new X lenses with f/2.8 constant aperture

Dangit. Just when I thought I was through with buying glass...

Constant f/2.8 is a nice compromise. Not as fast as the big Olympus behemoths, but nowhere near the size. And with the "HD" badge on them, that should mean true video-style autofocus, "power OIS", and no weirdo power zoom... hopefully they'll be priced reasonably and the iris will be smooth...
 
right! - smooth iris would be really nice! dont like the aperture jumps of the 14-140
price: at least much cheaper than the zuikos ... about 1300$ I read
 
thomas diehl said:
Does 2.0/2.8 really make a huge difference?
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There are no other f/2.0 zooms on the market, so Olympus can charge what they like, especially as these lenses are designed to be sharp wide open.

Myself, I can live with f/2.8 if the lens is sharp wide open, stabilized, and works well with my GH-2 camera.
 
I really like the two Olympus zooms, a TON. Sharp as heck wide open, never have to worry about stopping 'em down in lowlight. But they are bulky... guess it's you either want the full stop of light or you want the size/weight/ois.


Looking forward to pricing.
 
The Olympus lenses have great glass, but they're massively huge, no autofocus, no image stabilization, and clicky noisy iris changes, and they're pricey. The 14-35 can almost be used without rails, but the 35-100 requires support. And they're $2300-$2500 each.

If these Lumix X lenses come in at $1300 or less, have OIS, have autofocus, silent operation, and are small/handholdable size (which they look to be), I think they'd be preferable over the Olympus for just about everyone except those who absolutely need that last f-stop and are willing to put the camera on rails, spend an extra grand, and give up OIS to get that last stop. Which is fine, plenty of choices on the market, but it sure would be nice to have some decently-fast, small-size, fully-integrated lenses that cover pretty much the entire usable range from 12 to 100mm.

Seems like these lenses are a year overdue. Can't wait to try them out.
 
I can't find any info on availability. Anyone know when we can buy these?

And does this pic really say the 12-35 is only 0.82ft (under 10 inches) close focus? Am I reading that right? And the 35-100 appears to be 2.8ft close focus.
 
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just to fuel the rumor fire - notice how they're still listed as 'concept' lenses? Maybe there's another surprise to come before the official announcement ;)
 
Mike@AF said:
I can't find any info on availability. Anyone know when we can buy these?
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Hasn't been announced. They're just being shown as "concept" lenses so far.

Only thing we've really learned between now, and the last time they were discussed, is that the iris is a fixed f/2.8. Other than that, not really anything new, but just a reminder that (at some point) they're coming.
 
the big problem I see with these lenses is where the break is in the focal length. If it was 12-50 and 50 to 150 it would be sweet, the 12 to 50 would be the hand held doc lens of choice. Since I have worked extensively with the 14-35 Olympus, I can tell you straight up that the long end of the lens isn't long enough to make it an minimally effective hand held doc lens.

The price point is attractive however the build quality of the lumix lenses while nice for photo work isn't up to the task of motion photography day in and day out.
 
Barry_Green said:
The 14-35 can almost be used without rails...
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The 14-35/2 is my favorite lens for the AF100, & I use it without rails all the time. But on a couple of occasions I've put too much pressure on it causing the camera's black balance shutter to momentarily close, so I understand Barry's comment.

Hopefully the concept lens won't have fly-by-wire focusing. The 14-35/2 doesn't, giving it a better feel, & making it much easier to focus, than any of the Lumix(s).
 
Mark Smith said:
the big problem I see with these lenses is where the break is in the focal length
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A 12-50mm zoom range would mean no constant F-stop, and softer optics wide open. Olympus has this covered with their 4/3 12-60mm lens, and their new dirt slow m4/3 zoom.

So I am quite happy with 12-35 as my wide to standard lens range, and the 35-100 as my short-tele to medium tele range, as long as I can shoot wide open and the optics are good.
 
Any mention of these X lenses being parfocal? Will that be part of "The Concept"?

And are photos of concept lenses only taken with bad cell phone cameras? :happy:
 
haha- I have seriously commented in no less than, what is it now, maybe 3 threads discussing the lack of a constant aperture zoom with OIS for the MFT panasonics.

Good timing, although I agree that these should have been out last year.
 
M. Gilden said:
haha- I have seriously commented in no less than, what is it now, maybe 3 threads discussing the lack of a constant aperture zoom with OIS for the MFT panasonics.

Good timing, although I agree that these should have been out last year.
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Who's to say they will be out this year? You would think that with the Af100 and the outstanding sales of the Gh2, Panny/lumix would think tank and release these as soon as possible. ANd make them true video lenses.
 
dustylense said:
Who's to say they will be out this year? You would think that with the Af100 and the outstanding sales of the Gh2, Panny/lumix would think tank and release these as soon as possible. ANd make them true video lenses.
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They announced last summer (I believe) that they were going to announce this winter these new lenses. I would hope that they would be out soon... because telling folks in summer '11 that you were working on a lens that wasn't to be released until sometime in '13 seems a bit long of a timespan.
 
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