Panasonic Lumix S 18-40mm

[ChrisAu]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Anyone try this lens? I'm thinking to take this compact wide lens for travel with my SL2-S and VE24-90

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[satijntje]

I got this little glass for my daughters S9 and gave it a try on my SL2.

Here are my observations:
1. The lens is small and very light and its price is ok.
2. When using the lens on 18-21mm, there is a lot of distortion. Not sure if this is  corrected in the Pana cameras.
3. Be aware about the high f value. In weak light, the ISO will jump easily to 6400 or above. But with the new AI denier in LR you can repair a lot.
4. The lens rendering is ok, colors are fine and sharpness as well. Do not expect APO quality here of course.
5. I believe that I will put the little glass in my camera bag more often then I expected before.
6. No need for me to get a heavy Panasonic or Leica 16-35mm anymore, as I cover the wide angel already partially with my Sigma 24-70mm DG DN ART II,  and for the wider focus length I could then use the 18-40.

Here are a few images taken with SL2 & Pana 18-40mm

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

[hoolyproductions]

I also got slightly interested in this lens and if it could be used instead of my Sigma 17mm f4 and 24mm f3.5 (I usually just carry one or the other). Very often I only use wide angle for candid landscapes so the narrow aperture is not a major issue. I’m guessing the sharpness is not on the level of the sigma primes but there is not a lot of info on this lens.

There’s a couple of sample shots also in the German speaking forum.

i’m assuming Lightroom can deal with the distortion?

Edited December 1, 2024 by hoolyproductions

[hoolyproductions]

5 hours ago, ChrisAu said:

Anyone try this lens? I'm thinking to take this compact wide lens for travel with my SL2-S and VE24-90

If you want to use it in combo with the 24-90 (my main zoom lens) you could consider the 17mm f4. Very good lens and can be used as a 17-24 in aps-c mode.

personally I’d use it with an SL 50 and a light 90mm

Edited December 1, 2024 by hoolyproductions

[ChrisAu]

20 hours ago, satijntje said:

I got this little glass for my daughters S9 and gave it a try on my SL2.

Here are my observations:
1. The lens is small and very light and its price is ok.
2. When using the lens on 18-21mm, there is a lot of distortion. Not sure if this is  corrected in the Pana cameras.
3. Be aware about the high f value. In weak light, the ISO will jump easily to 6400 or above. But with the new AI denier in LR you can repair a lot.
4. The lens rendering is ok, colors are fine and sharpness as well. Do not expect APO quality here of course.
5. I believe that I will put the little glass in my camera bag more often then I expected before.
6. No need for me to get a heavy Panasonic or Leica 16-35mm anymore, as I cover the wide angel already partially with my Sigma 24-70mm DG DN ART II,  and for the wider focus length I could then use the 18-40.

Here are a few images taken with SL2 & Pana 18-40mm

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Dear satijntje 

Thank you for your message and pictures. It seems 18-40 lens did a great job when compared to the price.

Actually, I have Lumix S 14-28mm F4-5.6, but wide lens is only used a few times during travel, so I'm thinking to pick a smaller or compact lens in my bag. (of course, I understand 14-28mm may be sharper than 18-40mm). But can trade off the weight, so I may consider to replace it by 18-40mm (it may use with my CL as well)

[ChrisAu]

23 hours ago, hoolyproductions said:

If you want to use it in combo with the 24-90 (my main zoom lens) you could consider the 17mm f4. Very good lens and can be used as a 17-24 in aps-c mode.

personally I’d use it with an SL 50 and a light 90mm

Thanks for your recommendation. Sigma 17mm f4 seems small enough to carry and has a close focus distance feature. Let me have a look on this lens.

[hoolyproductions]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Some samples here 

 

[Snap Happy]

I have just recieved the S-R 18-40, hoping to use it as a casual travel lens on my SL2. I got a message stating "Lens firmware not supported. Please update firmware". Upon navigating the clunky Panasonic website, I found no such firmware available. Help!

[BernardC]

It doesn't look like Panasonic has released any updated firmware for that lens:

https://av.jpn.support.panasonic.com/support/global/cs/dsc/download/index4.html

Maybe it's asking you to update the camera's firmware.

[hoolyproductions]

I think o saw a post here on this forum about this. Something along the lines rotate the zoom into ‘active’ position ie. to a focal length, rather than retracted, and the message goes away 

edit, here: https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/413425-es-ist-da-lumix-18-40mm/

 

Edited February 27 by hoolyproductions