43 Rumors

I echo the sentiments of some of the earlier reviewers that this lens changed the way they take pictures.

This lens excels at taking pictures of vistas, and it is fantastic when taking pictures in small spaces. In fact every real estate agent should have this lens you can photograph an entire room from a corner.

Its very solidly built, I miss not having image stabilization on this lens. Its so wide that you never miss it taking stills but in video it would be helpful.

I appreciate this being a zoom lens it allows me to leave it on for longer when I am out doing touristic shooting. I can take lots of architectural and vista shots at its widest and leave it on when the family wants to take a group photo.

at F4.0 I wasn’t thrilled by the lack of brightness when the lens was announced, however I am not sure if this scientific but on wider lenses similar f-stops seem brighter. I regularly shoot indoors with my 7-14 f4.0 but would never bother using my f4.0-5.6 14-140 in the same situations.

Outdoors it is very hard to take a bad shot with this lens. It has far less distortion than a fish eye lens but it does distort away from the centre of the frame. The distortion I find helps lead the viewers eye to your focal point. In video the effect is fantastic, I use this lens for timelapse could sequences the distortion cause object to accelerate as they reach then od the screen. I also enjoy using the lens when walking the edge distortion gives a wrap around feel to video clips, unfortunately there is no OIS so walking can be pretty choppy, but a fixed mount in a car or train is fantastic.

I used this lens alone photographing inside a mine recently, not having to change lens was imperative and the wide lens made shooting in a tight space a breeze.

Visit Jed Richardson - the author of this review

I use the 7-14 mm for soon a Year, I have for long time a strong opinion that wide lens is not for my reportage, but Panasonic 7-14mm have make a big shift in my opinion it´s useful in a lot of situations i din´t think about before..
The optics is extreem tolerant for strong light in the picture almost no flares at all, even with the sun in the frame, Its the sharpest one i have. the autofocus is silent…
This is a must for general film reporting i with GH2/1.

I bought this lens based on web reviews, and a lot of splendid comments.
It is very expensive lens, no doubt.
Before I bought it I had read a lot of articles about extreme wide angle lens photography. I found it very interesting. The possibility to control the perspective seemed to me as a great task and possibility.
The lens fits perfectly in Panasonic lens range: 7-14…14-45…45-200 I have them all and these three lenses covers in fact incredibly broad range of focal lengths.
In practice Panasonic 7-14 mm is really incredible tool. Images taken with it are incredibly sharp! Sometimes you can get light/sun flares but as far as I know it is unavoidable in current lens technology and this extremely wide angles of view.
It is quite heavy lens. My G1 body is around 1 kg wit it I think. But it is still acceptable even during long trips. I take it occasionaly with me, when I can predict the usage of wide angle lens during the day.
It has aperture of f/4 wide open for all 7-14mm range. It is nice feature because parameters of exposition doesn’t change during zooming.
In the field you have to however learn how to use it. Our, human way of seeing things is totally different compared to seeing through this wide lens. Perspective is exagerated. It is not an easy task to find the object to photograph. Some scenes seen with naked eye are dull and not interesting, but very often seeing through the EVF or display of the camera unveils very unusual and appealing compositions. It takes days or even weeks if not months to learn what can be photographed using this lens. Sometimes pictures are spectacular! I’m still learning to use it. It will be long but very interesting time!
Another usage of this lens is to take pictures in small spaces – it is obvious. Anyways no lens of longer focal lens is capable of simulating images taken with 7-14. If you want to go in to really creative world you have never been in and see our world differently… it is the lens for you!
Opticaly, and technicaly it is the best You can get. The best quality for the somewhat high price.

Here are some examples of pictures taken with panasonic 7-14 mm (“i” button in top left corner shows exif data):

http://bit.ly/i4545V

http://bit.ly/gTJLaA

http://bit.ly/fhjb1e

Visit omox - the author of this review

I can’t comment on the technical aspects, don’t know enough about them, don’t have time to devote to it, but I just got this lens and am learning to use it. Already pleased with the results,

It is expensive, but isn’t that the case with most ‘good quality’ lenses. Yes, it’s not f/2.8, but, used outside, and in many well-lit indoors situations, this lens delivers.

Each lens has a range of usefulness over a given number of situations in which, it not only performs well, but is also uniquely capable of capturing the desired image in every qualitative respect. Cinematographers train for this — to be capable of arriving on a set or at a location and immediately deciding on the lens which best captures the action of the scene.

I use it on my E-PL1 with the VF-2 viewfinder. The first time I looked through the VF, I was taken by the perspectives offered me, delighted with the challenges it offers. I spent two days with only this lens, intend to spend many more: http://bit.ly/dFuOfC

There’s a guy who uses it almost exclusively, to good effect, I might add: http://bit.ly/e3eyHt

In the end, it’s all personal preference, and all the negative emotion is so much wasted energy — energy better spent on creative projects.

Visit JJ Semple - the author of this review

It was the third m4/3 lens I owned. When it was announced, it was the reason to start investing into m4/3, because I felt that Panasonic must have a good commitment to the new system by releasing such an extreme zoom lens so early.

The image quality is very good, I would say on par with the well known EF 4/17-40mm. Distortion and CA are well controlled thanks to software correction. The constant 4.0 aperture is welcome. The size of the lens is very small for its range, the weight, although not light, makes the lens feel very solid. Build quality is good, the zoom ring operates smooth and silent. AF is quick and silent.

The only disadvantage is that you can’t use filters due to the shape of the front lens.

The lens is great for creative landscape and architecture, very usefull for indoor images of historical building (churches, mosques, etc.) It is a very welcome travel companion, because of the relatively low size and weight.

It is expensive, but with regards to its extreme properties and build quality worth the price.

There is nothing that annoys me more than people who post “reviews” about products they have not used. Holding an item for 30 seconds in a shop does not qualify as “using” a product. Why even bother to post a negative review that is of absultely no value whatsoever???
As someone who has owned this lens for a while, I, on the other hand, can actually provide some USEFUL feedback to someone who is considering the purchase of this lens.

Yes, it is a bit pricey, but it is a fantastic lens. it is solid, well built, and has a great field of view. it is sharp across the frame, lightweight, and unique. Anyone who thinks this lens is big has never held another lens of equivalent focal length. This really is a very small lens comparatively, and m43 allows you to carry a nice wide view for very little weight penalty. Compare this to the nikon equivalent and tell me about how big it is.

f/4 is not fast enough??? Is that a serious comment? what do you want, a 1.8? Hello, you cannot have a very fast lens and keep it small and light. Simple physics. F/4 for this range is actually quite fast and is more than sufficent.

So panasonic is not “crazy.” What is crazy is to spew nonsense about something you know absolutely nothing about.

I tested this lens in a shop. The lens is ok, at least image-quality-wise.
But it has several flaws.

First, the big front lens, is prone to be touched by fingers or something worst, and it will be soon damaged.

Second, the size/weight. Not micro four third style.

Third, the general design of a zoom wide. It’s too much.

Fourth, the price: too expensive for a wide (how much you value your wide shots?)

Fifth, the aperture: f/4 is not fast enough.

So, in the end, a 10mm prime, would be so much better in any respect: size, weight, price, aperture, usability, lack of that weird front lens….

Crazy panasonic!

Visit davide - the author of this review