Panasonic LUMIX G Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 8-18mm f/2.8-4 Aspherical Lens for Micro Four Thirds

2023-06-28T10:59:20

I love this lens on my new OM5, a whole new world of star trails and ultra wide! Looking forward to visiting all the parks in Utah later this summer. Vistas = photos ??

JAMES W.

2023-06-21T16:14:26

I love my new lens! I did a lot of research and pleased that I am happy with my choice! Having fun learning new techniques and would definitely recommend! The package of filters etc etc was a great bonus, thanks ??

JAMES W.

2021-07-04T09:13:54

A fabulous lens well worth the cost.

KENNETH F.

2021-04-16T05:27:58

Although I have only scratched the surface (just an expression) with this lens, I am very impressed with the build quality and performance. I can tell that it will be ideal for architectural and landscape shooting. This is my first pro style MFT lens and it rocks. I am looking forward to carrying this and a couple other lenses in my backpack for this summer?s traveling.

DAVID A.

2021-04-07T18:21:38

High quality lens that has performed flawlessly. Smooth zoom and silent AF make it feel natural and invisible when working on a job. An easy choice for the serious amateur or professional to add to their tool kit.

Barry L.

2020-02-22T02:44:46

This is an excellent lens. The IQ is very close to my Nikon 16-35mm f/4 plus I get the advantage of the f/2.8-4 range on my 4/3 system.

Gary D.

2019-12-15T10:16:36

The perfect compliment to the 12-60 Leica. I love this lens for landscapes, street photos, and even group portraits. Stunning.

Jason G.

2019-12-03T09:51:34

Great for walk-around to extra wide shots. Image stabilization on OM-D bodies really helps for non-moving subjects indoors.

JOHN L.

2019-05-05T08:13:37

Excellent lens. Well built, sharp and useful focal lengths.

Randall E.

2019-04-02T12:34:18

This is an amazing lens! I purchased this lens because it was highly recommended for real estate photography. By far the best native lens for my panasonic GH5.

Martyn M.

2019-03-17T23:24:30

I guess you've read a lot from this lens. I was just surprised how how can really separate your subject with max aperture. Also I've taked it into a blizzard with no problem

Nicolas L.

2018-07-08T11:44:33

If you've made the plunge into mirrorless and MFT lenses, this is an excellent wide angle zoom.. Excellent image quality (truthfully, I cannot tell the difference between this lens and my good primes in the same range). A bit pricy as all "leica branded" lenses, but a good performer.

MICHAEL W.

2018-05-29T15:02:18

As the owner of an Olympus 7-14mm f/2.8 lens it was tough deciding whether or not I should add the Panasonic 8-18mm f/2.0-4.0 lens to my camera bag. In my opinion, the Olympus 7-14mm is to M43 cameras what the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 is to full frame cameras (set the bar for quality). The image quality I get from both those lenses is exceptional and they are a pleasure to use! I have no issues with the Olympus 7-14mm image or build quality, but I wanted an alternative for other reasons. I usually bring an ultra-wide angle zoom with me while traveling so weight and size are important. Sometimes carry on weight and size restrictions are so tight on small aircraft that they become critical factors. The Panasonic 8-18mm lens weights about 8 oz. less and is more compact than the Olympus lens. It also accepts 67mm screw on filters, rather than requiring a more complex filter setup. There have been times when I didn't want to take the Olympus 7-14mm out because of high winds and blowing dust because it doesn't accept screw on filters. Being able to screw on a protection filter can be important. I shot the Panasonic 8-18mm side-by-side with my Olympus 7-14mm for comparison. Both lenses performed well, but I preferred the images from the Olympus lens in the range of 7-10mm. The Olympus images had marginally better resolution and I could pull more detail out of dark areas (may be contrast related). When I zoomed the lenses further out the images seemed comparable. I shot these images using 1/3 stop increments from f/2.8 through f/7.1. When my camera bag is weight constrained, I intend to use CP/ND filters, or I am seriously concerned about lens protection I will be using the Panasonic 8-18mm lens. Otherwise I will continue to use the Olympus 7-14mm. Yes the 1mm difference is focal length is noticeable, but it will not determine whether or not I carry one lens of the other. I like the fact that the Panasonic has a 36mm effective focal length on the long end. It allows me to cover a larger range of preferred focal lengths without switching back to a standard/travel zoom or prime lens (same effective focal length range as the Nikon 16-36mm I had). I prefer zoom lenses with a constant wide aperture setting across all focal lengths like the Olympus zoom, but I don't expect to be constrained by the Panasonic variable aperture limits. I shoot stills not video, so this is not really a factor. The build and image quality of Panasonic DG series lenses is consistently excellent, and the 8-18mm lens is no exception (I have 3 other Leica DG type lenses). If I could only choose one between the Olympus and Panasonic ultra-wide zoom lenses I would select the Panasonic because: it is lighter and more compact, it accepts screw on filters, the image and build quality are comparable to Olympus, and it costs a little less. I need more experience with the 8-18mm to know if it is going to become my new go-to lens for all M43 ultra-wide angle zoom applications.

DOUGLAS A.

2018-03-04T14:15:14

Feels solid, heavier than I would want, but then would not want to compromise the great quality images and 4K video it captures. Internal zoom is great. Color rendering is divine. I have used in GH4 & GX85. The 8-18 range is fantastic, and 8mm/f2.8 is great for interiors and for night sky photos.

ALBERTO J.

2018-02-25T11:15:04

Great lens! Very sharp, smooth zoom. Quality build evident. Such perfect FOV coverage for interiors. Hood design excellent. A bit big for my GX85, not an issue but better in my GH4. This lens fills my wanting wide angle coverage with a fast high quality lens.

ALBERTO J.

2018-01-27T07:11:53

I was in need of an ultrawide lens and got my hands on this 8-18. I must say, when shooting with my OMD EM1 Mark ii and my GH5 it is extremely crisp and focuses well. AF is also very quick and accurate. Theres a bit of distortion. It IS an 8mm afterall. But that is easily dealt with in photoshop or lightroom. The ability to use this indoors with less light has helped my recent shoots greatly. Not sure why the last fella had a bad experience. Then again like most professionals I dont allow my cameras to sharpen anything in camera so i would never notice if the camera wasnt sharpening an image above being in good focus with correct exposure. I specifically dont allow that so I get the best consistent results possible via post processing. The only thing I wish this lens had and is mega OIS and my reason for 4 stars but that isnt a deal breaker. For the price not having mega OIS seems to have this lens set at a price higher than it should be.

JON D.

2017-12-07T09:37:55

I was really looking forward to using this lens on my Olympus OMD-EM5 Mk II. The other lenses made by Olympus have such a rounded front you can't use a filter on them. This seemed like a perfect solution. Size is excellent. When I went to process the RAW images in Lightroom I could see that they were all not perfectly crisp. I had used my Olympus Pro 12-100 that day too and those were great. I am thinking that perhaps this lens does not works as well on an Olympus as they say it does. If it was a ($) lens I would have kept it since I could sharpen the images in Lightroom. But it did not preform well enough for the money. I returned it. I will keep on the hunt.

Robin W.