A trusted source read your comments about the recent 20mm deal at Amazon US ($335 right now). He was so keen to send me a message to say that neither the 20mm nor the 14mm lens (also discounted) will be updated this year. And in general there will be “no big news” this year.
And the brand new 42.5mm f/1.2 and 150mm f/2.8 are still scheduled for a market release in early 2014 only although the announcement could be made (and preorders start) in late 2013.
46 Responses
2014? Really? What a ridiculously long wait.
Thank the Gods… pick your fave… that Voigtländer will be releasing their 42.5mm f0.95 sometime this summer!
It would make sense for a refreshed 20mm, However, I’d rather see more primes like a 10mm f2.8, 40mm and 70mm like the Pentax Limited Series primes.
+1 for a 10mm f2.8
A native ultra wide rectilinear (non-fish eye) prime lens at about 8-10mm f/2.8 would be amazing. Currently, there are only fish eye lenses at this wide focal length or zooms with slower aperture. Ultra wide and ultra telephoto primes are the missing pieces to the m43 landscape.
Personally, I hope the delay means they are not releasing any new top-end lenses until they have the hybrid AF issue sorted.
Stupid Panny.
I cannot get the point. Even the 45–200 is not discontinued. How you can say that about the relatively ‘fresh’ 14 mm lens!?
Discounted (cheaper) is not the same as discontinued (not in production).
Sorry, my misreading. You’re right.
You can update a lens model without discontinuing the original/former one. The older lens remains on the market and is offered at a lower price. This strategy actually has the potential to increase profits. Those wanting the real and supposed benefits of the updated lens are likely willing to pay the extra premium to get it. And some will always think newer is better. The older and less expensive product can cater to those not willing to pay the premium price for the newer model, and who see the older model as good enough for their needs. So there is potentially two markets in effect for the same product. The manufacturing costs to update the lens to the new spec can be absorbed by the higher price initially. After economies of scale and profits work in the manufacturer’s favour, they can consider discontinuing the former model and slow down its production and focus on the newer one.
video optimised version of 20mm is really needed and would be bestseller
The problem is that the 20mm sells so damn well now. Panasonic don’t need to update it! It is already the best selling lens.
And I’m not sure what needs to be updated about the 14mm? A redesigned faster, better 14mm. . sure. But no update, it’s about as good as it’s optical design allows. Size, weight, build and AF are all as good as needs be.
The 43mm Noctilux ,. Is really like a magnet for me,. The 150mm elmarit, it will be interesting,.. Hope it won’t be too expensive ,.. Its too early to justify wheter its worth it or not,.. Coz eventhough the price will be expensive but if the IQ is there ,..people will buy it
Btw the 150mm looks so awesome
Are you sure these lenses will be Lumix and Leica co-branded, and therefore get the Leica aperture speed nomenclature?
Should see prices for all Japanese exports falling soon as Japan Central Bank recently embarked on bond buying stimulous program similar to US Fed which will lower the value of the Yen relative to dollars and euros as more Yen are created to buy bonds. (Think I’ve got that right)
If the yen goes lower against the dollar,the math is that lens prices will go up, not down (in the absence of price adjustments)
Lower yen “value”
-_-;
Here in Taiwan all products are cheaper now cuz yen is lower
My vote for a lens upgrade would be the 14-140.
yes please!!!! this was the lens that covinced me to go with micro 4/3 over nex. i was stepping up from point and shoot and wanted better image quality without compromising too much in terms of zoom and portability. to me, this is the key advantage of 4/3 over aps-c. both oly and panny should be working this angle more.
the 14-140 is great in good conditions, but in comromised light it is very dull…
Must be a bills paying kind of year for Panasonic. Guess it gives us all a chance to catch up a little bit financially.
These two lenses going to be awesome! That 150mm is on my wish-list and it looks like Panasonic may be the company that finally brings a high quality 300mm to the format.
“He was so keen to send me a message to say that neither the 20mm nor the 14mm lens will be updated this year.”
This sucks. Would it kill Panny to rerelease the 20mm with better AF motor?? That’s pretty much the sole complain about the lens!
I’m starting to think Panny is more interested in squeezing every dollar they can out of us over giving us exactly what we want. They’ll give us some, but they’ll take forever to do it. Maybe this was more obvious than it seemed and I”m just slow. It’s annoying.
Any updates on f2.8 Olympus 12-35ish zoom?
I’m curious on this too…. details should be leaking by now right?
Any news on that new Toyota while youre looking?
The 42.5mm f/1.2 would REALLY have to significantly out perform my Oly 45mm f/1.8 to woo me…..because, just from the looks of the prototype you just know it is going to have a hefty price tag! Should be interesting.
Looking at the mockups, the 150 seems to have that shiny metal construction, its probably gonna be way more expensive than people think.
The problem is that the 20mm sells so damn well now. Panasonic don’t need to update it! It is already the best selling lens.
And I’m not sure what needs to be updated about the 14mm? A redesigned faster, better 14mm. . sure. But no update, it’s about as good as it’s optical design allows. Size, weight, build and AF are all as good as needs be.
20mm 1.7 MkII would make a lot of money for Panasonic. Relatively low development costs, relatively high sales. Go figure.
With the right price that 42.5 is going to fly off the shelves. The diversity of m43 is gradually making the system the one to beat–Panasonic with their much-lauded video treatment, and Olympus with their respect and attention for enthusiasts. So friggin’ sweet for everyone.
Yes , an 85mm FF equiv with the same results as a FF f2.4 lens on FF wow that’s just plain amazing lol.For a system which has numerous posters mocking the “cliched shallow DOF shot” we sure do get to pay through the nose for stuff that tries to do the same. Such as the Voigtlander 42.5mm f0.95 , which does the same job as an F1.9 option on FF
I wonder how it will be priced bearing in mind that the Nikon 85mm F1.8G delivers excellent results for £360 even compared to our 75mm
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Lenses/Compare-Camera-Lenses/Compare-lenses/%28lens1%29/823/%28brand%29/Nikkor/%28camera1%29/0/%28lens2%29/898/%28brand2%29/Olympus/%28camera2%29/0/%28lens3%29/532/%28brand3%29/Olympus/%28camera3%29/0
Big apertures also give you a faster shutter speed, which is why theyre actually important for, and not the cliche (it is ameteurish and cliche) dof shot.
“”Olympus with their respect and attention for enthusiasts””
I assume you are having a laugh, charging $80 for a hood for a $1000 lens is very respectful, using the same 12mp sensor for years {prior to the E-M5}In mFT they have one decent body { if you do not mind a 40yr old retro look} , an excellent 75mm { my fav lens} an excellent 60mm, a decent 45mm , a mediocre 12mm { also available in black for an extra couple of hundred bucks}mediocre 17mm{ not one but two} and a shipload of slow zooms. All very respectful , and lets not forget the small matter of a multi-million dollar fraud.
The 20mm with the exact same optics but with a smaller body and faster AF would be sweet! Or just make a fast 17mm. I’m good either way.
14mm is good enough as it is, I have no complaints.
Not that I was looking forward to it but whatever happened to that 7-14mm upgrade?
And while they’re working on the focusing: let them make it internally.
And also, as a part of a great marketing action plan: let us send in our old 20mm straight to the Japanese factory, to receive our brand new 20mm one week later.
“And also, as a part of a great marketing action plan: let us send in our old 20mm straight to the Japanese factory, to receive our brand new 20mm one week later.”
Yes, that would be a great plan for a company in financial trouble. other than its slowish AF in some certain scenarios the 20mm delivers excellent results in a truly tiny package { exactly what mFT is all about}.
OK then, if you don’t want to trade it in, fine with me.
As a former Olympus FT user I had the FT 7-14 and now have the Panasonic 7-14 which is 99% as good. Weighs a fraction of it and costs hundreds of pounds less,it delivers excellent results has fast AF , so what updates are you looking for.OIS is of minimal value on UWA lens,so what are you looking for .
A filter thread, and that’s it. the lens is awesome indeed, but unusable for video (need vari-ND’s) because panny decided to spend about 15 seconds on the external design. There’s plenty of room to add a filter thread if they just oversized the front end like on the canon 16-35.
oh yeah and weathersealing, make the lens X, perfect combo with the 12-35 and 35-100 for almost anything.
There are adapters to use filters on both the FT lens and the Panasonic lens I have a similar thing for my Nikon 14-24 which works perfectly , though ND filters are about the only useful filters on UWA , polarisers give to uneven an effect on such wide lenses.
http://www.echenique.com/index.php/2012/08/23/fotodiox-introduces-wonderpana-filter-system-for-super-wide-angle-and-ultra-wide-angle-lenses/
You can also get simple solutions for weatherproofing any camera /lens combo that are both very effective and cheap, there are higher quality price alternatives if you must spend the cash lol
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ex-Pro%C2%AE-Cover-cameras-including-Protection/dp/B006I9ZF66/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1366202528&sr=1-2&keywords=waterproof+camera+covers
If they came out with a 77mm version of their adapter that would be great, but 145mm is kinda ridiculous on an Mft camera, and there’s no vari ND with this size unfortunately :/
I am looking forward to the Panasonic 42.5mm. I am sure the Olympus 45 is a fine lens, and if someone were to give me one I would not turn it down, but it is the Panasonic lens that I am waiting for. There are several other expensive lenses on my shopping list in the meantime, so a wait will not kill me.