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Panasonic 7-14

ustein

Contributing Editor
Nice gallery, Uwe. The brickwork at Ft Point is mind boggling.
Thanks. We shot Fort Point many times (e.g. with 1Ds2, Nikon 3dx + 14-24, D700 + Zeiss 21mm) and the GH2 + 7-14 holds its own. Even 7 shot HDR works just fine.
 

DHart

New member
I haven't been to Ft. Point in many years... I do have memories of doing a fashion shoot there in the seventies, when I was in my early twenties! Fantastic setting for fashion work. How time flies.
 

biglouis

Well-known member
Uwe, I like this last one very much. I must try and photograph the Palmerston Hill Forts outside Portsmouth (old England!) when I am there in May. The military architecture is very similar because I expect they are of the same vintage.

Ron, I commented on your latest dramatic Cityscape on your Flickr page.

LouisB
 

ustein

Contributing Editor
>this is really great, it actually shows that this lens has almost no distortion - at least with the available SW corrections.

Yes.

I was first a bit turned off by the 1EV steps (GH1 had 2/3 EV) of the GH2. But in reality that is plenty and works very well. In the past I used the 1Ds3 and the Zeiss 21mm at Fort Point but the GH2 + 7-14mm fits the bill.

Note: The photos was perspective corrected in CS5




 

DHart

New member
Uwe... very nice!

Ron... cool image. And I'm always struck by something in your Detroit images... in that it seems like almost a ghost town, for a major city that is. Which can be very nice in some ways... very little urban congestion for driving, parking, no waiting... etc. Is that the way things really are in Detroit?
 

RonSmith

Member
Ron... cool image. And I'm always struck by something in your Detroit images... in that it seems like almost a ghost town, for a major city that is. Which can be very nice in some ways... very little urban congestion for driving, parking, no waiting... etc. Is that the way things really are in Detroit?

Thanks Don, and yes, that's pretty much what it looks like unless there's a major sporting or entertainment event going on to bring folks down from the suburbs.

Even the street people are fewer and farther between. They may have been wintering in Florida though.
 

biglouis

Well-known member
It would be helpful if other owners of the 7-14 could help me with a potential problem with my copy of the lens. I find that at 7mm my captures are distinctly not sharp at the edges even on stopping down, to say f8. I wouldn't say the images are soft at the edges, more that they are smeared (an effect I have always observed with wide angle lenses from third party manufacturers with focal lengths less than 50mm).

Zooming the lens to 10-14 reduces the smearing considerably but does not eradicate it.

Has anyone else observed this in their captures, or do I have a problem with my lens?

Just thought I would ask. Incidentally, at 7mm, most subjects in landscape are so small that the softness/smearing is really only apparent at the pixel level.

LouisB
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Louis,
I went through some photos, and found the following:

- The phenomenon exists only in the corners on my copy.
- It's stronger on the left than on the right, particularly the lower left corner.
- It is, as you indicate, stronger at shorter focal lengths.
- It's also stronger at 16 : 9 than at 4 : 3 (which makes sense in a way, but not completely).
- It's made worse by Panasonic's mediocre jpeg engine (I usually shoot RAW, but have some converter issues on one of my computers at the moment).

The 7-14 is an extreme lens in every way, and it relies heavily on computer assistance to do its job. I never expected it to be as good as the Zuiko 7-14 or Nikkor 14-24, but with the size/cost in mind, there's really nothing that comes close. The dilemma for me will be if, after I buy the E-5, I need the Zuiko in addition for more critical work, or at least the 11-22. Hum, hum, hummmm..... :rolleyes:
 

biglouis

Well-known member
Louis,
I went through some photos, and found the following:

- The phenomenon exists only in the corners on my copy.
- It's stronger on the left than on the right, particularly the lower left corner.
- It is, as you indicate, stronger at shorter focal lengths.
- It's also stronger at 16 : 9 than at 4 : 3 (which makes sense in a way, but not completely).
- It's made worse by Panasonic's mediocre jpeg engine (I usually shoot RAW, but have some converter issues on one of my computers at the moment).

The 7-14 is an extreme lens in every way, and it relies heavily on computer assistance to do its job. I never expected it to be as good as the Zuiko 7-14 or Nikkor 14-24, but with the size/cost in mind, there's really nothing that comes close. The dilemma for me will be if, after I buy the E-5, I need the Zuiko in addition for more critical work, or at least the 11-22. Hum, hum, hummmm..... :rolleyes:
Jorgen

That is very helpful. It sounds like the performance of our lenses is similar. As can be seen with the captures in this thread at web-type sizes the lack of resolution at the edges is not an issue. I think were I to reproduce some of my shots at larger sizes I would have to be careful about cropping out some edge areas. I wonder if the rumoured replacement is being created to improve the IQ at the edges, or whether as you say it can only be down to computer assistance to improve the lens?

I also only shoot RAW (maybe that is the issue - perhaps LR cannot adjust the IQ?).

Thanks again for the feedback - as you say, for its type it is the only game in town for m43rds.

LouisB
 

Matix

Member
Ah yes, the 7-4mm. This little wonder never ceases to amaze me with it's ability to deliver crisp clear images. I paid a lot for this one when they first arrived, got it from Japan and have not regretted it for a moment. It delivers a better result than any other UWA lens I have used, even the faster lenses from Nikon, and the 10-20mm from Sigma.

A few examples, all hand held:

The Red Fort - Agra, India - GH1, f/6.3 @ 7 mm, 1/100, ISO 100


Civic Square - Wellington NZ - G1, f/8 @ 7 mm, 1/320, ISO 100


View from Governor's Chair - Spicers Gap SE Qld -GH1, f/7.1 @ 7 mm, 1/400, ISO 100


Phil
 

DHart

New member
Phil... those are outstanding examples of what the magnificent 7-14 can offer. Thanks for posting those!
 

Matix

Member
Phil... those are outstanding examples of what the magnificent 7-14 can offer. Thanks for posting those!
Thanks Don, the only Lumix lens I have not been happy with, and sold it after a couple of months, was the 45mm Macro. I have been really happy with all others though, the 14-140mm Lumix is also a stellar travel performer.

Phil
 

DHart

New member
Matix... I know... the 7-14, 14-45, 14-140, and 20/1.7 are all stellar performers! I wouldn't want to be without any of them.
 
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