{"id":65955,"date":"2020-11-04T04:00:46","date_gmt":"2020-11-04T09:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/?p=65955"},"modified":"2020-11-03T23:50:23","modified_gmt":"2020-11-04T04:50:23","slug":"panasonic-lumix-s-series-85mm-f1-8-mirrorless-l-mount-lens-first-look-with-rob-adams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/panasonic-lumix-s-series-85mm-f1-8-mirrorless-l-mount-lens-first-look-with-rob-adams\/","title":{"rendered":"Panasonic LUMIX S Series 85mm F1.8 Mirrorless L Mount Lens: First Look With Rob Adams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today we celebrate the release of the brand new Panasonic LUMIX S Series 85mm f\/1.8 Mirrorless L Mount prime lens<\/a> for all full-frame Panasonic\/Leica L-Mount system cameras. This new addition beefs up the full-frame L-mount alliance lineup by offering a more affordable, compact, and lighter-weight Panasonic prime lens.<\/p>\n

\"Panasonic<\/p>\n

Panasonic LUMIX S Series 85mm f\/1.8 Mirrorless L Mount Lens<\/a> (<\/span>)<\/h2>\n

Pre-Order Now<\/a><\/p>\n

This new 85mm is very light, weighing just over 12.5 ounces. It has a plastic casing all the way through but the lens itself and all of its elements are glass. It measures under 4 inches in length so yes, this is a very<\/em> compact lens for a full-frame 85mm.<\/p>\n

The rubber focus ring operates smoothly and has ribbing for follow focus attachments to hold and the thread size is 67mm for filters and attachments. Using this for the day’s shooting, I found that this lens doesn\u2019t feel flimsy and it focused very easily on my Panasonic S1<\/a> manually. The focus ring caught focus with ease and I didn\u2019t feel like I had to search for the right range of focus. While not completely weather-sealed, the LUMIX S Series 85mm f\/1.8 is dust-, splash-, and freeze-resistant down to about 14 degrees Fahrenheit to withstand harsh conditions. Overall, the LUMIX S Series 85mm f\/1.8 feels nice in the hand, with nice construction and precision.<\/p>\n

I love a good portrait lens and an 85mm just works well in so many situations, especially since I can choose on my S1 to shoot in either full-frame or APS-C crop mode giving me a tad more reach. I was very impressed with the images I was able to capture with this lens (more on that below) and found that it offers a very nice compression and sharpness \u2014 something that is expected from a high-quality 85mm lens.<\/p>\n

\"Panasonic
Photo by Rob Adams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Panasonic
Photo by Rob Adams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Lumix full frame cameras have such a great sensor quality and color and this 85mm lens just fits right in, helping to create beautiful portrait stills and video. In my video (see it at the bottom of this article), you will see I\u2019m manually focusing and taking advantage of the S1’s in-body stabilization to smooth out my handheld video shooting. While there\u2019s no image stabilization in this lens, the IBIS of the S1 handled the motion beautifully.<\/p>\n

That brings us to the ever-present must-ask question: auto-focus. I\u2019m always interested when Panasonic releases a new lens because I want to see how it performs on the Lumix contrast-based auto-focus system. In my opinion, every lens acts a bit differently on this camera system so I\u2019m always trying to find a lens that works really well with Panasonic AF from body to body.<\/p>\n

In still photo mode the Lumix S 85mm f\/1.8 worked very<\/em> well. I mostly utilized the S1\u2019s face, eye, and body detection to lock onto my subjects. I was actually very impressed. The auto-focus felt snappy and I wasn\u2019t frustrated by the lens searching for focus. For a longer lens, the 85mm f\/1.8 focuses quite quickly and is a nice surprise to see on this system.<\/p>\n

\"Panasonic
Photo by Rob Adams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Photo by Rob Adams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In video mode, it was par for the course with the 85mm doing its best to lock on the same face-eye-and body detection mode. Flipping over into eye-tracking only mode, I found the results were similar. I don\u2019t attribute any issues with auto focus to this lens. Note: you may need to play around with your camera\u2019s internal auto-focus responsiveness and sensitivity levels to see what settings work best for you in your situation. Panasonic also notes this 85mm lens suppresses focus breathing for true form focus without slight aberrations when pulling focus.<\/p>\n

\"Panasonic
Photo by Rob Adams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Panasonic LUMIX S Series 85mm f\/1.8<\/a> debuts for <\/span> at Adorama. It’s a great price for a brand new prime lens that has a great pedigree with all of the Lumix S and S Pro goodness Panasonic has thrown our way lately. Whether you are a user of the S1, S1R, the S1H, or the recently released full-frame baby brother \u2014 the Panasonic Lumix S5 \u2014 this little 85mm will be a great addition to the family.<\/p>\n

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Panasonic LUMIX S 85mm f1.8 | Hands On with Rob Adams<\/div><\/div>
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