Panasonic may be working on an extremely tantalizing wide-angle prime lens as Egami has spotted a new patent describing several 12mm lenses for Micro Four Thirds cameras—one of which has a maximum aperture of f1.2. To top it off the patent also says the lenses will all feature optical image stabilization. The OIS feature does not sound immediately useful for landscapes, but it could help in a pinch capturing spanning scenes at night or shooting stars without a tripod.
In the patent the Japanese electronics company is exploring multiple 12mm lenses all with different wide-open apertures including f1.2, f1.4, f2.0, and f2.8. We’re hoping that Panasonic decides to go forward with the f1.2 model, because of the two times crop factor of Micro Four Thirds sensors will effectively turn the lens into a 24mm f2.4 in terms of 35mm equivalency.
It’s not as fast as the Canon 24mm f1.4L but the lens is still an incredibly unique in the Micro Four Thirds world. Panasonic has already produced some incredible short focal length primes such as the 15mm f1.7 and 20mm f1.7 II so we expect a repeat performance from Panasonic once again with this rumored piece of glass.
