(FT5) Specs of the upcoming X lenses. Price of the 14-42mm lens is “high”!
Some of our readers said that it is not possible that slow zooms can be defined as “PRO” lenses. I just learned from my sources the exact words Panasonic will use tomorrow when announcing the new “X” lenses. According to Pana this is a “premium lens brand“! And those are the lens specs:
Lumix G X 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical lens with Power O.I.S.
I have been told that it has:
- superb image rendering for lifelike textures
- crisp edge-to-edge contrast
- Nano Surface Coating (for minimal ghosts and flaring)
- 26.8mm length!
- 95g
- It has 9 lenses (including four aspherical lenses and two ED lenses)
- It has two buttons, a electric-powered zoom button and an autofocus button (there is no zoom nor focur ring!)
- 0.1 second Light Speed AF with the Panasonic GF3.
. Minimum focusing distance wide open is 20cm. On the tele end it is 30cm.
Lumix G X 45-175mm f/4.0-5.6 Aspherical lens with Power O.I.S.
- superb image rendering for lifelike textures
- crisp edge-to-edge contrast
- Nano Surface Coating (for minimal ghosts and flaring)
- Inner focusing
- 90mm length
- 210g
- 0.15 second Light Speed AF with the Panasonic GF3.
- The lens has almost the same size of the Olympus 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6. It is not compact!
P.S.: Two of my sources said the price of the 14-42mm X lens is probably too high 
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Comment from MikeS: Not intimate with the inner workings of ...
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Comment from eadrian75: It seems Panasonic "pro" m43 offering ar...- Comment from eadrian75: Agree, WTF. The prosumer/enthusiast m43 ...
NiKo
9 months ago |> electric-powered zoom button
WTF?
frosti7
9 months ago |+wtf
Lars
9 months ago |yeah wtf…
nobody buys that expensiv stuff for m43 except a few enthusiast.
HotDuckZ
9 months ago |WTF?
It’s videographer dream. low noise, no jerk when zooming.
and it’s not for noob.
eadrian75
9 months ago |Agree, WTF. The prosumer/enthusiast m43 offerings are falling short. NEX7 is a game changer that proves big things do come in small packages. APS-C sensor and built-in view finder in GF1 sized body trumps recent efforts by m43 to market their products as “pro”. These lenses just reconfirm those thoughts … seriously, “pro” lens with an electronic powered zoom and no focus ring has to be a joke that will probably sell for $800!
MikeS
9 months ago |So, too expensive for consumer p&s upgraders, who would be the ideal target market.
Nice move, Panny.
Here’s hoping (for the company’s sake) that the 14-42 will find its way into a reasonably-priced GF3 kit, which seems like a no-brainer, but…
Dummy00001
9 months ago |> Nice move, Panny.
That’s the price of being an “early adopter.”
Face it, the lens uses combination of technologies which is available in precisely zero other lenses. It is only given that it would be expensive.
MikeS
9 months ago |“Face it, the lens uses combination of technologies which is available in precisely zero other lenses.”
…which is precisely why it should be competitively priced. The innovations in this lens (i.e. [1] it’s small [2] it’s small [3] … ) appeal mainly to entry-level photo/videographers, who are stepping up from a p&s. It’s the lens that should’ve accompanied the consumer-friendly GF2/3 in the first place, because it is cute and non-threatening (no scary focus/zoom rings), and is a much better match, size-wise, than the current 14-42mm.
If Panny prices this lens around the level of the GF2/3, they would vastly undermine its sales potential (because many consumers consider $500-600 to be the spending limit for a camera kit, much less an individual lens), and lose an opportunity to gain many new m4/3 users.
Anonymous
9 months ago |Yeah, so you’re intimate with the company financials are you. A little advice from you and soon they’ll be challenging Apple for biggest company in the world.
MikeS
9 months ago |Not intimate with the inner workings of the company, just common sense.
And guess what? The 14-42 will be available with the GF3x for only around $150 more than the original 14-42 GF3 kit’s MSRP. It will also be available on its own for around that much less than a GF2/GF3 kit. So, it seems that my crazy speculative suggestions won out.
Thanks, Panny.
Soeren Engelbrecht
9 months ago |Admin: Any words on whether the 14-42 can “step zoom” as, e.g., the LX5 and many other serious compacts ?? It would be fantastic, if you could go 28/35/50/75/90 in steps by flicking the zoom lever/button. Or set the lens to always start at, say, 35 mm, when it expands on power-up.
frank
9 months ago |indeed, this would be great, nobody really needs the inbetween settings anyway, at least I could do with a stepped zoom just fine, knowing if you skip from 14 to 20 without checking the zoomring
Duarte Bruno
9 months ago |Ooops! I guess landscape photographers must be nobody!
Luke
9 months ago |I thought landscape photographers didn’t use zooms, they use their feet?
admin
9 months ago |No idea yet. But I don’t think it will do that.
TheVoiceoverman
9 months ago |Why are those focal lengths better than any others? Ridiculous. You frame in the way you think is best. Those numbers have no special meaning. They are traditional, and that is all.
Olympius
9 months ago |So these are going to be premium lenses after all! Very nice. The only bad part is that they are probably going to be very expensive, which dampens my enthusiasm somewhat.
Still, these would be great lenses for video.
- Olympius
mpgxsvcd
9 months ago |With extremely small apertures these lenses are useless for video even on the mighty GH2.
I think with these new lenses they have made our pro-sumer level cameras act too much like point and shoot cameras. These new lenses will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO IMPROVE PICTURE OR VIDEO QUALITY. The high price is completely unwarranted.
Beasmo
9 months ago |Really? Large aperture useless for video. Please explain.
mpgxsvcd
9 months ago |With apertures above 5.0 you are going to need very slow shutter speeds. For stills that can be acceptable if the subject doesn’t move and if the camera or lens is stabilized.
With video you must use a specific shutter speed to achieve the standard motion. That shutter speed needs to be 2x the frame rate. For 24 fps video you need at least 1/50 of a second. Try to shoot with these lenses at the telephoto end in anything but the brightest light. You will be slower than 1/50th of a second or your ISO will be so high it will be unusable.
Beasmo
9 months ago |So do you think they’d be fine outside during the day?
Four by Six
9 months ago |Really? Philip Bloom said he had to shoot f11 on the Red Tails set to match the F35 cameras’ DOF, though granted that was outside. I did love his indoor f0.95 GH2 footage, though, some with a single match!
dumbo
9 months ago |film sets are very brightly lit. and DOF has nothing to do with mpgsvcd’s comment.
i guess the answer is test it, set your camera to 1/50 at 100 iso and see what you can take with a still. the same will apply to video.
marcram
9 months ago |Panasonic need to make the GH3 a camera truely optimized for video. Limit megapixels to like 7 or so to improve low light usage with the new X lenses. Alternatively, come up with a robust binning process that significantly improves low light shooting.
eadrian75
9 months ago |It seems Panasonic “pro” m43 offering are getting a reputation for shooting great video; i’m sure they do. But it seems Panasonic is going thru an identity crisis and producing products that make videographers happy but disappointing photogs.
I myself don’t care for video or lenses optimized for such. IMO, Panasonic as an option for an enthusiast prosumer “range-finder” style camera has taken a back seat with the introduction of the GF2.
Olympius
9 months ago |I’m thinking consumer level video here….not pro stuff. Consumer level video is good enough for my purposes, otherwise I’d go get a Canon 5D Mk II.
Anyway, for outdoor shooting, it should be fine. The GH series cameras are quite good at ISO 800 anyway, I don’t see a need for pumping up the ISO any higher unless you’re shooting indoors, where a fast prime or fast zoom (like the Olympus 14-54 f.2.8-3.5) would be more useful.
- Olympius
JeremyT
9 months ago |Unless they price these things like the existing kit lenses, I just don’t see them selling well. Although I’d love to own a zoom this small (especially the longer one), I don’t value its portability enough to pay a “premium” price for it, that’s for sure.
Uberzone
9 months ago |Can someone tell me why this would need a dedicated auto focus button? I would think the camera body could take care of that.
dumbo
9 months ago |theres no manual focus, so this must be a typo. i think it is dedicated ois button
Boooo!
9 months ago |A lens without manual zoom, without manual focus, without the ability to attach a lens hood, without the ability to attach a filter, without weather sealing and with such a slow aperture CANNOT be “pro” or “premium”, unless you’re in marketdroid land.
dumbo
9 months ago |premium does not mean pro at all. it is just a translation problem by non english speaking people. (admin is not english, and although his english is great, there are subtle differences he wouldnt know as a non native english speaker)
this is not a pro lens, it is mearly a premium (high quality consumer) lens
carpandean
9 months ago |“without the ability to attach a filter”
Has 37mm filter threads. Says so right on the front of it.
Boooo!
9 months ago |Do you see a filter thread? I don’t. I don’t even understand how you put the lens cap on it.
Chez Wimpy
9 months ago |sure, filter thread is in the center, near the front element
io
9 months ago |+1
slow and expensive lens, not my taste…
TempTag
9 months ago |Price will be “high” – lol, that pretty much describes most of Panasonic’s m43 lenses. Actually, I have a better word – overpriced. This lens really looks appealing to P&S users but a high price would limit its appeal. Of course, if you don’t plan to ship much product at launch anyway (see GH1, GH2) why not price it high?
Jim
9 months ago |I would love this lens – but, if its a case of this or the oly 9-18 then i will live with my normal kit lens!
if it was priced @£250 & or came as the new kit lens with new G/GH cams then it would be a winner….
safaridon
9 months ago |There is a post over on DPR which claims the price will be $250 higher than the existing 14-42 zoom lens which sells for $200 so at most $ 450 and possible in kit with GF3 that would translate into about $100 over the 14mm kit or $800 list or $700 street price?
Mike
9 months ago |I’m somewhat interested, and grossed out, all in the same breath.
Coming from the Canon SLR world, I’m looking at the power zoom and lack of MF ring as a concession to the home video market (and perhaps the P&S still market) — this is the grossed out part I’m referring to. The memory of the very fail Canon attempts at a power zoom lens doesn’t help.
But! The size of the 14-42 is perfect for the sort of things I do with a micro 4/3 camera. I shoot PENs, so I’m not as into video, but a 14-42 zoom at a pancake size, I can see being really discreet and wonderful. I’d miss the manual zoom and focus, but I feel that it’s an acceptable trade off for “discreet”.
Assuming of course, it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to buy… I might just grab one of these to try. That and assuming they’ll work on PENs correctly. If not, eh. Oh well.
Steve
9 months ago |Panasonic will have a difficult time marketing these. Too expensive for the P&S crowd yet no manual zoom/focus kills it for the pro crowd. They would be great for video but how many would buy this just for video and even for video you want a brighter lens.
I wonder if Panasonic is gearing up for a more video centric compact camera with video centric controls.
Chris K
9 months ago |Perhaps a video-centric body will be the new high-end bodied rumored from Panasonic. Something between the AF-100 and GH2 in video capabilities, but in a camera-style body?
Anonymous
9 months ago |not a grate deal of room between the af-100 & gh2?
Chris
9 months ago |A strange move by Panasoinic in this awfull ressession. Why make a lense that is expensive, has no real zoom advantage over the 100-300mm lense.
It seems to be for a Video market but a automatic zoom is an advantage but so is a follow focus rig and that cost less.
Anybody won the lottery
frosti7
9 months ago |Its just a bragging rights lens, so Panasonic can claim the smallest system with standard lens
Only if it had manual zoom link…
Anonymous
9 months ago |If the aperture F/ 2.5-3.3 or F/2.8 constant aperture i will consider the X as a Pro Grade ,.. We need a fast glass as we know the High Iso is not good enough for F/3.5 on a dim light
Godot
9 months ago |The 45-175 may not be “small” but 210g is pretty impressive. For comparison, the 45-200 weighs 380g.
Like (some) others, don’t know quite what to think of these lenses yet. Don’t really object to power zoom and (apparent) lack of MF. Assuming no major image quality issues, pricing will determine whether I’m a hater or a fanboy.
Michael Meissner
9 months ago |On the other hand, the Olympus 14-150mm is 190g and the Olympus 14-150mm is 280g.
Godot
9 months ago |Those don’t have OIS. Fine if you have an Oly body, but the lightweight long Oly zooms have less appeal for owners of Panasonic bodies. (I guess you meant to type 40-150 for one of those?)
Michael Meissner
9 months ago |Yes, the first one should be 40-150mm.
The master
9 months ago |So, it sounds like th lens has to extend like the oly, before you can shoot with it?
Chris K
9 months ago |I don’t get this idea that slow lenses can’t be “pro”. Well, I guess my root problem is I don’t get this obsession with the word “pro”. I’ve shot professionally. I’ve shot for fun. I use the same equipment in the same fashion.
How many studio photographers need weather sealing or large apertures? How many landscape photographers need quick silent AF? How many event photographers need extreme sharpness?
For many, “pro” is just a word stuck on a lens to say “it’s the best one we make”, or (worse yet) a word uttered by a photographer to elevate himself above his peers as an assertion of his superior skill.
Is Canon’s 800/5.6 a “pro” lens? Look at that slow aperture! What about Canon’s 28-300/3.5-5.6L? It has a VARIABLE aperture, but I’ve never seen anyone BUT pros using it. (Who would carry a 3lbs ultrazoom by choice?) And what of pros who shoot with bodies like the Rebel XT or Nikon D50? Are they only pros when they reach for their 1D’s and D3′s?
Lets abandon this silly use of “pro” as a term to imply quality.
In other news, I’m bummed out the 45-175 will be as large as the 40-150. The 40-150 has pretty nice optics, so the 45-175 will have to be exquisite to justify a larger price tag, or it will be used solely by videographers.
Thanks for the excellent info, Admin. You’re helping me make wiser purchase decisions. What I REALLY want right now is more info on this Oly macro lens. I want a 45/1.8 but if a 50/2 macro is coming I would buy that instead, so I can’t buy a 45/1.8 until I hear about the macro lens.
Patrik
9 months ago |Well said, Chris K.
Anonymous
9 months ago |+1000000
People want pro on their kit because they are not confident enough that there skill/result is pro…
You can be very pro with a kit lens and normal level camera (any m4/3)… you can be a wannabe not having to make his keep with his camera and have the pro badge on every bit of kit you own….
Of corse if you had a canon 0.001D and an F0.001 lens you would be the most pro on the planet and everything you say would be writen down for all to behold!
Godot
9 months ago |Another +1 here. Unfortunately a subset of m43 users are obsessed with “pro” gear, and even more unfortunately the owner of this site appears to be one of them. We keep seeing “pro” this and “pro” that in the rumour mill, but AFAIK Panasonic itself has yet to use the word for anything related to m43. Result: grumbling and disappointment when the “pro” goods don’t materialize, or nonsensical complaining that “such and such product can’t be pro because it doesn’t have this or that” — when the only people bringing up “pro” in the first place are the people doing the complaining.
Hey Admin, how about reserving the use of the word “pro” or “professional” strictly for cases when you are certain the company in question will be using it (or already has used it)? Maybe that would cut down on some of the useless grumbling?
Olympius
9 months ago |“Hey Admin, how about reserving the use of the word “pro” or “professional” strictly for cases when you are certain the company in question will be using it (or already has used it)? Maybe that would cut down on some of the useless grumbling?”
+1,000,000
There’s nothing “pro” about the micro 4/3 system, other than professional photographers like Thom Hogan, Kirk Tuck, Steve Huff, etc., liking to use them more so than their Nikon/Canon/Leica “pro” equipment.
Anyway, if by “pro” one means a weather/dust sealed magnesium alloy body, then Sony got their first with the NEX7 –what a sweet job they did on that thing, too bad their lenses are the size and quality of Coke bottles.
But yes, I could see “pros” using these cute little “X” lenses from Panny, as long as the deliver the goods image wise.
- Olympius
admin
9 months ago |Panaosnic says this is a high end premium line. For me that means the same as PRO. Why bother to create such a line if you don’t target that for PRO’s?
nikclick
9 months ago |“Panaosnic says this is a high end premium line. For me that means the same as PRO.”
I think something is confused here. These lenses don’t really seem to be premium to me (maybe I’m wrong, maybe the rumor is wrong?), and premium consumer stuff is anyway not the same as pro stuff. Pro makes me think rugged, big, fast, top quality optics, weather sealed – maybe not all these attributes, but certainly some. These lenses may fulfill the quality optics part – time will tell, but they don’t hit anything else AFAICS.
“Why bother to create such a line if you don’t target that for PRO’s?”
Sorry admin, I really don’t understand this. The collapsible 14-42 is just screaming to be put onto the GF3. That is the killer combo that every girl will want in their Xmas stocking. I don’t see why this lens would appeal to professional photographers?
Peter Thomson
9 months ago |There are plenty of high end premium lines in all the camera ranges that are not considered PRO. The Swarovski Crystal Canon Ixus is a high end premium line, but it’s not PRO.
These new X lenses will suit a high end premium user. Some of them might be professional photographers but most won’t.
Michael Meissner
9 months ago |I dunno, I think with those two lenses, they are targeting wannabees and not pros. Of course in the market, calling something pro attracts the wannabees (and may in fact be a turn off to real pros).
Godot
9 months ago |To me “high end” or “premium” is not at all the same thing as pro. Pro means “designed as a professional tool, for those who make a living from photography.” Nothing from m43 so far meets that definition, nor is it intended to. It just isn’t targeted at professionals, at least not as a primary system.
To give you an analogy, you can walk into a “high end, premium” audio store and see plenty of very expensive toys, but see not a single piece of pro gear. In North America at least, you go to a whole separate store for that. (And to extend the analogy, you might drop a lot of money on some excellent speakers that are wonderful for your living room but completely useless for a wedding DJ.)
IMO when you equate high end or premium with professional, you get people’s hopes up unreasonably. So I hope you’ll consider treating premium and pro as distinct categories.
As for the X series lenses, from what I know it sounds like “premium” in terms of build quality relative to other m43 lenses, and you’re paying a price for miniaturization, but this is not intended to be for either the working professional or someone who wants to emulate the pros.
dumbo
9 months ago |but it generates traffic though, right
peace
Jason
9 months ago |@admin, how do you know price is high? I’ll pay $500 for it, can it really be worth more than that? $799 with GF3?
Kount Michula
9 months ago |I wonder if the zoom rocker will be variable in order to have various zoom speeds. This would be very useful for video as it is currently impossible to get continuous zoom on m43 video. Also focus and exposure must be consistent across the zoom spectrum to make it viable.
bunfoolio
9 months ago |There is always a premium price associated with a technology that is on the newer side. Did you guys really expect them to price it cheap. They can always reduce the price in accordance with market demands and increased effiency associted to the production process.
I just hope in a year or two I can justify buying it.
vanawesome
9 months ago |Yikes, I was excited about a “pro” line of lenses for m43, but these… these are about as pro as FCP X. Maybe that’s where they derived their namesake?
No manual focus or zoom. In what world would these be considered pro?
Color me confused.
peter
9 months ago |there is no filter mount!!! ok, why should i use a filter or protect the expansive lens when i take it with me every day? i think it is light and small to take it with me every day, isnit? :O
fgl42
9 months ago |Premium? Yeah, it’s compact but damn. Photography used to be so much more affordable in terms of cameras and lenses. Yeah, there were high end lenses but they were legitimately high end. Now it’s just like, slap a high price on something and call it premium. Whatever.
Kenn
9 months ago |if this is going to be paired with the GF3 in a kit lens, how much is expensive? the gf3 is now $700 with lens. you said it was gonna be $200+ on your last post. its MORE now? What?…. is it gonna be full grand for the kit? thats crazy. who is ever going to pay a grand for the gf3. might as well upgrade to a fuji x100 or something like that.
fgl42
9 months ago |Anyway, I thought this lens was so cool when I first saw it. Well, it’s still cool. But no way are most people who are interested in “premium” lenses gonna buy this. Why do you keep doing this Panasonic? This would have made a great kit lens to expand your m4/3 base. But now it’s “premium”. LOL! Screw Panasonic and their greed.
M43Photo
9 months ago |As the 14-42mm lens will be a kit lens, I don’t think they can price it too high. After all, Panasonic have tried launching expensive, premium kit lenses previously, the Panasonic Leica 14-50mm (two variants), and they did not sell very well.
On the other hand, as has been mentioned, these lenses represent totally new technology, so it’s given that they will be priced at a high level initially.
I think they will be important to increase the market share of the m4/3 system, and so this is good news.
It’s also quite impressive that it only has 9 lens elements. The “old” 14-42mm lens has a total of 12 lens elements.
fgl42
9 months ago |“I think they will be important to increase the market share of the m4/3 system, and so this is good news.”
But who’s gonna buy it? Premium suggests a high price. Your average consumer is gonna think, “Neat, but it duplicates my kit lens.” And enthusiasts could care less about another slow zoom, even if it is a compact. I really thought this would be the new kit lens. That’s what would make the most sense to me. Panasonic is really gonna start feeling the heat from Olympus, Samsung, Sony, and Nikon. If this was a kit lens it might garner them some more sales.
Esa Tuunanen
9 months ago |> It’s also quite impressive that it only has 9 lens elements. The “old” 14-42mm lens has a total of 12 lens elements.
(More expensive) Aspherical element can be used to replace multiple ordinary (&bigger) spherical elements for correcting some optical aberrations and there are four of those.
Still considering track record of m4/3 I’m skeptical about that premium actually meaning good optical correction of aberrations.
Voldenuit
9 months ago |>Panasonic have tried launching expensive, premium kit lenses previously, the Panasonic Leica 14-50mm (two variants), and they did not sell very well
You’re making a very big assumption that Panasonic is able and willing to learn from their past mistakes.
safaridon
9 months ago |Given that the quoted specs for these lenses are correct, I would say the premium lens has to do with primarily lens quality and size. Also I would venture to guess that only the 14-42mm is a power zoom but that the 45-175mm while much smaller and lighter than lens its replaces has same special lens elements for high IQ but conventional zoom and focus rings and none collapsing. I would expect these lenses will have metal mounts not plastic ones used by others.
Mike
9 months ago |In my opinion this lens is another result of the general trend towards compact-like interchangeable lens cameras. I think that mft will get stuck in the middle.
I personally won’t buy any lens without full manual zoom-control. Otherwise using my pen would feel like using a compact. Then Why not going for a xz-1?
Scott
9 months ago |I think this lens is a waste of money. People that need the quality dont need pwer zoom and would probably need at least fixed 3.5
arguros
9 months ago |Hi,
Yes But where is the new Panasonic X 14-140 lens?
This all I want!!!
Olympius
9 months ago |Panasonic X 14-140…..oh yes! I want one too!
- Olympius
Guy
9 months ago |These appear to be high end consumer lenses, and not fast constant F-stop zoom lenses that the Pros want.
I will pass on these, and wait for somebody to release a fast constant F-stop zoom lens. ( f/2.8 or faster ) Why is it taking so long to make the lens that the Pros actually want?
nikclick
9 months ago |Because pro stuff will sell less than 5% compared to the consumer stuff.
I hope they do pro stuff as well for MFT, but I think they are doing the right thing going for the money first.
Shame this lens is going to be expensive, it is exactly what the GF3 needs. The pairing will be cute as heck and sell by the bucket load, especially in Japan. I’d buy one for my GF (girlfriend!).
Narretz
9 months ago |Well, I guess Panasonic and Olympus focus on consolidating and expanding their market share in the sections where the money is – and where they already have an advantage. And unlike Sony, which is a big ass-company, they can’t have lots of different R&D facilities that work on the different segments.
I mean Pana released the GF1, which kind of gave m43 real good exposure for the first time, and allowed them to break into the mass market. But the target group for a GF1 like camera is nothing compared to the P&S upgraders, so we have to wait.
Narretz
9 months ago |m43 rumors (i.e. Panasonic and olympus) never fail to deliver. The weeks before every new announcement are always a roller coaster ride of emotion. We’ll see tomorrow what’s the real deal. When I get up, first thing is to check 43rumors.
I hope you are awake then, admin! 
marilyn
9 months ago |for all i know this lens are going to be packaged with a semi-pro M43 camera…
pdc
9 months ago |You are probably right as Panasonic need an answer to the NEX-7, but doubt there will be anything on this tomorrow. Curious how Panasonic have never taken down the L10 and L1 information from the Lumix global site. An m43 re-worked L1 with this X lens could be the answer Sony would not like to see. Perhaps I’m dreaming again.
Renato M.
9 months ago |Maybe not, rumors say the GF7/GF PRO will be something like the L1 design, so imagine that.
I think that Panasonic has to say something about this GF7 and GH3 before November (NEX-7), it would be best if it was before October (A65/A77). So people can think twice before rushing into Sony’s new cameras.
A GF7 packed with an X lens makes sense, a GF3 with it makes no sense, unless it doesn’t cost much more.
HotDuckZ
9 months ago |Can it use with Olympus???
Aaron
9 months ago |I like the small size, but I would have gladly given the 10-20mm extra length to give it a focus ring. Let’s hope the 45-175mm gives us that since it has plenty of room for it. Is it possible these are the ‘kit lens’ versions of the X series and maybe they’ll have some faster versions at an even high price later on? I’m anxious to see the other zooms although what we really need is some cheap fast primes in a few more ranges.
xoom
9 months ago |i’m interested. the power zoom could be useful for some of my video work. just hope it is not too expensive.
Anonymous
9 months ago |A quality optic in small size. Can’t wait. I can take some nice stuff with this. Gladly take the rocker to make it smaller. With ois there can’t be any excuses not to take awesome pictures with this quality glass…can there?
Bob B.
9 months ago |Admin…….What EXACTLY does the reference “probably too high” mean in regard to price of the 14-43mm???
Any word on the price of the 45-175mm?? No power zoom buttons on this lens?
Also…if the 45-175 lens in 90mm long..and it is an internally focusing lens ..then in effect doesn’t that make it a LOT smaller than the Oly 40-150mm?????????
Neonart
9 months ago |Johnson:
I’ve got an idea boss! Why not make YET ANOTHER 14-42 lens, but make it even smaller! TINY! Like a quarter sized pancake lens that expands to 3mm at full zoom! Of course it’ll be f16-f22 only and have no controls of any kind, but we’ll say it’s sharp. Plus we’ll put ‘nano-coatings’, and stick a red X on it.
Boss:
BRILLIANT JOHNSON! Announce it in August for delivery mid next year… hopefully.
TheVoiceoverman
9 months ago |It’s late. I’m drunk, I admit it. So now is the perfect time to say I’m sick of listening to all the miserable luddites on this forum who think that something is only any good if it is exactly like what went before, but cheaper. I doubt if 1 percent of the people bitching about the power zoom have ever used one at length.
Something new comes along and you decide it’s crap. Before it’s been tested. Before you know anything about the quality. Before you even know the price. It’s crap, because it’s not exactly like what you’re accustomed to. Pathetic.
So many people here can’t understand that other people might have different needs from their own. I have no need WHATSOEVER for a 300mm lens. That doesn’t mean that NOBODY does!
I have no need for an F2 12mm lens either. That doesn’t mean the new Oly lens is shit. It just means I don’t need it.
What a lame, blinkered, inflexible bunch of people inhabit this place. For the most part anyway. Obviously there are exceptions.
Dammit, open your eyes to change. Open your eyes to progress. There are so many cameras capable of producing great images you should be overjoyed!
If I chose 100 photos at random from Flickr, nobody would be able to tell me what cameras they were taken with without the EXIF data, so what does it matter?
Panasonic has made a smaller zoom lens than anyone reading this forum could have imagined. Wait and see if it’s shit before you declare it shit you miserable fools.
Photography is a career for a tiny minority of people. For the rest of us, it’s meant to be fun. Read the whole of this thread and see how much fun is NOT being had.
Open your eyes. Take pictures. Lighten up.
And with that, I thank you, and good night.
ijack
9 months ago |+1
but there are always people who hates with a passion.
Anonymous
9 months ago |+ BILLIONS. All I want to know is when can I get it.
TempTag
9 months ago |“I doubt if 1 percent of people.. ..power zoom.. ..ever used one at length.”
Huh? Almost every P&S camera and small video camera has some manner of power zoom – I think people know what they are complaining about when they complain about a power zoom…
And complaints about price may be premature (since we do not have confirmation) but if the high price is true this appears to be a big P&S lens assembly (with admittedly higher specs) that will cost more than most P&S cameras. I would love to own this lens for my GF1 (seems small for a GH2) but previous experience with Panny lenses does not have me expecting value for my money.
Ihateidiots
9 months ago |You all do realise that precision vs cost scaling isn’t linear right?
Bob B.
9 months ago |VOman..Please call back when you are not drunk.
Esa Tuunanen
9 months ago |> For the rest of us, it’s meant to be fun.
So why can’t I have even that single mirrorless body with proper direct controls and ergonomy instead of everything being maniacally miniaturized?
Mr. Reeee
9 months ago |There are certainly a lot of grand pronouncements and condemnations based on next to ZERO hard information regarding these lenses.
Take a deep breath.
Wait until the official announcements.