Panasonic has introduced the S9, a lovely compact camera that is perfect for outdoor photographers. To match the new range of compact products, the company is now introducing a new lens that is ideal for anyone who wants to stick to a smaller setup: the 40mm f2. If you are an owner of the S9, then this lens would be your ideal companion in any situation. Have a look.
The Panasonic 40mm f2 is an easy-to-carry lens that measures just 40.9mm in length and weighs merely 144g. It also shares the same 62mm filter thread seen on the Lumix 18-40mm f4.5-6.3. The 40mm focal range is also similar to the human field of view, and this makes the lens ideal for various genres, including streets, portraits, documentary, and landscapes.
The lens is constructed with 7 elements in 6 groups, including 3 ASPH lenses. Since it is an L-mount, it can be used with Leica’s SL series cameras, which gives photographers leeway to carry less gear. There are 7 aperture blades, that are said to result in beautiful bokeh rendering. In addition, the close focusing distance is 0.30m, which makes it easy for one to shoot photographs of food, small objects, and flowers on the go. And you also get 0.17x magnification. With the help of crop zoom in S1R II, one can “increase the telephoto effect” by cropping the center of the image. This is said to not affect the image quality.
The lens has a simple design, with a control ring and a focus button designed to help with shooting. The latter helps to lock focus when the button is pressed. In fact, the lens has been designed for video needs as well, which means focus breathing has been suppressed, and micro-step aperture control has been included for recording. The company states that one can select the direction of ring rotation from the camera. And when the focus mode is set to MF, linear and non-linear control can also be switched.
Panasonic has also added dust and splash resistance, while the fluorine coating makes it easy to remove oil-based dirt sticking to it. The company has also kept the price of the lens very reasonable at just $399, while the shipping will begin in June.
It is about time that Panasonic introduced a lens of this nature. Nikon and Sony have this offering; Leica has the 43mm (for Q3), while TTArtisan and 7Artisans also offer a 40mm variant for full frame users. In that regard, Panasonic’s version can be used with the S9, but also the S1 series, both of which are designed for professionals. If you are curious about the lens, keep an eye out on our website to see its review.