In summary
A high-resolution, stabilised telephoto zoom covering the popular 70-200mm focal length range, this lens will be useful for portraiture as well as some sports and wildlife situations.
Dust- and splash-resistance make it usable for location work and able to withstand light rain and spray as well as dusty conditions. It can also operate in temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius.
The minimum focusing distance of 92 cm provides a maximum magnification of one quarter life size, which is quite good for a lens of its type. While not a true macro lens, it should be usable for close-ups on subjects like larger flowers and insects and pet portraits.
Size- and weight-wise, this lens is a good match for the S1 and S1R bodies and the removable tripod mount makes it equally easy to use it when shooting hand-held or for longer exposures and more control when mounted on a tripod.
Full review
The Lumix S PRO 70-200mm f/4 O.I.S. (S-R70200) telephoto zoom lens completes the trio of lenses launched with Panasonic’s S1 and S1R cameras. compatible with Panasonic’s 5-Axis Dual I.S. 2 system, it claims up to six f-stops of shake correction and comes with a removable tripod mount. In common with the other lenses in the series, it features a dust- and splash-resistant design and can operate in temperatures as low as 10 degrees below zero. The f/4 maximum aperture remains constant throughout the zoom range, promising superior depth of field control, especially with the lens wide open at longer focal lengths.
Angled view of the Lumix S PRO 70-200mm f/4 O.I.S. lens, shown with the removable tripod mount in place. (Source: Panasonic.)
Like other lenses in Panasonic’s S series, this lens uses the Leica L-Mount, which was designed to be suitable for both ‘full frame’ and APS-C format sensors. It boasts a large inner diameter of 51.6 mm and a lens-to-camera communication interface with ten connection points that will cater for future interfacing requirements. It also enables users of Panasonic’s cameras to utilise L-Mount lenses from alliance partners, Leica and Sigma.
The optical design of this lens is the most complex of the three S series lenses released so far. It consists of 23 elements in 17 groups with one aspherical and three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) lenses to suppress both axial chromatic aberration and chromatic aberration of magnification. Their positions are shown in the diagram below.
This diagram shows the positions of the various exotic elements in the lens design. (Source: Panasonic.)
A nine-bladed iris diaphragm closes to a circular aperture to ensure attractive bokeh. Like other lenses in the series, this lens accepts 77 mm diameter filters. A fluorine coating on the front element repels water and oil, making it easy to keep this critical area free of contamination.
Autofocusing is fully internal and the double focus system combines a linear motor and stepping motor in a system that uses data from the DFD (Depth From Defocus) contrast based autofocus system in Panasonic’s cameras and operates at a maximum speed of 480 fps for fast, high-precision autofocusing.
Focusing is also virtually silent, making this lens ideal for recording video and the lens is equipped with a mechanism that suppresses focus breathing (small changes in effective focal length when focus is adjusted ), another advantage for those who shoot movies.
Like the 50mm f/1.4 lens, this lens is equipped with a focus clutch mechanism that engages autofocus when pushed forward and manual focus when pulled back. This makes it quick and easy to swap between auto and manual focusing.
This lens is supplied with the regular front and end caps plus a petal-shaped lens hood that attaches via a bayonet mounting and can be reversed over the lens barrel for transport and storage. A locking button on the lens hood keeps it firmly in place but allows it to be removed quickly. A soft carrying pouch is also provided.
Who’s it For?
This lens extends the scope of the other two lenses into the moderate telephoto range, which will be useful for portraiture as well as some sports and wildlife situations. Dust- and splash-resistance make it usable for location work and able to withstand light rain and spray as well as dusty conditions. It can also operate in temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius.
The minimum focusing distance of 92 cm provides a maximum magnification of one quarter life size, which is quite good for a lens of its type. While not a true macro lens, it should be usable for close-ups on subjects like larger flowers and insects and pet portraits.
Near-silent focusing and zooming make this lens a good choice when shooting video clips and immunity to focus breathing is advantageous for shoots where precise focusing is vital. It is also capable of making smooth aperture changes, thereby avoiding jumps in brightness when light levels change.
Size- and weight-wise, this lens is a good match for the S1 and S1R bodies and the removable tripod mount makes it equally easy to use it when shooting hand-held or for longer exposures and more control when mounted on a tripod.
Build and Ergonomics
The ‘PRO’ designation and relatively high price tag are clear indications that this lens is built for hard work. These was nothing in the Panasonic press kit we received to indicate what materials were used in the construction of this lens, although we’re pretty sure it’s mostly made from magnesium alloy.
It certainly looks and feels very solidly built and there’s an obvious sealing ring around the lens mount to keep out moisture and dust. This lens uses internal zooming, which means its barrel doesn’t extend. The zoom mechanism is quite firm but the ring turns very smoothly, which augurs well for using this lens when shooting video clips.
The focusing ring is located roughly 20 mm back from the front of the outer barrel. It’s 28 mm wide, with a 20 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.
The zoom ring is 45 mm wide and has a 40 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 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 17 mm wide and carries the IS on/off slider switch plus the lens model name and Lumix branding. 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 no distance scale or depth of field indicator and we found nothing to indicate where the lens is manufactured.
Performance
As with the Lumix S 24-105mm f/4 Macro O.I.S lens, we opted to use files from the S1 camera for our assessments since we believe they better reflect actual usage and are more likely to be relevant to the greater numbers of photographers who are likely to buy the lower-priced camera. We have also included some parallel test results from raw files to provide a resolution comparison.
As with the 24-105mm lens, Imatest showed this lens was almost capable of meeting expectations for the sensor’s resolution with JPEG files, which indicates very good performance. In 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.
As with the 24-105mm lens, high performance was maintained through almost all of the focal length and aperture ranges, with diffraction kicking in at f/16. Edge softening was less than we found with the 24-105mm lens, as shown in the graph of our Imatest results above.
Lateral chromatic aberration remained almost entirely within the ‘negligible’ band for JPEGs, as shown in the graph of our results above, in which the red line marks the boundary between ‘negligible’ and ‘low’ CA. Checks of a few raw files (where CA is not corrected) showed it to be marginally higher, but still within the low-to-negligible range.
Because aberrations like vignetting and distortion can be corrected automatically in-camera when JPEGs are recorded, we had to assess raw files to determine whether they were significant. We found vignetting was effectively negligible at f/4 for all focal lengths. Similarly, we were unable to see any rectilinear distortion in raw files at any of the four focal length settings we tested.
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. However, flare artefacts often occurred in those situations. Normally backlit shots showed no loss of contrast.
The minimum focusing distance of a little less than a metre meant bokeh was a mixed bag. At longer focal lengths and with evenly-lit backgrounds, bokeh at the maximum aperture was smooth and attractive. With shorter focal lengths, bokeh became choppy and some outlining could be seen around brighter highlights.
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.
Conclusion
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SPECS
Picture angle: 34-12 degrees
Minimum aperture: f/22
Lens construction: 23 elements in 17 groups (including one aspherical and 3 extra-low dispersion and one UHR elements)
Lens mounts: L-Mount
Diaphragm Blades: 9 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: Linear motor plus stepping motor with internal focusing
Stabilisation: Yes, Complies with Lumix camera Body I.S. and 5-Axis Dual I.S.2
Minimum focus: 92 cm
Maximum magnification: 0.25x
Filter size: 77 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 84.4 x 179 mm
Weight: 985 grams
Standard Accessories: Lens front and end caps, lens hood, external tripod mount, lens storage bag
Distributor: Panasonic Australia, Ph. 132 600; www.panasonic.com.au
TESTS
Based on JPEG files.
Based on RW2.RAW files converted into 16-bit TIFF format with Adobe Camera Raw.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at 70mm f/5.
Vignetting at 100mm f/4.
Vignetting at 135mm f/4.
Vignetting at 200mm f/4.
Rectilinear distortion at 70mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 100mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 135mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 200mm.
70mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/8.
100mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/8.
135mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/160 second at f/8.
200mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/125 second at f/8.
Close-up at 70mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/640 second at f/4.
Close-up at 200mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/640 second at f/4.
Close-up at 200mm focal length with evenly-lit background, ISO 200, 1/80 second at f/4.
Backlit close-up at 70mm focal length, 1/1000 second at f/4, ISO 200.
Backlit close-up at 200mm focal length, 1/1300 second at f/4, ISO 200.
Flare artefacts with strong backlighting; 70mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/3200 second at f/8.
200mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/8.
121mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/8.
200mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/1000 second at f/8.
192mm focal length, ISO 5000, 1/250 second at f/5.
200mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/40 second at f/4.
146mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/500 second at f/8.
200mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/250 second at f/7.1.
135mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/9.
200mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/320 second at f/8.
200mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/125 second at f/6.3.
Additional image samples can be found with our reviews of the Lumix S1 and S1R cameras.
Rating
RRP: AU$2499; US$1699
- Build: 9.0
- Handling: 8.8
- Image quality: 8.9
- Versatility: 8.7