Panasonic recently took the wraps off its latest addition to its lens lineup with the new LUMIX S 100-500mm F5-7.1 O.I.S. (S-R100500), which marks the debut the debut of an ultra-telephoto zoom lens in its LUMIX S Series range. Built on the L-Mount system standard, the new lens extends the LUMIX S system’s reach up to 500mm and is the first to do so for the series, along with several other features in the mix.
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The new lens also supports optional teleconverters, allowing photographers and videographers to push the focal length to a higher 1000mm range. Panasonic says that the lens is engineered to deliver high resolution capture and more refined bokeh shots throughout its entire zoom range, which makes it an ideal addition to professional-grade kits designed for capturing footage in fields like wildlife, motorsports, and landscape photography, to name a few.
It’s interesting to note that despite its powerful range, Panasonic has designed the new 100-500mm lens to be pretty much compact, with an overall length that measures just 196.1mm. The company says that this design is made possible thanks to a an optimized arrangement of lens elements and the integration of a Dual Phase Linear Motor. The motor allows for a more compact size in addition to high-speed, high-precision, and more quiet operation with stuff like autofocus, for example.
Additionally, the new Lumix lens is also equipped with support for Dual I.S. 2 image stabilization which on paper provides up to 7.0 stops of shake compensation, making it a handy add-on to your kit for imaging scenarios where you might need a bit of versatility.
Beyond its optical and stabilization performance, the lens also comes with new and intuitive features for a more refined shooting experience. For one, users can customize the focus ring to function as a control ring, assigning preferred settings like aperture or other customizable parameters. The dedicated focus button can also be assigned to custom actions, allowing for a highly personalized and responsive workflow.
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For video capture, Panasonic has also included some pretty useful features for a smoother and more professional approach video capture—these include focus breathing suppression to maintain a consistent field of view when focusing, and even micro-step aperture control for seamless exposure transitions. As for pricing, the Lumix S 100-500mm F5-7.1 OIS is available starting at $2099.
