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

I have asked my distributor to take it up with Panasonic. Will report there feedback once I have an answer.
 
Hi All,

What a shame about this otherwise awesome lens. Just to say that I have tested mine and have exactly the same issue. Tripod, 45 degrees down @ 35mm with OIS off and I get the jitters.

To be fair, I probably wouldn't notice it in 95% of the shots I take, but still not great. Are many people having issues when shooting level? Going to test that later.

My serial number is: XT2FC0036xx
 
James Fisher said:
Hi All,

What a shame about this otherwise awesome lens. Just to say that I have tested mine and have exactly the same issue. Tripod, 45 degrees down @ 35mm with OIS off and I get the jitters.

To be fair, I probably wouldn't notice it in 95% of the shots I take, but still not great. Are many people having issues when shooting level? Going to test that later.
Click to expand...

I returned my lens and can't do any further tests, but I tested for several hours on two different versions, trying to pinpoint the issue to specific circumstances but was not able to. The only common denominator was that the jitters rarely showed up in my level shots.

At 100% I think you'd only notice it if your foreground subject was also static and close to the camera. On the other hand, if you're primarily shooting videos intended to be seen on small screens or computers then you might not ever see it at all.
 
In truth, though some have stated that it's a quirk and may not "be noticeable" in most circumstances, I judge this issue to have a negative and measurable effect on the perception of image resolution.
I'd say Panasonic should issue a recall/swap alert if this proves to be a universal issue with this lens.
 
larrys said:
...it is not a "universal" issue at all, and think about the hundreds of lenses that are not reading this forum who might be perfectly fine as well.
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Good point. That's very true. I'm hoping that this is something that only affects a minority of the lenses.

Sorry to belabor this -- and forgive me for making assumptions -- but one test does necessarily mean your lens doesn't have the issue. My second lens was much better than the first one I owned. (The jitters were not as severe.) But in both cases, there were many times when I didn't see any jitter. It was random enough that at first I thought it was RF interference or some other voodoo. I'd say the jitter only occurred in about 2/3rds of my test setups, and rarely ever on horizontally level shots, as stated previously.
 
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So there's no jitter at all when the OIS is on? If so that can be a temporary workaround. As long as you're not panning or tilting the OIS shouldn't interfere with the tripod.
 
jbklynnyc said:
I'm hoping that this is something that only affects a minority of the lenses
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I am hoping that this is a firmware flaw that can be fixed with an update.

I don't think this problem is a random manufacturing flaw, as too many people are able to duplicate the flaw ( including myself ), and the flaw is not easy to spot. ( you have to lock everything off, zoom to 35mm, and enlarge the video shot 200 - 400 percent to make the jitter obvious )

I also want to try shooting at a steeper angle, perhaps almost straight vertically down, to see if this some kind of gravity effect.
 
"I am hoping that this is a firmware flaw that can be fixed with an update."
If not... Panasonic will have to issue a recall and halt sales of this lens IMMEDIATELY.
Panasonic are you listening ???
 
larrys said:
Here it is, this time uploaded correctly and you can download it as well.

Again, on my GH3, I shot this at exactly 45 degrees down, locked on tripod with O.I.S. turned off. I do not see any movement in the image and I looked at it at 300%.

I have really examined this now, and the Vimeo conversion looks better this time, since uploading correctly from FCP. I think my lens is perfect.

I forgot to say, I shot it twice. You will see a fade to black between the two takes.

Do you see anything here?
Click to expand...

Not to sound like a turd, but this looks like a STILL image. Can you please reshoot it with some motion in front to prove it's not a still :) ?
You see, we expect to see some pixel movement in the shadows, as you would in a video clip. there is none, suggesting it's not a motion clip but a STILL Image !
Thanks
 
larry, I'm sorry but that's a fake. I looked very closely and

OK, just kidding! Seriously, though happy to hear that this is not a universal problem, and happy for you Larry that you have a good copy. If you want to be extra super amazing, maybe you can test to see if you have exposure flicker on your lens... I suspect you do, because that's probably just a design flaw for all Pana 12-35 zooms that were after all developed for stills.

Also, I hope that the problem of jitters that you DON'T have, is not the kind of problem that can develop with time, i.e. you either have it, or not. Thanks for your patient tests!
 
HAHAHA!!! Larry, I about fell out of my chair laughing! Great video! Let there be no more doubt that your lens is good.

Still laughing! LOL.
 
TheDingo said:
I also want to try shooting at a steeper angle, perhaps almost straight vertically down, to see if this some kind of gravity effect.
Click to expand...

Hi Dingo, I just checked mine with the camera pointing straight down at the floor and there was no jittering. It only seems to happen between level and 90 degrees down. Next will be to check how bad it is at different angles.
 
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