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News New Panasonic S 100mm 2.8 Macro Lens

In the US it seems to be $998 everywhere, so a little less expensive. With the low VAT in Andorra, can anyone in Europe buy from there at that price?
 
Compelling review, nice images too. Having first thought that the lens is overpriced.. I still think so really, but when price settles and more samples are available, when first offers come along I can imagine replacing my Sigma 105 and 90mm 2.8 with this lens. I use my Sigma 105 for scanning negatives, smaller size and weight is appealing for that job.
 
After my introduction as a new community member, I was planning to write a reaction within this subject.
But as I am just "starting" when publishing got a message that I had to many redirections.
Seems I have to "prove" myself by good intentions first. So shall write (divide) my messages in several steps.

Part 1
Big advantages as for the new Panasonic macro lens comes to compactness and low weight. (More than half of the weight of a Sigma lens).
Another big advantage over the Sigma could be the absolute minimum traces of focus breathing, for stacking images to get more wide DOF.
All these advantages if doing 3D macro photography "in the field". (Backpacking trips in nature). Also a good choice for general photography.

Jayneboo said:
I use my Sigma 105 for scanning negatives, smaller size and weight is appealing for that job.
Click to expand...
I should think as for these jobs done in a more "fixed" home / studio set-up, smaller size and weight is not "that much" of a deal what matters.
Within this kind of photography (and e.g. reproduction photography) you do want the best quality from corner to corner.
Comparing MTF curves, the < Sigma > still do have an advantage over the < Panasonic > macro lens. More even over the entire image area.

Part 2
Another important matter when scanning negatives and "positive film" slides / film, on a light box.
Depending to the subjects of the images, and having high contrast dark / light details.
Is that you do want absolute less amount of "coma" within the edges / corners.

Looking to @Richard Wong review of the new Panasonic lens (thank you Richard for testing),
and looking to this "coma" part, it do have still a noticeable amount of coma < YouTube starting at the "coma" part >

Comparing to the Sigma lens (however a totally different testing approach), by < LensTip.com >
Also in this aspect, the Sigma lens that you ( @Jayneboo ) already own, seems to be the better choice.
 
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Part 2
Another important matter when scanning negatives and "positive film" slides / film, on a light box.
Depending to the subjects of the images, and having high contrast dark / light details.
Is that you do want absolute less amount of "coma" within the edges / corners.

Looking to @Richard Wong review of the new Panasonic lens (thank you Richard for testing),
and looking to this "coma" part, it do have still a noticeable amount of coma < YouTube starting at the "coma" part >

Comparing to the Sigma lens (however a totally different testing approach), by < LensTip.com >
Also in this aspect, the Sigma lens that you ( @Jayneboo ) already own, seems to be the better choice.
 
Part 3
A specialised 1:1 test of the Sigma 105mm macro lens and e.g. Laowa 100mm macro can be found by a user
who always is looking to the highest standards as for macro / micro photography.
Comparing "industry process" lenses (e.g. Printing Nikkor and Nikon "Rayfact") to all kind found old and new lenses.
(Scan-lenses - enlarger lenses, etc.....). Photographing a "chip wafer". A very interesting website IMO.

https://www.closeuphotography.com/1x-macro-lens-test-2022

So the Sigma lens is an absolutely good lens and choice, for these kind of scanning and reproduction jobs.
So think it over twice, if you want to replace it with the new Panasonic lens.

All lenses do have there advantages and disadvantages. Always is a "compromise" in some part or the other.
(Optic quality versus weight & size - fast auto focus versus manual focus - "fast" aperture value lenses versus more "slow"
APO versus no APO design / characteristics - and the combination of all these aspects together).

Make choices for the kind of photography you are dealing with it "mostly".
(What can be different for one or the other personal interests).

Hope to see more comparison reviews of this new Panasonic macro lens.
 
Babylonia said:
Part 3
A specialised 1:1 test of the Sigma 105mm macro lens and e.g. Laowa 100mm macro can be found by a user
who always is looking to the highest standards as for macro / micro photography.
Comparing "industry process" lenses (e.g. Printing Nikkor and Nikon "Rayfact") to all kind found old and new lenses.
(Scan-lenses - enlarger lenses, etc.....). Photographing a "chip wafer". A very interesting website IMO.

https://www.closeuphotography.com/1x-macro-lens-test-2022

So the Sigma lens is an absolutely good lens and choice, for these kind of scanning and reproduction jobs.
So think it over twice, if you want to replace it with the new Panasonic lens.

All lenses do have there advantages and disadvantages. Always is a "compromise" in some part or the other.
(Optic quality versus weight & size - fast auto focus versus manual focus - "fast" aperture value lenses versus more "slow"
APO versus no APO design / characteristics - and the combination of all these aspects together).

Make choices for the kind of photography you are dealing with it "mostly".
(What can be different for one or the other personal interests).

Hope to see more comparison reviews of this new Panasonic macro lens.
Click to expand...
Goods points, taken on board, thank you. Like you, will be watching for more "in the field" reviews.

A good reminder that "Size isn't everything" :D
 
Richard Wong said:
Thanks Pete!!
I just uploaded a full version of that model setup video
Click to expand...

Thanks Richard! That was so awesome on a couple of levels! Firstly, your model skills are amazing and it all looks really cool. Secondly, your use of the S5II really showcases the features and how it can be used so creatively. It really is awesome.

p.s. When I first saw the driver's legs being removed and left on the roadway in your original S 100mm lens video, I thought you may be setting up a macabre road crash scene!!! :eek: :D
 
Pete_W said:
Thanks Richard! That was so awesome on a couple of levels! Firstly, your model skills are amazing and it all looks really cool. Secondly, your use of the S5II really showcases the features and how it can be used so creatively. It really is awesome.
Click to expand...
haha thanks! But I didn't build that model car, it's a 1:64 diecast from a company called "Kaido house" But i do like to build model as you probably know

Pete_W said:
p.s. When I first saw the driver's legs being removed and left on the roadway in your original S 100mm lens video, I thought you may be setting up a macabre road crash scene!!! :eek: :D
Click to expand...
haha that's a good idea!!! Maybe i'll try that next time :D
 
Babylonia said:
Big advantages as for the new Panasonic macro lens comes to compactness and low weight. (More than half of the weight of a Sigma lens).
Another big advantage over the Sigma could be the absolute minimum traces of focus breathing, for stacking images to get more wide DOF.
All these advantages if doing 3D macro photography "in the field". (Backpacking trips in nature). Also a good choice for general photography.

I should think as for these jobs done in a more "fixed" home / studio set-up, smaller size and weight is not "that much" of a deal what matters.
Within this kind of photography (and e.g. reproduction photography) you do want the best quality from corner to corner.
Comparing MTF curves, the < Sigma > still do have an advantage over the < Panasonic > macro lens. More even over the entire image area.
Click to expand...

For perspective, my hands are half crippled and so I always want the lightest, easiest-to-use lenses. Inevitably I find all full-frame digital lenses to be too large, compared with film-era examples. (Obviously not universally true.) For this reason I am happy that the Lumix S lenses are as light as reasonable. Even if they could still be smaller in size.

BUT
It is very odd to me that Panasonic has trumpeted the size of the 100mm macro as the main feature. Since anyone doing macro photography is using a tripod and controlling focus very precisely. Weight doesn't matter. Maintaining identical size to the other lenses doesn't matter. Or do people really want to use a macro lens on a gimbal? ;-)

Neither does focus breathing matter, because the tiny increments of focal plane adjustments needed for stacking will never demonstrate this attribute to any degree. I don't recall a single review of a macro lens ever mentioning focus breathing... though perhaps now in the video era this thinking has contaminated applications where it simply doesn't matter.

What does matter (as you point out) is the acuity and resolving power of the lens but most importantly the flatness of the field and consistency of this rendering at close focus distance. No reviewer has yet measured this. Many are obsessed with the auto-focus, as if that matters at all!

AFAIK, the only reviewer to test "sharpness" (whatever they mean by that) is Digital Camera World. The results are rather poor. Could be that they have a bad sample. Or could be that this is the result of compromises in the design process... to make the lightest possible lens within a constrained form factor. We won't know until others report back scientific results.

In the meantime I've seen some good shots taken with the Lumix S 100mm and others that could have been taken by just about any other lens. That's par for the course.
 
I agree that the new 100/2.8 is over-priced, but then so are almost all Panasonic's FF lenses. At least this new lens seems to offer something that most 100ish-mm macros don't - it works well as a general purpose 100mm lens. That coupled with the small size would make it very handy.
 
robin0112358 said:
................Since anyone doing macro photography is using a tripod and controlling focus very precisely. Weight doesn't matter. Maintaining identical size to the other lenses doesn't matter. Or do people really want to use a macro lens on a gimbal? ;-)
Click to expand...

Not everyone. It very much depends what you are photographing.

I don't use a tripod for insect macro. It's completely impractical. Therefore size and weight are an issue.

I had the Sigma 105mm but sold it and replaced it with the Laowa 90mm Apo. Smaller, lighter, closer focusing - easier to hand hold. Autofocus isn't important to me - I set my focus before approaching the insect and take the shot when peaking indicates sharp focus.

Benefits of the Lumix lens would be viewing at full aperture rather than stopped down and of course AF. Downside being I would only be getting as close as 1:1 vs 2:1.
 
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