(FT2) New 45mm pancake from Panasonic coming?
The new Panasonic 45mm lens is rumored to have the size of that wonderfull Pentax SMC DA 40mm f/2.8 limited pancake.
I got two rumors from new sources saying that there will be a new 45mm X pancake from Panasonic. According to one of the sources there are currently several prototypes of 90mm equivalent pancakes. What really makes me dreaming about that rumor is that the source said it has the size and style of the Pentax SMC DA 40mm f/2.8 limited pancake (Click here to see that lens on eBay). A second source said that the lens will be a X lens with powerzoom, have macro capability like the current Panasonic 45mm f/2.8.. Sound slike a dream lens! If the lens comes for real than let’s hope Panasonic will not set an impossible price for it!
Reminder -> Rumors classification explained (FT= FourThirds):
FT1=1-20% chance the rumor is correct
FT2=21-40% chance the rumor is correct
FT3=41-60% chance the rumor is correct
FT4=61-80% chance the rumor is correct
FT5=81-99% chance the rumor is correct
IB
2 years ago |I guess it does not have power zoom as stated? Maybe power stabilization?
bilgy_no1
2 years ago |Good catch! A fixed focal lens with Powerzoom… Sounds like a new (unknown?) source is pulling Admin’s leg!!!
YouDidntDidYou
2 years ago |it powerzooms the photographer not the lens back and forth within your shooting situation
YouDidntDidYou
2 years ago |anyone notice that @Thom Hogan posted something nice/positive about micro four thirds but it was on the SonyAlphaRumors site “Meanwhile, their competitors are quickly honing in on “size matters”. Olympus, Panasonic, and Samsung have all gone to collapsing and compact lens designs”
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/c-garrard-sony-is-aware-that-we-need-pancakes-for-the-nex-system/#comments :p
Miroslav
2 years ago |Maybe power MF slider?
mikep
2 years ago |but what’s missing are faster zooms. I noticed that Nikon will release a f2.8 to f4.5 10-100 or something zoom lens. I hope Oly/Pana take notice. Since detractor says m43 sensors suck at high iso then oly/pana should make faster zooms to level the playing field. I was hoping the pana x zoom would start at 2.8. So oly/pana where’s our 2.8 zoom?
Nick Clark
2 years ago |Just putting it out there, the Nikon sensor will be *smaller* than MFT, so it’s actually Nikon that needs fast zooms to level the playing field, with that logic anyway…
mikep
2 years ago |to level the playing field between m43 and APC…
Anonymous
2 years ago |It’s very quick. Can cover the whole focal range in no time at all.
IB
2 years ago |Sounds like a nice lens by the way, my guess is that Panasonic need something to compete with the new Oly lens, so the Aperture will probably be larger than the current PL 45 as well.
Davo
2 years ago |How do u powerzoom a prime lens?
Raist3d
2 years ago |+500 HAHAHAHA
bobw
2 years ago |The rumour is certainly intriguing, but a third m4/3 45mm prime? It sounds kind of unlikely – surely there are other focal lengths that could be prioritised! A fast, slightly longer tele prime would complement the Oly 45/1.8 nicely. That said, there’s no doubt that pancakes are good for the strength of the system.
Admin, are you hearing any murmurs about a possible m4/3 NEX-7 rival? Can we expect any blockbuster rumours in that connection any time soon?
Davo
2 years ago |How do you powerzoom a prime lens?
ha
2 years ago |power zoom -> power collapsible? But if it’s a pancake this doesn’t make sense.
bright wide angle
2 years ago |Admin, pls change title or is it realy a 90mm pancake…
Still I have 45/1.8 on order, so Panny if you want me to dump 45/1.8 and buy yours it needs to be f/1.4 otherwise just forget it.
BTW. Apart from Asia where can I get your 25/1.4 :angry:
Anonymous
2 years ago |It is not a 90mm, it should be written as 45mm; admin wrote “According to one of the sources there are currently several prototypes of 90mm equivalent pancakes”.
If 4/3 is a new format as many enthusiasts said, then why they always compare their lens to 35mm?
digifan
2 years ago |Well I don’t anymore since 2005, because I have no APS-C or 35mm camera anymore.
But if everybody didn’t do it then you’d be confused.
sneye
2 years ago |Panasonic and Olympus should realize that m4/3 is one system. I can understand the redundancy in slow zooms, but the internal competition in terms of quality lenses surely hinders diversification. So, IMO Panasonic should concentrate on applications not yet covered (such as a 75/2.8 macro or a 65/1.8 portrait lens).
BTW, that Pentax lens certainly looks sweet.
ha
2 years ago |or a fast 35mm pancake
YouDidntDidYou
2 years ago |@sneye
competition laws stop them from “colluding” in such a manner, four thirds is merely an open standard they agree to adhere to…
Raist3d
2 years ago |m4/3rds is not an open standard. Only Olympus and Panasonic are in per se, can make bodies. That they can get others in doesn’t change that fact. An open standard would mean all the specs for the standard are open to see/ do development on and that is not the case.
4/3rds was a more open standard and it is still a closed standard.
YouDidntDidYou
2 years ago |@Raist3d
open standard is different from open source (open specs)
Raist3d
2 years ago |It is (that Pentax lens
).
Olympius
2 years ago |Interesting how they would “leak” this information just when the Olympus 45mm is about to hit the market! I wonder why that is?????
Anyway, I doubt a 45mm prime lens needs power zoom, most likely what will be available is some sort of power OIS, which the Olympus lens lacks, obviously.
It should be very easy to make a 45mm pancake, Minolta had a “near” pancake with their 45mm f.2 Rokkor-X kit lens, which was a really nice little prime, and one of the smallest Minolta ever made. And of course there is the famous Pentax 40mm. The trick will be the addition of OIS….if they can pull that off in a pancake, they should get a major award.
Admin, If you can get any sort of confirmation or additional info on this lens, I’d love to hear about it. I’m holding off on the Olympus 45mm for now. However, I have three Lumix lenses on my “wish list” that I will most likely get first anyway, including both “X” zooms just announced.
A 45mm Lumix pancake, f.2 or better, would just make my day, especially if it has the same filter size as the 14mm and 20mm.
- Olympius
Beomagi
2 years ago |It’s “easy” to make a 45 mm pancake, when the register distance is already so great.
Nick Clark
2 years ago |I don’t normally grumble, but…
First, 45mm is 45mm is 45mm IS NOT 90mm. Micro Four Thirds has been around for a while now and everyone gets the equivalency thing – I opened this expecting rumours about a 90mm…
Second, how can a prime have powerzoom?
emde
2 years ago |+1
I opened this rumour because 80-100 mm is exactly what is on my wishlist for mFT. A third 45mm wouldn’t really make sense…
90mm is 90mm is 90mm
DonTom
2 years ago |Jeez, the choices just get harder every week! Sure, I’d love the Olly 45/1.8………but should I “weight” for the 35-100 “X” fast zoom for portraits? And now a bloody 45mm pancake? Slow down guys, you’re making my head spin!
Seriously, if it’s fast, it would be very tempting. I would probably travel with that and the 20/1.7 alone.
Simon
2 years ago |Not another 45mm please! Can Pana please rework the 20mm 1.7 as “X” and include macro capabilities? Or make a 17mm 2.0 macro?
Why I ask for macro? Because all p&s upgraders are used to have macro without the need to change lenses. And it would be my dream walk around lens, as well!
Other nice additions would be a medium range zoom like a 12-75 or 14-80 with better-than-superzoom IQ, even it it’s a slow 3.5-5,6 it would be a welcome additon.
Again, there are so many 45mm native and 50mm manual lenses around now, please no more!
Thierry
2 years ago |@ Admin: Besides double checking your sources, you should also check your posts ;o)
petero
2 years ago |ill double that!
frank
2 years ago |“A 45mm Lumix pancake, f.2 or better, would just make my day, especially if it has the same filter size as the 14mm and 20mm.”
Exactly, this would be very nice. I am probably buying the Oly 45/1.8, and / or the upcoming X 12-35 zoom (depending on aperture), but if there will be a 45/2 pancake I will definately reconsider because a pancake portrait prime is so much more portable.
wyss
2 years ago |u guys can order 25/1.4 leica from a canada store, ADEN CAMERA. my friend works there, i saw limited stock.
i would love to see some new focal length instead of a X-series 45mm macro.
some new leica bright zoom or tele zoom would be lovely.
mahler
2 years ago |Why pancake? Please stop this overminiaturization! Two pancakes primes and a pancake zoom in the line-up are enough. I want lenses, which can handle well, i.e. easy to grip and with a comfortable manual focus ring. The PL 1.4/25mm has about the right size. The lens designers should follow this paradigm instead of producing yet another pancake of a focal length, which is already covered enough.
frank
2 years ago |Then buy the Oly 45/1.8.
NiKo
2 years ago |Powerzoom prime? WTF?
Anonymous
2 years ago |n/t
Yun
2 years ago |Let’s hope the lens come with fast aperture , below F1.8 will be wonderful . Currently the M.Zuiko Digital 45mm F1.8 is really an amazing lens .
Björn Utpott
2 years ago |Panasonic is exploiting the advantages of the smaller 4/3 sensor and its expertise designing compact lens systems. That should give them an edge, as the overall kit size will be more compact compared to the competition. Like others though, I am less than pleased by the choice of the focal length. The M.Zuiko 45/1.8 is already quite compact and light (only 116g; not much heavier than the Lumix 20/1.7 pancake at 100g). Why not a different focal length, like 35 or 70mm? Even a bright 90mm prime would be very welcome, just not another 45mm lens please.
oluv2002
2 years ago |i welcome any new lens as long as it is small
DonTom
2 years ago |Compact is key at the moment. I have just been to Malaysia, where I have many nieces and nephews. 8 months ago, NEX was the rage, and they couldn’t “get” m43 (I have an E-PL1). Now, they are dumping the NEX, and buying GF3 with 14mm primes: and borrowing my Panny 20/1.7.
Small high quality cameras are a huge growth market. Young professionals in Asia have a lot to spend, and not much to do. Facebook is huge, and images are very important to these folks. One niece with an acne problem just adored the e-Portrait filter on my Olympus, she was loading her own jpegs on my SD card and running it thru the in-camera filter!
Panasonic is truly on the right track by going small. Sorry to all the “rangefinder style” devotees (myself included), but Panny and Olly could care less right now. Small is the big market, they’ll get to us in due time.
bilgy_no1
2 years ago |Is it really possible to make a 45mm pancake for m4/3? I believe the Pentax pancake in the picture can be so small because its focal length is close to the flange distance of the K-mount?
Maybe some kind of collapsible mechanism to bring the lens at the right distance for use?
Gravi
2 years ago |if the source is right and you have a powerzooming prime, that would be a first ever in photograpy land… and a last I guess
Stephan
2 years ago |apart from the fact that a powerzoom doesn’t make any sense on a prime lens… why is it that everyone is so excited about powerzooms? I don’t get it…
JF
2 years ago |+1 except for video fans, but I’m not… so I’m really not exited…
Tobias W.
2 years ago |Prime lens, powerZOOM?!?!
If I use the Zoom lever on that lens, does it move my feet? Cool…
Chris
2 years ago |Yeah, it might move your feet, and it may have fancy ‘Power OIS’, but if this lens doesn’t offer In-Subject Stabilisation then, I’m sorry Panasonic, but no sale.
I mean, it’s 2011, for goodness’ sakes…
Ton
2 years ago |I think the other way around… The subject you focus will move closer or further to you.
olympusaddict
2 years ago |I definitely do not _NEED_ pancacke m43 45mm, as it is very specific job to do, I don’t care about the size once shooting with 90mm(FF). Plus, hard to beat _very_ compact Olympus F1.8 lens as well.
I would welcome new version of a more useful 20mm, with the size of 14mm. That is all-the-time carry lens for street photography, landscapes, bar parties or occasional shots, concerts,where I do _care about the size/weight.
a little offtopic follows.
I bought Olympus E-P3 & SEMA-1 adapter (+ useless mic) and I want to put Sennheiser MK400 mic on it somehow.
But I haven’t figured the way how to do it. Anyone faced problems of attaching different mics to SEMA-1 adapter?
admin sorry for otopic, feel free to delete
Miroslav
2 years ago |I doubt they can make m4/3 45mm pancake F2.8 or faster. Why would then Leica 45mm F2.8 and Olympus 45mm F1.8 be that big? Besides, Pentax 40mm is 60mm equivalent, so it’s not comparable with 90mm equivalent lens.
Nick Clark
2 years ago |A lot of people in Pentax-Land believe that the DA 40mm Ltd is actually a full-frame lens (ie. designed to cover a 35mm sensor…)
emde
2 years ago |it is not the equivalent focal length that mykes those elnses incomparable but the flange back distance which is roughly doubly fro Pentax compared to mFT…
Bob
2 years ago |It really is great to see all these m43 lenses talked about and potentially comping to market. However, I think the priority should be getting out a body that competes with Nex7. Main thing is, a compact body with built in electronic viewfinder, and preferably some other things like in body IS, good manual control, good video specs. I think they should consider bringing out a new body like this with the new 14-42 X power zoom lens coming to market soon.
jonathan
2 years ago |What i’d love to see, is a new 50mm f/2.5 X PANCAKE with or without power focus (don’t really care about this gadget powerfocus buttons maybe video shooters do!)
It would gave us a 100mm 2.5 (in 35mm terms) medium fast portrait lens just like some 105mm 2.5 nikkor or 100mm 2.5 rokkor did in the past.
Because of the large amount of fast MF 50mm lenses on ebay, This new little X lens MUST BE Xtra small and lightweight.
JF
2 years ago |50 mm f2.5 m43 is equivalent to 100 mm f2.5 in full frame in terms of focal and light but it is equivalent to 100 mm f5 in terms of DOF so the comparison isn’t totally true…
ArKersaint
2 years ago |I would understand “power-off collapsible” prime lens… Why not ?
Cerebus
2 years ago |I’d call this FT1. Panasonic already has a 45mm prime in the inventory, and a pancake is unlikely to be stabilized (notice that all the Panasonic pancakes are unstabilized) which would start to be a real problem at this focal length.
It would be more likely that Panasonic would tweak, rebrand, and rerelease the Leica lenses as X lenses.
Martin
2 years ago |It will be the world’s first prime with a variable focal length. Pure nonsuch!
digifan
2 years ago |I think it’s plain stupidity if people can’t understand the writing error, and mock him for that.
Sometimes a word is in our mind which we write down iso the word that should be there.
In this case I’d not be surprised if he meant Power Focus, but wrote powerzoom instead.
If people had followed the introduction of the X lenses they’d know that on the 45-175 there are two levers in addition to the rings, one lever for zoom and one for focus. So a pancake prime could well have a Power Focus ring or lever.
Martin
2 years ago |You know, it’s relative. I myself believe it’s plain idiocy when someone doesn’t understand a simple joke.
AndersN
2 years ago |The joke was slightly amusing the first time, but you were late to the game.
Martin
2 years ago |I actually wrote that before reading the earlier comments. But at least you are polite, which cannot be said about the poster above me.
henrik
2 years ago |There are two native m43 45 mm lenses already, and everybody has 45 or 42 millimeters on their kit zooms you’re almost forced to buy.
So, it makes beautiful sense to bring out another 45 mm lens. As we don’t need any other focal lengths anyway.
MP Burke
2 years ago |The comparison with the Pentax lens is questionable, because the mount to sensor distance is so much longer for a Pentax K mount camera than it is for mft. (My Pentax K to mft adaptor is about 23mm long). Besides, one of main reasons the Pentax lens is small is because it is f2.8: it is not a macro and has just five elements. Such a specification will hardly be attractive for mft users.
A short tele lens which extended or collapsed when the camera was turned on or off would be a more interesting proposition as it makes a more compact camera for carrying around.
However, I am still of the opinion that a longer macro lens (e.g 75mm) would be of much more use to the system as a whole.
kesztió
2 years ago |PLease, just a little bigger, but at least F1.8!!!!
Martin
2 years ago |I’ll tell you a sweet little secret: Such a lens exists! Olympus produce it
Narretz
2 years ago |This supposed lens is certainly weird in a lot of senses. Let’s hope it’s a wide open good 60mm+ instead!
Chlau
2 years ago |It’s two different sources. One says it is a prime 45 and the second says it is a powerzoom with macro capability. So it is not a prime with powerzoom. One rumor is right the other wrong. Or there are two new X lenses.
slave
2 years ago |i’m shocked, a year passed since 12-50/2.5 lens rummor and still no that lens, but now we’ve got two new X lenses which are not so desired and this rumor, what they are thinking about?
Agent00soul
2 years ago |A 45 mm lens can’t be as short as the Pentax on m4/3 (much shorter flange distance) unless they make it collapsible. Maybe that’s where the powerzoom bit comes from – a prime that is power collapsible. Possible. Desirable?
Jim Batey
2 years ago |What is the big deal with pancakes…..about as exciting as walking around with a body and a lens cap on it…….whoopie. And you say it is your “dream lens”………but you want it for nothing………that’s just “dreaming”….!!
Ulli
2 years ago |that Pentax pancake looks delicious btw !
Mr. Reeee
2 years ago |Yummy indeed!
Pentax also makes a 70mm F2.4 pancake, in the same series, that looks really slick! It’s similar in size to the 20mm. Smaller lenses and pancakes are a great match for M4/3, especially smaller bodies like the PENs or GFs. That size is great for streetshooting.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/460850-USA/Pentax_21620_SMCP_DA_70mm_f_2_4_Limited.html
Don’t forget rangefinder lenses!
emde
2 years ago |25mm lens length + ~40 flange back = ~65mm –> very close to 70
for mFT, flange back is roughly half –> either retrofocal construction or longer lens
compositor20
2 years ago |we need f1.2 portrait primes with OIS it could be priced like olympus 12mm and panasonic leica 24mm f1.4!…
f1.8 dont produce enough blur of background for full body shots in portraits..
Ulli
2 years ago |I understand your need for fast portrait lenses, but i think the blur effect difference between a 1.8 or 1.4 for a fullbody is subtle. If i want to have more blur in a fullbody shot with my 50mm i let the model use a pose where the body needs to get contracted, like a sit, kneel or on laying on the ground with the underlegs pointing up. This way i can get closer to the subject while keeping the whole body in the frame. Otherwise more attention for a non-busy background is needed.
Narretz
2 years ago |Maybe Panasonic can make the lens especially compact with good quality etc. only for this focal lens, so they’re bringing it basically to show that they are on top regarding minituarization. But if it isn’t extraordinary in other aspects nobody will buy it. It’s just a boring focal length.
Kobe
2 years ago |What a 90mm equivalent prime need is OIS, especially for filming. Otherwise I’ll buy the Olympus one.
Michael Devitt
2 years ago |Olympus m.ZD 45mm f1.8 first impressions and samples were posted at dpreview: http://dpreview.com/news/1109/11091910oly_45_F1p8_firstimpressions.asp
Anonymous
2 years ago |A 42mm F1.2 will be better for me eventhough is big size rather than to have a pancake size of… What,… 45mm F 2.8 again. ( Leica macro is enough+ with Oly 45). Oh yeah ,.. It it wiil be a pancake… With a powerzome,.. On a prime ,.. I dont get it or we definitly stupid.
twoomy
2 years ago |I don’t want Pany to announce any more lenses until they can deliver the ones that they have already announced!
Bob B.
2 years ago |First off…those Pentax LImited lenses are incredible…and with the high IQ performance, compact Pentax body and those lenses Pentax is offering something that Canon and Nikon simply are not..Super compact design with AND quality optics…..giving the company great niche appeal. Now…MFT can learn a lot from that model and the lens designs…so this rumor sounds promising. I would be happy if the 45 was just fast!!! like f/1.4, IS would be a plus..and macro not a necessity….just give us a compact, fast aperture, quality lens ….that is where MFT shines over the competition!!!!!!!
Hope this is true!
Michael Devitt
2 years ago |What about Panasonic 45mm f1.7-f1.4 with the size of a 20mm f1.7 lens? Many people would be happy with it
.
High-end built quality a la Limited series is nice, but those lenses (35-50mm) are already covered by Cosina/Voigtländer, Zeiss ZM series etc… The 45mm f1.8 is pretty small too.
Mr. Reeee
2 years ago |+10
Keep in mind just how GOOD… and how popular… the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 pancake lens is. If there’s only ONE thing we M4/3 users agree upon it’s THAT lens.
If Panasonic could produce a lineup of high-IQ, compact, prime pancakes on par with the 20mm (and Pentax Limited) it would go a LONG way selling the M4/3 system.
Imagine the 14mm, 20mm, a 45mm and an 85mm set of primes.
RW
2 years ago |Precisely. The holy grail of m43 has always been about minimizing IQ tradeoffs while providing compactness.
The 20mm is exactly the right model as far as I am concerned – very, very sharp glass in a lovely small package. It would be ingenuous to say that anybody is being thwarted photographically because of this lens’s limitations. If you absolutely require better IQ or faster speeds, then the m43 format is going to be a huge disappointment to you.
So lets continue in this vein please, Panny and Oly. Reasonably fast, sharp, and above all…small.
Nick Clark
2 years ago |“MFT can learn a lot from that model and the lens designs…. I would be happy if the 45 was just fast!!! like f/1.4″
Well that’s a bit of a contradiction there… The main thing that allows Pentax the balance of size and quality with the DA Limited line is the fact that they’re slowwwwww (by prime standards) – f4, f3.2, f2.8, f2.8 and f2.4…
www.MilosJanata.com
2 years ago |Wait a moment, we could use powerzoom buttons to control digital zoom in video
Kylberg
2 years ago |I would be interested in this lens; 45mm or 60mm with macro. But can it really be both panncake and bright?
I just read the Luminous Landscape impessions of the Sony NEX-7. I must admit it leaves me drowling….
Will I commit treason to this community and switch?
radbag
2 years ago |what ever happened to the 25mm f1.4 Panasonic was supposed to release in summer?
A lot of announcements/ rumors very little hardware.
Olympius
2 years ago |I’m already sold on this Lumix pancake 45mm, even if it is just a low-level rumor! If nothing comes of it, I’ll just get the Olympus 45mm, no big deal.
For the next compact prime I’d like to see from either Oly or Lumix, how about a 70mm f.2.8 near-pancake? Now that would be a pretty awesome, and handy telephoto for my needs. And a 100mm f.2.8 would be nice, though impossible to make into a pancake, it would still be a small, very compact lens that I could really make use of.
- Olympius
Me
2 years ago |- a good 17mm (35mm) first
- 12-60 and 50-200 anyone?
TR
2 years ago |+1 17mm
I want quality of 12mm
Zaph
2 years ago |+2 17mm
simonl
2 years ago |Pancake 14, 20 & 45 on my GF-1 ?
Sounds like the Holy Trinity to me
dude
2 years ago |why not a 14mm at this size wide angle is better
about the new x lense is sad that we can’t have 14mm without have it in tradionnal pankake (its still open) -_-
hope have the same lens in 14 x lense ! who can pass the message to panasonic!!!!!!!!!! -_-….
simonl
2 years ago |Any word on this ? Admin ? Anyone ?