In summary
Covering the same angles of view as a 16-36mm lens on a 35mm camera, the DG 8-18mm f/2.8-4 is the fourth ultra-wide zoom lens to be released for the M4/3 mount by Panasonic and Olympus.
It’s not quite as wide as the Lumix G Vario 7-14mm f/4.0 ASPH lens or the M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO lens but it’s wider than the M.Zuiko Digital ED 9-18mm f/4.0-5.6 lens, which is a full stop slower across the zoom range. (See full review for comparison table.)
All four lenses are likely to appeal to landscape and street photographers because of their angular coverage.
The Panasonic 8-18mm lens could attract architectural photographers because it is remarkably distortion-free, is highly flare resistant and has low levels of vignetting (edge and corner darkening).
It also has the advantages of a relatively light weight, compact size and dust-and splashproof sealing and the fast f/2.8-4.0 aperture range makes it ideal for low-light use.
While the zoom range is too wide for individual portraits, it could work well for group shots, particularly in confined spaces. It would also be usable for environmental portraits.
Designed and certified by Leica in Germany and manufactured by Panasonic in Japan, the Panasonic 8-18mm lens is a worthy addition to a M4/3 kit.
Full review
Panasonic announced this lens in April 2017 as an expansion of its Leica-branded f/2.8-4.0 Series of lenses, which includes the 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 we reviewed in May 2017 and the 45mm f/2.8 Macro lenses. In the pipeline is a 50-200mm, for which a release date has yet to be announced. The series features a rugged splash and dustproof design and all lenses are freeze proof down to -10 °C.
Side view of the Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 8-18mm f/2.8-4.0 ASPH. lens without its lens hood. (Source: Panasonic.)
The optical design of this lens consists of 15 elements in 10 groups. Among them are an aspherical ED (Extra-low Dispersion) lens, two ED lenses and an UHR (Ultra High Refractive Index) lens element, their positions shown in the diagram below.
This diagram shows the location of the exotic elements in the Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 8-18mm f/2.8-4.0 ASPH. lens. (Source: Panasonic.)
Together, they deliver excellent sharpness with low levels of distortion and chromatic aberration, while Nano coatings suppress internal reflections that can cause flare and ghosting. A micro-step AF drive system ensures smooth aperture control for video recording.
The H-E08018 is compatible with the LUMIX G sensor drive and can take advantage of the high-speed, high-precision Contrast AF, at up to 240 fps. AF tracking performance while zooming is also improved via high-speed frame analysis for focus control. We tested the review lens on the Lumix GH5 camera body, which supports these features.
Who’s it For?
Covering the same angles of view as a 16-36mm lens on a 35mm camera, the DG 8-18mm f/2.8-4 is the fourth ultra-wide zoom lens to be released for the M4/3 mount by Panasonic and Olympus. It’s not quite as wide as the Lumix G Vario 7-14mm f/4.0 ASPH. lens or the M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO lens but it’s wider than the M.Zuiko Digital ED 9-18mm f/4.0-5.6 lens, which is a full stop slower across the zoom range. The table below compares the four lenses.
|
|
Panasonic |
Olympus |
||
|
|
8-18mm |
7-14mm |
7-14mm |
9-18mm |
|
Max. aperture |
f/2.8-4 |
f/4 |
f/2.8 |
f/4-5.6 |
|
AF drive |
Stepping motor |
Micromotor |
Stepping motor |
MSC (Movie & Still Compatible) |
|
Stabilisation |
No |
No |
No |
No |
|
Minimum focus |
23 cm |
25 cm |
20 cm |
25 cm |
|
Max. magnification |
0.12x / 0.24x |
0.08x / 0.15x |
0.12x / 0.24x |
0.1x / 0.2x |
|
Filter size |
67 mm |
No filter thread |
No filter thread |
52 mm |
|
Dimensions |
73.4 x 88 mm |
70 x 83.1 mm |
78.9 x 105.8 mm |
56.5 x 49.5 mm |
|
Weight |
315 grams |
300 grams |
534 grams |
155 grams |
|
Listed price |
AU$1599 |
AU$1199 |
AU$1699 |
AU$799 |
|
Best street price (approx.) |
AU$1250 |
AU$940 |
AU$1400 |
AU$690 |
All four lenses are likely to appeal to landscape and street photographers because of their angular coverage. The Panasonic 8-18mm lens could attract architectural photographers because it is remarkably distortion-free, is highly flare resistant and has low levels of vignetting (edge and corner darkening).
It also has the advantages of a relatively light weight, compact size and dust-and splashproof sealing and the fast f/2.8-4.0 aperture range makes it ideal for low-light use. While the zoom range is too wide for individual portraits, it could work well for group shots, particularly in confined spaces. It would also be usable for environmental portraits.
Build and Ergonomics
Buyers expect a Leica-branded lens to be well-built and the Panasonic 8-18mm lens doesn’t disappoint. Its mainly metal construction and weather-resistant sealing enable it to withstand the rigours of outdoor use and its modest maximum aperture range keeps it relatively compact and light.
The front element sits well back in the lens barrel and bulges outwards. The inner edge of the barrel in front of this element is threaded for a standard 67mm filter, while the outer edge has a bayonet mount for the supplied lens hood, which has a push-in lock.
The 88 mm long barrel is very solidly constructed and both focusing and zooming are fully internal so the physical length of the lens is unchanged when either is adjusted. This makes it easy to use angle-critical polarisers and graduated filters.
The manual focusing ring begins 22mm back from the leading edge of the lens barrel. This ring is 13 mm wide, with all but the rear 2 mm being finely ridged to provide a grip band. The ring turns smoothly and is electronically driven so focusing can only be adjusted when a camera is attached and powered-on.
The lens barrel slopes inwards for approximately 4 mm to meet the zoom ring, which is roughly 24 mm wide and has an 18 mm wide ridged grip band. The trailing edge of this ring carries markings for the following focal length settings: 8mm, 9mm, 10mm, 12mm, 14mm and 18mm.
This ring also turns smoothly and positively. As the lens is zoomed in, the maximum aperture changes as shown in the table below, while the minimum aperture remains constant at f/22.
|
|
8mm |
9mm |
10mm |
12mm |
14mm |
18mm |
|
Maximum aperture |
f/2.8 |
f/3.1 |
f/3.2 |
f/3.4 |
f/3.6 |
f/4 |
|
Minimum aperture |
f/22 |
|||||
Behind the zoom ring is a fixed, 21 mm wide section of the barrel that is marked with the 8-18 (mm) zoom range and also carries the red index mark for aligning the lens when it is fitted to a camera. Around the left side of this band is a slider for AF/MF switching.
The lens barrel slopes in again to the very solid metal mounting plate, which has 11 gold-plated contacts for sharing electronic signals with the camera. A rubber sealing ring around the mount keeps dust and moisture out.
Neither a depth of field scale nor a distance scale is provided on this lens. The former function is controlled by the photographer, while the latter is dictated by the focal length setting.
The supplied lens cap is a conventional clip-in type, held in place by springs. It is easily fitted and removed when the lens hood is in position, either facing forwards for shooting or reversed over the lens barrel for storage.
Performance
Our Imatest tests showed the review lens to be a strong performer when JPEGs were analysed, and a very impressive performer when we looked at the raw files we converted with Adobe Camera Raw, our preferred conversion software. The raw performance is in part attributable to the GH5 camera we used for our tests
Since we only use JPEGs for lens comparisons, we aren’t publishing our raw results. However, we’d advise readers who buy this lens to take advantage of the superior resolution and dynamic range associated with raw files.
The best JPEGs came very close to matching resolution expectations for the 20-megapixel sensor in the GH5. Edge and corner softening were present, particularly at wider lens apertures, but they were less than we expected at most focal length settings.
Resolution peaked between one and two stops down from the maximum aperture for most focal length settings, with the highest resolution recorded at 10mm with an f/4 aperture. Diffraction didn’t take effect until about f/11 but from that point there was a steep drop in resolution to f/22, as shown in the graph of our Imatest results below.
Lateral chromatic aberration remained within the negligible band for all aperture and focal length settings, as shown in the graph of our test results below. The red line marks the upper edge of the ‘negligible’ band.
We found no evidence of coloured fringing in test shots taken with any focal length setting, which isn’t surprising since recent Panasonic cameras automatically correct this aberration in JPEG files. Similar corrections are provided for vignetting (corner darkening) and rectilinear distortion so we had to examine raw files from the camera to see the inherent levels of both aberrations.
Corner darkening at the widest aperture settings was barely visible at all focal lengths and stopping down even half a stop eliminated the problem entirely. Rectilinear distortion was remarkably low for a wide-angle zoom lens, with slight barrel distortion barely visible at the 8mm focal length and negligible pincushion distortion at 18mm and virtually no distortion in between.
The inner focus drive and stepping motor system worked well with the camera’s high-speed, high-precision contrast AF system for both photo and video recording. Autofocusing remained fast in a wide range of lighting conditions and did not slow noticeably in low light levels, although we noticed occasional hesitation with low-contrast subjects in such conditions. It was also almost silent, which meant no camera noises were picked up on movie clips.
The minimum focusing distance of 23 cm and the wide angles of view make this lens largely unsuitable for shooting close-ups. However, the 18mm focal length is usable at a pinch to photograph larger objects such as clusters of flowers, provided you avoid distracting elements in the backgrounds.
The wide angles of view and relatively small sensors on M4/3 cameras make it difficult to obtain blurred out-of-focus backgrounds. Consequently, bokeh is impossible to evaluate for this lens.
The review lens was highly resistant to ghosting and flare, thanks in part to an effective lens hood but also to the superior lens design and nano particle coatings. Even when a bright light source was within the image frame, flare was negligible in most situations and strongly backlit scenes retained most of their natural tonal range. Interestingly, we were able to force the lens to produce flare artefacts on a few occasions, although we’re not sure how they were produced. The image shown in the Samples section is a one-off in our tests.
Conclusion
Wide angle zoom lenses have been popular for many years and it’s nice to see both Panasonic and Olympus providing these high-performance models in addition to slower and cheaper models to give M4/3 photographers a decent choice. Regardless of which you choose, the Panasonic lenses will work best on Panasonic bodies and the Olympus lenses on Olympus cameras.
Since none of these lenses includes stabilisation, if you do a lot of shooting in dim lighting, we’d recommend the faster lenses. We’d also advise pairing them with a body that has sensor-shift stabilisation.
The main rival to Panasonic’s Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 8-18mm f/2.8-4 ASPH lens is the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO lens, which covers slightly wider angles of view and provides the advantage of a constant f/2.8 maximum aperture. However, the Olympus lens is more than 200 grams heavier and you’ll pay at least AU$100 more for it.
Panasonic’s GH5 camera is an ideal partner for the DG Vario-Elmarit 8-18mm f/2.8-4 ASPH lens but it is also well suited to the G85, GX85 and GX8 cameras. Designed and certified by Leica in Germany and manufactured by Panasonic in Japan, it’s a worthy addition to a M4/3 kit.
Although this lens has only been on sale for a few months, discounting is well established. There are a few re-sellers still listing it at Panasonic’s RRP of AU$1599 but most are offering it for less than AU$1450. The cheapest price we’ve seen from a reputable online re-seller was $1249, although that was a special 10% discount for a limited time.
We’d advise against shopping off-shore because even if you pay the full RRP it will still be more expensive to import this lens. B&H, which markets aggressively to Australian photographers has it listed at US$1098, which was roughly equivalent to AU$1378 when this review was posted. Add at least $50 for postage and around $200 in tax and ‘duties’ (listed on the B&H website) and you’ll pay more than the highest local price.
SPECS
Picture angle: 107 to 62 degrees
Minimum aperture: f/22
Lens construction: 15 elements in 10 groups (including 1 aspherical ED lens, 3 aspherical elements, 2 ED lenses and 1 UHR lens)
Lens mounts: Micro Four thirds
Diaphragm Blades: 7 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: Stepping motor (internal focusing)
Stabilisation: No
Minimum focus: 23 cm
Maximum magnification: Approx. 0.12x / 0.24x (35mm camera equivalent)
Filter size: 67 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 73.4 x 88 mm
Weight: 315 grams
Standard Accessories: Lens front and end caps, lens hood, storage bag
Distributor: Panasonic Australia, Ph. 132 600; www.panasonic.com.au
TESTS
Based on JPEG files from the Lumix GH5 camera.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at 8mm, f/2.8.
Vignetting at 10mm, f/3.2.
Vignetting at 14mm, f/3.6.
Vignetting at 18mm, f/4.
Rectilinear distortion at 8mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 10mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 14mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 18mm.
8mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/320 second at f/8.
18mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/320 second at f/8.
Close-up at 8mm focal length with minimum focused distance, ISO 200, 1/100 second at f/8.
Close-up at 18mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/800 second at f/4.
Close-up showing characteristic wide-angle distortion at 8mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/500 second at f/11.
Close-up at 18mm f/4 showing the limitations to shooting with blurred backgrounds caused by the wide-angle lens and M4/3 sensor; ISO 200 1/320 second.
Angular distortion caused by slightly tilting the lens; 8mm focal length, ISO 250, 1/30 second at f/9.
Strong backlighting; 8mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/25 second at f/10.
Strong backlighting; 18mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/20 second at f/10.
Flare resistance; 8mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/1300 second at f/8.
Flare artefacts in a shot with a bright light source inside the frame; 9mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/160 second at f/10.
16:9 aspect ratio; 18mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/800 second at f/9.
3:2 aspect ratio; 8mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/1000 second at f/8.
17mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/400 second at f/5.6.
8mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/800 second at f/5.6.
8mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/640 second at f/5.
8mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/500 second at f/5.6.
8mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/60 second at f/11.
8mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/320 second at f/10.
12mm focal length, ISO 160, 11600 second at f/4.5.
10mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/500 second at f/9.
8mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/200 second at f/13.
Rating
RRP: AU$1599; US$1100
- Build: 9.0
- Handling: 8.9
- Image quality: 8.9
- Versatility: 8.6