Daniel Cox from Naturalexposures met with Panasonic Lumix executives Henri Nishikawa, Shinji Watanabe and Yasuhide Yamada. And Daniel got info about one future new lens:
I can’t relate specific details about what might be coming. But I can say that Lumix does have a lens in development that’s nearly ready to go. It will be a huge leap forward and something I’m extremely excited about and I’m confident others will feel the same.
and:
I can tell you that we spoke about the entire range of lens choices a professional photographer or serious enthusiast requires to truly hone their photographic craft. There were even a couple of lenses they suggested I hadn’t thought about that were very exciting. I came away from the lens discussions feeling very positive that the Lumix brand has no plans of letting Olympus garner all the attention.
I don’t know if the lens Daniel is talking about is the 150mm f/2.8 that was on hinted by Panasonic a long time ago…
Thanks Daniel for your report!
122 Responses
Very exciting. My guess (my hope) would be a wide sibling of the Nocticron. A 12mm or 17.5mm f/1.2 OIS
I think having a portrait and wide lens of such high quality that nears the shallow DOF of full frame with the Leica magic and OIS would tempt more professional photographers to jump ship.
I film mostly, so a wide stabilised lens I can use on my Panasonic cameras would be incredible. But if I were a pro photographer this is what I would be waiting for most.
Although the blog comments hint at a telephoto…
indeed .. then again when you are Panasonic user for wide shots you can pretty safely use the new Olympus lenses. Naturally having IS would not hurt and might be more important for your needs. (night movie shots).
I’d be all over a ~17 f1.2 even sans OIS (but with AF), with OIS I’d pay whatever exorbitant price they want… Not sure I’d want a brighter AND wider lens tho, since I already have the 12/2, but if they could strike a better bang for the buck balance there I’m sure many would welcome it too.
Why would 150/2.8 be exciting? I believe it was cancelled for a pretty good reason.
Release 25 F1.2.. 67.5 F1.2 17.5 F1.2. please
I like your idea of 67.5 F1.2 & 17.5 F1.2 .
Well thought .
25/1.0 with O.I.S. ^_^/
i wish something that pany never done,Leica Zoom brighter aperture assume 2.6-3.8
on 10.5-38/42 mm.
i hope it’s not new range but new material improve optic quality,
redesign lens structure inside,new AF,weather seal,high reliability.
Plus ultra fast aperture like never before , an F1.0 lens .
hey,yun post to panasonic develop lens site,
i guess you wish Leica Zoom.
Lenses that haven’t been thought about by Olympus?
Anamorphic or tilt-shift would jump to mind as being something different.
For me , definitely a 12mm F1.2 & another ultra fast tele prime such as
67.5mm F1.2 would be very nice .
Panasonic really needs to make a 2-3 telephotos on the long run. a 200mm 2.8 IS would be a good start or a 100-300 f4 would be the dream with best IS they can install on to it. even 50-125mm f2 IS would work.
Yes, after 40-150/2.8, 150/2.8 would not make sense, but 200/2.8 still would. Especially if it can take the same teleconverter.
I agree with your thoughts, but there is absolutely no way any Pana lens will accept the Oly teleconverter. Oly has custom made that for their 40-150 and 300. Giving the specs to Pana would directly cut into the sales of both of those.
I’m sure the Oly 40-150/2.8 is a fine lens. But, it has no OIS. So, it is of little use on Pany cameras. I would buy the Pany 150/f2.8 (if it ever became a reality), since, outside of the 100-300 f4.0-5.6 (which seems a bit soft > 200 mm), there is not a good tele option from Panny.
For sports and birding etc, you’d want to keep your shutter speed over 1/500s anyway. Even on Pana cameras. And… Pana better have IBIS in more of their cameras, and at realistic prices. Otherwise they will continue to lose market share. Look what happened in the last 3 years with their market share. They might thank their stupid dinky GM1 and GM5 and overpriced GH3, GX7 and GH4 for that.
I would like to see a 10mm f1.2 Pan/Leica
me too
me too! with OIS of course.
The Nocticron is quite special. I own the Oly 40-150mm f/2.8 too, and that is just as special in a different way..
The only lens I am looking forward to right now is the Oly 300mm f/4 and possibly the Voigtlander 10.5mm f/0.95… But for totally different reasons! 🙂
I doubt that Panasonic will change that for me.
what if pana resumed work on 100-300 f4? At least it’s my dream 🙂
Make it f/2.8-4. 🙂
It’s almost sure the big surprise cannot be the 150/2.8, I expect for something more spectacular.
I hope it will be the 67.5 F1.2. Ultra fast portrait lens
Yes, a striking answer to Oly 75/1.8. But don’t expect just simply a high price. The price will be exorbitant! 😀
Really hope they resumed work on 100-300 f4
A 150mm f2.8 macro lens would be great.
That would be something to separate it from all the long zooms.
Otherwise a fixed telephoto lens would have limited appeal and sales.
That macro would be really nice to have. Though I’d really like to see and have a tilt shift lens for the m43 system
Yes, that would be great, too.
10mm?
I would be happy even with a 12mm f4… Though I’m quite afraid of what its cost would be. Schneider 28mm Ts is over 10k dollars.
At f/4 only, there is almost no point in it being TILT-shift, just shift would be enough (DoF is too deep as it is for architectural and landscape applications – I hope you are not asking about 12mm macro).
And even shift is not that useful, simpler and more useful is to have 10mm and correct convergence of lines digitally.
At, say, f/2 it might be another story. Even 2.8.
I would use it for architectural and landscape photography, therefore I would opt for just a shift lens. But at that point they could also add the tilt function.
A 10mm would be more expensive, that’s why I would be happy even with a 12mm.
And no, stretching pixels is a little different than capturing them optically corrected.
Oh yes please the Sigma was so fantastic on 4/3!
Ultrawide prime?
I’d like to see a compact 52.5 f2.0 with close focus (not macro). 105mm was so popular with the FF crowd but no primes in MFT. Just a preferred focal length for me….
If you don’t care about an AF fast enough to be usable (as long as you don’t own an E-M1), there is the excellent Olympus Zuiko Digital 50mm f/2 with Four Thirds mount, and, while still being manufactured, used samples are often to be had for a sensible price. Although it was hyped as one of the best lenses available for any system, which, all in all, it might very well be, it does have some problems with longitudinal CA at larger apertures, though (which may result in blue fringing and/or bokeh fringing, depending on object and lighting).
That 50mm was named “the eye of God” 😉
Olympus has had a lot of lenses like that over the years. The 90/2, the 250/2, a few others. Olympus has never given an inch to anyone in terms of lens design.
Sure, but “The eye of God” was its 50mm f2. I have never heard of other lenses having a nickname.
True. My point was that Olympus has a long history of making world-class glass. And the 250 was considered to be the best lens made at the time. By NASA. The 24 Shift is still sought after by Canon shooters, and probably Sony users. The 90/2 is legendary. It would be interesting to try to test the 50/2 against some of these other lenses on a bench, and see what happens. Olympus really gives up nothing to Nikon and Canon in terms of optical quality. UI quality, that’s another story :-).
I bet you will not distinguish the rendering of a 52.5/2 from 45/1.8 (same amount of background blur), and at close focus, the difference in distance it will afford you is just a few mm.
Move your camera a tiny little closer!
No OIS and not really close focus…probably get 42.5 f1.7
not a photographer, are you?
“I can’t relate specific details about what might be coming. But I
can say that Lumix does have a lens in development that’s nearly ready
to go. It will be a huge leap forward and something I’m extremely
excited about and I’m confident others will feel the same.”
—
Seems Daniel needs a chill pill. I can only yawn at unfounded marketing enthusiasm such as this.
It’s a wide tilt shift prime 🙂
I wish it would!
10mm f/1 tilt-shift with AF. 🙂
Riiiiight…
That would be awesome
” It will be a huge leap forward and something I’m extremely excited about and I’m confident others will feel the same”
If it is just 150/2.8, it would be a HUGE exaggeration after 40-150/2.8. The only thing that might be that exciting is a 10-100/2-2.8 for $300.
Hahah, a 10-100/2-2.8 for $300 would have every pro photographer in the world putting together an M4/3 B-cam system…
How about a serious, pro-level superzoom with excellent IQ, like the Canon 28-300L for full frame DSLRs or the (still manufactured) Four-Thirds-mount Panasonic Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm f/3.5-5.6? Or maybe something just slightly wider & longer & faster, like a 12-240mm f/2.8-4 or maybe just 3.5-4.5? I wouldn’t mind if it would have to become as large and heavy as the Vario-Elmar or even slightly larger and heavier. It would still be a significant size and weight advantage compared to the Canon lens, even more when combined with a camera.
I dont like superzooms (more than 5×), too many compromises in IQ.
Lots of people do like superzooms, though. Getting the shot, albeit with compromised IQ, is a lot better than no shot at all.
And there are definitely some seriously impressive results people have got out of the 14-140…
http://www.mu-43.com/threads/52029/page-3#post-775996
I see your point. If it attracts more people to the system, why not? But we need more primes.
There are always compromises. My PL 15 is sharp and as fast they come, but has not all than versatile. My 14-140ii is only acceptably sharp, but I get a massive 28-280 eq focal length. Most important, I love being able to fit a MFT body those two lenses in a 5x7x7″ bag.
That’s because virtually every available superzoom lens is designed to be small and affordable, instead of being optimized for image quality while allowing for some bulk. The two lenses I mentioned, though, are optimized for image quality, and there are no severe compromises. Back in my DSLR days I sold the renowned 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Zuiko because it wasn’t significantly better than the D Vario-Elmar 14-150 I had bought later (and because I just didn’t use it anymore).
I’d like either
-a properly updated 20mm with faster AF, non-moving front element and an aperture ring.
– or a m43 version of the Lx100 lens. If this is possible while keeping the size relatively similar. But I understand that the present optical design probably doesn’t allow a big enough image circle.
Other than that and whimsical wishes I don’t see too many gaps in the current m43 offerings. Other than the extreme wide and telephoto ends.
I like the idea of an LX100 type lens. But remember that thing is electronically telescoping and highly mechanical.
“m43 version of the Lx100 lens…while keeping the size relatively similar”
Now THAT would be a worthy kit zoom. They can shove their 14-45, 14-45, 14-42 II, now 14-42 II in new color, 12-32 where Sun does not shine. So much wasted resources, for something which does not impress and as such does not sell.
Give me a serious 20mm 1.4, and I’d buy a GX8 for it. That is my favorite focal length.
I own the 20mm, the 27mm for Fuji and the 40mm from Canon. I don’t even own the 6D anymore, but I won’t sell the lens, in the hopes that Canon will make a serious FF mirrorless one day.
I just wish some lens manufacturer would take the 40mm focal length seriously.
Lumix; mostly good at video but keep dreaming of being like the others with photographic lenses; where are their cine lenses?
Please be less stupid. Even must a little less would be great.
Yeah, like that Nocticron…I know it has the best resolution of any lens in the system, but it’s clearly only good for video.
“where are their cine lenses?”
Veydra makes an AWESOME set (12, 16, 25, 35, 50, 85) in T2.2, and it is incredibly cheap compared to other real cine lenses (the whole set is cheaper than a single Zeiss CP.2 15 T2.9, slower lens). No point in asking Panasonic for them.
Panasonic-Summilux 12/1.4 + 17/1.4 and will move to Panasonic buing also Summilux 25/1.4 and 42,5mm + GX-8. No new f/1.4 primes, no move to Panas.
Yes because olympus has such a plethora of f1.4 lenses.
Olympus got froz-en up with f/1.8 primes, hope in Panasonic to bring more f/1.4 primes that some pro needs.
If you NEED f/1.4 on APS-C, it will probably be cheaper to use f/1.8 on APS-C. Or even f/2.8 on FF, although the only mirrorless FF system supporting AF has only one and its badly overpriced.
I want a 10mm prime with OIS
100-300mm F4?????
Or 100-400mm F3.5-5.6???
100-300mm f/4 and it is great start.
150-400mm f/2.8 PRO from Olympus and it is what is anyone needing, with TC compatibility (210-560mm f/4!)
Given Daniel’s interests, I expect that its a long, bright zoom. One of the many joys of µ4/3 is that there are two companies making excellent general purpose lenses, as well as outfits like Veydra making more specialized glass for it. Its really a unique situation.
Yes, great. If only their AF and IS as well as correction policies were actually aligned.
I’m weird, I guess. I see the µ4/3 world as glass half-full. Of course, using Olympus bodies and shooting raw helps. Maybe someday I’ll be able to afford that lovely Panasonic 35-100/2.8. It will suit me a lot better than the 40-150/2.8.
Different strategies, while Oly announces a lens along two~three years, Pana works quietly, like they did with the 30/2.8 and the 42.5/1.7… and I prefer that way.
Interesting to see how the Nocti external design changed since first mockups.
Panasonic did pre-announce the 150mm f2.8 even before any of the Olympus PRO lenses. So if that is the mystery lens than Panasonic is not any better.
Panasonic cancelled that lens officially.
Panasonic cancelled the 100-300m F4 lens. The 150mm f2.8 was never officially cancelled.
I’m not sure about the official status of the 150/2.8, but I feel it will be difficult to justify the purchase for system users (unless the price is sub $1200 or so) with the Oly 40-150/2.8 which is a pretty solid performer.
A silent strategy is bad, how do you want to attract new advanced users to your system if you have no lens roadmap?
Let’s hope it’s the 150/2.8 that is razor sharp wide open
I’d like to see:
a) a wide angle prime lens (9mm/2.8)
b) a HG 35mm FF EQ lens (Zuiko 17/1.8 isnt good enough)
c) a longer portrait lens (55-65 mm) faster than 1.8
d) a semi-pro zoom lens, sth. like 14-56/2.8-4.0
e) specialties like 90/F2 macro lens
I really like Pentax 20-40/2.8-4.0, it covers many usefull FLs…
A 100mm f2 or f2.4 for around $600 non macro would be about perfect IMO, even f2.8 would be ok (but a bit cheaper).
Wise move would be a 200mm F/2.8
It is possible to make it enought compact to make it attractive for those who need a good reach in the m43 world. For an “equivalent” of a 400mm and it would be pretty unique in the m43 offering.
Than you pair it with a new Panasonic teleconverter and you have a 300mm F/4.0 that can compete against the not yet produce Olympus…
150 should be a 1.8.
That would be massive.
We already have a 150 mm f/2, and given the size of that lens, whether you need to add an adaptor (as you have to with the current Olympus 150 mm f/2) or not, doesn’t make much of a difference.
where are the fast primes patented a while ago…all of them 1.8….
I think for Panasonic to get back in the high-end lens game in relation to Olympus it has to be a high quality 100-300mm f4 zoom. After that an updated 7-14mm and more f1.2 primes, say 12mm and 17.5mm to start with. If it is a 150mm f2.8, it will have to be substantially smaller and lighter than the Oly 40-150mm f2.8 (which may be limited by the laws of physics), and be quite a bit cheaper to be an interesting proposition. Personally, I would really like an 8-9mm tilt-shift lens.
That would be one big lens (in MFT terms) – if you think the size of the current 100-300 and make it f4… I think they should do the Oly thing and make a 150 f2.8 and a matched teleconverter.
Yes, it would be big for m43, but think of the FF equivalent – 200-600mm – and you see what capability you are getting. Personally, I think the Oly high-end zoom strategy is excellent (7-150mm at f2.8 plus 1.4x TC giving good 210mm f4) and they have a compelling set of high-end zooms now but I guess as Panasonic have their 12-35mm and 35-100mm f2.8 lenses they need to offer something over 100mm of quality, and ideally a zoom. I currently have two Pana bodies and a mix of Pana and Oly lenses (including the Pana 12-35 f2.8, which is great), but have more Oly lenses on my wish-list than Pana at this point.
Agree with others, it should be a relatively fast Pro quality 100-300, which isn’t at all useful to me but others are in need.
I would like to see a v2 of the 12-35mm f/2.8 that is a bit smaller and a bit more modern looking (a la the 14-140 refresh in 2013).
Otherwise, we have it good. There’s a high quality lens for pretty much every shooting style in the MFT system.
10.5mm or 9mm F/2 prime, please. Make it reasonably small, metal-bodied, and as sharp as the 7-14mm and you’ll have a hit in your hands.
I’d take f2.8. Compact size and lower price would be great.and 9mm preferred.
I want a zoom that goes to 300mm F4 with high quality, something that can get close to the upcoming Olympus 300mm F4, but with some zoom range below 300mm.
Great! Panasonic is going to release third native Tilt-Shift lens for m4/3! Great if focal length around 20-25mm and f/1.7!
Panasonic should do a cinema line of primes. F1.2 across the range. 7mm 12mm, 17.5mm 25mm, 42.5mm, 75mm, 150mm. The 150mm can be 2.8 like they show here. with that line-up you’d never need speed boosters. Sell it as a kit, and supply it to rental houses. Hey, why not right?
T/1.2 I assume you mean?
oops, yep
new pana-leica 25mm 1.2f with O.I.S. & weather seal that i wish.
oh you are so right. that lens would be a goto lens.
T/1.2 would mean they’re likely f0.95 at least.
According to DXO, the Nocticron f1.2 is T1.6. Whether that’s due to pixel vignetting (on the sensor) or just the sheer number of elements in the 42.5, making a well-corrected T/1.2 would be a monster of a lens.
As long as we’re firing in the dark, instead of a 150/2.8 (which is certainly going to be challenged by the Oly 40-150/2.8), I’d love to see it bumped up to a 200/2.8. That would provide a nice option between the 40-150 and the soon to be 300/4 from Oly. Otherwise, if they really wanted to make some noise, something like a 400/5.6 might be reasonably doable for under $2k, and would be a great option for the birders and daytime sports shooters.
I would love to see more cinema and video centric lenses personally. I’ve been using Olympus and Voigtlander lenses on my GH4 for video because of the great manual focus ring. I’d love to use Pana lenses, esp the 35-100 because it’s telephoto and has OIS but the crap focus by wire ring makes racking and following focus on a moving target impossible. OIS+Olympus’ clutch focus ring system would be the holy grail for me, especially in a telephoto. Also, faster lenses! Whether they be primes or zooms. An MFT version of the Sigma ART 18-35mm would be great. 14-28mm F1.8 anyone?
The post says “It will be a huge leap forward”, so it can only be something like an autofocus f/1.0 or faster, or a 12-35 f/1.8 or f/1.4. A tilt shift would not be a “huge leap forward” as it is a niche item. Useful, but very few would sell to the common photographer. We already have two great fisheyes, we already have two amazing ultra wide angles, we already have amazing portrait lenses, we already have great 35mm and 50mm equivalents, and we already have amazing telephoto zooms, and Olympus is about to release an amazing super telephoto prime. So. It has to be a 12-35 ultra fast fixed aperture. I can’t think of anything else that it could be. Unless it is cine shit or something totally new that has never been seen.
I would like to see an ENG type video lens. A native m4/3 mount motorized par-focal zoom with IS does not exist. We were hoping for a AF100 replacement, but it never came. This type of lens would have made that system much more versatile. Maybe next time they will put the horse in front of the cart?
While I like this idea they did just announce the DVX200 with a 15-192mm F2.8-F4.5 lens fixed on the front which probably killed the AF100 replacement or a ENG MFT lens.
Aha! so the lens is done! Hack it off. I know a lot of people would love to see the DVX200 with an interchangable mount which would pass for the AF200
I’m sure whatever new lens they release will be great and expensive and I won’t be able to live without it.
What’s missing in Panasonic’s lineup is 100-300mm f4 Pro zoom. If that is the case, Panny will have the range from 7mm to 300mm covered professionally
A picture is worth a thousand words.
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/55937952
What the…
There’s no picture!
But there are a thousand words
Well, it is quite tiny. Think of it as a subtle hint.
I highly suspect it’s a 150mm f1.8. That might be why the 150mm f2.8 was cancelled. b000000000000000m shakalaka!
Also it might be a f0.7 prime with OIS, but that would cost $3000
150mm f2.8 wasn’t canceled, 100-300 f4 was
SMH
Panasonic will only steal the spotlight if they release a 300mm F2.8 or 4 before Olympus did.
There’s no use for a 150mm 2.8, maybe Lumix fans will rejoice but the 40-150mm 2.8 PRO is far more versatile.
If Panasonic really announces the 150mm f2.8 lens, they will lose to Olympus and look like idiots on the profit report. Try another lens.
Since this turned into a wish-a-lens thread I’ll say that one of the very very few remaining gaps in the m43 line-up is a UWA prime. Light, f/2.8, shorter than 10 mm, sharp.
Maybe a set of macro filters?
LOL!
150mm f2.8 1:1 Macro?