B&H recently announced Panasonic’s latest lens, the all-in-one Lumix S 28-200mm f/4-7.1 Macro O.I.S. Built to fit in the palm of your hand, the wide-to-tele macro zoom lens provides impressive image quality in travel and everyday carry applications, making it the ideal foundation for building out a Lumix S lens kit.
In addition to its zoom range and compact, portable form factor, the Panasonic 28-200mm lens also excels in macro photography, yielding a half-life-size maximum magnification ratio with a minimum working distance of 1.2″ from the end of the lens. The optical design also yields smooth and spherical bokeh when configured for low depth of field, along with a pleasing starburst effect at both ends of the zoom range.
As with the other Lumix S lenses, the 28-200mm lens boasts high speed, high precision, and silent autofocus. Panasonic has supplemented the autofocus system by improving its image stabilization algorithms, affording up to 6.5 stops of compensation across five axes, benefiting handheld shooting in low-light conditions and in close-up scenes. For videographers, the lens minimizes focus breathing while focus ring control allows for fixed or adjustable focus movement speeds. The lens’s nearly unified centre of gravity also benefits videographers by streamlining workflows when working with gimbals and tripods.
The lens is dust and splash-resistant and is built to withstand temperatures as low as 14°F, bolstering its broad applicability. For macro applications, a fluorine coating applied to the front of the lens protects it against dirt and debris.
