Panasonic Lumix S PRO 70-200mm f/2.8 O.I.S. lens (S-E70200)

In summary
This lens provides a faster alternative to the Lumix PRO 70-200mm f/4 O.I.S. (S-R70200) lens that was released with the original S1 and S1R cameras.
The 70-200mm zoom range can work well for sports and wildlife shooting in some situations as well as being usable for portraiture. The minimum focusing distance of 95 cm provides a maximum magnification of one fifth life size, which is not macro standard, but should be usable for close-ups of subjects like larger flowers and animals.
The refined focusing system is well-suited to video and multimedia work, providing smooth and responsive focus, aperture and zoom changes with no audible noise to interfere with soundtracks.
Full review
Announced at the same time as the Lumix S PRO 16-35mm f/4 lens, the Lumix S PRO 70-200mm f/2.8 O.I.S. lens is a dust- and splash-resistant, professional-quality lens that provides a one-stop advantage over the original 70-200mm f/4 O.I.S. (S-R70200) lens. It comes with a removable tripod mount and boasts weatherproof construction, along with a constant f/2.8 maximum aperture throughout the zoom range, which provides superior depth of field control, especially with the lens wide open at longer focal lengths. This lens is Leica certified and compatible with the DMW-STC14 1.4x and DMW-STC20 2x teleconverters.
Angled view of the Lumix S PRO 70-200mm f/2.8 lens without the supplied cap and lens hood. (Source: Panasonic.)
The optical design of the S-E70200 lens consists of 22 elements in 17 groups and includes one aspherical element, three extra-low dispersion elements and four ultra extra-low dispersion elements. The aspherical lens reduces size and weight and suppresses spherical aberration and distortion.
The low-dispersion lenses control chromatic aberration to deliver sharp images with clear colour from the centre to the edges of the frame. Eleven diaphragm blades close to produce a circular aperture for attractive bokeh.
This diagram shows the positions of the exotic elements in the Lumix S PRO 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. (Source: Panasonic.)
The contrast-based, double focus system combines linear and stepping motors to support fast, high-precision focusing with negligible focus breathing. A push-pull clutch mechanism enables instant AF/MF switching and accurate manual focusing.
Built-in optical image stabilisation (O.I.S.) technology can work with the sensor-shift systems in Panasonic’s S-series cameras to provide up to seven stops of shake correction. When a stabilised lens is fitted to the camera, the proprietary Dual IS 2 technology will kick in and the two systems will work together increasing the stability by roughly half a stop by adding pitch and yaw correction.
Three function buttons, embedded at intervals around the lens can be programmed to handle operations that can include focus mode selections and focus hold as well as other functions not related to focusing. The lens comes with a removable tripod mount that includes an Arca-Swiss foot for compatibility with professional tripods.
A locking screw allows it to be loosened for rotating the camera between landscape and portrait orientations. Pulling the screw outwards allows the hinge to open, making the mount easy to remove and reattach when needed.
The lens and its mount are weather resistant and can withstand temperatures down to -10°C. It is supplied with front and end caps plus a petal-shaped lens hood that can be reversed over the barrel for transport and storage. A soft protective pouch is also provided.
Who’s it For?
This lens provides a faster alternative to the Lumix PRO 70-200mm f/4 O.I.S. (S-R70200) lens that was released with the original S1 and S1R cameras. But with a price tag a little below double the price of the f/4 lens and it’s more than half a kilogram heavier, so buyers will pay a premium for the extra light transmission.
The 70-200mm zoom range can work well for sports and wildlife shooting in some situations as well as being usable for portraiture. The minimum focusing distance of 95 cm provides a maximum magnification of one fifth life size, which is not macro standard, but should be usable for close-ups of subjects like larger flowers and animals.
The refined focusing system is well-suited to video and multimedia work, providing smooth and responsive focus, aperture and zoom changes with no audible noise to interfere with soundtracks.
Build and Ergonomics
Build quality is similar to other lenses in Panasonic’s L-Mount range and equally solid and, size-wise this lens fitted well on the S1H body we used for our tests. While most of the exterior of the lens is made from polycarbonate plastic, its metal base ensures a robust, high-quality feel and there’s an obvious sealing ring around the lens mount to keep out moisture and dust.
Like the 70-200mm f/4 O.I.S. (S-R70200) lens, this lens uses internal zooming, which means its barrel doesn’t extend.
The focusing ring is located roughly 22 mm behind the leading edge of the outer barrel. It’s 34 mm wide, with a 23 mm wide thinly-ridged rubber grip band at its leading edge. The trailing edge dips back to slot beneath a 20 mm wide fixed section of the barrel that separates the focusing and zoom rings.
Like the 16-35mm and 24-70mm lenses, this lens includes a push-pull clutch mechanism that enables instant AF/MF switching and precise manual focusing. Pulling the ring back exposes a distance scale marked in metres and feet, which ranges from 0.95 metres to infinity and engages manual focus. With the ring pushed forwards, the scale is covered and the lens is set to AF mode.
Between the focusing and zoom rings is a fixed section of the lens barrel that is approximately 25 mm wide. Here you’ll find the name of the lens stamped in white letters and, behind it, the trio of programmable function buttons mentioned above.
The zoom ring is 50 mm wide and has a 45 mm wide rubberised band of slightly thicker ridging at its leading edge, with an un-ridged band behind it that carries focal length markings for the 70mm, 100mm, 135mm and 200mm focal length settings. These marks line up against a white strip on the fixed section of the barrel behind the ring.
A 20 mm wide recessed band for the removable tripod collar is located immediately behind the zoom ring. The tripod collar is hinged and secured with a pull-out lock that is easy to use, thanks to a large ribbed knob.
Behind the tripod collar band lies a raised ridge that is 27 mm wide and carries the lens model name and Lumix branding. A focus limiter slider with three positions (FULL, 0.95-5m and 5m-∞) is located around the left hand side of this section, sitting above an O.I.S. switch with two modes and an OFF position.
The lens barrel slopes in from the back of that band, ending with the chromed lens mount, which fits very securely to the camera body. There is nothing to indicate where the lens is manufactured.
Like other lenses in the series, the lens mount is solid chromed metal. In addition to the normal ten gold-plated contact points inside the mount that enable signals to pass between the camera and lens there are two smaller, raised contacts on the other side of the inner barrel. The supplied instruction manual provides no indication of what they are for.
The supplied, deeply-lobed lens hood is made from rigid black plastic with a ridged inner surface to suppress reflections. It adds about 65 mm to the overall length of the lens when it’s in position.
Performance
As mentioned in our review of the S1H camera, throughout our testing period Sydney was blanketed by smoke from surrounding bushfires, which varied in the effects it had on image quality. The density of the smoke was also unpredictable, which meant that although we might start shooting when the sky appeared a little clearer, conditions would often change within 10-15 minutes.
The impact was especially noticeable when longer focal lengths were used and, therefore greatest on this lens out of the three we tested. We’ve attempted to correct the orange bias the smoke produced but warn readers that the colour balance in our test shots may not be a totally accurate representation of the natural colours that would be recorded under clear skies.
Our Imatest tests showed this lens to be capable of meeting expectations for the sensor’s resolution around the centre of the frame with JPEG files and coming very close towards the periphery. With raw files, central resolution exceeded expectations by a considerable amount while edge resolution was slightly above expectations indicating this lens is capable of superior image quality.
Unlike the Lumix S PRO 70-200mm f/4 O.I.S. lens, which delivered high resolution across almost all of the focal length and aperture ranges, the 70-200mm f/2.8 lens was slightly soft at wide apertures, but reached maximum resolution at around f/4 and maintained it through to about f/11 where diffraction kicked in. The graph above shows the results of our tests.
Because the camera provides built-in corrections for common aberrations, these were switched off when we carried out our tests. The resulting lateral chromatic aberration varied between ‘negligible’ at 200mm and ‘low’ for the other focal length and aperture settings. Analysis of raw files, where CA is not corrected, showed it to be similar to the results from our JPEG tests, shown in the graph above. (The red line marks the boundary between ‘negligible’ and ‘low’ CA.)
Assessments of vignetting and distortion were, as usual, carried out on uncorrected raw files. Neither aberration was present to any significant degree and the in-camera corrections totally eliminated them from JPEG files.
The deep, cylindrical lens hood eliminated most traces of ghosting and flare in backlit subjects and it was quite difficult to force the lens to flare when a bright light source was included within the frame. It’s worth noting that the atmospheric conditions prevailing when our tests were conducted might have impacted slightly on our vignetting tests.
Autofocusing was generally fast and very quiet and the lens was able to take advantage of the camera’s IBIS system to ensure shake-free shooting in most situations. Subject tracking was also competently handled when shooting video.
The minimum focusing distance of 95 cm, which is 3 cm longer than the minimum focus for the Lumix S PRO 70-200mm f/4 O.I.S. lens, meant bokeh was a mixed bag. At longer focal lengths and with evenly-lit backgrounds, bokeh at the maximum aperture was mostly smooth with attractive transitions in out-of-focus areas. With shorter focal lengths, bokeh could become choppy and some outlining was occasionally seen around bright highlights.
Conclusion
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SPECS
Picture angle: 34 to 12 degrees
Minimum aperture: f/22
Lens construction: 22 elements in 17 groups (including 1 aspherical, 3 ED and 2 UED elements)
Lens mounts: L-Mount
Diaphragm Blades: 11 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: Double focus system with linear and stepping motors
Stabilisation: Yes, 5-axis Dual I.S. 2 supported (7 stops)
Minimum focus: 95 cm
Maximum magnification: 0.21x
Filter size: 82 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 94.4 x 208.6 mm
Weight: 1570 grams
Standard Accessories: Lens front and end caps, lens hood, tripod mount, storage bag
Distributor: Panasonic Australia, Ph. 132 600; www.panasonic.com.au
TESTS
Based on JPEG files taken with the Lumix DC-S1 camera.
Results from RW2.RAW files captured simultaneously.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at 70mm, f/2.8.
Vignetting at 100mm, f/2.8.
Vignetting at 135mm, f/2.8.
Vignetting at 200mm, f/2.8.
Rectilinear distortion at 70mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 100mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 135mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 200mm.
70mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/640 second at f/7.1.
100mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/640 second at f/7.1.
135mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/500 second at f/7.1.
200mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/400 second at f/7.1.
Close-up at 70mm, ISO 100, 1/320 second at f/2.8.
Crop from the above image at 100% magnification.
Close-up at 200mm, ISO 100, 1/400 second at f/2.8.
Crop from the above image at 100% magnification.
Close-up: 200mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/2.8.
Crop from the above image at 100% magnification showing the detail recorded.
Close-up, 70mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/160 second at f/7.1.
Strong backlighting; 200mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/640 second at f/8.
Crop from the above image at 100% magnification.
200mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/1300 second at f/4.
Crop from the above image at 100% magnification.
200mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/640 second at f/3.5.
74mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/8.
200mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/400 second at f/6.3.
Backlighting; 200mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/250 second at f/8.
200mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/200 second at f/8.
200mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/250 second at f/7.1.
200mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/250 second at f/5.
180mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/5.
135mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/500 second at f/5.6.
Rating
RRP: AU$4299; US$2599
- Build: 9.0
- Handling: 8.8
- Image quality: 9.0
- Versatility: 8.8
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