Panasonic LUMIX S PRO 16-35mm f/4 and 70-200mm f/2.8 O.I.S. Lenses – Coming Soon

News

by Jakub HanNovember 8^th, 2019

Panasonic has announced two new L-Mount lenses. The LUMIX S PRO 16-35mm f/4 is a new ultra-wide angle lens, and the LUMIX S PRO 70-200mm f/2.8 O.I.S. is a new fast version of the standard telephoto lens. Both lenses feature a rugged dust-, splash- and freeze-resistant construction, and a clutch mechanism to switch between auto and manual focus.

LUMIX S PRO 16-35mm f/4 and 70-200mm f/2.8 O.I.S lenses. Source: Panasonic

The L-mount alliance is certainly not sleeping, as there have been lots of exciting news lately. Panasonic’s S1H became the first ever Netflix approved mirrorless camera (you can check our S1H review here), SIGMA released their fp, which is a very compact full-frame camera with CinemaDNG internal recording (our review is available here), and Leica has just released the new SL2.

While SIGMA already offers 15 lenses for the L-mount, Panasonic is also – slowly but surely – following their roadmap to provide enough high-quality native lenses for the L-mount ecosystem. Up until now, they have already released four L-mount lenses for their full-frame LUMIX S cameras:

• LUMIX S 24-105mm f/4 Macro O.I.S.
• LUMIX S PRO 24-70mm f/2.8
• LUMIX S PRO 70-200mm f/4 O.I.S.
• LUMIX S PRO 50mm f/1.4

The Japanese company has freshly announced two new additions to this lineup – the LUMIX S PRO 16-35mm f/4 and LUMIX S PRO 70-200mm f/2.8 O.I.S lenses. This means, Panasonic will offer the complete “trinity” set of zoom lenses to cover every commonly used focal length.

Panasonic LUMIX S PRO 16-35mm f/4 Lens

This lens is, unfortunately, not a very fast f/2.8 version, with its fastest aperture being f/4, but on the other hand, it is therefore lighter and more compact. It consists of 12 elements in 9 groups, three aspherical lenses, one ED and an Ultra-High Refractive Index (UHR) for accurate image capture. Its double-magnet linear motor is capable of fast and accurate autofocusing.

LUMIX S PRO 16-35mm f/4 lens. Source: Panasonic

The lens includes a focus clutch for switching from auto to manual focusing modes, suppresses focus breathing for video work, and is dust, splash, and freeze resistant.

LUMIX S PRO 16-35mm f/4 lens construction and MTF chart. Source: Panasonic

Panasonic LUMIX S PRO 70-200mm f/2.8 O.I.S Lens

The 70-200mm f/2.8 is a standard fast telephoto lens. Panasonic already has the $900 cheaper, slightly smaller and 600g lighter f/4 version in their L-mount lineup, so the f/2.8 version was the next logical step for them.

LUMIX S PRO 70-200mm f/2.8 O.I.S. lens. Source: Panasonic

To minimize aberration and distortion, it incorporates 22 elements arranged in 17 groups, two Ultra Extra-low Dispersion (UED) lenses, three Extra-low Dispersion (ED) lenses, and an aspherical lens. Focus is sharp with smooth transitions out of focus and pleasing bokeh. It also features the focus clutch mechanism for easy switching from auto to manual focusing.

LUMIX S PRO 70-200mm f/2.8 O.I.S. lens construction and MTF chart. Source: Panasonic

The lens’ internal Optical Image Stabilizer (O.I.S) complements Panasonic cameras’ Body I.S. and 5-axis Dual I.S, providing up to seven stops of stabilization for handheld and low shutter speed shooting. For filmmakers it might be important that Panasonic tried to significantly reduce focus breathing in this lens. The construction is rugged, dust-, splash-, and freeze-resistant.

Price and Availability

Both lenses can already be pre-ordered now. The LUMIX S PRO 16-35mm f/4 lens will cost around $1,500 and is expected to be shipping from January 13th 2020 on. The LUMIX S PRO 70-200mm f/2.8 O.I.S. lens will cost around $2,600 and is expected to be shipping from January 16th 2020 on.

What do you think of these newly announced lenses from Panasonic? Did you invest in the L-mount ecosystem already? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.