Are you looking for great wide angle lens for your micro 4/3 camera? This may be it. Does Panasonic’s Leica 8-18mm f/2.8-4 zoom deserve its Leica labeling? Is losing 1mm of it’s wide angle view capability justified by getting an extra stop of lens speed? Let’s find our if this is and improvement over the very popular Panasonic Lumix G Vario 7-14mm f/4 Lens.
The Leica 8-18mm is now the 4th ultra wide zoom for the Micro Four Thirds system, coming alongside the older Lumix 7-14mm f4 and the Olympus 7-14mm f2.8 and 9-18mm f4-5.6. It brings 15 elements in 10 groups, has seven snappy aperture blades, gives a closest focusing distance of 23cm, a dust and splash-proof lens body, measures 88x73mm and weighs 315g. The nice advantage over the slightly wider 7-14mm competitors, it will also fit 67mm filters without vignetting even at the widest end.
I would like to thank David Thorpe for his always great lens reviews.
You can find the Panasonic Leica 8-18mm here for a good price.