A mirrorless zoom lens size comparison made by Serious compacts.
As you already know Panasonic will not announce new lenses along the Panasonic G3 (press release on May 11). The 25mm f/1.4 m43 lens and other lenses will probably come in late summer only. We have been also told that Panasonic will follow Olympus route and realize new compact (collapsible?) zooms. Our sources are pretty sure they will release them within 2011. We have no specs yet. It may be not an amazing news but it was about time that Panasonic reduces the size of their zooms. I guess this should be one of the advantage of the m43 system over the NEX and NX systems….to have smaller lenses!
If you know something more drop us an anonymous message using the contact form on the right sidebar. Thanks!
Olympus is currently offering two collapsible lenses:
The 14-42mm kit lens (direct links to [shopcountry 14816]).
The 9-18mm wide angle zoom (direct links to [shopcountry 14818]).
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
44 Responses
This is the point – to have smal lenses!
Because this is what takes most of the space.
I don’t care for small cameras but for smal lenses.
This is the real advantage of Olympus! (gaianst all the rest)
That would be great. It would increase the m4/3 size advantage with zoom lenses. But I hope they make some other zooms collapsible, not only kit zoom, as Olympus did.
We need fast PRIME lenses, NOT more zooms!
BETTER lenses, not more mediocrities!
Collapsable zooms are a nice gimmick, but there are already PLENTY of M4/3 zooms.
Fully agreed, Mr. Reeee and Utpott. We’ll get more of the well-trodden default lenses in just another package. It is bad news. No creme de la creme lenses on the horizon, just more average fare in a new wrapping. Yawn.
I want fast lenses. Both prime and zoom.
I agree with Mr. Reee! We need no zooms. We need QUALITY pirme glass that is fast, pro, and dedicated to the micro 4/3 system…ie…fast auto focusing etc.
I have the original 14-45mm that came on my GF1…and I plan on selling it to get new primes…cause I just don’t use it… Not a bad lens tho…better than the 14-42mm. (see, there is an example…Panasonic produces a new zoom that is no faster, no smaller and its performance is inferior to the old kit lens…HUH…how can that be?????)…so telling me that Pany has some new zooms coming…is a snore fest.) 🙂
I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Reeee. Hopefully we’ll get some quality primes as well.
I wonder if a Lumix collapsible zoom lens will be stabilized? Samsung’s collapsible NX 20-50mm F3.5-5.6 zoom is not stabilized whereas their conventional NX 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 is stabilized. Slow zooms (I’m assuming slow since the aim of the exercise will probably be to produce a compact kit lens) aren’t that useful without IS.
Personally though, I prefer using 2 pancake lenses instead of a zoom. Even though I have to change lenses, the pancake’s large aperture offer a different kind of flexibility.
Panasonic bridge cameras in the FZ series have stabilized, collapsable lense. Not all hope is lost…
I doubt it, Panasonic lenses are degrading in image quality, the newest models are getting worse and worse, the lack of cooperation with Leica and lack of Leica branding really do mean something.
Pity…
Maybe Olympus can manage to provide us it’s famous Zuiko quality in MFT finally. As far as I can see there are several years of waiting for HQ lenses in MFT… But let’s hope for a change.
I really adore three of my lenses so far:
7-14 wonderful!,
14-45 alas too dark and not video optimozed at all – I hope to exchange it for rumored 12-50 bright HD zoom,
20 f/1.7 – this one gives me some really decent pictures, I have it all the time in my pocket.
but 45-200 is not in the same league fortunatelly it is cheap 🙂
System still lacks portrait lens, it is difficult to achieve because sensor is small but it is one of the most important lens in every system as I see it. People want to memorize family, friends… people are the most important part of our lives. WTF is wrong with the Panasonic and Olympus managers???
My petition is as the sensor is smaller than de facto DSLR standard, all standard MFT lenses should start from aperture 2.5 at least. HQ lenses from f/1,2. It will never happen I know… just dreaming…. and waiting… 😀
Why worse and worse? you want each pana lens to get better every time?
so the next lens should be 20 f1.1? and then 20mm f0.95 and then 20mm f0.75?
Common panasonic manufactures different lens for different needs, it dosnt mean they are worse, they are different
I saw 14mm f/2,5 test yesterday and I’m dissapointed, nowhere near the 20mm or even 14-45 mm kit.
Take look how it goes
The short route of Panasonic kit lenses: 14-45 -> 14-42 much worse I owned them both, plastic mount in newer one, cheap, worse optical quality. I’m not sure You can buy old (better) one anymore.
The short route of Panasonic pancake lenses: 20 mm – quite nice lens, next one 14 mm again the newer is much worse almost two times more optical distortion… which after digital correction result in lack of sharpness out of center of the frame.
That is as I see the progress of Panasonic lenses. Months ago I recognized software correction as a great feature but as I can see now it is the way to produce cheap glass counting that software tweaks give quite good results additionaly asking high prices for underdeveloped hardware.
Yes I’m a customer for whom quite good is NOT good enough.
According to wider apertures… yes they are needed for us to have technical possibility to get similar results as competition has with bigger sensors. Sorry that is a fact.
If it’s true. Probable the remake of 7-14 mm would be collapsible.
Surely a camera as small as the GF2 deserves a nice little compact kit zoom. It’s funny that if you have an Olympus body you need to get a Panasonic lens (20mm f/1.7) and if you have a Panasonic body (GF2), you should consider getting an Olympus lens (14-42 mkII).
No, if you buy a GF2, then you buy the Panasonic 14-45mm.
3 mediocre 14-42mm kit zooms devalues the M4/3 platform. They do NOT enhance it. I buy lenses because they are GOOD, not because they are small. Small is nice, but image quality comes first!
We need MORE lenses like the Panasonic 20mm. Lenses that EVERY M4/3 user wants and BUYS.
Buying a camera and wondering how to get rid of the kit lens does not further the platform or do users and service.
> 3 mediocre 14-42mm kit zooms devalues the M4/3 platform.
Count once all the 18-55 zooms for APS-C…
There is no appropriate high quality lens for GH2 body in MFT offering. It’s frustrating… :-/ I can see limitations of standard lenses during video now. When we’ll get high grade video optimized lens (mentioned earlier at the begining of this year 12-50mm HD bright zoom) is there any chances for one, Alejandro.. any news on it???
I’m willing to pay $$$ for that 12-50 bright zoom if it’s fast, quiet and reasonably sized. Hear that Panasonic?? But I also know that they are dealing with a historic national tragedy over in Japan so I can be patient as I wish the Best for the people there.
You are right… however I can hardly wait for it… life is passing by… ghrrrr…
I think its about time. I bought the EPL-2 over panasonic and NEX due to collapasablelens lens. To be honest other then primes all lenses should be collapsable(IMO).
Totally agree with MR Reee. We need more primes. Especially if they are as good as the Panny 20mm. They help keeping the system small and allows differentiation from other systems where big super zooms f/slow are the norm. On the other hand, no serious system can do without a good 24-100 (or so) equivalent brightish zoom. I’m waiting for Panasonic 12-50. If its as good as the 20mm we have a winner…
BUT! We are the minority. Most “casual” users want a crappy, inexpensive, super zoom…so, i guess we’ll have to live with some more “kit-quality” lenses coming in…
I agree that Pany wants a smaller zoom to go with their petite GF2 model. I wouldn’t mind if they even shortened the focal length in exchange of a little more lens speed say a 2X at f2.8 after all with ETC you can get into the portrait range with addditional 1.3X. Pany also may try collapsing design for their short tele lens as they want their new G3 to look smaller than any of the DSLRs out their and at least match the small NX and Oly lenses.
Someone on another forum posted a link to BCN lens sales rankings in Japan and that is very revealing in what people are buying as opposed to what many assume should be made? Interesting inspite of m4/3 being about 20% of the market some of their lens sales are doing very well. The 20/1.7 is in 3rd place and other high ranking models are Pany’s 14-45, 100-300, and 45-200mm and Olys 9-18, 40-150, and 14-150mm. Most of the exodics or expensive ones like the fish eyes, 3D, 7-14, or 14-140 lens (because already available as kit lens) are not even mentioned in top 50? What stands out is the std focal length lenses, the tele lenses, and the wide to tele ones are what the majority of the people want and buy.
Very interesting that the same is true of the DSLR lenses. The effective normal single focal length or short tele lengths ie 24-50mm/f1.7 are the most popular along with the 18-270mm/f4-6.5 superzooms (lot from Tamron) and that Canon/Nikon/Sony etc expensive fast lenses are not selling so well in volume. That is one of the reasons 2 lens kits seem so popular in Japan as most do not buy another lens and if they do it is a fast normal one. This does not bode very well for the likes of Can/Nik as lens sales up to now has been their bread and butter. So this may be the trigger to encourage them to produce their own mirrorless brand of cameras with new lenses as sales of existing lenses are slacking? Yes they have an fistfull of very attractive fast lenses but most photographers needing or willing to buy them already have them so only upgrading the camera bodies. While with m4/3 buyers getting both.
Sorry I was trying to edit my above response to give you the appropriate link to BCN which was contained in comment by Panka on the 14mm lens review on the previous 43rumor.
http://bcnranking.ip/category/subcategory.0108.htnl
I had 9-18. The collapsible lock was… very annoying.
What did you find annoying about the lock mechanism? I don’t have any trouble with it.
Panasonic seems very size-conscious with their lovely little pancake primes, but their zoom lenses haven’t followed suit. For now it seems like Olympus zooms are always smaller than their Panasonic equivalents; hopefully the new design hinted at here will turn that around.
I’ll be really curious to see what the u4/3 native 25mm looks like, size-wise. I just acquired the Four Thirds Panaleica 25mm, and while it’s an excellent optic, it really is *huge* on my E-P2. The u4/3 25mm lacks the Leica branding, so I’m assuming it’s optically different, and hopefully that’s going to be reflected in a smaller size.
Panasonic seems to be going in entirely the wrong direction with their lenses. The 14-45mm, though large compared to the Sony/Samsung kit lenses, is optically far superior to both, yet Panasonic decided to go cheap with the followup 14-42mm, which not only adds size, but loses image and build quality. The 14mm is similarly flawed in image quality, and doesn’t hold a candle to the 20mm.
I don’t want a collapsible lens of any kind; I just want decent primes and reasonably-sized large-aperture zooms.
The average buyer wants “small” and couldn’t care less aboout “optically superior”, “large apertures” etc. Only we enthusiasts value IQ above all, but we aren’t the heart of the market.
Most buyers also prefer zooms, rarely changing from kit standard zoom, if ever. At most, soccer moms/dads will get a tele zoom. They don’t want to change lenses or deal with primes. The only time they use a prime is on their smartphone, and even that will change. Most popular cams in the world are compacts with zoom, or Digital Rebel with 18-55 zoom.
M4/3 must also lower costs to stay competitive, thus the cheaper, inferior 14-42 Panny kit zoom.
In time, better primes will come for the rest of us, Sigma might help.
I do not understand why Panny and Olympus have made fisheyes before core system lenses (fast standard zoom, portrait).
Would you buy a collapsible 12-35mm f/2.8 or 12-50mm f/2.8-3.3? I would.
The point is that the company seems to be putting more priority on making things cheaper/more marketable, which is fine for low-rung consumers, but doesn’t work for most enthusiasts. Courting the low-end is fine, but there’s no commensurate effort made on the high-end (e.g. GH2? Where?). I would buy a fast, collapsible m4/3 zoom, but my main reason for buying it would be its speed, not its compactness; I would buy just about any fast zoom offered for the system, because currently, there are none.
Even worse, there’s been little indication that Panasonic is/was planning to release a fast zoom anytime soon. It’s extremely doubtful that the collapsible zoom here is going to have a large aperture, since most consumers simply don’t understand what that entails, and its size would be comparable to existing kit zooms, further detracting from its low-end appeal. Most importantly, it would be expensive, which is the opposite of Panasonic’s current priorities.
Instead, yet another kit lens nobody asked for will be developed, which will require time and resources that might otherwise have been used for a lens that enthusiasts actually want, and have been clamoring for since the system’s inception.
Spring is in full swing in the UK and I have been making visits to local rivers and lakes looking for my favourite wildlife, primarily damselflies and dragonflies but also butterflies and birds. Currently I am using my old Pentax 50mm f2.8 macro and two thoughts continually come to mind.
1) The subject is often too far away and very rarely too close.
2) If I can get close enough to get a good image of a damselfly, depth of field is at a premium, it is frequently difficult to get the whole insect in focus.
The issue I have with the currently available m43 zooms is that their performance (judging from e.g. the results shown on DIWA labs website) is usually at its worst at the longest focal length, while I would rarely be interested in using the shorter focal lengths.
Thus, the type of lens that would interest me would be a high quality fixed focal telephoto, e.g. 200 mm f4 or 300 mm f5.6, which should ideally have a minimum focus distance of no more than a metre. A relatively modest maximum aperture would be acceptable, so long at the lens did not need to be stopped down to f8 or f11 to give acceptable results (especially if it had OIS).
The Olympus 4/3 telephoto lenses are all one f stop too fast for my liking: too big, too heavy, too expensive.
As for a macro lens, I would like something longer than the current 45mm f2.8, not faster. Perhaps m43 versions of the Sigma 70 or 105 mm macro lenses would fit the bill, but I will also be on the lookout for a suitable second hand lens e.g a 90mm Tamron.
This is great news!
The only excuse of the m43 existance is smaller lens, unfourtenatly not all the zooms are smaller then APS-C or sometimes from FF –
Making them smaller/collapsible is the only way to go… now i hope they will make them fine quality and TINY enough, otherwise hello NEX-7
A 400mm with a useable F/5.6 for birding – that would be nice !
not bad, but i would prefer a 250mm 2.8
Frosti7-surely Nex 7 has a few rather more fundamental lens issues… Where is the 7-14? 20 f1.7? Macro? Proper high quality FE? we could go on.
In my opinion the lenses are already small enough. Collapsible means additional mechancical stuff, which could break. The usability of collapsible designs isn’t necessarily better.
More than smaller lenses, we need fast, high-end zooms and primes.
All this indicates that Panasonic is changing the direction of m4/3 away from usable, versatile camera bodies (GH2) to NEX-like toys.
Perhaps because Sony is selling and people are buying boatloads of NEX toys?
Look at the photo above. There is no reason Panny kit zoom should be bigger than NEX zoom, but it is.
Two fast Olympus primes coming soon(?) And higher-end PENs later this year should make enthusiasts happy.
Collapsible lenses are probably a good step for useability. I keep my Oly kit lens as a backup and use primes, including legacy lenses, so I am not interested.
I am not sure about how small and reasonable priced 12-50 could be.
Therefore what really draws me is the coming Oly 12/2. Does Admin know likely price and size, and when?
To me the 14-45mm zoom of Panasonic is only a fraction longer, but has noticably less diameter – so it is smaller. The 14-42mm is a bit longer (don’t know why9. In any case, the size difference between Sony and Panasonic should not let Panasonic worry about it. The GF2 body is only a little bigger than the NEX bodies, but much more usable. Thus, there is no reason that Panasonic should go into a small size battle.
The problems is that Sony as more bells and wistles (sweep panorama, HDR), but in a horrible package. So, instead of starting another smallness race, which will lead to less good ergonomics inevitably, Panasonic should invest their efforts in
* more creativity features to please the masses
* better sensor (same as GH2 at least)
* better and faster lenses to please the rest.
m4/3 is small enough !!!
why is panasonic trying to go smaller w/ zoom lenses? they aren’t going to beat olympus zoom lenses in terms of size, unless they omit OIS, which is stupid. I think both companies should just be focusing on the reputation they are building up in the system – olympus with quality+small lenses and panasonic with high quality + video optimized lenses
and about a bright zoom…I also want one, but I can understand if panasonic holds it off. it’s bound to be a big/expensive lens (400g+), and thus mostly it’ll only be mature G/GH users interested in it, which is a minority among a minority system (GF/PEN users are definitely at way larger numbers, just most aren’t enthusiasts posting on these websites)
I used the Oly collapsable zoom for a small time and found the locking to be frustrating. Every time I wanted to take a quick shot, I picked up the camera and tried to take a shot only to find out that camera doesn’t respond because I need to first unlock the lens. Maybe after a while you get used to it but my brief experience was not good. I am in the camp who wants fast compact primes rather than collapsable slow zooms.
The main advantage of the FT system was that I could shoot wide open while Canikonians had to stop down. This advantage in lenses allowed me to produce impressive quality very close to what you can get with Canikon. It’s a shame that they continue to move away from this standard.
Yes, Panasonic and Olympus could exploit the smaller sensor size by making lenses that are brighter and optically superior to their APS-C mirrorless counterparts. In this scenario they wouldn’t be smaller than the competition’s offerings, just better.
Of course you can also exploit the advantages of the smaller sensor by making lenses smaller. That seems to be the case with this rumored Lumix collapsible lens. That’s a valid strategy, it’s just that I need a some better lenses as well.
Any updates on previously rumored Panasonic catadioptric mirror lens? Wisely designed this kind of lens can be made very compact even with focal lengths more than 200mm (and possibly even extremely compact if it’s a collapsible), and relatively cheap.
Product line differentiation is lacking in MFT and is hurting further development of the platform. There should be a distinct consumer line, and a distinct enthusiast (prosumer) line. For Panasonic the GF2, 14, 14-42 and 45-200 could be thought of as belonging in the consumer group, and the G2/GH2 8, 20, 45, 7-14, 14-45, 14-140 and 100-300 thought of as the enthusiast line.
The consumer products should be built in quantity, and stocked in all the big box retail outlets in order to build the brand presence. The enthusiast line should feature IQ performance, functionality and build quality, and be sold primarily through on-line photography specialist stores. The reputation of the brand will be built on these critieria.
If Panasonic don’t revamp their marketing along these lines, continue to cheapen the brand with poorly performing and built consumer-grade zooms, they will not be able to take on Canon and Nikon in the enthusiast space. That would be shame as their technology has so much going for it.
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but
I find this matter to be really something that I think I would never understand.
It seems too complex and very broad for me. I am looking forward
for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!