Panasonic Refreshes Four Lenses, Including Three for Micro Four Thirds
Panasonic has announced four refreshed Lumix lenses, including three for Micro Four Thirds and one for its full-frame L-Mount Lumix S system.
There have been many rumblings of late that Panasonic may be withdrawing from Micro Four Thirds, based on various discontinued or at least hard-to-find Micro Four Thirds lenses. Some of these very same lenses have been updated today.
While the updates are relatively limited in nature, they do mean that these three lenses are back in full production — assuming they were ever, in fact, discontinued — and will presumably be available for the foreseeable future.
The Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 II ASPH., Lumix G 42.5mm f/1.7 ASPH. Power OIS, and Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4 ASPH. Both Power OIS lenses have a new fluorine coating on their front elements, and the lettering on the front rings has changed.
On the Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 II and Lumix G 42.5mm f/1.7, the lettering on the front ring has been changed from white to a relatively dark gray, which Panasonic says reduces reflections during close-up photography.
For the Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4, there is no color at all on the front ring anymore, and Panasonic has moved to engraved letters without white fill for the same reason: minimizing reflections when photographing subjects up close.
In the case of the Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4, it is PetaPixel‘s favorite normal zoom lens for Micro Four Thirds, and it’s now technically even better, albeit in a very minor way.
Panasonic says that, for all three lenses, the new fluorine coating makes it easier to clean the front of the lens and helps keep it free from dust and water.
As for the updated full-frame Lumix S lens, the Lumix S Pro 70-200mm f/4 now incorporates fluorine coating on its front element.
Per Panasonic Japan, all four of these new lenses will be available in mid-September. Each lens has a new SKU that adds “A” to the very end of the name. For example, the updated Lumix S Pro 70-200mm f/4 is now the S-R70200A.
Image creditsPanasonic. Header image created using an asset licensed via Depositphotos.com.
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