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Image above: the current [shoplink 14822]Panasonic 7-14mm f/4.0[/shoplink] lens.
I have an update about Panasonic lenses: A few weeks ago we received the rumor that Panasonic was going to update some of the current lenses. A second and a third source now confirmed that the rumor is correct. There will be a new 7-14mm OIS lens which should be announced the second half of the year. We don’t know yet what the other lenses are but we suspect the [shoplink 14794]45mm macro[/shoplink] could also get trough some kind of redesign. The sources also confirmed that the m43 version of the current [shoplink 14959]25mm f/1.4 Four Thirds[/shoplink] lens is coming in April (that’s FT5).
40 Responses
I think the 45-200 could benefit from better OIS and improved sharpness at the long end. And if the 45 macro is redesigned, I’m curious if improved aperture is on the to-do list. Could explain it’s price drops ATM.
Jim I might be wrong but I’ve heard numerous of the 45-200 being sharper after updating to the latest firmware, how current is yours? I myself just got into m4/3 and for AF only have the 14-42… but I am waiting for adapters for a few legacy lenses 🙂 I hope the Hexanon 57mm 1.4 treats me well
I’ve only borrowed it from a friend and tbh it loses sharpness in the 150-200 range though I suppose it migh be a bad copy. Gonna get the 20mm first.
Why?
My only hope is Cosina.
if they can speed the macro auto focus on the 45mm, i’ll replace mine on release. for me, i’m not interested in it being any brighter, you ever try focusing a 2.8 macro on a moving fish at 30 metres underwater lol?
so sharper and better macro af please
Actually I’m curious about the AF performance of the 45mm on a camera with a faster reading sensor like the GH2. I mean AF improvements for the 45mm might also be obtained by… changing camera? 😛
It does AF fast on the GH2. It even works well at macro distance
The problem with the 45mm Leica macro, is that is that the 50mm f2.0 beats it in image quality, sharpness, colors, etc…. Maybe not color, but almost every factor, the 50mm wins in.
The 45mm is smaller, faster, 1:1 etc…. but I just cannot give up my 50mm for that level of image quality (it is seriously a step down). The best thing to happen, would be for the rumored MFT version of the 50mm macro to come out. Then, MFT will finally have a worthwhile macro/portrait lens….
An image stabilized 7-14 makes so little sense, especially considering how thin the lens selection is already. I handhold this lens at super-low shutter speeds without any trouble and would much rather see them engineer some small, fast lenses like the 20. None of the big boys make an image-stabilized lens at the super-wide length, and for good reason.
I agree. The 7-14 doesn’t really need OIS.
Shut up right now! 😉
The 7-14mm OIS is the most important lens to date because it’s the one that will finally bring down the price of the 7-14mm no OIS. 🙂
That was a good one DB 😉
Hmm good point. Hadn’t thought of that XD
lol, exactly what i was hoping for!
+1 🙂
we need a 20-30mm fast prime with OIS
Buy an Olympus body 😉
Ha. Nicely done.
“Buy an Olympus body”
Exactly. It would be nice of Panasonic to stabilize each lens but wouldn’t it be easier to stabilize the sensor? With the kind of R&D money at their disposal, the overheating sensor problem would be history soon.
2nd panasonic putting image stabilization in thier bodies
I will definately be looking out for discounts on the current non ois 7-14 as ois is totally unneccesary on the focal lenghts. I’ll buy one of the old stock for half price!
Please please please front filter threads, even if it had to lose a mm of focal length. They could probably afford to have two ultrawides: an 8-16 with filter threads and OIS (video, I suspect, is the reason) and a 7-14 for those that absolutely need the 7mm. This dual strategy would reflect the practices of Canon, Nikon, etc.
7-14 with OIS? Could this be a mistake admin? Or is it an odd piece of Panasonic double think?
The answer as Dan has pointed out is VIDEO. With a wide angle everything is in focus so with 7-14mm there will be no virtually no area not in focus when filming action shots. Just look at the recent post of video with GH2 with the 14mm/f2.5 combined with ETC. In video ETC extends the focal length of the lens from anywhere from X3.9 (720P) to X2.6 (1080P) with no image or lens speed loss. Thus the 7-14mm lens for video turns into an effective 14mm-109mm lens! In the post demonstrating the AF speed of the GH2 the baseball hurled at high speed towards the camera was kept in perfect focus throughout. This lens also would be very good for underwater photography for the same reason. At the wide angle end it hardly requires any any adjustment and after all the GH2 can AF in 0.1 sec!
Yes at first glance doesn’t appear to make sense but then there is a real reason. The existing 7-14mm will continue to be just fine for those interested primarily in stills while the new 7-14mm OIS will become a must for video users. So that is the new fast WA zoom lens that has been rumored several times?
Admin – Any rumors at all of a small fast zoom closer to 12-24mm?
I see maybe power ois as a possible improvement, but still an unnecessary waste of resouces that could be put into other lens’s we want.
12mm, 2.0
50mm, 1.4 ois
35-100mm, 2.8 ois
I hope the Oly 50mm is faster than the projected 2.0!
Does this mean a price drop in the current 7-14mm lens? I hope so.
Ah I just bought the 7-14mm! Oh well, I got it for $775 new, which the new one certainly will not be, and it doesn’t really need OIS.
I paid the same for mine and got it yesterday.
The Amazon price jumped to $857.
Except for video, what’s the point of OIS in a lens like this?
Any f/4 lens, wide angle or not, would benefit from OIS to compensate for long hand held exposures. Panasonic’s focused on video/ hybrid video and stills so it makes even more sense.
I am a video person so I think it would’ve maybe been nice to reduce vibration in things like car mount shots, etc, but I actually usually use my 14-140mm with OIS off quite a bit at the wide end because the OIS seems to be best suited to getting the shot totally stable for the few moments it takes to take a photo, not getting it consistently zmooth.
I paid $960 about 15 months ago – a wonderful lens, and worth the sticker price.
I’d rather see a new viewfinder (LVF2) than an update to existing lenses.
+1, a new viewfinder for the existing cameras would be a godsend!!!
Meanwhile, in Olympus land…
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*crickets chirping*
Why? Why does Panasonic redesign current lenses instead of making more different lenses (especially the fast ones) for existing users?
I really hope these companies start releasing a better selection of high grade optics (correction, I hope they start releasing high grade optics)
Agree 100%, I want something like the 12-60 I had on 4/3 or at least the 14-54mm, also a telephoto as good as the 50-200mm…
The all-important question is: will the 25/1,4 have IS?
And the 7-14 of course *does* need IS too, don’t know why you can’t see it.
Hope for the 7-14 OIS lens. Waiting for the falling down price of old 7-14
Hope they will add the possibility to mount filters on the new 7/14 lens.