GH2 GH2 + Lumix 12-35mm f2.8 + the WORST "technical support" (panasonic) ever

[vorrik]

The purpose of this post is to warn anyone who has been on the fence about buying the new Lumix 12-35mm F2.8 to use on their GH2 for filming... and maybe to get Panasonic to do something about their abismal excuse for "tech support".

SO I do corporate/commercial work with a GH2. I mostly use primes but decided to purchase the 12-35mm F2.8 lens since I have read so many good reviews and from time to time its more convenient to have a zoom than to keep switching lenses during a shoot where you are moving the camera around. When a customer spends more on a lens than the camera system it was designed for, he should expect some sort of quality. While the image on this lens is nice, this lens has a MAJOR FLAW. I saw this in a youtube video when I was doing my research before the purchase but figured the guy probably had a defective unit since I haven't seen anything else about it anywhere on the web (and I searched).

When the lens has NO POWER going to it (like if its detached from the camera or on the camera with the camera turned off), the zoom is silky smooth. BUT, if the camera is turned on and you try to zoom in and out, the aperture "jumps" and "snaps". It will "snap" 4 times throughout the entire zoom range. Not only is this snapping of the aperture clearly audible but it causes the exposure to fluctuate during each "snap" making zooming during filming impossible for commercial use. SO I decided to call Panasonic tech support to see if there is a firmware update coming for this cause there really isn't any info on it through Google search.

What follows is the worst excuse for "tech support" for any product or service ever.

I get on the phone and after talking to the automated assistant, get to an actual person who asks for my phone number and what my problem is. I ask to speak to technical support about my lens. I then get a guy who says yes, he is technical support and he asks me which product I am having trouble with. I tell him "the Lumix 12-35mm f2.8 lens" He is like "I don't know what that is, can you give me the model number?" so he punches that into the computer and it brings up the product. This was the first alarm in my head that I wasn't gonna get any help. But I went on to explain the problem and it was as though I was speaking a foreign language to him (no pun intended). I then realize that I don't think this guy has ever even picked up a camera in his life so I ask him "do you know what an aperture is?" and he answers "Yes, it's the part of the lens that attaches to the camera."

At this point, I ask if there is a level 2 support, or a department that actually knows anything about lenses or cameras. He puts me back in the que and the entire process starts over again - at this point I just hang up, knowing that I will be taking this lens back to the shop for a refund tomorrow.

RANT:
Panasonic - Aside from the major flaw making what would otherwise be an excellent product practically worthless for video work, I understand if a customer support rep knows nothing about how a camera operates. BUT THE TECHNICAL SUPPORT department should at least have a basic understanding of YOUR products and how they work. ITS SUPPOSED TO BE TECH SUPPORT!!! Its like calling tech support for your computer and talking to someone who has never even pushed the power button on a computer before - how are they supposed to talk you through a technical problem or help you at all if they don't know anything about it?

WARNING:
If you do video work with the GH2 and need a good zoom lens for filming, I would hold off buying this lens until the issue is fixed. Even if you aren't zooming while recording, any zoom you do at all (in or out) changes the exposure enough so that it will cause issues trying to match footage you thought was all filmed at f2.8 - or whatever the supposed aperture setting was at the time you recorded.

VIDEO OF ISSUE: (this is not my video but the one I mentioned viewing on youtube)

 

[Bern Caughey]

The aperture issue is well known, & been discussed on these forums over the last three months.

It's also not truly parfocal, & can lose focus briefly during a zoom.

I understand if these quirks won't work for you, but many of us still find it a great lens.

 

[Bucknfl]

Disappointing. One of the most cinematic still lenses I have used with my gh2 and af 100 is a sigma 50-150 2.8 nikon mount. It's pararfocal, smooth zooming, sharp, and no iris glitches thruout the zoom range. I use it with an adpatimax adaptor. Unfortunately its not very wide, but its great for tele work.

 

[Gerson]

That is disappointing! The Lumix 14-140mm does the same thing even if you set the f-stop high enough to remain constant throughout a zoom. (That is, the lens goes from f4 to f5.8, but if you set it higher than f5.8, it should remain at a constant aperture throughout a zoom, but the aperture snaps into place just like this lens.)

If you zoom a lot while filming, this is bad, but if you don't, it could be a very minor annoyance at most.

 

[Lpowell]

[When you make the lens] zoom in and out, the aperture "jumps" and "snaps". It will "snap" 4 times throughout the entire zoom range. Not only is this snapping of the aperture clearly audible but it causes the exposure to fluctuate during each "snap" making zooming during filming impossible for commercial use.

ALL Panasonic and Olympus electronic zoom lens do this to one extent or another. It's not a quality control issue, it's inherent in the operation of the lens' iris. Unlike the mechanically-coupled irises of classic zoom lenses, the irises in these electronic zooms are adjusted in small discrete steps by electronic actuators. When zooming, you alter the focal length of the lens, and the iris must be adjusted periodically to maintain the simulation of a constant f-stop. That's what you see and hear as flashes and clicks.

If you want a lens that zooms seamlessly while shooting video on a GH2, you'll need to look into the wide range of third-party, manually-operated lenses that can be adapted to work on the GH2. While Panasonic makes a number of fine lenses, they are optimized for still photography and are not entirely suitable for shooting video.

 

[spreeni]

vorrik, perhaps you should try to understand zoom as a feature for changing the size of your picture not as a replacement of a dolly shot.

 

[stoneinapond]

vorrik, perhaps you should try to understand zoom as a feature for changing the size of your picture not as a replacement of a dolly shot.

You are being a bit harsh. There are times, especially doing travel docs where a zoom out can be dramatic and would not be possible using a dolly. My early tests of the lens did bring up this issue although one shot of the Manhattan skyline benefited from a zoom out and thankfully didn't fall across one of the exposure blip points. I don't know if Panasonic can fix the issue (not holding my breath), although by some accounts similar lenses from Canon and Nikon don't exhibit this problem.

Regardless, after returning the lens, I will repurchase once the GH3 is available unless something else as compelling in the IQ department comes out.

 

[Bern Caughey]

There is nothing inherently wrong with zooming in a shot.

Done well it's just another technique, & used on all levels of production.

 

[d1rockwild]

I guess if the 12-35 does this, and also the 14-140, we may have to expect it with the 35-100. Although, figuring only a couple zoom shots will end up in the final cut (imagining my own shooting and editing circumstances), adjusting the exposure in post wouldn't be too difficult. Just annoying.

 

[Jim Simon]

While Panasonic makes a number of fine lenses, they are optimized for still photography and are not entirely suitable for shooting video.

THANK you. Nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks the current lens offerings are insufficient for at least one of the jobs this camera was designed to perform.

 

[Jim Simon]

vorrik, perhaps you should try to understand zoom as a feature for changing the size of your picture not as a replacement of a dolly shot.

Ah, but for some types of work, it very much is a replacement for the dolly. Always has been and always will be. It's the lens makers that need to adjust their thinking to incorporate that fact and give us lenses suitable for this work.

 

[stoneinapond]

THANK you. Nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks the current lens offerings are insufficient for at least one of the jobs this camera was designed to perform.

I think that Panasonic's marketing is partly at fault here. Yes, in the finer print they do state that...

The 12-35mm X lens features a professional grade constant aperture in a compact sealed body design suitable for professional studio photography

...but at the same time touting it as having HD video support. I do realize that they are talking about the silent focus motor and advanced IS, but I can't fault people for thinking that constant aperture is also available over the full zoom range when shooting video.

 

[vorrik]

ALL Panasonic and Olympus electronic zoom lens do this to one extent or another.

Yea but they shouldn't is the point. Canon's 24-70mm (the lens that the 12-35mm is meant match) does not have this issue.

vorrik, perhaps you should try to understand zoom as a feature for changing the size of your picture not as a replacement of a dolly shot.

Zooming in place of a dolly shot isn't the problem. The problem is that if I set the aperture on a fixed aperture zoom lens to 2.8 - I expect it to stay at 2.8 through the entire zoom range - but it doesn't.

The main purpose (for me) of wanting to use a fixed aperture zoom over a prime in my commercial work is for the convenience of not having to swap lenses/move the camera just to compose a shot properly. So lets say I am doing this with the aperture set to 2.8 (or whatever) and the desired focal length is set right before the "snap back" of the aperture. The aperture ISN'T at 2.8 anymore, because of this design flaw, it has actually stopped itself down to 3.2 or something even though the electronics say its at 2.8 and THIS is the problem with the Pansonic 12-35mm lens.

Please note - I am not trying to bash Panasonic (though I am trying to get their attention with these issues). I much prefer the look of video off of a GH2 over a 5DM2 or 3 (i used to own one) and I cant wait to get my hands on the GH3. But I am frustrated that there are no fixed aperture zooms specifically designed for these cameras that don't operate as flawlessly as Canon's glass. Yea I can get adapters and electronic apertures and put a canon 24-70mm lens on my GH2 or Gh3 - BUT I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DO THAT!!!

Panasonic should make lenses that work with the camera (send electronic info back and forth) and that work like they should.

 

[L1N3ARX]

OIS is probably the only reason I would ever get this lens. The thing is so razor sharp that aliasing becomes an issue again... and imagine, once paired with the GH3, it could get brutal. For 1k... there's lots of great options out there for a nice zoom, perhaps not in this specific range, but more or less. Still haven't seen any footage with this lens that I genuinely liked... but that's just me.

 

[Lpowell]

So lets say I am doing this with the aperture set to 2.8 (or whatever) and the desired focal length is set right before the "snap back" of the aperture. The aperture ISN'T at 2.8 anymore, because of this design flaw, it has actually stopped itself down to 3.2 or something even though the electronics say its at 2.8 and THIS is the problem with the Pansonic 12-35mm lens.

No, what's actually happening is that the lens needs to periodically adjust the iris in order to maintain the simulation of a constant f2.8 aperture as you zoom the lens across its range of focal lengths. The problem you have is that it isn't able to do this seamlessly instead of abruptly with a series of noticeable steps in iris adjustment.

 

[Jim Simon]

The problem you have is that it isn't able to do this seamlessly instead of abruptly with a series of noticeable steps in iris adjustment.

Exactly! Stepping iris may work fine for photos, but once you add any kind of video capability, you need to redesign your entire lens collection to include an iris ring on the lens itself, both mechanically and servo driven, and with perfectly smooth operation. (Or at least, add such lenses to the collection.)