Panasonic 45-200mm f/4.0-5.6 Lumix G Vario MEGA OIS Zoom Micro Four Thirds Lens for Panasonic and Olympus Micro Four Thirds Cameras

by Panasonic

• Micro Four Thirds lens mount system produces professional level images while greatly reducing the overall size compared to traditional DSLR lenses
• Built-in Optical Image Stabilization reduces blurry pictures due to hand movement that is especially useful at longer focal lengths
• Maximum f/stop opening of 4.0 (at 45mm wide) to a minimum of f22 with a filter size of only 52mm
• 16 elements in 13 groups utilizing 7 circular aperture diaphragm blades with a total weight of only 13.4 ounces
• Standard accessories include front and rear lens caps, lens hood and lens storage bag

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 9.4 x 6.4 inches ; 13.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001ISKNKA
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: H-FS045200
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (135 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #33 in Camera & Photo > Lenses > Camera Lenses
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 1, 2008

Product Description

Lumix G VARIO 45-200mm/4.0-5.6 zoom lens w/MEGA Optical Image Stabilization covers the 35mm equivalent from 90-400mm to help the user capture crisp, blur-free, shots when shooting sports events, wildlife and other distant subjects

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

253 of 255 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent lens with latest firmware October 14, 2009

By Draper Kauffman

I have five lenses for my G1, but this is my favorite. Overall, it's quite sharp and produces images with an excellent feel to them, particularly for such a comparatively low price.

Initial test reports indicated noticeable softness at 160-200mm, but this appears to have been fixed. One possibility is that the latest firmware may have improved the autofocusing at long focal lengths. This has not been verified by Panasonic, but many owners of new or updated copies of the lens are routinely getting sharper images at 200mm than the early test reports would indicate, so it seems to be the best guess at the moment.

It's important to have realistic expectations for long lenses. If you've never shot with a really long lens on an SLR, it's easy to assume that such a cute little lens will be just as easy to hand hold as its 14-45mm brandmate. It isn't.

At 200mm, it has the same long reach and very narrow angle of view as a 400mm lens on a full frame 35mm. I still have one of those from my film days, and it's 13 inches long, heavy, and almost impossible to hand hold! This Panasonic lens at 200mm is subject to the same laws of physics and optics as those old 400mm bazookas, even though it is so much smaller and lighter.

The optical image stabilization is superb, so you CAN hand hold it in good light, but you need to be well-braced and use good technique, and there's no point in even trying to hand hold it at 200mm at very low shutter speeds. (When I'm shooting at 200mm, I increase the ISO if necessary to make sure my shutter speed is at least 1/125, and I really prefer 1/250 or faster....)

If you've never shot a long tele before, consider using a tripod, turning OIS off, and touching up the autofocus results manually to nail the exact part of the image that you want to be the sharpest. Either that or try to get closer to your subject - sharp hand held shots at 100-150mm are much easier to get.

In summary, this lens is an exceptional value and the zoom range is great for a wide range of subjects, from portraits to wildlife. If you treat it with respect at the long end, you'll get many great pictures with it. Read more ›

126 of 132 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars About as good as it gets April 3, 2010

By L. Rothman

I have no idea why anyone would have this lens and not sing it's praises. Perhaps, for some reason they did not get a good copy. I've now worked with 2 and both were stunningly fast to focus, sharp throughout their entire focal range and provided excellent color and contrast. The lens balances wonderfully well on a Olympus PL1 or other Pens for that matter. It is quicker to focus than other Olympus lenses (perhaps due to firmware interfaces). I love the solid build frankly, but most importantly I"m rewarded with amazing sharpness that easily rivals the Canon 100-400L and 80-400 Nikkor lenses at their long end. I'm coming from both Full Frame and cropped frame sensor DSLR's and I'm telling you this lens is NO compromise in any way. If you don't get superb sharp images from this lens across the board you are flat out doing something wrong or your gear is malfunctioning....that simple. For under $300 you'd be crazy NOT to own this lens with the Panasonic or Olympus 4/3rd cameras. It is just a delight to use PERIOD.

80 of 83 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars versatile, must have m43 lens April 1, 2010

By Paul Liesenberg

Amazon Verified Purchase

this is a fantastic price/value/versatility proposition.

this is the lens that made me go "wow, i *love* the m43 movement"...

i got this lens for my olympus e-pl1, and it works *beautifully*. i also own the oly kitlens, the oly 17 pancake, the panasonic 20mm pancake, and a very old OM 50mm/f1.4 lens (which is my fav for portraits). if i had to keep only 2 lenses this 45-200 would be for sure one of the two. it is not the sharpest and certainly not the fastest or widest, but it sure does many things very well on an m43 body. and it blows away any point and shoot, plus it'll make you look in sympathy at the full-frame guy carrying around the equivalent for his camera...

sum it up: *awesome* tele for the size and weight and quality (try hauling around the equvalent), and also acts as a great portrait lens with the right lighting (many pros love teles for portraits, read an online tutorial and your friends will love you). i *love* this lens. for the price, and considering what we used to pay for this image quality, it's a major "wow, i get the m43 movement".

great things are to come for m43. what a great format. this panny lens hints the vendors are not even remotely pushing the possibilities for now.

sure, it will fall short in the eyes of the full frame guys that already own a lens ten times the price of this (for less versatility and far less portability), but deep inside the snobs will hate you for the combo and the images you'll produce while dragging along a tenth of the traditional heft and volume...

you may feel i went overboard, but, if there is one take-away from this little review, it is this... if you own a m43 camera, get this lens, you will not regret it. it'll open possibilities you did not expect....

PS: if you are an Olympus E-PL1 owner... do NOT turn on the lens IS. let the olympus in-camera IS do the work. if you have *both* systems working against each other... Read more ›

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great lens at affordable price February 13, 2010

By T. T. Ming

Amazon Verified Purchase

I have been using this product frequently for my recent 3 weeks visit to California. I'm satisfied with the product because:
1. I have been using film cameras for almost 20years and had recently switched to Panasonic G1 because I want to maintain compatibility with my bunch of Leica M lenses and Nikon lenses. The smallness and lightness of the system impresses me.
2. Never have I dreamed of holding a 400mm FOV with my hand and tracking birds in the air and capturing candid shots. I tried fixing the G1 to the monster 400mm F2.8 Nikon and find it totally not feasible for hand held shots. I must admit a more direct comparison would be to 80-200mm f2.8 which I also tried and dreaded the weight.
3. The pana 45-200mm is compact and could fit into my jacket. There is no need to use a camera back during my recent trip to California since the camera + kit lens can be slung and one pocket holds the 45-200mm lens and the other holds the spare battery which I also purchased from Amazon.
4. The built in OIS also helps me capture shots at lower shutter speed. This is an present surprise since there isn't any OIS function during the old film days.
5. I'd shot birds, scenery, candid and sports (ICE hockey) and find the image to be sharp. Most of the unacceptable image are result of high ISO (more than 800), using OIS during panning and low shutter speed (In my opinion, setting it to 1/500sec at Shutter priority for this lens is safe enough for most situations)
6. The small aperture is a downside of this lens, I would not because penalize this because this is a calculated decision as I wanted a portable system. Furthermore, there is nothing to complain about for such low price.