I got some emails from dealers confirming that the lens will ship this week at least in Asia and Europe (Have no info about US/Canada now). Watch out for the postman! 🙂
Two new test and image samples have been posted by the Asian websites DC.watch and Mobile01. Preorders and price check at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon Germany, Amazon UK, Fotohanskeuzekamp, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.
P.S.: Reports about the Lumix Fetsival in Germany in Hannover (some pics on Flickr).
25 Responses
Come on baby… (To America 🙂 )
May be better to wait for the GH3 etc as the kits will be separated and the lens price will drop fast after that likely. Just like the 14MM you can get for about $160.
Well, analogous to the 14mm kit situation anyway. We can only dream
of this lens coming down that low!
I’m interested to see if this lens performs without major CA on Olympus bodies.
+1 DonTom … Does anyone know what are the limitations/trade-offs of using Panny lenses Olympus bodies?
There is plenty of info out there. Lack of CA correction and an annoying aperture rattle seem to be the main issues. Best to research a specific lens if there is a combination you have in mind.
I have only small problems with lenses on EPL1 and EPM1 bodies. The 20 works fine, the 100-300 works mostly fine, but sometimes rattles (indeed it’s the last Panasonic lens I’ve bought and it’s the first time I’ve heard the rattle), the 14 works fine and the 7-14 works fine too.
CA is not a huge problem for websize and can be corrected in LR for larger prints.
12-35 is a premium lens and the price is unlikely to quickly drop because of any bundling, IMO. But I really am trying to resist buying the lens before I hear it will be bundled with the GH3 and the GH3 specs/sample images/reviews. 🙂
There will be some decline in price, but nothing approaching the 14mm. The 12-50 kit lens for the E-M5 is selling for about a $150 discount on eBay. However, a new lens that has been pulled from a kit won’t have a warranty.
need US stock!
Looks like the lens is a very mixed bag. The photos taken at 12mm are downright *horrible* and look like they came out of a P&S camera. Those at longer focal lengths are sharper, but there are some severe longitudinal CA and local contrast issues in certain photos, like the Master-Coke photo.
Overall a decent lens, but if they’re selling *this* as a premium lens at a premium price, ugh…
The lens looks really great to me. Great performance across the board in what is a tiny package -approx one third the size of FF equivalents (shallow DOF excepted). A really exciting addition to MFT. All the reviews so far have been very positive. If the GH3 matches this it will be a great camera.
The sample photos are very lo-rez, according to file size. It’s hard to assess the quality, but I surmise this lens is decent. I hadn’t planned on getting it, but the size, weight, speed and other attributes seem positive. Canon and Nikon 24-70/2.8 are much more expensive, and Sigma probably wouldn’t be able to make a comparable lens this small.
This is a fantastic lens! Sample images are stunning, no quality loss at f2.8! PLEASE Sony, I need such a lens for my NEX5n!! I’m considerung system change from NEX to m43 ….
Hi guys! Do you think waiting for GH3 release is good, if I plan to buy both 12-35X and GH3 anyways? (I mean if I’ll save any money if the lens comes as a kit lens with GH3.)
Depends on what 200 $ may look worth to you ?
I think I’d like to get my 12-35X asap for documentary work, so if there’s usually no bigger difference I’ll go with buying lens earlier. Thanks! 🙂
I’m not sure. Its image samples over Internet are not impressive at all. I think I will to see more in-depth reviews.
Amazon UK says the 75/1.8 is due to be released July 31. I thought Olympus would beat Pana and the 12-35… :-(.
Pity this beautiful lens is not in F2.0 otherwise it will delightful for everybody .
F2.8 is reasonable but F2.0 will be exceptional !
A 300g lens was never going to be f2- i was hoping it might cover a slightly longer range though eg 12-45.
I have decided to stick with 14/20/45 primes instead (I also have the 7-14,14-140, 100-300 if I feel the need to zoom or go out to the extremes of FOV)
…. but far too big for a m43 body. 58mm diameter front element is as big as I would want.
I say f2.8 is perfect size/fastness ratio..
If you want wopping sized lenses, get a dslr!
I disagree. The beauty of mft is you can slap on a pancake if you want to go small/light but can go large if required. The 100-300 is a good match for my Gh1 although it is ten times the size/weight of my 14/f2.5. I guess a FF 500mm f4 would not balance well, but neither does it on an SLR. A handheld 600mm FOV equivalent is possible with mft.
F2.0 would also be exceptionally big!
+5mm diameter for the max aperture. 17.5mm (instead of 12.5mm) at the tele end. Given the complexity of quality optics, it is safe to assume it would be more than an extra 5mm for the front element. Exactly how much remains to be seen.
Then, there is the issue of length and weight.
Oh, and an other sensible issue. Price.
Eventually, I think there is a niche for a constant f2.0 Über-deluxe version. If anything, the f2.8 was more pressing. (sarcasm) …oh pardon, I mean the f5.6/24-70 (/sarcasm)
Very tempted, probably will get this one! It’s the best solution for general purpose/travel situations where changing lenses is inconvenient.