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I have a Panasonic GH5 camera. Is there a Micro Four Third lens that has fixed focus? I want a lens that would allow me to just shoot video of my son running around without using the AF/MF, I do not care about zoom for this purpose. You know, like a GoPro but better.

Can I achieve this by using a prime lens, say a 35mm and simply set it to infinity?

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Is there a Micro Four Third lens that has fixed focus? I want a lens that would allow me to just shoot video of my son running around without using the AF/MF

Yes there is. Olympus makes the BCL-15mm ƒ/8.0 Body Cap Lens a body cap lens, that operates in two modes: as a fixed focus distance (also called panfocus) 15mm ƒ/8, or as a fixed-aperture manual focus 15mm.

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When the focus lever is all the way to the orange mark on the left, it is a panfocus lens. Shifting the lever out of this mode, the lens can be manually focused to provide sharper images if want to focus at a specific distance.

At ƒ/8, this isn't a fast lens. Considering your camera is a 20 megapixel camera, 4K video capable, it would take poor-to-middling video out in the yard on a bright day, and if the lighting is less, it only gets worse from there.

You know, like a GoPro but better.

I have to wonder why you're trying to turn a very nice camera like the GH5 into an action cam. Most of the current line of Micro 4/3 lenses have quick autofocusing speeds. Get a decent lens, stop the aperture down a bit if you want to reduce the appearance of out-of-focus areas in your video, and let the camera do its job of finding focus on your son.

Or, for less than the price a mid-priced Micro 4/3 lens, buy a GoPro.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thank you Scottbb. I think i will go with your suggestion and just stop thinking of the GH5 as an always-in-focus option. IT does a phenomenal job already. And for the other times, i do have a GoPro to use. I was just wondering if there was a high quality lens that allowed me to just point-and-shoot while using a gimbal without having to worry about focusing. But it very well be that my "worry" is mostly imagined and ultimately most of my clips will be usable. Thanks again! \$\endgroup\$
    – Fernando Q.
    Aug 12, 2017 at 4:35
  • \$\begingroup\$ I was wrong about the Olympus cap — it can be used as a fixed focus distance lens (the focus lever is thrown all the way to the left to put it in that mode). That makes it a bit more interested, IMO. Personally, because it only costs $50, if I had a smaller MFT camera (like the Olympus PEN-F for instance), I'd probably get it the lens. It might be handy to leave on the body, so capturing quick images or video is that much easier. It will perform the same on a GH5 of course, but being bigger, to me the GH5 is just begging to be used with a proper lens. \$\endgroup\$
    – scottbb ♦
    Aug 12, 2017 at 14:56
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    \$\begingroup\$ Also the 9mm body cap lens. It gives a very wide, fisheye view, similar to a GoPro. \$\endgroup\$
    – vclaw
    Aug 12, 2017 at 16:05

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