "prime" focal lengths ( pun intended) - 50mm, 35mm and 90 mm 35-equivalent.

Thoughts?

Also more of a rhetorical question: Why is the 12mm Olympus priced so high? Are they thinking in terms of professional photography where wide lenses are the "professional" stronghold and thus charge a ton? Plus, why would I'd want to pay for the same focal length as a Phantom 4 Pro? I originally was set on it. But then it occurred to me that the lens is worthless except for that couple-second-establishing shot that is epic don't get me wrong. But for subjects and dramatic framing composition, it's useless.
 
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I am not a lens or glass specialist but looking at the specs of all 4 Olympus lenses (12,17, 25, 45) the 12mm has the most elements/groups out of the 4. Maybe that is part of the reason it costs more plus the fact that is one of the most widely used lenses for the inspire series. My kit would not be complete without all 4 lenses.
 
Wides are best for landscapes. The 12mm covers that, and some even go for the finicky and fully manual Laowa 7.5mm if not the softer zooms in the lower range. Longers are more concentrated and subject oriented than an expanse, like the Grand Canyon on a 25mm (50mm in 35 equiv.) vs. a 12mm or wider. The 45mm is right on the edge of being too jumpy for me with the I2 for video and better if in autonomous mode with minimal yawing, but okay for stills (I wish there was something good in the 35-40mm prime range in M43 land.).

Your preference, and your shoot. Pick what you like.
 
Wides are best for landscapes. The 12mm covers that, and some even go for the finicky and fully manual Laowa 7.5mm if not the softer zooms in the lower range. Longers are more concentrated and subject oriented than an expanse, like the Grand Canyon on a 25mm (50mm in 35 equiv.) vs. a 12mm or wider. The 45mm is right on the edge of being too jumpy for me with the I2 for video and better if in autonomous mode with minimal yawing, but okay for stills (I wish there was something good in the 35-40mm prime range in M43 land.).

Your preference, and your shoot. Pick what you like.

The Olympus 17 mm gets pretty close to your 35-40mm prime request. I took this pano using it the other day. Attached is one of the 70 images or so I took for the pano taken with the 17mm f1.8. City Of Sanibel, Lighthouse Beach Park, 10-18-17, 12:25 PM, High Tide Is At 12:30 PM |Created By SanCap Aerial
 

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12mm is quite useful in filming landscapes and things happening in them. If you're also using it on the ground, then it's useful on things like the GH4/5 or the Osmo/X5. Its probably more expensive simply because of the glass used within it, and probably also to do with the manual focus mechanism - it's a slightly different setup to the others.

In some cases I've found the 12mm to narrow a view ( :eek::D:p ) and want to be able to capture a wider panorama, so have just got the Laowa 7.5mm in the hope of being able to fill in the wider picture - both for stills and video. So far it seems fairly good although I'm still waiting for some decent sunshine to test it properly - the quirks are coming more from the firmware/software on the I2 as it's not designed for non-electronic lenses. It also seems to work quite well with the X5 on the Osmo too - useful for interior shots.

Personally, I find all of the prime lenses (7.5/12/15/24/45) give good results and all have their place in the arsenal :)
 
The Oly 12 is a super lens. There are many reasons for it's cost. # of elements is one, it is also all metal where cheaper lenses use plastic bodies.
That is my go to lens. I used to have a 45 mm but found it very narrow and liked the 25mm better as it still brought you in close but had a wider FOV.
I have a 9mm-18mm on the way but don't expect too much from it. Just have to try it out.
 
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Thanks for the response so far.

I'm specifically asking about if you could only have two lenses for aerial cinematography, which would they be to start off?

To clarify, as a "tertiary" cinematographer so to speak, 35, 50, 85 are your "money" lenses. They - and that breadth of focal range - is the sweet spot and work horse of cinematographers/directors.

As I mentioned, I'm an experienced photographer and understand the use of wide for landscapes, architecture, etc.

But, from way up high with relatively infinite space to "back up" from a subject, I'm wondering if the 12mm wouldn't get as much use.

To me, it seems that most aerial shots taken for cinema, commercials, etc. are not wide at 12mm like all Phantoms and consumer drones, and actually seems to be limiting. I'm looking for insight or validation of this thought.
 
I currently own the 12, 15, 25 and 45. They all have their place. I will say the Olympus 12 is not just good for your wide landscape shots but also good for flying in close proximity to points of interest (think statues or between trees).
 
The Oly 12 is a super lens. There are many reasons for it's cost. # of elements is one, it is also all metal where cheaper lenses use plastic bodies.
That is my go to lens. I used to have a 45 mm but found it very narrow and liked the 25mm better as it still brought you in close but had a wider FOV.
I have a 9mm-18mm on the way but don't expect too much from it. Just have to try it out.
"Bringing you close" is one thing a wide lens does. It also makes things in the distance relatively small. So that's another reason for us to use the 45mm. It all depends on what effect you want. We had a shot of a car driving on a road with cattle on the hills behind. We used the 45 and flew about 150 feet out. The car was the size we wanted AND the cattle in the background hills were also brought into the scene. With the 12mm we would have flown closer to get the car the same size and the cattle would have been specs in the background.

But we also love the 12mm. We took some shots flying around rock pillars in the ocean and it was ideal for that.
 
Thanks for the response so far.

I'm specifically asking about if you could only have two lenses for aerial cinematography, which would they be to start off?

To clarify, as a "tertiary" cinematographer so to speak, 35, 50, 85 are your "money" lenses. They - and that breadth of focal range - is the sweet spot and work horse of cinematographers/directors.

As I mentioned, I'm an experienced photographer and understand the use of wide for landscapes, architecture, etc.

But, from way up high with relatively infinite space to "back up" from a subject, I'm wondering if the 12mm wouldn't get as much use.

To me, it seems that most aerial shots taken for cinema, commercials, etc. are not wide at 12mm like all Phantoms and consumer drones, and actually seems to be limiting. I'm looking for insight or validation of this thought.
If I could only have two lenses for cinematography only - 12 mm and 25 mm. The 45 is a nice lens but if you are new at drone flying it will be difficult to control. The 12 is easiest to fly and the lens we use for cinematography probably 60% of the time. 35% of the time we use the 25mm and the remaining 5% the 45mm.

If you plan to run dual operator then it's a slightly different story, as with an experience cam op you will be able to manage the longer focal lengths more effectively. It also depends quite a bit on what you plan on using the drone for mostly. If you are buying it just for spectacular tracking shots then you could go with the 25 and 45, but I really feel like the 12mm is a no-brainer as it will be your go-to lens most of the time and enable you to get wide enough to capture those great establishing or wider tracking shots.
 
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As for 2 only lenses to start your adventure with X5S camera, Oly 12mm is an absolute MUST, no excuse. For second lens I'll recommend Oly 25mm rather than radical 45mm, which is not too sharp, difficult to manage remotely and introduces slight magenta coloration. On more exotic side of aerial photography consider an fisheye, Panasonic being the best I was able to test with Inspire. I'm seriously considering purchase of this expensive lens, just to spice up my high elevation landscape imagery ...

 
I have to speak for the Panasonic 14-42mm power zoom lens. The ability to zoom in and out in that range is amazing for inspections, shot scouting, and casual videography. Aside from the for mentioned I like the sigma 60mm.
 
On a side note, control setup is more important than lens 'collection' in my opinion.

I run my I2 in dual control with a Cendence & stock controller. The Cendence has a patch antenna, focus wheel, Movario BT-300 (drone edition) as the interface, & a Note 8 to control the second HD FPV cam. The stock control has a focus wheel, ultra bright skyview, & DJI goggles.

I also run an auxiliary battery setup in case I need a long endurance flight or two. With the TB50 battery charging case & 10 batteries.

I'm planning on putting motorized CF winglets on the arms for long range flight efficiency too...
 

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