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Olympus 14-42mm on X5S

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I ordered an Olympus 14-42 panacke zoom which arrived today.
I already had the balance rings from the Panasonic 14-42 (more about that later) which only the larger one(BR-37-17) is needed.
Weather was lousy. Very overcast and cloudy, but had to go try it out.
Looks like this might be useable!
I had a Panasonic Lumix G X14-42 and was very dissappointed in it. It did not zoom smoothly, didn't focus well and often the camera would lose touch with it after a simple change in focal length. At first, I thought it might have been defective but it performed well on my GH4. Anyway, I got rid of it and decided to try the Oly. So far, I like it.
Here are a few sample stills. These were shot 3/4 mile from the tower building in the pictures.

z1.jpg

z2.jpg

z3.jpg
 
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I think it would be a very handy lens for all sorts of industrial and inspection work. I would be curious to see how it looks on a nice sunny day for "beauty shots"...we have not had great luck with it for that (and many others have not either) - but we do have a few clients who really, really like it.

On the other hand, we are working on filling a number of spots that we have available for helping some of our clients to get down to Puerto Rico for contract inspection work on the power grid rebuild as well as telecom work...and for that, this lens will do a fantastic job.

Thanks for the photos, and let us know your experience with it on a nice sunny day as well.
 
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Here's a few I did with the 14-42 last week. I'd love a touch more clarity but not bad for the price. I was about 50-75' from that tower with an Inspire 1.

Side note....FDS - you guys able to ship gear effectively to PR right now or are things still too sketchy?
 

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More test shots. Agreed on a lack of clarity. Not a prime lens..... I wish there was one suitable.
I miss my Z3!!
14.jpg

22.jpg

32.jpg

42.jpg
 
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@AeroMirage @JakeB826
Thank you guys for posting these images, esp. the difference between Lumix and Olympus 14-42. The tower photos appear to be a bit more clear than the air conditioning photos. Are all photos JPEG and 4:3 settings?
 
I ordered an Olympus 14-42 panacke zoom which arrived today.
I already had the balance rings from the Panasonic 14-42 (more about that later) which only the larger one(BR-37-17) is needed.
Weather was lousy. Very overcast and cloudy, but had to go try it out.
Looks like this might be useable!
I had a Panasonic Lumix G X14-42 and was very dissappointed in it. It did not zoom smoothly, didn't focus well and often the camera would lose touch with it after a simple change in focal length. At first, I thought it might have been defective but it performed well on my GH4. Anyway, I got rid of it and decided to try the Oly. So far, I like it.
Here are a few sample stills. These were shot 3/4 mile from the tower building in the pictures.

View attachment 16235

View attachment 16236

View attachment 16237
I had the same experience with Panasonic's lens that DJI said would work. Returned it. Then,
I risked it to buy the Olympus not listed by DJI as an optional lens back 5/2017 but it worked well.
 
I ordered an Olympus 14-42 panacke zoom which arrived today.
I already had the balance rings from the Panasonic 14-42 (more about that later) which only the larger one(BR-37-17) is needed.
Weather was lousy. Very overcast and cloudy, but had to go try it out.
Looks like this might be useable!
I had a Panasonic Lumix G X14-42 and was very dissappointed in it. It did not zoom smoothly, didn't focus well and often the camera would lose touch with it after a simple change in focal length. At first, I thought it might have been defective but it performed well on my GH4. Anyway, I got rid of it and decided to try the Oly. So far, I like it.
Here are a few sample stills. These were shot 3/4 mile from the tower building in the pictures.

View attachment 16235

View attachment 16236

View attachment 16237
Was this on your X5S? I’m still debating on getting the Pana Pankcake one or this but I was told only the pana would work on my x5s which is why I’m so hesitant to buy it
 
I have tested the Olympus 14-42 Pancake on my X5s. The gimbal motors made some straining noises that I have not heard before when using the 12mm, 25mm and 45mm primes.
How can you balance a zoom lens correctly?
I only flew the zoom once. Decided to stick with the primes only - all balanced with a UV filter.
 
How can you balance a zoom lens correctly?

You can't.
:eek:
The closest you can get is to turn on the camera and let the lens extend. Then remove it without turning off the camera. That will leave it extended. Then turn off bird and remount the lens. You can then try to balance it but that is subject to change as the COG changes when you zoom. I gave up on zoom lenses for that camera. Didn't want to burn up a $1000 camera trying to use a $200 lens on it.
 
Turn on the I2, wait for the lens to extend, remove battery leaving the lens extended, balance gimbal, job done. You only need to do this once if you make a note of the balanced configuration.

Yes, the balance changes slightly as you zoom but not enough to effect gimbal performance nor enough to damage the motors.

I have used the 14-42 for inspection work since the I2 was first released without issue.
 
There is a actually a different balancing ring for the x5s - well it’s actually two which again fit on the front, so you can remove the front lighter one if a filter being fitted. BR-37-17 and BR-37-6 on x5s version vs BR-37-23 for x5. Both versions same overall weight of 23g though but x5s version has the optional 6g filter ring.

b9f215e6ca70ee65826a55d1ae13ab58.png
 

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