Thread: GX1+ 14-42 X lens does landscape

We were just recently talking about one of these lenses here. Let's say that my initial enthusiasm for the 14-42 X has waned significantly. I'm actually surprised that Panasonic released it when it still seems to be a bit underdone, whether by design or simply quality control.

It saddens me that they released this lens without resolving the issues and even more so for a high price and with promotion about it being a "Prime".

Great camera, poor lens even with the firmware (camera+lens) update - rapidly losing confidence in this lens.

Originally Posted by Iansky

It saddens me that they released this lens without resolving the issues and even more so for a high price and with promotion about it being a "Prime".

Great camera, poor lens even with the firmware (camera+lens) update - rapidly losing confidence in this lens.

Great photos though!

It is a bummer that a premium lens would have such problems. Hopefully, whatever the problem, it's fixable via a firmware. The 14-42X just looks so good when combined with a GX, GF or a Pen.

Looking at these images at "web" size, they look fantastic to me.

Over at dpreview there has been lots of discussion and proof that there is something up with this lens and its OIS. Ian, have you seen any of these issues?

I am so far dissatisfied with:
1. Image quality - not sharp even when stopped down 2 stops from wide open at given focal length, and ensuring shutter speed exceeds focal length set by at least 1 stop!
2. On lens Zoom control - too high up on lens and awkward to use on camera
3. Focus control - much prefer a manual ring

I intend to shoot some comparison shots this weekend comparing 14-42X with original 14-45 metal mount f3.5 that I got with GF1. I will post the results on here when completed comparison.

Originally Posted by Iansky

I am so far dissatisfied with ...

Many thanks, that helps a lot.

Abit of a bummer for this lens, it makes so much sense for a compact interchangeable lens camera.
By my measurements this lens and the smallest m4/3 body is the smallest possible combination of a camera with a 3x zoom and decent enough sensor size.
Look at it this way - a camera + the 14-42 + a pancake prime = the space required by a camera + 14-45. So take both :)
I was looking at something like a GX1 + this lens for the small camera combo then add an adapter if I want to play with my Pentax glass (my FA31 1.8 would make for a nice portrait length

Sorry for the delay - been distracted trying to get Panasonic UK to wake up (not much chance of that).

Here are the promised comparison shots with the new lens and my original, the 14mm & 42mm are the 2 main areas with issues and both are not as sharp as the 14-45.

Well today I have received the most asinine response from Panasonic concerning my 14-42X lens and associated focus issues, I must point out that they have not even seen the lens, only the images taken with it that I sent them - the response is below:

Dear Mr Lloyd-Graham,

Thank you for your recent communication. Please accept our sincere apologies for the delays that you have experienced in receiving a full response. I would explain that your enquiry was passed to our technical support team for their investigation.

Our engineers' conclusion from their inspection of the lens is that it is performing to its specification and is not faulty.

I note from your comments that you are making comparisons of image quality between your 14-45mm lens and the new 14-42x lens. I would explain that the construction of the new lens is different and therefore image performance will also be different when compared to the 14-45mm lens. Unfortunately, there is no action that can be taken to alter the design of the new lens to suit your requirements.

Whilst I do appreciate that this response is not as you had hoped and may cause additional disappointment, I trust that the above will help to provide clarification on the performance of the lens.

Yours Sincerely
Simon Coventry
Executive Correspondent
Customer Communications Centre
Panasonic UK

How is that for a bad response from what is fast becoming a company unconcerned with customer issues and in total denial of an issue well documented.

I think it is a long way of saying, "yeah this lens doesn't perform as well as the normal kit lens, but that's not gonna change so our customers will just have to live with that!"