Panasonic 7-14mm f/4.0 Micro Four Thirds Lens for Panasonic Digital SLR Cameras
- 2 Aspherical lenses and 4 ED lenses for superb optical performance
- Ultra wide-angle with 114 of diagonal angle of view at wide-end
- F4.0 brightness over the entire zoom range thanks to its large-diameter glass molded lens elements
- Circular aperture diaphragm
- Multi-coated lens elements minimize ghosts and flare
Product Description
For Lumix G1 & GH1 Digital SLR Cameras / 16 elements in 12 groups (2 Aspherical lenses, 4 ED lenses) / f=7mm to 14mm (focal length) / 7 diaphragm blades Contrast AF system support Utilizing a durable metal mount The optimally designed lens hood enables use even under strong sunlight Lens Construction – 16 elements in 12 groups (2 Aspherical lenses, 4 ED lenses) Micro Four Thirds mount Focal Length – f=7mm to 14mm (35mm film camera equivalent 14mm to 28mm) Aperture Type – 7 diaphragm blades / Circular aperture diaphragm Aperture Range – F4.0 Minimum Aperture – F22 Closest Focusing Distance – 0.25m / 0.8ft at all focal lengths Maximum Magnification – Approx. 0.08x / 0.15x (35mm film camera equivalent) Diagonal Angle of View – 114 (W)~75 (T) Max. Diameter – 70mm / 2.76 inch Overall Length – Approx. 83.1mm / 3.27 inch (from the top of the lens food to the base side of the lens mount) Weight – Approx. 300g / 10.58oz … More >>
Panasonic 7-14mm f/4.0 Micro Four Thirds Lens for Panasonic Digital SLR Cameras
I use this with my Olympus PEN E-P2. The image quality is absolutely top notch, and this lens allows a micro four thirds camera to really shine. A 14mm (full frame equivalent) rectilinear wide angle is a wonderful, wonderful tool.
My only quibble is that the aperture only goes to f4. F2.8 would have been nicer, but the lens would have gotten bigger and heavier. Sigh. Images are tack sharp. Like *all* super-wide zooms, there’s a bit of chromatic aberration in the corners — most of which can be cleaned up in Lightroom, et al.
The lens is expensive when you compare it to the other micro four thirds lenses, but a deal when you look at other wide zooms.
I own this lens, and absolutely love it.
Rating: 5 / 5
I wanted a high quality, lightweight ultra-wide lens to take hiking in the mountains of Colorado. The Lumix 7-14mm on my Panasonic GF1 replaces my previous UWA, the Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 that I used on my Nikon D300.
Advantages vs Sigma 10-20mmm f4-5.6
* Smaller and lighter
* Constant f4 aperture
* Better build quality
* Integrated lens hood
* Very sharp across the entire frame, even wide open
* Little barrel distortion @7mm.
Disadvantages vs Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6
* Much more expensive
* No filter thread
I occasionally used a circular polarizer with my Sigma to increase color saturation and contrast, but the effect is pretty uneven on ultra wide lenses. The Lumix 7-14mm has very good contrast and color, so I don’t really miss the polarizer unless I want to reduce water reflections or glare from foliage.
If you shoot landscapes with a M4/3 camera, you’ll love this little gem!
Rating: 5 / 5
This is a fantastic lens. It’s tiny compared to any other lens that covers these focal lengths. It’s extremely sharp, corner to corner, throughout the zoom range. I’ve been taking a lot of test images with the lens on the panasonic G1, wide open at f4, throughout the zoom range. It is sharp across the frame, at all focal lengths. There is very little distortion, and when using Lightroom to process RAW images, I see no chromatic aberration.
It’s pretty amazing and utilizes the potential of the micro 4/3 system. Amazing that you can take images of this quality with such a small camera and lens! Just buy it.
FYI, my background: I have used view cameras extensively for landscapes and travel photography, and more recently the Canon 5D and 5DII and a stellar copy of the Canon 17-40mm f4L lens. This relatively small Panasonic Lens and G1 camera produces, IMHO, images that are as good in many situations, and perhaps better in others than the Canon system. And the Panasonic goes a lot wider than the Canon 17-40mm f4L, providing an equivalent to a 14mm field of view at the wide end, which is phenomenal. Just compare it to the size, weight, and cost of the Nikon 14-24mm lens!
Rating: 5 / 5
This Panasonic Lumix lens is the 3rd lens I have bought from Amazon and completes my system for G series of Panasonic cameras and lenses. Even though this lens is a little pricey, it is remarkable as to how sharp it is at all f stops and in the zoom ranges. For it’s price, it is a bargain in it’s range for wide angle zooms and is almost a must for indoor photography. Now I’m looking forward to using it for nature photography using it’s range and unique perspective. It along with all the Lumix Lenses are highly recommended!
Rating: 5 / 5
This lens has been very hard to get for awhile now and it is certainly not cheap. It does, however, deliver the goods. It is a stunningly good performer and its diminutive size demonstrates the advantage the micro-four-thirds has in wide angle optics solutions with the elimination of the mirror-box. The G1+7-14 looks almost comically small sitting next to my Canon 400D+10-22 – and the 7-14 actually goes wider than the 10-22.
Please keep in mind that this is a UWA, so when I and other reviewers praise it we are doing so in the context of a UWA lens. That means expect the corners to not be perfectly sharp, no UWA lens achieves this. But this lens has great center sharpness and corner sharpness the keeps up with the best competition. Simply stunning results. If you’ve never shot UWA come to the table with the right expectations, if you have UWA experience I think you’ll be very impressed.
Flare performance is excellent, comparable to the Canon 10-22 which is another great flare performer.
Be advised, no filter attachment is practical with this lens. This is usually not a problem as polarizers are less frequently useful on UWA lenses (effect will vary dramatically over such a wide viewing angle) and for a digital camera few other filters are useful.
Is it worth the price? Well, that is a hard call as it is not a cheap lens. Right now it is your only option for micro-four-thirds. Comparing to other systems the Canon 10-22 is probably comparable and cheaper. So yes, I think you are paying a bit of a micro-four-thirds premium. That said, once you put it on a micro-four-thirds body and hold it in your hand and look at the results it is a whole new ball game to have something this small with such excellent UWA performance – there is nothing else like it out there. If you are a UWA shooter I strongly suspect you’ll find it well worth the cost, its portable size and tremendous performance make it a landscape or architecture photographers dream solution for compact/lightweight gear.
Finally, note that in early 2010 Olympus is planning on releasing a micro-four-thirds 9-18mm lens that will likely be significantly cheaper (probably 40% less). It of course won’t go as wide (and there is quite a difference between 7mm and 9mm) and will likely not be as good in the IQ department, but it will use a 52mm filter and might be a more attractive price point for many buyers. As far as that goes you can pry my 7-14 from my cold, dead fingers if you’d like to try…
Rating: 5 / 5