Panasonic 14-50mm f/2.8-3.5
| Focusing distance: | 28cm / 11in |
| Magnification: | 0.16x |
| Filter size: | 72mm |
| Lens size: | ø78.1mm x 97.4mm / ø30.7in x 38.3in |
| Weight: | 490g / 17.3oz |
| Construction: | 16 elements in 12 groups |
| Accessories: | Hood, Case |
Description
Optical Limits Review
Imaging Resource review
LensTip review
Eddie's take on it
Panasonic's first Four Thirds lens was a High Grade Leica-branded normal zoom they released in 2006. It was meant to rival the Olympus 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5. The internet rumor mill has it that it has slightly better bokeh, slightly better corner sharpness and slightly worse center sharpness. Basically, you are splitting hairs and there is very little difference in output between these 2 lenses.
The zoom ring turns in the opposite direction, which is extremely annoying, because you probably have other Olympus zooms you will be using. The aperture ring does not work on Olympus cameras.
You don't see this lens come up on ebay very often, and sellers usually want a lot for it. It is hard to recommend over the 14-54mm, which is one of the best bang-for-your-buck lenses, or the 12-60mm, I would pick either of those first.
Because this was Panasonic's first lens for 4/3, it has High Grade build and image quality, and they did not sell a lot of these, I would say this is likely to become a collectable in the future.