I’m in a bind. I’ve mentioned before how I thought I’d love the 17mm pancake, but I just don’t. Can’t get on with it. I don’t know what it is, although I suspect it’s a combination of things – it’s a little too wide for me, for one thing, and so doesn’t quite gel on that front. I have heard it described as mediocre performance-wise, but to be honest I think that’s harsh. It’s certainly good enough to be a very capable lens if you’re not pixel peeping, and we have some pretty high criteria nowadays for “mediocre.” I have also mentioned how the camera really came alive for me when when I put a manual lens on it, and this is most definitely A Big Thing for me. Autofocus as a concept is, I’ll readily admit, fantastic. Couldn’t live without it in my wedding work. But on this camera, I just get better pictures if I don’t have the autofocus crutch.
So here’s my dilemma. I want to sell the 17mm and get a replacement. My ideal would be a fast (think 1.7, maybe) normal (think 20 to 25mm, giving a 40 to 50mm full-frame equivalent field of view.). Now, a number of you, if you follow developments in the m4/3 world are slapping your heads right now. Why? Because, of course, I just described the, reputedly excellent, Panasonic 20mm pancake, that I could pick up for just a touch more than the Oly 17mm. So what’s the issue?
Auofocus, my friends. I don’t want it. I don’t want it all to be too easy. Of course, I could turn it off. But, and here’s the rub, I know I’d use it, and my photographs would suffer as a result. This is stupid, of course. I’m an intelligent man, these things shouldn’t make a difference. But I’m afraid they do. It’s writing in pen, not pencil; it’s leaving a black run as the only route down a mountain; it’s commiting to leaning in for the first kiss, where your intentions are unmistakable. These are the things we do because they’re harder, and they challenge us, and the results cannot be separated from the method.
No-one makes a 20mm 1.7 compact lens other than Panasonic, and they don’t make a manual focus version. Hence my bind. Maybe I’ll try using the 17mm as a purely manual affair, and see how I get on. If it works, I’ll upgrade. Otherwise, I’ll have to venture down other, hitherto unchartered, avenues.