Panasonic LUMIX S 50mm F/1.8 Lens Announced

Lens News

by Jeff LochJune 2^nd, 2021

Panasonic has just announced a new compact prime L-mount lens: the LUMIX S 50mm F/1.8. After the LUMIX S 85mm F/1.8, this new dust/splash-resistant 50mm lens is the second addition to the series of four F/1.8 large-aperture lenses, based on the L-Mount system standard. Let’s take a closer look at it!

With the LUMIX S 50mm F/1.8 lens launch, Panasonic continues to expand its L-Mount lineup of lenses. Indeed, after the launch of the LUMIX S 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6 MACRO O.I.S. and the Panasonic LUMIX S 85mm F/1.8, this new 50mm prime is the second F/1.8 L-mount lens along with the upcoming 24mm and 35mm lenses that should come later this year soon.

Panasonic LUMIX S F/1.8 Lineup

The nice thing about this new LUMIX S F/1.8 lineup is that all lenses (24/35/50/85mm) have a lot of things in common:

• All lenses are the same length, which is around 82mm/3.23″
• The front filter diameter is 67mm
• The focus ring position is the same, so changing a lens will be quick and easy if you use accessories like a mattebox/follow-focus
• All lenses are lightweight and in the same ballpark. In terms of weight, the 50mm F/1.8 is 300g/10.58oz, which is close to the 355g/12.52oz of the 85mm F/1.8
• No image stabilization nor manual iris ring on any of the lenses

Also, all LUMIX S F/1.8 are dust/splash-resistant, and this new 50mm is no exception.

LUMIX S 50mm F/1.8 – Lens design

The lens design of the LUMIX S 50mm F/1.8 consists of nine lens elements in eight groups, including three aspherical lenses, one ED (Extra-Low Dispersion) lens, and one UHR (Ultra-High Refractive Index) lens. As a result, the lens should have minimal chromatic aberration and ghosting/flaring artifacts.

The aperture diaphragm has nine circular blades for smooth, round and creamy bokeh. According to Panasonic, this new 50mm lens “also excels in video recording performance with a mechanism that suppresses focus breathing,” but I’m curious to see that in action.

Price and availability

The Panasonic LUMIX S 50mm F/1.8 lens will go on sale from July for a suggested retail price of 469 Euro / 447.99 USD.

For more information, please visit Panasonic’s website here.

What do you think about this new 50mm compact prime lens for L-mount cameras? Did you already start investing in native L-mount lenses? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!