@@projectpph hey! It really depends on your kit lens, I started on the 14-42mm which was not a great lens (maybe a bad copy but wow it was soft). The 12-32mm I had was quite sharp tho! Moving to any of the primes showed a massive difference in sharpness and saturation in colors compared to me 14-42mm. On top of that, the 17mm and 20mm can give you some more shallow depth of field which I always appreciated, just don’t expect it to be full frame level. The 20mm is very, very sharp, and the colors are more saturated as lumix lenses usually are compared to Olympus. Not really a dealbreaker or anything, just preference between Olympus and lumix lenses. The 20 is also shallower in terms of dof, surprising to me since they are so close in focal length. The 17 shines in AF speed, and overall just a really handsome lens! The 15mm Leica is also similar to the 17mm but just a tad wider. I’ve owned all 3- 20 feels a lot more restrictive in terms of field of view compared to the other two. Between the 17 and 15 there’s not much in it, both are excellent lenses. One last thing to consider is I bought pro zoom lenses very late, and I wish I hadn’t sometimes because they are just as sharp as the primes. I personally went with the 12-40mm but the 12-35mm is just as good. The tradeoffs are- the primes are nice and small but restrictive so when I’m traveling I prefer the zooms, but day trips and the like, I take the primes. I only buy primes now for two reasons which is that It’s small, or I want a shallow depth of field. Otherwise, get those pro zooms instead! Actual last thing, if you’re not already doing so, buy lenses used, read up about how to check lenses- plenty of resources out there, or buy from a trusted site like mpb or keh and save your money. Cheers man I hope this was helpful and you enjoy whichever one you go for in the end!

@@KimCruz1 Thanks Kim! Very technical and high quality info-loaded response. Will also consider getting zoom lenses. I have been looking around online finding used lenses for a while now. With all different lens choices, I am quite overwhelmed with what lens to go for to start off. One criteria I've considered when picking between 20mm & 17mm is the lowlight capability because I love taking photos at night food bazars. In my research, this is the application that the kit lens might not be ideal to use with (thats why). Portrait, street and food photos are among my usual applications and I'm excited to start my journey in photography. Aside from the 15-17-20 prime lenses, which (first buy) lens do you think is a good choice to pair with my kit lens that I will most likely be using often and will optimize my learning curve? Appreciate your detailed response to my first comment. Thanks!

@@projectpph oh no problem and sorry i forgot to mention low light- i usually group low light capability with shallow depth of field. Although the pro zooms have an aperture of f2.8, i would say that in m43 it's not enough low light capability for night bazars- i mean you can use it, it won't give you the best results. in terms of learning, you're already barking up the right tree. to give some context, here's a couple of strategies that people usually take. 1. Kit lens + a wide angle lens. That's usually anything from 24mm to 35mm equivalents... and i'd probably push those focal lengths to anything under 50mm (12mm- anything under 25mm in M43). The reason people go with this, is the kit lens provides versatility, but they use the prime as their everyday carry- the lens they will use most of the time. The primes will (likely) give you more sharpness than the kit lens (again, depends on which kit lens), and definitely give you more shallow depth of field and low light capability. From what you've talked about, this likely makes the most sense for you. 2. Kit lens + a standard lens which is a 50mm equivalent (25mm in m43). People go with this kit because they can take everyday shots with a 50mm equivalent- fair warning, the focal length is tighter than you might expect. Back in the film days, 50mm was a very common focal length on cameras, and thus, if you look at classic pictures. However, these days with smartphones and social media, we are very used to seeing wider focal lengths (like in option 1), and so everyday life photographed in a 50mm equivalent seems very... formal? classic? It's not a knock against it, but just remember that it will give a certain vibe. The obvious picks in m43 for this lens is the 25mm 1.7 pana, the 25mm 1.8 oly, and the pana leica 25mm 1.4 (although I'm sure we have 3rd party manufacturers as well these days but I'm not as informed about their quality etc). I don't think there's much difference in the first two, but I hear a lot of people love the pana leica which I have never used. These 3 lenses will give you more shallow depth of field compared to option 1, but the trade off is less field of view. While the 50mm equivalent might not be as wide and versatile as option 1, you may love it, who knows? People photographed everyday with a 50mm for a long time, it holds a certain charm. 3. Kit lens + portrait lens which is usually 85mm-150mm equivalents (42.5mm-75mm in m43)... I use 'portrait lens' here loosely because I don't believe in those restrictions but it's what most people would consider a portrait lens. If you go this route, you'll likely be using your kit lens most of the time, and use the portrait lens as more of a specialty lens. If you want to experiment with shallow depth of field, this is your number 1 option. The pany 42.5mm 1.7, the oly 45mm 1.8 are my picks- similar enough but i went with pany because it focuses significantly closer so I can use it as a bit of a macro lens. These lenses will be a lot more tight than the other primes, and are these focal lengths the best for using the most everyday? I think it's a bit too tight, but if it works for you, it works! What you'll notice going this route is how well these lenses can isolate a subject using shallow depth of field- you'll get a very noticeable background blur which many people find attractive. So, the main questions are- do you want to use your primes as an everyday, everything lens? Best bets are option 1 and 2. If you want to use it to flex that shallow depth of field and get some nice bokeh in the background, option 3. If you want a bit of both- can be used everyday (if a bit tight), but some background separation, option 2. All those years ago I started with both option 1 and 3- with the oly 17mm 1.8, and the pany 42.5mm 1.7. If I were to start over again, I might actually go with option 2, but instead of getting the pany 25mm 1.7, I would get the pana leica 25mm 1.4- it's going to give more background separation, it's wide enough for everyday (something I only changed my mind on much later), and gets you a wider aperture than the rest of the lenses we looked at so it will give you 2/3 more light in low light situations. Before you pull the trigger, the best thing to do is play around with your kit lens, set it to the focal lengths of those primes you're interested in, and see how you get on with them. Another thing you can do is use software like lightroom (there's many other equivalents these days that are free) which can help you organize your thoughts. You can study your preferences by rating your photos, and then using the metadata, you can see which focal lengths your favorite photos were taken in. Happy shooting!

@@KimCruz1 Wow! Amazing how you broke this down. Quite a long read but perfectly constructed to be very easy to digest from a starter's stand point. Very insightful. I highly agree with you on the last part. That's pretty much the best advice that could be ever given to a beginner- to stick for a little while with the kit lens that came with the camera. Start off firm with what you have, tweak around, experiment, experience a lot of stuff with the camera and get to know your own style then later on that sweet spot is gonna reveal itself. By then, I'd have way better understanding of which way to go. Wow. Appreciate you being generous with your knowledge and advices, Kim. Sure did spark a great level of creativity in me and pretty sure to a lot of creative minds alike who are starting off as well. Love the technical details and high quality contents. I'd be sure to check them all out. Thank you!

@@RogueSplice probably not enough to differentiate it from the Leica 15mm

@@saneeshbabups G85 all the way- it has in body stabilization and has a metal build. Get it and don’t look back!

Hey since that camera is quite small I'm more inclined to use smaller lenses like the 14-42 Olympus or the 12-32 Panasonic that you were using before.. but if you want a bit more quality and don't mind the extra size and weight, the 12-60mm 3.5-5.6 is hard to beat!

... Because the prime lets in more than 5x as much light @25mm wide open, and is smaller and lighter..? (Assuming a 1.7 or 1.8

thanks for checking in man and I've been good... I think my whole quitting youtube came about 3 years too early because all the reasons they outlined, were most of the reasons i stopped posting 🤣 With the GH7 and new S1 cameras on the horizon, would be interesting to chime back in 😉

@@KimCruz1 i can certainly understand that! Your videos were good dude. I went the Blackmagic route and never looked back :) Take care and all the best.

Yeah in general any sensor larger than a smartphone is quite decent, I'm hoping more companies incorporate smartphone camera tech in their cameras to get even better image quality

@@KimCruz1 That seems like the most likely next step along with more AI everywhere of course. What is apparent is that sensor quality has been very good since about 2011 for most basic still photo uses, it's been mostly refinements in more obscure areas since then, super high iso, super fast shooting, super high res etc. But for basic uses a 2010 or in some cases, a 2009 camera has a good enough sensor.

Photography gears are just tools. Product shoots are for a different clinical purpose. Being an artist I just need to tell a story. Currently Olympus E-PL7 What lenses do you recommend for < 300. used, that are small and light. 💁🏻‍♀️

Welcome! I'm glad this video is still helping all these years later!

Unfortunately that’s the best the lumix cameras can do! They have slowly improved it over the years in newer models but only made it reliable in their latest full frame camera.

Hey id suggest checking to see if you have good lighting first. Second it might be the lens itself (kit lenses aren't the best).

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Thank you kind stranger!

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yes there is, but it is focus by wire so it's not that great to use! when you twist the ring it doesn't necessarily move the focus point very accurately

@@KimCruz1 And did I buy that additional cable or does it come with the lens? what is the name of the wire?