One of my good sources just told me that the new Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 and 35-100mm f/2.8 X lenses will not be in Stock any time soon. Not yet, not in late spring not in early summer 🙁
As you know Panasonic showed this lenses for the very first time in September 2011. While it’s ok for me if Panasonic shows mockups at shows it’s pretty frustrating to wait so much time until they get finally announced. This means that if you need a fast zoom lens now you have to go for the amazing Olympus [shoplink 25320 ebay]14-35mm f/2.0 (here on eBay)[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 25119 ebay]35-100mm f/2.0 (here on eBay)[/shoplink] Zuiko lenses.
I don’t know the reason for the delay, all I know is that Panasonic (like many other companies) is facing serious financial losses and this may have slowed down the product release roadmap.
One more thing: These lenses are weather sealed and so will be the new GH3 which will be announced at the Photokina event in September.
87 Responses
probably because they haven’t nailed the quality or performance yet or maybe because of the Olympus 5-axis system they are re-evaluating OIS….
Or perhaps they are producing incredible lenses that just takes time to manufacture with precision! 🙂
+1
+2
+3
What matters most is that these re high quality lenses. Not the month of release.
+4
It is quite simple actually. They are releasing these lenses with a new camera. Just like they always do with video-centric lenses. The GH-3 is that camera and we already know that it won’t be available in the U.S. until late fall. Panasonic has made us wait more than a year for lenses before. Think 20mm F1.7.
Yep, this is probably the reason. If they’d release now, the lenses would probably sell well, too, but people would get an EM-5 for it, while later they’d get a GH3. That must be the logic.
Good logic
Admin, you should mention the 14-54II. It’s almost as fast as the Panasonic zooms, weather sealed and performs very well on m4/3.
Right!
Anyone who owns a Lumix or Olympus micro 4/3 camera, and wants a fast zoom RIGHT NOW that works great, should get the Olympus 14-54 Mk II. Fantastic lens, IQ equal to, if not exceeding, any lens in the micro 4/3 universe, especially the current crop of zooms. And it has a very useful 1:2 macro zoom feature as well. And it’s weather & dust sealed.
My goodness everyone, just go buy one already, and you’ll see for yourselves. Here’s a link to the lens for sale on B&H Photo:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/590390-REG/Olympus_261060_14_54mm_f_2_8_3_5_II_Zuiko.html
It’s a great lens.
Because there’s hardly anything else available, I bought the Olympus 14-54ii with Panasonic adapter. Initially I disliked the lens because it’s noisy for video, but if signal-to-noise ratio is high enough, preferably with an external mic, the noise is suppressed.
AF, sharpness, zoom range, and wide aperture is good. I found a used one, but even the new price is OK.
wouldn’t it be better working (more silent?) with faster autofocus if you would use new weather sealed MF-3 Olympus adapter (for weather sealed lens)?
or is it some rule that once the body is panasonic, adapter has to be from panasonic as well?
just an idea as the lens is from Oly, I would have preferred Oly adapter…
Damn! Really was looking forward to the 34-100mm for the summer 🙁 …Well thanks as always Admin for the great info…
SONOVABI… well, this gives me some time to get some funds saved up. What are we thinking on price, somewhere between 1100-1300 ea? I only want the 12-35.
No way they can charge more than the 43rds 12-60, $600-700 is the sweet spot.
Dream on! No way will you get these lenses for less than $1000!
I guess that making f2.8 standard zoom lens on m4/3 format should not be that easy. Oly also never mention about their plan for making the 2.8 zoom for m4/3 either. There are many contraints such as optical design, optimal size, acceptable weight, or perhaps manufacturing cost. Oly or Pana, who will be the first to be able to produce the great f2.8 zoom lens?
sorry guys I don’t think this lenses will be available within this year.
I’ve been thinking for several weeks now that Photokina 2012 in September was when we’d finally see these two f/2.8 zooms along with the GH3. Another big mirrorless development at that time will likely be the announcement of the Canon mirrorless ILC.
While we are waiting…..BRING ON the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 prime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
😉
Et moi aussi!
OK Milt, mais je suis en première ligne !
Mais oui.
LOL!
another lens we still have to wait for…..
Not good 🙁 I really hope to get soon Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 if: (1) it’s a good quality, and (2) it’s half of the price of Oly 35-100 f/2.
“While it’s ok for me if Panasonic shows mockups at shows it’s pretty frustrating to wait so much time until they get finally announced.”
It’s better that way than to have the announced product in the shop tomorrow. If Olympus had those kinds of early announcements, we would already know the specs of the new PEN.
They better be flawless…
Indeed, if they aren’t flawless then Camaman might curl up into a sobbing ball of quivering flesh.
No surprise here, they were not expected to be announce before photokina. So…available in 2013 or maybe christmas ? that would be a good move…
these remain as concept lenses only… well they arent even real lenses yet to begin with. all we have seen are unusable mock-ups.
Okay. That did it for me. Until the lenses are available and tested (just remember the disaster with the other X lenses) it might well be summer 2013. I just ordered the Oly 14-54mm II, and I hope that the MMF-3 adapter will be available as soon as the E-M5 is available… In the meantime, I will use the Panasonic or the MMF-1 Oly adapter.
Hi, since I already have the MMF-1 too, what would you think the difference is between MMF-1 and MMF-3?
The MMF-3 is weather sealed.
Great news! Just what I need for my soon to come E-M5 😀
I would prefer something from Olympus but if not then Panasonic is the way to go. High quality is all that matters.
Possibly they encountered similar problems as the ones of the other x-lenses. And with these lenses being far more expensive and true enthusiast products, selling them with this kind of problems would be disastrous. So, if this should be the case, enhancing the design until the problems are solved is the best decision they could make.
That would be my guess as well.
I noted from the picture of the disassembled X lens that it is marked Power OIS the same marking as used on the earlier mentioned X lenses. Power OIS has been very success used on compacts so I expect the problem with the more sensitive OIS is vibration at certain speed on the much bigger m4/3 shutters?
I guess the problems occur also because the lens designs are much more compact, and a lot of parts are very close together.
That’s why they are being sold with the GH3 which is likely to be shutter less. Shutter vibration and OIS is an issue with other lenses too- I can definitely see it on the 100-300 although this may be reduced with the new firmware. Has anyone tried the new firmware?
ah panasonic panasonic.. you are making it harder and harder to me..
If the GH3 with those x lenses won´t be revolutionary I will be very very dissapointed.. and don´t forget to add 4k video because 1080/50p is something that should have the GH2 two years back, but you crippled it as allways!
+100
I’m hoping for 4k video too(though…dont get your hopes up…there is always Vitaliy Kiselev and his hacking)
Again Admin’s typical negative stand.
What’s the problem with the news? Vendors show roadmaps and sometimes mockups very early. I applaud that, because I can better plan my investments and do not spend my money prematurely. I have now several options for 1000+ € investments:
* EM-5
* GH3
* the fast Panasonic zooms
Knowing beforehand that all these products come in not too distant future, I know that I should wait with my decision. The situation would be much worse, if I invest in a body and discover later that Panasonic comes up with two good fast zooms all of a sudden.
Also, I prefer to wait more, instead of getting immature products like the problem-ridden X 14-42mm.
The lenses will be there, when they are ready. Please, Panasonic, wait as long as you need to get optimal quality of your products.
How can you plan if you don’t know the planning? The pana zooms might end up as vaporware….
So far there wasn’t any Panasonic lens, which turned out to be vaporware.
What Panasonic simply did, was to show what it plans to do, accompanied with some mockups. There is nothing wrong with that. Now, they have approximately announced when the lenses can be expected earliest and that we can’t expect the lenses very soon. That is fair again. Almost no vendor does this.
As for the planning, for sure I can do that. Now I know that it is wise to wait with major purchases until the GH3 is out, because the two lenses would not come before that as well.
I expect the lenses to be announced together with the GH3 around Photokina, which means availability towards the end of the year. Fine enough, to reason to rush.
Negative stand?? Is it negative to be disappointed by a seemingly indefinite delay?
Ok — if I had known that the 12-35/2.8 was small, weather sealed, and not too expensive, I would probably not have bought the Olympus 12/2 nor the Panasonic 20/1.7. Knowledge is good for planning, especially when it comes to expensive lenses.
At the same time, one might suspect that early release of information partially is meant to decrease the sale of competing products (“planning”), which I find somewhat unethical — at least if it takes forever from a mock-up is shown until it is available. Although Olympus perhaps is better in this respect (e.g with the 12-50), early release of information on the 75/1.8 somewhat has reduced my interest in the Panasonic 35-100.
> Negative stand?? Is it negative to be disappointed by a seemingly indefinite delay?
What delay? There never was any release date so far, hence there can’t be any delay.
In a world of competition, I can’t see any unethical practice in showing early mockups. In fact, for a new system, which does not receive a lot of trust yet, it is very important to demonstrate a vendor’s commitment early and firmly (i.e. with mockups). With respect of lens releases, Panasonic is THE mirrorless manufacturer, which had a sufficiently complete lens portfolio from early on. The 7-14mm and the 8mm fisheye are still unique among native mirrorless lenses, the 7-14mm was released in 2009!!! So to blame Panasonic here for its lens release policy is unjustified.
“Negative stand?? Is it negative to be disappointed by a seemingly indefinite delay?”
A date for delivery has never been announced. Then how can these lenses be delayed?
“At the same time, one might suspect that early release of information partially is meant to decrease the sale of competing products (“planning”), which I find somewhat unethical — at least if it takes forever from a mock-up is shown until it is available.”
More than 6 months from a mock-up to delivery is “forever” and “unethical”. Wow! That joke made my day!
Obviously, you’re completely clueless about what it takes to make a new lens.
The disappointment or negative feeling is simply because the system desperately needs a high-end zoom, a bright, corner-to-corner sharp lens equivalent to a 35mm full-frame 24-70 zoom (or so). The system has a lot of mediocre dark and not-very sharp kit zooms already.
So when Pany says “OK, we’re on that!” you typically want the product to be available soon, not 2 years from now. 🙂
Pretty much a coffin nail for me. Fuji XP1 here I come.
Yeah, and Fuji’s vast selection of lenses. 😛
🙂
Exactly. They’re some five years away from constant F2.8 zoom.
+1 …and don’t forget that laser-fast focusing!
Pretty much all of the mirrorless systems are lacking a good high-end zoom lens (except for the somewhat derelict Four-Thirds). It amazes me to no end. Meanwhile, we have dozens of so-so kit lenses, each not necessarily better than the last.
I’d give anything for an updated Oly 12-60mm f/2.8-4 or something like it for ANY system. NEX, NX, Nikon 1, XP1: you guys don’t have a high-quality general zoom lens either. Doesn’t anybody care about corner-to-corner sharpness? Apparently, it’s all about making things as small as possible these days. *sigh*
well at least they are putting out innovative products and are not running with the herd. Plus they will more than likely have a better price support sytstem than panny/oly who seem to undercut their customers every chance they get..
Besides fast primes outperform any other “so so” kit lenses.
And another thing why announce something if you don’t even have it! Oh wait they want to judge possible future sales interest. That’s crap!
Herd? It’s more like a herd of cats (Sony, Nikon, Samsung, Fuji), each doing their own, incompatible thing.
Panasonic and Olympus are the only companies that are cooperating to build a more complete system and signing up partners who are creating unique M4/3 products… Voigtländer, Samyang and SLR Magic, to name a few. Smegma and their slow, crappy primes are only swapping out mounts and don’t count.
I agree about the general superiority of fast primes, but today’s market demands zoom lenses, autofocus, stabilization and other electronic doodads. Zooms sell.
Herd of cats….that is hysterical!!!!!!!!
You call running in same 50 years old herd as innovating?
I tried X-Pro 1 in hand two weeks ago and for its size that gripless retro brick is the most uncomfortable camera to keep in hand. (though others should limit display size similarly)
And couple limited primes don’t outperform anything when they don’t do the job at all.
+10, well said.
I cannot recall to see anything innovative except a view finder that combines an optical and a electronic variant. The trouble is that the optical one really does not fit well with the concept of a digital system camera and is therefore large superfluous and not practical.
So innovation on something superfluous, packed in a backward styled body, which is large and heavy and not good to hold. Bravo Fuji !!!
x
Honestly – I think if there will not be a competition from third party lenses like Tamron or Sigma we won’t see any time soon some faster zooms :(((
I think that m43 version (or better say – new one 😉 ) of their APS(C) lenses like 17-50/2.8 would be more than welcome!!
Maybe Panasonic were testing the waters for the interest in high-end zooms, and really only had the lenses in early design phase. Now, I have no idea how much time it takes for a lens to get from a concept to production, but I suspect it could take a while. Maybe they just calculated to possible size of the zooms, but didn’t finish the design? Has anybody found a patent for those lenses? They are very unique, no other lenses are available in this zoom range and aperture.
What’s so interesting about these lenses? F2.8 is nothing to brag about on m43 and you’re better off with primes which are 1.5-2ev faster, much smaller, cheaper and with better IQ.
I’d rather see zooms similar to 14-54, 12-60 & 50-200, than these zooms with very limited range and relatively slow aperture.
> F2.8 is nothing to brag about on m43
That is fast for a zoom, and would be a definite advantage.
> you’re better off with primes which are 1.5-2ev faster, much smaller, cheaper and with better IQ.
Apart from when you need to zoom… for example, when outdoors on a trip, and the weather / weight of kit / size of kit / speed of use prohibits taking 3 or 4 primes.
> I’d rather see zooms similar to 14-54, 12-60 & 50-200, than these zooms with very limited range and relatively slow aperture.
What is relatively slow? f2.8 is very fast for a zoom, there are very very few zooms that are faster than that.
Problem is that those zooms have limited range, quite limited.
Also, they’re going to be much bigger than say 12, 25, 75mm set of primes and cost much more.
12-35mm range is not that great of a range, especially @f2.8 and it won’t be that nice for portraits.
35-100 also, you’ll still have to change lenses from 12-35 to 35-100 if you want to take some closer portraits or with more subject isolation.
At this point, you might as well change lens to 75mm 1.8 with much nicer bokeh and most likely superior IQ, not to mention size in line with m43.
35mm is also not as nice for normal perspective and bit narrow, so you’d have to switch to 12-35mm to get group shots or a wider angle.
Again, why not just switch to primes then.
12-60 and 50-200 would make much more sense, even being 2.8-3.5 or so.
I own 14-35mm and 35-100mm f/2.0 and 90% of the time, those lenses are being used at 14, 35 or 100mm.
But those lenses are so good that they’re worth the added price and weight over already excellent 12-60 and 50-200mm plus they’re f2 constant, so 1-2 stops faster.
On micro, I’d never buy these Panasonic lenses, they just don’t fit the m43 ethos and there are so many nice primes available which are just better.
> Problem is that those zooms have limited range, quite limited.
Wide angle (12mm = 24mm equiv) to mild tele (35mm = 70mm equiv) is a reasonable range for what I have in mind (landscape type shots).
> they’re going to be much bigger than say 12, 25, 75mm set of primes
The 12-35 looks to be between the 14-45 and the 14-140 in size, that is fine for me instead of 3 primes, smaller and lighter too I think.
> and cost much more
Have to wait and see, but FWICS the 25mm and the 12mm are already quite an expensive combo.
> it won’t be that nice for portraits.
> if you want to take some closer portraits or with more subject isolation. At this point, you might as well change lens to 75mm 1.8 with much nicer bokeh and most likely superior IQ, not to mention size in line with m43.
> 35mm is also not as nice for normal perspective and bit narrow, so you’d have to switch to 12-35mm to get group shots or a wider angle.
I don’t think the 12-35mm is a portrait lens. I am not that interested in posed portraits in any case, or in fact portraits full stop, so not really a problem for me.
> On micro, I’d never buy these Panasonic lenses, they just don’t fit the m43 ethos and there are so many nice primes available which are just better.
I think it strongly depends on the kind of photos you want to take, in what conditions. Me thinking about week long trips in the hills is polar opposite from you thinking about shallow DOF posed portrait shots. horses for courses. BTW I have the 25mm and am loving it, primes do have their place!
Olympus, bring on a PDAF solution for the beautiful HG lens line up. It would go great with the E-M5 + grip. All these lenses are already weather sealed, proven quality, great quality/price, and they’re available NOW.
There are a lot of frustrated E-system owners waiting to use their lenses on a modern body (with the E-5 being too expensive, too much camera for them).
Just fix it!
No, Olympus should get its act together, and abandon their legacy stuff clearly. The future is m4/3 for them not 4/3. They should stop fooling around with trying to adapt their legacy lenses and start to develop native m4/3 counterparts. Trying to compete in the highend sector with offerings such as the ultraexpensive 35-100mm is not worth the effort.
> Trying to compete in the highend sector with offerings such as the ultraexpensive 35-100mm is not worth the effort.
All time consuming designing and testing is already done and same for expensive tooling so continuing supporting those lenses isn’t so costly unlike doing everything again.
And future of cameras isn’t m4/3 but mirrorless cameras.
It’s still completely open question how big part of that future m4/3 manages to keep or does it end up as niche push over struggling for scraps left by big ones..
Remember that mirrorless hasn’t yet done really anything to lower DSLR sales in Europe and North America.
Unless m4/3 line up is expanded to challenge DSLR systems in all features (controls, ergonomy, fast moving target tracking…) and good optics Canikon can use their DSLR dominance to start chewing up m4/3’s market share with their mirrorless cameras.
Average consumer simply buys the most advertised stuff and those who’ll ask things from photography hobbyers they know get recommended mostly brand used by that photographer and with m4/3 offering only small, smaller and P&S ideology Olympus and Panasonic aren’t high on the chances for getting recommended.
You are mostly right, but despite of DSLR shares still being strong, the Olympus DSLR line was never a big seller. So with 4/3, there is no chance for Olympus to have a profitable camera system. That game is over.
m4/3 is Olympus chance to regain market share in the camera system business (which includes DSLRs). While it is not certain, that m4/3 can keep its position, it has the strongest position now, and Olympus and Panasonic have it in their own hands to let this trend to continue. They just have to release convincing products in a diverse product portfolio (i.e. no PEN-only strategy anymore).
It seems that Olympus is on a good way with the EM-5, but it partly fails with lenses.
Ever since the mock ups of these two lenses went on show I have started to assume that they would be released at the same time as the (presumed) weather sealed GH3.
It doesn’t seem likely that the GH3 will be launched soon: I tend to think it will be early next year before it is widely available.
If the GH3 is weather sealed the 12-35 zoom would look like a useful standard lens, but I would imagine that Panasonic will be thoroughly testing any new O.I.S lenses to ensure there is no repeat of the problems with the 14-42mm and 45-175mm lenses.
If the delivery of these fast zooms is being help up for release of the GH3 this fall this would only make sense if the 12-35/f2.8 is to be a kit lens but then what about the earlier rumor of a new slower and presumed less expensive 12-60/f4.5-5.6 lens in the works?
They patented it, but that doesn’t mean it will appear on the market. Honestly, I already found the 12-50 on the EM-5 a little silly. Great value and versatality, but the optical quality just doesn’t do the sensor justice. Matches much better a camera such as the EPL-3, where people buy the kit zoom and nothing else.
Panasonic announces fantastic product, then fails in timely delivery of it. This isn’t news. It’s the status quo with them.
They didn’t announce it, silly.
Its release wasn’t announced. The plan to make such a lens was announced. That is a huge difference. Also Sony and Olympus announced a lot of plans and roadmaps and it took a long time for delivery as well.
Yes, and they will arrive a la Panasonic, a couple of lenses every 10 days.
“This means that if you need a fast zoom lens now you have to go for the amazing Olympus 14-35mm f/2.0 (here on eBay) and the 35-100mm f/2.0 (here on eBay) Zuiko lenses.”
It is really necessary for you to place irrelevant shills at every opportunity? One has to wonder how much money you’re actually making from these, as I can’t imagine anyone actually thinking, “oh, I’m so glad the admin placed this link here, I’ll just go off right now and buy that lens”. Go read the blog of any reputable writer like Thom Hogan, and see how many of these cheap advertisements he has in his posts. None.
It was useful for me!
they’re too busy developing new slow zooms
How can people say the zooms are delayed? Pana never gave a shipment date!
So mid September we will know about GH3 (will it be the “very high end” camera?) and the zooms.
Then one (I)can chose between staying in m43 with a developed system of compact products – or go for the full featured and high resolution NEX-7 (it is possible to have a decent lens line-up for it) – or go Fuji with exquisite IQ, handling without multitoggle and menu-diving and with excellent, existing and coming, lenses.
A very nice situation to be in: Three choices, all being excellent ones!
(And maybe four choices pending on Canon entrance to the mirrorless market)
It is the usual Panasonic bashing and the unability to wait.
best video lens ever, would be a 12-50 or 12-60 mm
f2.0 constant with high IQ, stabilisation and powerzoom 🙂 🙂 🙂