The little 12mm Vision Prime is a forgotten child really, probably a good hint that I don’t use wide angles much!
It is a solid little lump, taller than it is deep, heavier for it’s size than most and optically very decent.
It has a secret weapon, the ability to close focus down to…., well lets just say, if you use a matt box, you may hit the filter on your subject before you reach its minimum!
All tests shot on the GH5s with BMVA set to C4k Q3. The Hope is a 45mm on that camera, the Vespid a 70mm and the 12mm is roughly a 20mm.
An early clip, where I did just that.
You straight away start thinking angles and getting close, very close. Corners can look a bit funky, but they sharp when needed, Bokeh just goes a little off campus from time to time.
Or you can let them come to you. I have found this lens is a good fit with the Hope primes giving me a handy 12, 25, 50 set and the disappointing 16mm (one sample) and too wide 10mm put me off chasing more Hope glass. It was also really, really nice to hand hold, the G9II was seriously gimbal like with this little lump of glass up front.
Turns out, the lens can almost focus on the back of the matt box filter (notice the little blobs top right, they moved with the lens, not the sun).
During this test the sun was behind a cloud, if I had just waited ten minutes….
So, while these were loading, I thought I might give the 25mm Hope another run in some nicer light (which happened pretty much as soon as I finished with above).
Also capable of some pretty good close focus.
I managed several usable files at different points in this framing. This is warmer, how the lens rendered the one above also, but I changed it to match the Vespid better.
Taken on the Vespid a few minutes later, but I failed to get a sharp enough image of the front fronds (because it was not sharp). The Hope totally won this contest, sharper results and easier to get. Interesting.
Something I only noticed when posting, is the Vespid files are darker, because I am responding to the tonality of the lens in the grade, not processing for stills presentation. This is neither good nor bad, it just is. The Vespid allows me to see subtle tones that may not be translated successfully, the Hope is, as I have said before, a simpler and cleaner image, just less subtle.
Hope, straight into the sun. Bokeh seems to have less colour and separation, but I have pushed in clser on the shorter lens.
Vespid for the same, but this was a rare win.
As was this. I will give it to the Vespid for colour and depth, but there are other factors.
Then I got a whole series of these, I mean lots and you should have seen them in false colour on the BMVA screen!
Even a few of these.
Then this, in middle of a load of rubbish, some perfectly normal behaviour. I do not entirely blame the lens for this, the cheap Neewer ND in front is likely not helping, but I used the same filter in front of every lens I tested today and this was the only one that freaked out. I then bought a decent ND for the lens end, so I will see if this helps.
Lovely gentle rendering from the Vespid, which ass a 70mm on this camera.
Slightly different time and angle as well as focal length (45mm equiv), but the more robust and utilitarian look of the Hope. Safe as houses, just maybe not as exciting.
Hard to get a totally sharp shot of a moving target at 25 fps, but I managed a few. Collar detail was the intent. Hope version at T2.1
Ten minutes later and Archie obliged in almost the same spot, Vespid version at T4. More 3d pop here, but this is a 72mm effectively as opposed to a 45mm equivalent.
So, more consolidation of what I already felt.
The Hope and Vision lenses are my solid MFT choices. Easy to use, sharp, fairly bullet proof and pleasing to the eye.
The Vespid is capable of a more delicate, neutral and nuanced image, especially in shadow detail, but it can go a little crazy some times.
If I assume the Vespid is the full frame standard, the Hope 25 for MFT, then I have a strong base to work from and when I try to be fair to both, they can work together. If I want a second full frame cam, I will use an S-prime, probably the 35 or the Spectrum 50, as these have given me the most cool-neutral files so far, but I still need to test that.
A second MFT cam could be either the 50 or the 12 no issue.