Panasonic is a popular choice among photographers and videographers alike. Because of qualities like portability and a tiny footprint, the format is favored by a large number of creators around the world. As for lens, the S Series F1.8 lineup has a special place in the hearts of storytellers because the products have all the features necessary to create striking content.
Following up on that success, Panasonic has just announced the new Panasonic LUMIX S Series 35mm F1.8 Mirrorless L-Mount lens, a long-awaited prime lens that was included in Panasonic’s roadmap for the Lumix S Series back in November 2020. It is designed to be used in conjunction with Panasonic’s other F1.8 lenses for high-quality continuity even when swapping them. Let’s take a closer look at what we know about the new S Series lens.
Key Features of the Panasonic Lumix S Series 35mm F1.8 Lens:
- Perfect angles and excellent video performance with the 35mm F1.8 fixed focal length
- Compact design and lightweight construction
- Dust, splash, and freeze-resistant*
- Outstanding focusing performance for both photography and videography
- Smooth aperture control with reduced focus breathing
- Programmable focus throw
- Compatible with all full-frame mirrorless cameras with L-mount
Panasonic has introduced a new wide-aperture fixed focal length lens — the Panasonic LUMIX S 35mm lens — as the fourth addition to the series of F1.8 large-aperture lenses. These were created for the L-Mount system to help satisfy customer needs. There are a total of four F1.8 fixed focal length lenses from the LUMIX S Series, including the 85mm, 50mm, 24mm, and now the new 35mm lens.
All S Series lenses share a common size and control layout, making them more familiar and easier to use. Across the lineup, you’ll also get consistent optical performance. Because these lenses have similar centers of gravity, you can quickly swap them out with little need for balance adjustment when the camera is on a gimbal. Since the lens diameters are identical, you can easily share a common filter across all F1.8 lenses.
Design and Image Quality
The 35mm lens utilizes eleven lens elements in nine groups and includes a range of exotic, specialized lenses. This includes three aspherical elements and three Extra-Low Dispersion (ELD) elements. In addition to providing high descriptive performance and bokeh, the use of three aspherical lenses provides a similar advantage to the series of all F1.8 lenses by reducing chromatic aberration. The lens can be used for a variety of different situations. Although, it excels when shooting landscapes, snapshots, and portraits by taking advantage of the natural angle of view.
Focusing
Much like other F1.8 primes, the S 35mm gives you smooth, silent operation with LUMIX’s high-speed, high-precision contrast AF with sensor drives at up to 240 fps. In the field, AF performance should feel very fast and precise. With a minimum focusing distance of 0.24m, you can also use it close-up shots for the greatest depth of field. Though the lens has a fairly broad focusing range, it is swift at switching focus from infinity to close focus. In most cases, small focus changes are almost instantaneous.
In addition to its phenomenal video performance, the Panasonic LUMIX S 35mm F1.8 lens also has a mechanism that eliminates focus breathing. Professional video can be recorded by using micro-step aperture control, allowing for smooth iris control if exposure changes while you’re recording.
Durability
When it comes to the actual build quality, the lens itself is both compact and lightweight. Similar to the other F1.8 lenses in the lineup, the lens barrel is a strong plastic to keep the weight down. The previous lenses in the lineup are solidly built. Therefore, you can have the same expectation for this new lens. The lens mount is metal and features a dust- and splash-resistant design. The lens has a build meant to last in the harshest of environments, even when temperatures plummet down to around -10 C.
Besides superb snapshots and portraits, the Panasonic LUMIX S Series 35mm F1.8 lens produces images that are rich in realism. It will beautifully capture a sense of depth and space. Using focus breathing inhibition and seamless exposure control, you can capture video with stunningly smooth motion and expressive power.
