| Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF | |
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Panasonic 45-200mm f/4.0-5.6 Lumix G Vario MEGA OIS Zoom Micro Four Thirds Lens for Panasonic and Olympus Micro Four Thirds Cameras |  | Brand: Panasonic
List Price: $349.95
Buy New: $283.17
as of 3/14/2010 20:46 CDT details
You Save: $66.78 (19%)
New (23)
Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 1206
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Maximum Focal Length: 200
Minimum Focal Length: 45
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 6 x 10 x 7
MPN: H-FS045200
Model: H-FS045200
UPC: 037988988358
EAN: 0037988988358
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Micro Four Thirds lens mount system produces professional level images while greatly reducing the overall size compared to traditional DSLR lenses | | • | Built-in Optical Image Stabilization reduces blurry pictures due to hand movement that is especially useful at longer focal lengths | | • | Maximum f/stop opening of 4.0 (at 45mm wide) to a minimum of f22 with a filter size of only 52mm | | • | 16 elements in 13 groups utilizing 7 circular aperture diaphragm blades with a total weight of only 13.4 ounces | | • | Standard accessories include front and rear lens caps, lens hood and lens storage bag |
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Product Description
The H-FS045200 is a micro 4/3 telephoto zoom interchangeable lens with OIS and metal mount that can be used with a Panasonic Lumix G micro system camera or any micro 4/3 system camera.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 18
 Reasonable, Budget Telephoto January 8, 2009
S. Chandrasekar (Washington DC)
45 out of 48 found this review helpful
I bought this lens because it is the only telephoto lens currently available for the micro43 system. My first impressions follow:
Build Quality is what you'd expect from a kit lens. It is very "plastic-y" and doesn't really inspire the user with confidence. Perhaps more disconcerting is the fact that you can "feel" the components inside the lens move around. I read on the dpreview forums that this is to be expected.
I was also less than impressed with the Optical Image Stabilization of this lens. Having used/owned various Canon IS lenses in the past, I was expecting 3-4 stops of additional hand-holding ability. However, I've found that I've had consistently poor results with the OIS beyond 2 stops. It is better than nothing (particularly since this lens is so cheap) but not great.
The IQ is quite decent. It has little to no distortion (and it is very good at the wide end) but this may have to do with the fact that Panasonic corrects distortion from their lenses inside the camera. Pictures at the telephoto end are a bit soft but I'm probably being unfair (I've been comparing in my mind to Canon's fantastic 70-200 f/4 IS which costs 3 times more).
The one extremely bright spot for this lens is its relative size. For an equivalent focal length of 90-400, there isn't another lens on the market that can compare to this lens' size. It is no bigger than the standard zoom kit lenses that you get with other systems. Micro43 has a bright future if they can continue to make such small lenses while improving build quality.
Small & Light but Image Quality Lacking at Full Zoom June 15, 2009
S. Paci (New York, NY)
24 out of 25 found this review helpful
I am a fairly serious amateur photographer who has in recent years mostly used some of the better digital compacts selling in the $500-600 range. I purchased the Lumix G1 and both lenses because I wanted to step up in quality and needed a smaller, lighter alternative to a full DSLR kit for travel and wildlife photography. After working with the camera and lenses for several weeks, I have come to the conclusion that, while I will be keeping it, the camera with its two Panasonic lenses represents a compromise in terms of image quality and is not as much of an upgrade over the better digital compacts as I had hoped. I have not looked into using the camera with some of the other lenses that can be made to work with it using various adapters.
Regarding the 45-200 zoom lens in particular: at full zoom, the images are soft. There is also some flaring and chromatic aberrations that I don't know enough about to explain, except to know that they are there. I have a quality multi-coated UV filter on the lens and am also using the lenshood.
I understand Panasonic has issued some firmware updates for the camera and both lenses which improve lens performance, but the instructions for loading these into the camera look pretty complicated. I have yet to determine whether the soft focus is due to problems with the lens or the autofocus itself (the manual focus on these lenses seems difficult to use), with my use of the autofocus, with my choice of settings (the camera offers many options which I have not yet fully explored), whether the image stabilization is not giving me as much extra leeway on the shutter speed as I hoped, or whether this is just a problem inherent with most inexpensive zoom lenses. That said, many of the images do sharpen up somewhat in Photoshop to acceptable levels. But I have yet to see an image shot with this camera zoomed out to 400mm that is truly tack sharp -- even if the shutter speed is over 1,000 of a second. That is a little scary.
If I could give it 3 1/2 stars I would. I am giving it 4 because I assume that most users will not be using the lens as I am -- usually zoomed all the way out, with aperture open all the way, and relying on the image stabilization to photograph birds in available light. I realize I am pushing it to its limit on almost every shot. Still, I hoped to be blown away and I am not.
 Excellent lens with latest firmware October 14, 2009
Draper Kauffman (Houston, TX United States)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I have five lenses for my G1, but this is my favorite. Overall, it's quite sharp and produces images with an excellent feel to them, particularly for such a comparatively low price.
Initial test reports indicated noticeable softness at 160-200mm, but this appears to have been fixed. One possibility is that the latest firmware may have improved the autofocusing at long focal lengths. This has not been verified by Panasonic, but many owners of new or updated copies of the lens are routinely getting sharper images at 200mm than the early test reports would indicate, so it seems to be the best guess at the moment.
It's important to have realistic expectations for long lenses. If you've never shot with a really long lens on an SLR, it's easy to assume that such a cute little lens will be just as easy to hand hold as its 14-45mm brandmate. It isn't.
At 200mm, it has the same long reach and very narrow angle of view as a 400mm lens on a full frame 35mm. I still have one of those from my film days, and it's 13 inches long, heavy, and almost impossible to hand hold! This Panasonic lens at 200mm is subject to the same laws of physics and optics as those old 400mm bazookas, even though it is so much smaller and lighter.
The optical image stabilization is superb, so you CAN hand hold it in good light, but you need to be well-braced and use good technique, and there's no point in even trying to hand hold it at 200mm at very low shutter speeds. (When I'm shooting at 200mm, I increase the ISO if necessary to make sure my shutter speed is at least 1/125, and I really prefer 1/250 or faster.)
If you've never shot a long tele before, consider using a tripod, turning OIS off, and touching up the autofocus results manually to nail the exact part of the image that you want to be the sharpest. Either that or try to get closer to your subject - sharp hand held shots at 100-150mm are much easier to get.
In summary, this lens is an exceptional value and the zoom range is great for a wide range of subjects, from portraits to wildlife. If you treat it with respect at the long end, you'll get many great pictures with it.
Extended Range March 19, 2009
Jesse H. Schexnayder (Fairbanks, AK)
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
I purchased this lens used on Marketplace for about $40 less than Amazon's current asking price, and got a free Sigma multi-coated UV filter in the bargain. The lens was in excellent condition as well, it might as well be new.
I'm new to the interchangeable lens world, having recently upgraded from a Panasonic point & shoot to the G1, so I don't really have a frame of reference from which to compare this telephoto zoom. I can say that trying to take closeups of anything more than a few meters away was next to impossible with the kit lens, and living in Alaska I would invariably be wanting to take pictures of rapidly moving moose at a respectable distance.
Having just received the lens today, I can say that it works very well for my intended purposes. I happened to spot some deer on the way home, so I stopped the car, changed the lens, stepped out, and was able to take some decent photos of the animals as they maneuvered through the treeline. This is a first for me, as I was never able to bring this off successfully with my old camera.
[...]
The speed seems sufficient during daylight, but the AF does seem to have issues if you quickly advance the zoom from wide-angle to tele. But maybe I just haven't figured out the quirks. Build quality seems fine as far as I can tell, and the OIS does help noticeably, esp. at the highest zoom.
If you're like me and new to SLRs, you'll be surprised at the size compared to the kit lens, esp. with the lens hood attached. Other people seemed to be surprised as well as I got several curious looks from passersby as I skirted through the woods with this thing.
Bottom line, there aren't many lenses available for the G1 right now, so if you need some additional range, then this is your only choice, and based on my limited experience with it so far, its not a bad one at that.
Amazingly compact telephoto lens April 22, 2009
Susan Peirce (Lyons, CO USA)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
I am very impressed by this lens. Its small, lightweight, portable, and extends to 400mm which is amazing for a lens that is so compact. It takes good photos. The only caveat is that there is some chromatic aberration which is not easily eradicated in Photoshop or Lightroom. But the for the size and the quality of the images, its well worth it.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 18
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