Panasonic has announced the expansion of its LUMIX S lens range with the 18mm F1.8 (S-S18), a new super wide-angle lens with a 100° angle of view. It is the fifth high-speed F1.8 lens in the LUMIX S Series L-Mount system. Despite its large aperture and compact size, it offers high optical performance that exceeds the highest professional quality standards.
All five F1.8 fixed focal length lenses in the full-frame LUMIX S series – including the 85mm lens (S-S85), the 50mm lens (S-S50), the 35mm lens (S-S35), the 24mm lens (S-S24) and the new 18mm lens (S-S18) – are uniform in size and position of the controls. The centre of gravity of these lenses is nearly identical, so when the camera is mounted on a gimbal, a quick lens change with minimal balance adjustment is possible. Thanks to the uniform diameter, the same 67 mm filters can be used. With the complete set of LUMIX F1.8 fixed focal lengths, virtually all situations and subjects can be covered, simplifying the workflow in shooting and post-processing.
Thanks to its extremely wide angle of view, the 18mm lens is suitable for a wide range of applications such as landscape, astro, and architectural photography. Its shortest distance setting of 0.18m extends its application possibilities at close range.
The lens consists of thirteen lens elements in twelve groups, including three aspherical lenses, three ED (Extra-Low Dispersion) lenses, one UED (Ultra Extra-Low Dispersion) lens and one UHR (Ultra High Refractive Index) lens. Three aspherical lenses ensure both high imaging performance as with all lenses in the F1.8 series. The three ED lenses effectively suppress chromatic aberration. A circular aperture of 9 aperture blades provides beautiful bokeh.
The lens works smoothly and silently with the camera’s fast AF system, reading the sensor at a maximum of 240 frames per second. With manual focusing, non-linear adjustment, the focus is shifted by a variable amount according to the speed of rotation of the focusing ring, while in linear adjustment, the focus is shifted by a specific amount according to the angle of rotation of the focusing ring. The degree of focus shift in relation to the angle of rotation can be selected from 90 to 360 degrees in 30 degree increments to provide the desired focus character1. When shooting video, a mechanism in the lens suppresses “focus breathing”, an unsightly problem with all interchangeable lenses designed for still photography. Together with micro-step iris control for smooth exposure changes, this enables professional-quality video recording.
With its compact design and low weight of 340 g, the lens is amazingly mobile, especially on the LUMIX S5, currently Panasonic’s smallest full-frame model. The robust, dust and splash-proof2 design even allows use in harsh conditions down to 10 degrees Celsius below zero.
Panasonic and L-Mount system alliance is committed to the development of L-Mount lenses for the further expansion of its lineup to fulfill the needs of customers.
The 18mm F.8 (S-S18) will be available from October 2022 for £799.99 RRP.
