GH3 Strange Panasonic 12-35mm shakiness -- possible lemon? Any others see this?

J

jbklynnyc

Active member
I encountered a major problem with my Panasonic 12-35mm/F2.8 ASPH X lens. When mounted on my GH3 and placed on a tripod, even with Power Image Stabilization OFF, the image frequently shimmers. There's a lateral movement in the image. This happens more frequently when the camera is angled downward. The camera is mounted on a Sachtler FSB8 head and Gitzo legs. It's sturdy and totally locked down, and there is no movement near the camera to cause camera shake.

It's as if the image stabilization is on or the lens motors are moving, when obviously they shouldn't be. When the IS switch on the lens is set in the "off" position, the camera correctly reports that image stabilization is off. Lens firmware v1.1 (the latest as of this writing).

I see the shakiness / jitter via HDMI out to my DP6 monitor in 1:1 mode, so it's definitely in the lens-to-record chain itself, and not in post-record or post-processing.

I can recreate the problem with my GH2 that I thankfully still have for testing.

The camera is on full manual mode, 1920x1080/24 fps. Changing between 50MBps or 72MBps All-I makes no difference -- same results. It's really strange.

Link to video:
http://vimeo.com/59358100
(Apologies for the composition and exposure, this is just one example of my many tests with similar results.)


EDITED Feb 11:
I did much more testing, and I think this is a problem that is present in many (if not most or all, as it's probably inherent in the firmware or design of the lens) versions of the 12-35mm lens. I've come to the conclusion that this lens is not very suitable for tripod work or still photography with long exposures, and I've written about that in this post:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...e-this&p=1986277444&viewfull=1#post1986277444
 
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Whoa, that's crazy. How long have you had the lens? If it's under 30 days, I would just get a replacement.
 
Yeah, it's bad, isn't it?

I bought the lens with my GH3 just a few weeks ago. So yes, I'll exchange it. (Although already there is another Vimeo user who also sees this problem.)

But the weird thing is that it doesn't happen on all shots. I can make the problem occur more easily if the camera is tilted downward at an angle. I've been shooting mostly handheld, so I only noticed it now, when I was about to devote the afternoon to testing my picture profiles. I'm glad I caught it!

I'm harnessing the hivemind of DVXUSER here. Hopefully someone with this camera and lens combo can perform a test to see if this occurs in other samples.
 
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Wow. I'm becoming ever more leery of buying this lens. What with the exposure flicker that Eric Naso describes here, and now this, it seems this lens is very troubled. In fact, I'm definitely staying away. It looks like the Olympus 14-35 f/2 will have to be the alternative, even if we give up some niceties such as IS - but what use are those niceties when the lens is seriously flawed.
 
Is this lens on the latest firmware? I've got the same lens, I've not had any problems in video mode, albeit I've only used it for 1 whole day of filming so far and no more than that.
 
P13 said:
Is this lens on the latest firmware? I've got the same lens, I've not had any problems in video mode, albeit I've only used it for 1 whole day of filming so far and no more than that.
Click to expand...

Yes, as mentioned above, the lens is using the latest firmware as of today, v1.1.

Can you try replicating my test? Place it on a tripod or other perch, set the lens to 35mm, and turn IS off. Repeat the test with the lens pointed downward about 30 degree.
 
larrys said:
I just shot my first test video with my GH3 and the12-35, I don't see any problem as you are describing. I shot this on a monopod.

Click to expand...

monopod is different to a static tripod. you will never get a 100% static shot with a mono. to see if your lens has this characteristic, place it on a tripod or table and film a static object. I see the micro jitter on my lens with IS off.
 
jbklynnyc said:
Yes, as mentioned above, the lens is using the latest firmware as of today, v1.1.

Can you try replicating my test? Place it on a tripod or other perch, set the lens to 35mm, and turn IS off. Repeat the test with the lens pointed downward about 30 degree.
Click to expand...
I'll see if I can find time this week. Come to think of it, I did think I saw some pattern movement on a shirt with an interview session I was recording, at first I thought it was subtle moire but if there was jitter that could have been a cause, having said that I'd think I would have noticed it elsewhere.
 
Thanks everyone for your input so far.

Just some further clarification:

I found that atop a horizontal, level plane, I was able to recreate this in only about 50% of my attempts. I actually thought it was maybe related to RF interference at first!

However -- angled downward on a tripod (say, 30 degrees), I can reproduce this almost 100% regularly regardless of the settings. If you are testing this issue with your version, please test with this situation. Thanks.

It doesn't seem to be tied to any specific aperture or ISO. I made sure my battery was fully charged.
 
It really sounds like you have a unit that doesn't want to shut off the IS even when you tell it to. Probably need to get a replacement.
 
I just tested my 12-35mm lens, and I am seeing the SAME rotating movement...

I shot full manual, no AF, no IS, locked off on a tripod, tilted down at a 45 degree angle for 20 seconds each time.

It's subtle movement that you will only notice when you have the camera locked off on a tripod with the lens tilted down. ( I doubt this would be noticeable with hand-held shots )

It's easier to notice when the lens is zoomed to 35mm.

I would estimate that the image with my lens rotates only a few pixels. I had to blow up the frame 200 percent to make it obvious.

I also tried filming with my GH2, and I still see the SAME problem.

I also tried out my 35-100mm at the 35mm setting, and there is NO movement. The image is static.

It's definitely a lens issue, that I hope can be fixed with a firmware update.
 
OK folks -- some good news and some bad news.

First, the bad news: I returned the first lens (batch XT2LD) and replaced it with a another (batch XT2JD). Unfortunately the problem persists, and I can only conclude that this is something that is endemic to the Panasonic 12-35mm ASPH Lumix X lens.

Now that I think of it, I strongly suspect that at least some of the moiré discussion that greeted the initial shipments of the GH3 has more to do with people seeing the jitter effect at work in footage with fine detail using the 12-35mm + GH3 combo.

Here is another example shot today with the new lens. Image stabilization is TURNED OFF:

https://vimeo.com/59441889

The above example shows a comparison between the 12-35mm and 14-140mm Panasonic lenses at 35mm. The last shot shows just how pronounced the jitter is compared to a lens that does not exhibit this problem.

The "good" news is that it's not as bad as my first sample, at least in the amount of testing that I am willing to do. (I've already decided to give up on this lens). But the jitter / shakiness seems to be dependent on several factors, the principle one being the angle of the lens. I've seen the jitter when the camera is level, but not as often. But when the camera is angled even slightly, I can reproduce this problem regularly. What's more, the severity of the problem varies. In the particular example above the issue is not as pronounced, but in other examples that I did off the cuff the shakiness is really terrible. Sometimes I can only see the jitter if I view the footage at 200 or 300%. Other times, the jitter is clearly visible to my eye at 100% — we're talking earthquake jitters here that would weak havoc especially in fine detail. I'd hate to shoot an interview with a guy wearing a checkered shirt only to find later that my footage is unusable.

I went back and scrubbed through some of my footage that I shot before I noticed this problem, and indeed it's there. I just hadn't noticed it because the main foreground subject was moving. But now that I know what to look for, the jitters stick out terribly.

One Vimeo user suggested that the issue might be tied to the magnets that are used to hold some of the internal lens components. I can't verify this.

The 12-35mm lens is quiet, dust / weather sealed, and performs well handheld. I think it's still a great lens for many people. But unfortunately for my purposes -- lots of tripod work -- it's not a suitable lens until Panasonic resolves the issue. At least, not at US $1200.

Lest I get flamed for over-reacting: I don't doubt that there are batches of this lens that do not exhibit this problem as much. But, alas, I'm not about to spend even more of my time sifting through them, nor do I have full confidence that a "good" lens might not develop this problem later.

I'm a "2-3 lenses" type of shooter. And so for my money, I am giving up the 12-35mm lens and using the 14-140mm for my stabilized zoom lens until Panasonic issues a firmware update or takes other actions to solve the problem. What a shame.

And yes, I tested with Manual Focus, AFS, AFC, IOS On, IOS Off — to no avail. Same deal.

In short: THIS IS A MAJOR BUMMER, DUDES.
 
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Same issue with my 12-35 copy.

Pointed down, OIS off, MF, full zoom, wide open.

Was even noticeable during MF expanded focus assist.

With camera level, no issue.

With my copy, the issue is so slight I doubt it would ever be noticed, but would like to see a fix.
 
Interesting. I wonder if you'd care to list all your shooting parameters? I started a GH3 Facebook page In September '12 and I believe that once a gripe list with empirical baseline data is published there ( and here ) Panasonic will have to respond to this and other gripes as well.
I also do believe that this forums deserves a dedicated GH3 Thread.
 
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