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Product Description
Color: Black
The Panasonic premium LUMIX G X VARIO PZ 14-42mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH./ POWER O.I.S. (H-PS14042) lens is the newest addition to the Lumix CSC lens lineup. With electric-powered zoom operation, the retractable Power Zoom H-PS14042 lens is extremely compact, approximately 26.8mm in length, and weighs approximately 3.35oz, offering ultra-high portability.Panasonic’s new premium LUMIX ”X” Series of lenses, including the LUMIX G X VARIO PZ 14-42mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH./ POWER O.I.S., offers a versatile zoom range of 14-42mm (35mm camera equivalent: 28-84mm) suitable for a wide range of scenes, such as dynamic landscape to portrait. Crystallizing Panasonic's optical technologies, the LUMIX X lenses feature superb image rendering for lifelike textures, crisp edge-to-edge contrast, a unique Nano Surface Coating to help minimize ghosts and flaring in natural settings with remarkable transparency.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
75 of 80 people found the following review helpful
By Kevdog
Color Name:Black
Initial testing was good, but some images appeared very soft when they shouldn't be. After digging through some forums and reading up a lot, I found this lens has a vibration issue that causes a "double image". Some people attributed it to the OIS (stabilization) but that is not the case.
I did some test photos with the shutter speed between 1/60th and 1/200th second. I know this isn't a safe shutter speed for the long end of the telephoto but you can tell the difference between motion blur and the double image problem. Taking 18 photos, at least 10 of them showed the double image. I took another 18 with OIS on and again 10 or so had the double image.
I'm pretty positive that there is something wrong with the stabilization lens, such that it sometimes vibrates even with OIS off. If I held the extended portion of the lens with my fingers, that seemed to decrease/eliminate the issue.
I could not recommend this lens to anyone until Panasonic fixes the issue and new reports come out of people using and testing it successfully.
I got my 14-42X as part of the GF3 kit. Possibly the newer versions have been fixed, but I haven't seen any evidence of that yet.
If you do buy the lens, please test it by going to shutter mode, setting the shutter speed to 1/60th, OIS off, and take 3 shots of a sign or something with high contrast (lettering is good) from about 10-15 ft away. Then up the shutter speed one notch and shoot 3 more. Keep doing that until you get to 1/200th. Repeat the same procedure with OIS on. Then review the pictures at 100% magnification. If you see the double image around letters, your lens has the problem.
I did some test photos with the shutter speed between 1/60th and 1/200th second. I know this isn't a safe shutter speed for the long end of the telephoto but you can tell the difference between motion blur and the double image problem. Taking 18 photos, at least 10 of them showed the double image. I took another 18 with OIS on and again 10 or so had the double image.
I'm pretty positive that there is something wrong with the stabilization lens, such that it sometimes vibrates even with OIS off. If I held the extended portion of the lens with my fingers, that seemed to decrease/eliminate the issue.
I could not recommend this lens to anyone until Panasonic fixes the issue and new reports come out of people using and testing it successfully.
I got my 14-42X as part of the GF3 kit. Possibly the newer versions have been fixed, but I haven't seen any evidence of that yet.
If you do buy the lens, please test it by going to shutter mode, setting the shutter speed to 1/60th, OIS off, and take 3 shots of a sign or something with high contrast (lettering is good) from about 10-15 ft away. Then up the shutter speed one notch and shoot 3 more. Keep doing that until you get to 1/200th. Repeat the same procedure with OIS on. Then review the pictures at 100% magnification. If you see the double image around letters, your lens has the problem.
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Color Name:Black
This lens produces blurry pictures below 1/400s at the the long end (around 42mm), even with the image stabilizer turned off and the camera placed on a tripod. This has been reported elsewhere (dpreview) as being a problem with this lens. After running a number of tests I was able to reproduce this problem myself with my sample of this lens, which came with firmware v.1.1 installed. It doesn't seem to happen at all subject distances, which made it a bit tricky to pin down.
In addition, there is also a problem with the image stabilizer at all focal lengths, at shutter speeds ranging from 1/60s-1/400s. Pictures taken with the image stabilizer turned on are less sharp than pictures taken with the image stabilizer turned off. Even with the latest firmware this is still a problem.
In addition, there is also a problem with the image stabilizer at all focal lengths, at shutter speeds ranging from 1/60s-1/400s. Pictures taken with the image stabilizer turned on are less sharp than pictures taken with the image stabilizer turned off. Even with the latest firmware this is still a problem.
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tiny Lens, Good Quality, but There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
October 11, 2012
By John T.
Color Name:Black|Amazon Verified Purchase
First, the double-image others reported are not due to defective lenses. It has to do with an incompatibility between the 14-42 X PZ and certain models of lightweight cameras, specifically early model Panasonic GX1's, the G3, G2 and a couple GF models. The shutter on these models are a bit too forcefull, and actually shake the floating elements used in the OIS system. Panasonic claims to have fixed the issue in later hardware revisions of the cameras, as well as a firmware update to the lens itself. To see if your model is compatible, it's best to contact Panasonic. In general, larger bodies like the G5, GH2, GH3 will not have these issues. I'm not aware of any problems with Olympus cameras, but don't quote me on that.
The lens itself is a nice kit lens. It's better than the 14-42 lens including in most Panasonic camera kits, and roughly equal to the vaunted 14-45. 14-45 is a bit better on the wide end, 14-42 is better on the long end. Check the MTF charts on Panny's site to see for yourself. It's a great partner to the Panasonic LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7 Aspherical Pancake Lens for Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Cameras. You can use the 20mm indoors, keeping the zoom in your pocket, and swap them out when you go outside or need either a wider or closer shot. It's really convenient and low-key 2 piece kit for only $600 (unless you got the 14-42 X in your kit).
As for quality, the center of the lens is tack sharp, it's when you look at the edges and corners do you realize that this is still just a kit zoom. It's not poor, I've printed 20x16 posters that look great on the wall and wallpapers that look great on my desktop. However, pros will notice some blurring and lack of contrast in the off center. Of course, I always want a wider, bright aperture. But what do you expect? It's a pancake kit lens. For that, it's great.
The lens itself is a nice kit lens. It's better than the 14-42 lens including in most Panasonic camera kits, and roughly equal to the vaunted 14-45. 14-45 is a bit better on the wide end, 14-42 is better on the long end. Check the MTF charts on Panny's site to see for yourself. It's a great partner to the Panasonic LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7 Aspherical Pancake Lens for Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Cameras. You can use the 20mm indoors, keeping the zoom in your pocket, and swap them out when you go outside or need either a wider or closer shot. It's really convenient and low-key 2 piece kit for only $600 (unless you got the 14-42 X in your kit).
As for quality, the center of the lens is tack sharp, it's when you look at the edges and corners do you realize that this is still just a kit zoom. It's not poor, I've printed 20x16 posters that look great on the wall and wallpapers that look great on my desktop. However, pros will notice some blurring and lack of contrast in the off center. Of course, I always want a wider, bright aperture. But what do you expect? It's a pancake kit lens. For that, it's great.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
great as a very compact zoom
I bought this lens as a compact zoom on an Olympus OMD. For that purpose only, it works great -- kinda a pocket camera for a large pocket.
Published 12 days ago by After posting, they promptly made it good
1.0 out of 5 stars
Lasted one year.
I went to mount the lens last week and got messages saying to check to see if it was mounted properly. No amount of removing and replacing or jiggling helped. Read more
Published 23 days ago by John carrow
5.0 out of 5 stars
small and weighs very little
It's very small and weighs very little. It's my first lens and works fine in my Panasonic GH3, clear and smooth images, fast autofocus.
Published 1 month ago by lowdowngt
3.0 out of 5 stars
Small, but not great image quality
You should buy this lens to make your m43 camera as small as possible, and not for the image quality.
Image quality is acceptable, but not great. Read more
Image quality is acceptable, but not great. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Bob
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great lens!
This is a great lens, if you are looking for a really compact standard M43 zoom, don't hesitate to pick one of these up! Read more
Published 1 month ago by Nick
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Good!
I use this lens as my main lens since I bought just the camera body. It works very well and I am very pleased with the pictures and videos taken with this lens.
Published 2 months ago by Eduardo A. Derivera
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice compact zoom
Optical image quality is good and the lens is very compact. I wish the lens was a little bit faster, but it's about on par with the kit zoom. Read more
Published 2 months ago by C. Nguyen
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great lens idea but quirky problem.
Pros: The lens is compact which makes the camera more portable. I use it on the Olympus E-P3, or E-PM2. It is quite sharp also, giving good pictures with adequate contrast. Read more
Published 2 months ago by A. Dezutter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Noticeably Sharper than the Kit 14-42 Lens
Bought this on the price drop to replace the 14-42mm Kit lens that came with my G3 and G5.
There is defintely a noticeable difference with regards to picture qiality,... Read more
There is defintely a noticeable difference with regards to picture qiality,... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Jholmes
3.0 out of 5 stars
Didn't work well
This is a very nice lens that did not work well for me. I ordered it with a Lumix GX1 and that combination produced some very disappointing results that required me to return both... Read more
Published 3 months ago by DaEvaluator
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