Panasonic 14-140mm f/4.0-5.8 OIS Micro Four Thirds Lens for Panasonic Digital SLR Cameras

I had a lens for almost a month. It works really well with my Olympus E-P1. The picture is very sharp from 18mm to 70mm and a little soft from 70mm and up. I like built in OIS in the lens, so I can turn off the IBIS on the camera to avoid excessive heat while using it constantly. This is a great trip around the lens when paired with my Panasonic 20mm f1.7 lens that I can use it indoors, such as a restaurant with the lights and 14-140mm for outdoor landscapes, wildlife, animals, or any occasion. I bought it separately with my camera system because I like the retro look of the E-P1. Please note the price is a bit high, but if you had shot the video, then this lens is really worth it because of its near-silent video focusing ability. I hate to hear my 20mm lens roar when recording video with the C-AF. I will also try it in my friend's upcoming wedding event, and pair it with the Olympus FL-50 flash. The lens is made ​​from high quality, is inside the lens made ​​of metal with plastic housing, I think, because of manufacturing opinion that his release m3 / 4 system. Think of the wide to telephoto range and price, there are some lenses perform better than this lens, if you're willing to pay $ 500 more for Leca 14-150mm, without focusing ability.

Panasonic H-FS014045PP 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS Micro Four Thirds Lens

Compact, lightweight, fast autofocus, effective stabilization and excellent sharpness. No light reduction issues.
My primary camera and lens combo is Nikon D200 with a $ 1300 17-55mm f/2.8 standard zoom, so I'm used to pro-quality lenses for excellent edge to edge sharpness, neutral color, consistent brightness across the frame, very little flare, etc. I bought the Panasonic GF1 and 20mm f/1.7 as a more portable alternative to my DSLR. I carry GF1 every day, so I shoot with my M4 / 3 switches a lot.

About the only negative I can say about his lens is that it has a variable aperture, but it is what every consumer-oriented standard zoom lens has. The variable aperture, I think it just might open up to f/3.5 (which allows more light) at the wide end of zoom. At the long end, it can not open wider than 5.6. A constant fast f/2.8 aperture would result in a much larger, heavier and more expensive lenses like my Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8. While my Nikon may be a better zoom in low light, and to get shallow depth of field is the Panasonic 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 much easier to carry. The O.I.S. stabilization helps in low light, but stabilization can not stop the action much faster shutter speed (from a larger aperture) can. The picture quality is excellent. I would still say that the 20mm f/1.7 is the lens through which each M4 / 3 users should take, but I can bring 14-45mm up there with it in terms of versatility. The construction quality is good for such a cheap zoom. I have seen DSLR kit lens that felt cheaper, and some who felt more robust. Panasonic has a newer 14-42mm kit zoom, which is supposed to be even cheaper and has a plastic bracket instead of the metal fitting of this lens. Based on reviews I'd say go for the 14-45mm. IQ of 14-42 is probably not so different, but the price is not that different either. Olympus also has a 14-42mm, which locks into a shorter length for transportation, but it has not stabilized since Olympus cameras use built-in camera instead of the lens.

I have used 14-45mm for landscapes, architecture and street photography, flowers, people, dogs, etc. I have written as much as 13x19cm and the picture quality is really very nice. Similar lenses I've used including the Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 and Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR. Panasonic 14-45mm compares really well and I would say it is more consistently sharp than the Nikon Super Zoom (18-200). The good thing about the Panasonic is that distortion and chromatic aberration are corrected automatically in the camera for both RAW and JPEG. So the lens is probably worse than it looks, but you would never know it looking at the final result ... unless you use a RAW converter that does not support patch info in the RAW file. Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom and Photoshop does.

The 14-45mm comes with a nice little hood that can be stored in the inverted position for transport, and of course it includes front and rear lens caps. GF1 is not quite so compact that use 14-45mm which is 20mm, but it is still a well-balanced combination. I can wear GF1 with 14-45mm comfortably around the neck as well. Zooming is smooth, manual focus is smooth, and it is a nice area for a zoom. I would prefer to sacrifice a bit of reach of little wider at the other end, but I think there's always 7-14mm and Olympus 9-18mm. 14mm is wide enough for most purposes. I carry this lens almost every day with my GF1 and 20mm. It is a great little combination.

Panasonic Lumix 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 G Vario Aspherical MEGA OIS Lens for Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Cameras

I have read that 14-45 might be a little sharper lens, but I have Panasonic GF1. I do not have any of the big G or GH models. So for me, size matters. When I bought GF1 the idea was to go small. What is the purpose to get a little M4 / 3 camera and then mount the big heavy lens on it? It defeats my purpose, I already have full-frame Nikon D700 with a selection of large and heavy lenses for it. So I got GF1 14-42, 20mm and 45-200. These three lenses that cover me from 28 to 400mm.

14-42 is a very small, very light lens. Yes, unlike the other two M4 / 3 lenses in my arsenal is 14-42 manufactured in China (the other in Japan) and has plastic mount (the other two are metal bracket). It also costs $ 199, comes with a hood, and focuses quietly and instantly in any lighting. Its focus is quieter and faster than the 20mm F/1.7 for sure. It has built-in image stabilizer. Unlike the 45-200, you can not turn off the stabilization via a button on the lens itself. But of course you can turn off the stabilization in the camera menu itself, so the possibility is still there, it's right on the Camera menu, not the lens.

This lens is so easy that you do not even notice the weight difference when you mount it on the GF1. I plan to use it as daylight walkaround lens. At night or in dim light, I'll switch to the 20mm F/1.7. Both lenses are so small that you can get others in your jacket pocket and then change them at any time.

My review and five stars are strictly for use with small M4 / 3 body and GF1 or Oly pens. For Panasonic G and GH models, is the great big already, you may pay twice as much for 14-45 for the alleged increase in sharpness (if indeed it is) makes more sense for you, then 14-45 can balance well on a Such richness. For GF1 / 2, is the small, quiet 14-42 (so no sound of the lens while shooting a movie) a smarter choice, in my opinion

Panasonic Lumix 100-300mm f/4.0-5.6 G Vario Aspherical MEGA OIS Lens for Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Cameras

It has taken Panasonic a long time to realize the one of the biggest strengths of M4/3 is exploiting the 2x crop factor. They have now done that with the 100-300mm lens. This lens is the equivalent of a 200mm-600mm f/5.6! Wow (In 1:1 Tele Extender Video mode you get a 2.6x extender fro a 520-1560mm f/5.6 equivalent lens). If you check your specs you will see 600mm prime lenses come one stop faster and cost around oh $14,000. That is not a typo. They also weigh 11 pounds. So they are hardly something you would tote around. Now ideally, Panasonic would come out with a 300mm f/2.8 and f/4. Those would be super lenses on the M4/3. However, they would be bigger and heavier than this lens. So this lens is perfect for bright daylight shooting of birds, sports, safari animals. Just about anything you need to reach out and touch.

This is Panasonic's largest M4/3 lens so far and weighs in at 1.14 lbs. To give you a comparison, Nikon's 70-300 mm lens weighs in at 1.6 lbs. Unfortunately at 4.9" long it is not as small as I think it should be. The Nikon 70-300 VR is 5.6" long so not that much bigger and that is an FX lens. However, with that said this is a solid lens with great construction. It is typical of all of their heigh end lenses such as the 8mm Fisheye and 7-14mm wide angle. Something to note is this lens will be unwieldy to use on all the Olympus M4/3 and the Panasonic GF lines.

This lens takes very nice photos and the autofocus is very fast. Especially on the GH2. The Image Stabilization works as advertised.

Overall, if you are looking to take pictures of birds, your kids soccer games, or anything else that you would use a 600mm lens then this is the one to use on the M4/3 system.

As a comparison the Olympus 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 is smaller and lighter and covers a greater focal range. However, it does not have Image Stabilization as that is built into Olympus cameras. So this would not be a good lens for Panasonic users. Also, I prefer the build and feel of the Panasonic. However, that is my personal bias. Oh the Olympus is $900 vs $600 for the Panasonic.

Update

Now that I have had a chance to play with this lens on the GH2 for a while, I can say this combo is great for shooting wildlife. The GH2 has an Extra Tele Convert (ETC) mode that makes this lens the equivalent of a 840mm (Medium ETC) and 1200mm (Small ETC). When you shoot in this mode you are getting an 8mp and 4mp image respectively. Yes you can crop a picture to get the same magnification. However, by selecting the ETC mode you are more likely to focus to an ultra sharp image on your subject. Also, it saves you 1 step in your work flow and saves space on your computer. So I find the ETC mode useful for stills also. As a down side it effectively makes your sensor smaller so it is not that useful in high ISO situations.

Overall, a brilliant lens and a no brainer if you are looking for extra reach on you M4/3 system.

Panasonic 45-200mm f/4.0-5.6 Lumix G Vario MEGA OIS Zoom Micro Four Thirds Lens for Panasonic and Olympus Micro Four Thirds Cameras

I have five lenses for my G1, but this is my favorite. Overall, it's quite sharp and produces images with an excellent feel for them, especially for such a relatively low price.

Initial test reports indicated noticeable softness at 160-200mm, but this seems to have been fixed. One possibility is that the latest firmware can be improved auto focus at long focal lengths. This has not been verified by Panasonic, but many owners of new or updated copies of the lens routinely get sharper pictures at 200mm than the earlier test reports suggest, then it seems to be the best bet currently.

It is important to have realistic expectations for long lenses. If you have never shot with a really long lens on an SLR, it's easy to assume that such a cute little lens will be just as easy to keep as her 14-45mm fire mate. It is not.

At 200mm, it has the same long range and very narrow angle of view as a 400mm lens on a full frame 35mm. I still have one of them from my film days and it is 13 inches long, heavy and almost impossible to hand hold! This Panasonic lens at 200mm to the same laws of physics and optics, as the old 400mm bazookas, but there is so much smaller and lighter.

The optical image stabilization is good, so you can hand hold it in good light, but you should be well braced and use good technique, and there is no point in even trying to leave to keep it on 200mm at very low shutter speeds. (When I shoot at 200mm, I increase the ISO if necessary to make sure my shutter speed is 1 / 125, and I prefer 1 / 250 or faster.)

If you have never fired a long telephoto lens before you consider using a tripod, the results turn OIS off and touch-up painting autofocus manually to nail the exact part of the image you want to be the sharpest. Either that or try to get closer to your subject - sharp handheld pictures at 100-150mm is much easier to get.

In short, this lens is an exceptional value and zoom range is great for a wide range of subjects, from portraits to wildlife. If you treat it with respect in the long end, you will get many good shots with it.