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Product Description
A standard zoom interchangeable lens designed specifically for the cameras compatible with Micro Four Thirds System standard. Suitable for a wide range of scenes from portrait to landscape photography, the lens offers a zoom range of 14-45mm (35mm equivalent: 28-90mm) while featuring its ultra-compact size and lightweight. The aspherical lens element also improves optical performance by minimizing distortion, even at the 28mm wide end. The lens incorporates Panasonic's MEGA O.I.S. optical image stabilizer, which makes it easy to shoot super clear shots even in low-lit situations by suppressing the blur caused by a hand shake. When the lens is mounted on the Lumix G Micro System DMC-G1 camera, you can use the contrast AF system, which is implemented in the DMC-G1 to offer a wide variety of convenient functions. With its minimum focus distance of 30 cm even at full zoom, the lens provides a maximum photographic magnification of 0.34x.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
70 of 70 people found the following review helpful
By Sean
Amazon Verified Purchase
Compact, lightweight, quick autofocus, effective stabilization, and excellent sharpness. No light falloff issues.
My main camera and lens combo is the Nikon D200 with a $1,300 17-55mm f/2.8 as the standard zoom; so I am used to professional quality lenses that produce excellent edge-to-edge sharpness, neutral color, consistent brightness across the frame, very little flare, etc. I bought the Panasonic GF1 and 20mm f/1.7 as a more portable alternative to my DSLR. I carry the GF1 every day, so I shoot with my m4/3 gear quite a lot.
About the only negative I can say about his lens is that it has a variable aperture, but that is what all consumer oriented standard zooms have. By variable aperture I mean that it can only open up to f/3.5 (which lets in more light) at the wide end of the zoom. At the long end it can't open wider than f/5.6. A constant fast f/2.8 aperture would result in a much larger, heavier, and more expensive lens like my Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8. While my Nikon might be a better zoom in low light, and for getting shallow depth of field, the Panasonic 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 is much easier to carry. The O.I.S. stabilization helps it out in low light, but stabilization can't stop action the way faster shutter speeds (from a wider aperture) can. The image quality is excellent. I would still say that the 20mm f/1.7 is the one lens that every m4/3 user should own, but I might put the 14-45mm up there with it in terms of versatility. The build quality is good for such an inexpensive zoom. I've definitely seen DSLR kit zooms that felt cheaper, and some that felt more rugged. Panasonic does have a newer 14-42mm kit zoom that is supposed to be even less expensive and has a plastic mount instead of the metal mount of this lens. Based on the reviews I'd say go for the 14-45mm. The IQ of the 14-42 probably isn't that different, but the price isn't that different either. Olympus also has a 14-42mm that locks into a shorter length for carrying, but it doesn't have stabilization since the Olympus cameras use IS built into the camera instead of the lens.
I've used the 14-45mm for landscapes, architecture and street photography, flowers, people, dogs, etc. I have printed as large as 13x19 and the image quality really is very nice. Similar lenses I have used include the Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 and the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR. The Panasonic 14-45mm certainly compares well and I would say it's more consistently sharp than the Nikon superzoom (18-200). The nice thing about the Panasonic is that distortion and chromatic aberration are corrected automatically in the camera for both RAW and JPEG. So the lens is likely worse than it appears, but you'd never know it looking at the end result... unless you use a RAW converter that doesn't support the correction info in the RAW file. Adobe Camera RAW for Lightroom and Photoshop does.
The 14-45mm comes with a nice little lens hood that can be stored in the reverse position for carrying, and of course it includes front and rear lens caps. The GF1 is not quite as compact using the 14-45mm as it is with the 20mm, but it's still a well-balanced combination. I can wear the GF1 with 14-45mm comfortably around the neck as well. Zoom action is smooth, manual focusing is smooth, and it's a nice range for a zoom. I would prefer to sacrifice a little of the reach for a little bit wider at the other end, but I guess there is always the 7-14mm or the Olympus 9-18mm. 14mm is wide enough for most purposes. I carry this lens almost every day with my GF1 and 20mm. It's a great little combination.
My main camera and lens combo is the Nikon D200 with a $1,300 17-55mm f/2.8 as the standard zoom; so I am used to professional quality lenses that produce excellent edge-to-edge sharpness, neutral color, consistent brightness across the frame, very little flare, etc. I bought the Panasonic GF1 and 20mm f/1.7 as a more portable alternative to my DSLR. I carry the GF1 every day, so I shoot with my m4/3 gear quite a lot.
About the only negative I can say about his lens is that it has a variable aperture, but that is what all consumer oriented standard zooms have. By variable aperture I mean that it can only open up to f/3.5 (which lets in more light) at the wide end of the zoom. At the long end it can't open wider than f/5.6. A constant fast f/2.8 aperture would result in a much larger, heavier, and more expensive lens like my Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8. While my Nikon might be a better zoom in low light, and for getting shallow depth of field, the Panasonic 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 is much easier to carry. The O.I.S. stabilization helps it out in low light, but stabilization can't stop action the way faster shutter speeds (from a wider aperture) can. The image quality is excellent. I would still say that the 20mm f/1.7 is the one lens that every m4/3 user should own, but I might put the 14-45mm up there with it in terms of versatility. The build quality is good for such an inexpensive zoom. I've definitely seen DSLR kit zooms that felt cheaper, and some that felt more rugged. Panasonic does have a newer 14-42mm kit zoom that is supposed to be even less expensive and has a plastic mount instead of the metal mount of this lens. Based on the reviews I'd say go for the 14-45mm. The IQ of the 14-42 probably isn't that different, but the price isn't that different either. Olympus also has a 14-42mm that locks into a shorter length for carrying, but it doesn't have stabilization since the Olympus cameras use IS built into the camera instead of the lens.
I've used the 14-45mm for landscapes, architecture and street photography, flowers, people, dogs, etc. I have printed as large as 13x19 and the image quality really is very nice. Similar lenses I have used include the Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 and the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR. The Panasonic 14-45mm certainly compares well and I would say it's more consistently sharp than the Nikon superzoom (18-200). The nice thing about the Panasonic is that distortion and chromatic aberration are corrected automatically in the camera for both RAW and JPEG. So the lens is likely worse than it appears, but you'd never know it looking at the end result... unless you use a RAW converter that doesn't support the correction info in the RAW file. Adobe Camera RAW for Lightroom and Photoshop does.
The 14-45mm comes with a nice little lens hood that can be stored in the reverse position for carrying, and of course it includes front and rear lens caps. The GF1 is not quite as compact using the 14-45mm as it is with the 20mm, but it's still a well-balanced combination. I can wear the GF1 with 14-45mm comfortably around the neck as well. Zoom action is smooth, manual focusing is smooth, and it's a nice range for a zoom. I would prefer to sacrifice a little of the reach for a little bit wider at the other end, but I guess there is always the 7-14mm or the Olympus 9-18mm. 14mm is wide enough for most purposes. I carry this lens almost every day with my GF1 and 20mm. It's a great little combination.
39 of 39 people found the following review helpful
By Amin Sabet
I've owned the latest Canon and Nikon 18-55mm stabilized kit zooms, and this Panasonic has them beat in terms of sharpness across the frame, lack of color fringing, and build quality. The sharpness at both ends of the zoom range (and everywhere in between) is outstanding for this class of lens. It isn't as small as Olympus' collapsible 14-42, but it is still very small and light. It doesn't focus quite as close as the Olympus zoom but is still capable of nice close up results. As a landscape lens in its focal length range, I believe that it is unsurpassed by any other currently available MFT lens. Highly recommended! Here are some of my images from one outing with this lens: [..]
39 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I got the "pancake" kit lens system, so I bought this separately in order to get some zoom and a wider angle. I know it's not the actual wide angle, but at 28mm equiv., this lens captures a lot of the scene. It has been really great for my wife and I as we go house hunting.
The textured grip area for where you rotate to zoom is nice feeling. The entire zoom range feels smooth, yet a little heavy. I like this because it doesn't feel like I will change the zoom (or the focus for that matter, if in manual mode) accidentally as i let go of the barrel.
Unfortunately though, for portraits, the maximum aperture of 3.5 doesn't quite achieve that nice soft depth of field that is so desirable. For that reason, you must get the 20mm f1.7 lens to accompany this lens.
The textured grip area for where you rotate to zoom is nice feeling. The entire zoom range feels smooth, yet a little heavy. I like this because it doesn't feel like I will change the zoom (or the focus for that matter, if in manual mode) accidentally as i let go of the barrel.
Unfortunately though, for portraits, the maximum aperture of 3.5 doesn't quite achieve that nice soft depth of field that is so desirable. For that reason, you must get the 20mm f1.7 lens to accompany this lens.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Much better than the 14-42 kit lens
First thing I noticed was this was a much higher quality lens than the plastic feeling Lumix Vario 14-42mm kit lens I bought first which I had to return because it wouldn't zoom... Read more
Published 5 days ago by R. D. Hoag
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best micro 4/3 ever.
I have tried them all, this is the best of the Panasonic or Olympus mid range zooms. Since I live in Orlando I can take pictures of the same thing over and over and make... Read more
Published 17 days ago by R. Thomas
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice lens
This is the highly-regarded first version of Panasonic's kit lens. It has a quality appearance, smooth zoom ring (just try the zoom action on entry-level Canon / Nikon DSLR lenses... Read more
Published 3 months ago by MDGColorado
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love this lens
I purchased my Gf1 with the 20mm f1.7 lens. It's a great lens, but the focal length just isn't one I use that often. I bought the 14-45mm based on reviews and I'm glad I did. Read more
Published 5 months ago by JudyM
5.0 out of 5 stars
great addition to my camera!
Just put it on yesterday... crystal clear images & autofocus works quickly even at full zoom. It takes just as good of pictures as the old 14-45 I removed, but it has a lot more... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Matt
5.0 out of 5 stars
great zoom lens
I had this briefly when I started using a m43 camera. I sold it because I wanted to go all primes. I have some regrets about selling it as it was a quality zoom lens. Read more
Published 8 months ago by J. Chau
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly Efficient Lens
I bought this lens to use with my Lumix G2 camera. There are only a few lenses that will attach to this camera, but this one fits the bill. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Christopher Alexander
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely get this instead of the 14-42mm.....
The first thing that impressed me from this lens was the build quality. Although relatively small when compared to a full size DSLR lens of equivalent focal length and aperture,... Read more
Published 12 months ago by A. Garcia
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sharp but long 'n skinny
I have an Olympus E-P3 with 17mm 2.8 pancake. I love the pancake for candids and being able to carry the camera in my coat pocket, but wanted a zoom for flexible outdoor shooting. Read more
Published 13 months ago by P. K. Frary
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent travel lens
I've had this lens for a while and it is an excellent daylight companion to my Panasonic 20mm f1.7.
It was incredibly useful as walkabout lens during my trip to the east... Read more
It was incredibly useful as walkabout lens during my trip to the east... Read more
Published 14 months ago by thranth
