OMD and Panasonic 20mm fixed?

[Avotius]

A while back there was a lot of talk about the OMD and the Panasonic 20mm lens having some strange behavior with each other and producing some interference and banding in the images. Did they ever fix this problem somehow?

I used the 20mm lens almost exclusively and am wondering if I maybe need to trade it in for a Leica 25 as I am going to get an OMD soon.

 

[--]

Slightly off topic

Slightly off topic

A while back there was a lot of talk about the OMD and the Panasonic 20mm lens having some strange behavior with each other and producing some interference and banding in the images. Did they ever fix this problem somehow?

I used the 20mm lens almost exclusively and am wondering if I maybe need to trade it in for a Leica 25 as I am going to get an OMD soon.

Slightly off topic but can wholeheartedly recommend OMD+25mm Leicasonic.

Xpanded

 

[Avotius]

Yes, I am a little interested in this lens I will admit, especially as I splashed down money a few days before the 25 came out, so that is a bit of a kick in the pants because I would have got the leisonic.

There must be someone here who has both the OMD and the 20 and knows if something ever came from it or maybe it was just the internet being overly loud about a non issue?

 

[nakedcellist]

I have both, and use both, but have not noticed any problems with it.

 

[Lss]

There must be someone here who has both the OMD and the 20 and knows if something ever came from it or maybe it was just the internet being overly loud about a non issue?

IIRC, the banding was limited to high-ISO images. Some examples I saw were pretty bad. I never bought the lens, so I didn't follow up.

 

[dfatty]

I haven't noticed any banding with the 20mm but I have noticed that the 25mm focuses more quickly in low light. I'm not sure if something has happened or if I just noticed it, but my 20 seems to hunt a lot in low light.

 

[Avotius]

Yes I noticed my 20 would hunt sometimes on my ep1 in low light to the point I had to find something bright and about the same distance away to focus on the recompose back to my image

 

[podcat]

I have an OM-D with the 20 (probably my most used lens). I don't shoot a lot at high ISO with it (usually dont go over 1600), mainly because you can get sharp shots at 1/8th of a second with the image stabilizer on (assuming non moving subjects), and for planned night shooting I'll use my 25/0.95 instead. When the internet rage about the issue was strongest I did some testing, and I have not seen it happen at ISO 1600. At 3200/6400 I could get some banding in the shadows on a big flat wall. For me this is more or less a non issue, but if you plan to shoot at really high ISO it might not be for you.

Supposedly its electromagnetic interference from the focus motor, and the Mk2 version of the lens is going to have a metal exterior which I assume will shield it, but there haven't been any reviews or tests yet.

 

[twopointeight]

I use both lenses. I haven't seen any banding with the 20mm up to 1600. I try to stay at 800 because the OMD stabilizer means 1/8 with no problem at all. And other than a little motor noise which I don't find objectionable at all, no real hunting issues and yes maybe a tad slower to grab focus but really a non-issue for me. Both lenses, 25mm and 20mm work well together. They are very different.

 

[malthusiantrap]

I used to use the 20mm exclusively with the OMD, I noticed some banding at ISO3200, but only if I look for it.
The 20mm did not focus fast enough for me so I bought the new Oly 17/1.8, which is a world of difference in AF speed. I also like the scale focus capability of the 17/1.8. I was never a pixel peeper so I did not notice any significant IQ difference.
I'm thinking of switching it over to a Panaleica 25 though, as I'm more of a 50mm than a 35mm type of guy.

 

[GaryLH]

I used to use the 20mm exclusively with the OMD, I noticed some banding at ISO3200, but only if I look for it.
The 20mm did not focus fast enough for me so I bought the new Oly 17/1.8, which is a world of difference in AF speed. I also like the scale focus capability of the 17/1.8. I was never a pixel peeper so I did not notice any significant IQ difference.
I'm thinking of switching it over to a Panaleica 25 though, as I'm more of a 50mm than a 35mm type of guy.

A curiosity question. Do u c the banding when shooting Jpg? If not then it maybe a raw converter setting causing the issue associated w/ the lens profile being used w/ the conversion of the raw file.

Any just throwing out there...

I can't ever remember seeing banding issues associated w/ the 20 and the omd. Even though I mainly use my omd w/ long lenses, occasionally I use it w/ the 20.

Gary

 

[malthusiantrap]

I see the banding in RAW and I'm not sure if it is a software issue. I never did any research if there are any ways to mitigate the banding. I just let it be because I don't really mind the banding.
I imagine a google search would net you more information on the banding.

I haven't noticed any banding yet with the 17/1.8 that replaced it though.

A curiosity question. Do u c the banding when shooting Jpg? If not then it maybe a raw converter setting causing the issue associated w/ the lens profile being used w/ the conversion of the raw file.

Any just throwing out there...

I can't ever remember seeing banding issues associated w/ the 20 and the omd. Even though I mainly use my omd w/ long lenses, occasionally I use it w/ the 20.

Gary

 

[GaryLH]

I did a google search - here was some interesting points...

- looks like long exposure can cause the banding as well as high iso situations.
- one person below reported not seeing it if he used jpgs

"I did a theatre shoot last night using the 20mm and 45 mm at 6400 ISO and RAW, definitely see banding, on pics shot with 20mm. I did a similar job a few weeks ago, same conditions, but shot jpegs and do not see the same problem.
Oh, and the problem seems to only exist in the shadow underexposed areas, I have to shoot more images tonight, if I use the 20mm I may try a slight over exposure as a test."

I rarely get past 1600 w/ this lens on the omd which probably explains why I have not noticed it.

Gary