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Hands On: Panasonic LX100, GM5, Voigtländer 10.5mm f/0.95 and more

Posted on September 17, 2014September 18, 2014 by Jordan Steele

Contents

  • 1Panasonic GM5
  • 2Panasonic 35-100mm f/4-5.6
  • 3Voigtländer 10.5mm f/0.95

Panasonic GM5

I also took a quick look at the Panasonic GM5.  It’s a newly updated brother to the original GM1, which I reviewed last year. The GM5 is quite similar to the GM1, but adds a corner EVF and a hotshoe with a super tiny flash.

The diminutive GM5
The diminutive GM5

 

The GM5 handles essentially identical to the GM1, with well laid out controls for such a small body and a very nice touch screen interface. The new EVF, however, is a disappointment. It’s extremely small and looks like you’re looking down a tiny tube.  I’d be wiling to overlook it if Sony didn’t have the RX100 III, with a similar amount of space taken up by the viewfinder, but with far larger optics and a clearer finder.  The GM5 comes in a variety of colors.  I handled the black and red, which I have to say, feels a bit overdone.  The silver and black models, however, look really sharp.

Rear of the GM5 with the EVF on the upper left corner
Rear of the GM5 with the EVF on the upper left corner

Panasonic 35-100mm f/4-5.6

I’m not usually one to cover or use small, cheaply built, slow-aperture zoom lenses.  However, there is reason to stand up and take notice of Panasonic’s new 35-100mm f/4-5.6.  The lens covers the same range as a 70-200mm lens on full frame, and Panasonic already has an excellent 35-100mm f/2.8.  So why this lens?  Super tiny.  I mean, it’s really an incredibly small lens given the focal range.  It’s roughly the same size as Panasonic’s already small 14-42mm lens (latest version), and only barely larger than the diminutive Olympus 45mm f/1.8. The lens is a collapsible design, and when it extends, the barrel protrudes for all focal lengths.

The incredibly tiny Panasonic 35-100mm f/4-5.6, retracted, on the GM1.
The incredibly tiny Panasonic 35-100mm f/4-5.6, retracted, on the GM1.
At 100mm, the lens is still incredibly small
At 100mm, the lens is still incredibly small

The lens is cheaply built, and it feels it.  Its all plastic barrel doesn’t exactly inspire confidence for professional use, and the zoom action is a bit gritty, but it’s not about that.  It’s about putting a GM1 or GM5 with the 12-32 pancake zoom and this lens in your pockets, and having 24-200mm equivalent in a kit that is incredibly tiny, yet has very good image quality.  The rear LCD was hard to judge image quality with this lens given where the hands on was for it, but it looked fairly good.  I’ll be interested to see how this stacks up quality wise.  A very intriguing little lens.

Voigtländer 10.5mm f/0.95

Voigtländer just continues to push the envelope.  Not content with their already excellent lineup of f/0.95 Micro 4/3 lenses, they’ve now added an ultra-fast ultra-wide angle lens to the mix, with a field of view equivalent to a 21mm lens on full frame.  I stopped by the Voigtländer booth today to handle one in person.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t mount it to a body, as I didn’t have a Micro 4/3 body with me for the show (best to travel light!), but the construction is every bit as good as th other Voigtländer f/0.95 lenses.  It’s slightly larger and wider than the 42.5mm f/0.95, but it weighs roughly the same.  It’s not a small lens, when considering other Micro 4/3 optics, but considering the design parameters, it’s impressively small.

It focuses down to 0.17m, and features the ability to remove the aperture clicks if desired for video use.  This lens won’t see retail until next spring, but it’s another exciting release from this venerable manufacturer.

Voigtländer 10.5mm f/0.95
Voigtländer 10.5mm f/0.95
The large front element (72mm filter thread)
The large front element (72mm filter thread)
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9 thoughts on “Hands On: Panasonic LX100, GM5, Voigtländer 10.5mm f/0.95 and more”

  1. dcseattle says:
    September 17, 2014 at 11:30 am

    Jordan – so the LX100 is powerzoom only? No manual zoom? Is see only manual switches for AF/MF, aperture, focus and aspect ratio…

    Reply
  2. Boston C says:
    September 17, 2014 at 12:35 pm

    Is the LX100 mechanical shutter sound very quiet? Given the leaf shutter, it should be. Am aware it has the electronic shutter too.
    This is the most exciting camera in a long while. Thx for the hands-on impression.

    Reply
  3. Pingback: First pictures of the Voigtländer 10.5mm f/0.95 Nokton MFT lens | Photo Rumors
  4. Karl says:
    September 18, 2014 at 8:16 am

    My question as well – only power zoom? If so that is a real shame and will take this camera out of consideration if that’s the case.

    Reply
  5. Pingback: Photokina Tidbits - Kowa m4/3 Lenses, Sigma DP1 Quattro, Zeiss 85mm Otus, Leica S and more - Admiring Light
  6. Thomas S. says:
    September 30, 2014 at 3:13 am

    As a user of an LX-7 I think I can say that the “slow zoom” never really gets in the way (what I expected in the beginning). Instead it allows for very precise framing. If it were quicker, it would just speed between the end points, and you’d have to step zoom push-push-push the lever all the time to get were you want. One big advantage for me is that I can operate the camera with one hand, e.g. while holding an umbrella. Maybe negligible in California, but handy in Europe!
    And the zoom motion is just gorgeous in video – so smooth with nice easing in-and-out!
    So the LX-100 has a power zoom as well – it is a compact after all. The only compacts with manual zooms seem to be a couple of Fujifilms – guess why no-one else is doing it.

    Reply
  7. Wolfie says:
    September 30, 2014 at 6:11 am

    The LX 100 is in no way a copy of any Fuji – it is a resurrected Lumix DMC-LC1 – that predates the Fuji “X” series by quite a few years.

    If you look at an LC1 you will see the resemblance is unmistakable: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LhI1QT3h5MI/T2eXYpjptcI/AAAAAAAABtk/09j8nJ95p5c/s400/panasonic_lumix_dmc_lc1_3_4.jpg

    Regards

    Reply
  8. Pingback: A Look Back at Photokina 2014 - Admiring Light
  9. Marc says:
    December 24, 2014 at 1:29 pm

    The Panasonic 35-100mm f/4-5.6 is an amazingly compact and lightweight 70-200mm equivalent. Really, really nice and perfect for normal daylight use. It’s not a fast lens, but it’s well build and you hardly notice that you carry it with you. It even has build in stabilisation that works really well too. The image quality certainly is there. It delivers photos with excellent sharpness and good contrast. Panasonic hit a homerun with this little lens!

    Reply

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