Today my Panasonic lenses arrived, ready to fit onto my AF101 but sadly they are still in Japan. First UK deliveries should start filtering through early January so until then I have everything but the camera. As I have a Panasonic G2 mFT stills camera I decided to put the lenses through their paces.
As you can see our local park is still covered in snow but with my trusty model, my mother, we went on our daily walk with the dog. I can’t fault these lenses they are as sharp as I need lenses to be, in Aperture you are able see each picture at 100%.
Aperture also tells you the EXIF information like ISO 125, 140mm, 0ev, f5.8, 1/320 shutter speed, looking at each picture at 100% lets me assess how sharp each lens is and I have got to hand it to Panasonic they have not skimped on the glass used in both these lenses. They are very sharp indeed, in fact I can confirm that the 7mm wide shot is as sharp as my 17mm Canon “L” glass and that’s saying something.
You will not be disappointed using these Lumix lenses with the AF101 in fact the 14-140mm HD lens has OIS (Optical Image Stabiliser) built in which is used by the AF101 to stabilise the picture and another feature utilised by the AF101 and Lumix lenses is auto tracking. Auto Tracking allows you to set points in the frame and track it’s focus, very useful in an interview situation if your subject begins bobbing back and forth during an interview.
Phew ! Like buses the type of camera all us budding Spielbergs have been waiting years for come at once. One wins hands down on price yet produces reasonable if not outstanding (from what few scenes I have witnessed) pictures the other more expensive with possibly greater scope for producing great pictures. Both will save my poor old back !
What we are waiting for is an unbiased side by side Sony v Panasonic test fancy the challenge only then will we know which bus to catch !