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Olympus 14-42 mm lens

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May 13, 2014
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I am wondering how many pilots are using the Olympus 14-42 mm lens with the X5 camera over the 15mm lens that DJI supplies with the camera. Is it a better lens than the 15mm one? Please give me your thoughts. Thanks!
 
What good is a zoom lens if you have to set it from the ground? Id rather use primes........UNLESS there is a way to motor it...:)
What do you mean? It can be operated from the go app. Its as easy as adjusting the aperture. The lens has its own slider. Thats the beauty of the lens. it is not smooth enough to film while zooming but you simply zoom in and out from the app.
 
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The image quality is not as good as the 15mm, but the zoom is nice when you need it.

You can also hold the C2 button down and roll the LHS roller wheel on the radio to zoom in and out.
 
I am wondering how many pilots are using the Olympus 14-42 mm lens with the X5 camera over the 15mm lens that DJI supplies with the camera. Is it a better lens than the 15mm one? Please give me your thoughts. Thanks!
No, it's not a better lens in terms of sharpness or distortions, as for all zoom lenses in general and a pancake type in particular. If you're after quality over convenience I'll suggest Olympus 45mm prime lens, but try it first on your X5 gimbal as a few users reported odd mechanical behavior when filming (not me) ...
 
I have it, i bought it mostly for convenience/ like a scouting lens since it's cheap enough. when doing actual filming or stills work, it's the primes and quality filters all day.

Cheap UV and ND filters flare like crazy and bad when shot into the sun. B&W and Hoya multicoated are the way to go. I did notice the B&W 3 stop ND i got is pretty heavy, but that's nothing a little bluetack on the back of the gimbal cant fix.
 
I'm a bit confused. We're talking about the Olympus 14-42 but the DJI site mentions the Panasonic 14-42. I'm actually interested in this lens for the X5S for the i2. Is there a difference?
 
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I'm a bit confused. We're talking about the Olympus 14-42 but the DJI site mentions the Panasonic 14-42. I'm actually interested in this lens for the X5S for the i2. Is there a difference?
Both brands are offering two types of 14-42 zoom lenses with 4/3 mount, almost identical in specs. DJI officially supports Panasonic 14-42 HD lens, which is a pancake type (with telescoping optics). It's not actually that important as long as the lens physically cooperate with camera and gimbal. However, some not supported lenses may require custom balancing and/or may be used in manual mode only. Confirm the return policy before purchase.

14-42 zoom lenses.jpg
 
Thanks for your reply. Looks like Olympus has a pancake style lens as well and I saw this in someone's i2 kit. Was about to buy it but then saw that DJI only mentioned the Panasonic. Your advice about confirming the return policy is wise.Screen Shot 2017-04-26 at 8.26.56 PM.png
 
Thanks for your reply. Looks like Olympus has a pancake style lens as well and I saw this in someone's i2 kit. Was about to buy it but then saw that DJI only mentioned the Panasonic. Your advice about confirming the return policy is wise.View attachment 13363
I believe that DJI cooperates with Panasonic on camera design territory and their lens may simply respond better to calibration and remote commands. In general pancake type lenses don't have good reputation among professionals due to rather average image and build quality. These telescopic lenses are designed to fit nicely in ladies purses. Olympus 14-42 was performing badly when zooming via Go app on-screen slider and I get rid of this lens quickly, opting for prime Olympus 45 mm lens. Another issue is floating center of gravity, which may confuse gimbal mechanism. Perhaps they fixed this choppy zooming already and stronger I2 gimbal may be immune to such off-balance variables. Go for Panasonic cake anyway if this solution suits you, just in case.
 
I'm a bit confused. We're talking about the Olympus 14-42 but the DJI site mentions the Panasonic 14-42. I'm actually interested in this lens for the X5S for the i2. Is there a difference?

The Panasonic 14-42 pancake is the officially supported one for the X5S (where as for the X5 it was the Olympus one which didn't fit very well). I have the Panasonic on for my X5S but wouldn't choose to use it over any prime since it isn't as sharp and is trickier to balance since you have to try and balance around the mid zoom point.

I'm not so worried about the loss of speed of the lens since I generally shoot at f5.6 or lower to keep a wide DOF (for video at least). However, the power zoom is pretty good - not good enough for smooth video whilst zooming, but for inspections or general work it is neat and also a very cheap lens compared to the primes.
 
Yes . I'm using one. I have it for inpections so you can zoom in to look at specific areas.
It is a pancake lens and the panasonic and olympus are the same as I understand it.
I find it fine but obviously not a good as a prime but much more flexible being able to zoom into things in flight.
For a fixed focal length I fly the olympus 17mm
 

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