Panasonic Lumix G Vario 7-14mm f/4+ $100 card, $797

Also remember about $32 rewards.

https://www.adorama.com/ipc714.html

I am pretty impressed about the Lumix 7-14. Only handicap is a missing filter mount as sometimes in 200ASA and bright sunlight f=22 ain't enough. Mr Bloom adapted a filter by putting it over the sunshade - does anybody know what size the ring should have?

http://instagram.com/p/dkBibnKKi3/#

A 67mm filter thread fit inside of the hood very snug but you need a big filter outside and you have to cover light leakage. Outside mount would probably more useful

@larsarus

Thanks for your report.

This lens has been around for a while now. It will have been well and truly put through its paces. How has it been holding up in the field? Have users really found that (as predicted, for landscape and architecture shots) they've kept this lens permanently attached to their camera?

It is wonderful for landscapes, cityscapes, and wide scenes at the shorter end of the lens. But when you zoom it, it becomes one of two classical street photography focal lengths. And you really can’t go wrong.

It’s sharp, contrasty, has wonderful color rendition, focuses quickly, feels well built and is highly portable. The only thing that it is missing is weather-sealing, but that doesn’t really break our hearts too much.

http://www.thephoblographer.com/2013/07/05/review-panasonic-7-14mm-f4-micro-four-thirds/

@pvjames @Mark_the_Harp @killagram So I finally go the lens hood and fader filter today. Some good, some not so good. But overall, it's all good.

Per the instructions on the Chinese site I mentioned before, I bought some 4.76mm (3/16" I think) rubber weatherstripping. One layer of it wasn't enough, so I just doubled it up and it fits pretty snug. I shook the cam and it didn't slip. Overall, I'm not worried so much that it will slip off on it's own, but rather that something could knock it off. So, I just plan on being a little extra careful when using it.

Next up... the fader filter. You have to mount the fader backwards, so be sure you have a fader with a front female filter ring of 77mm. I had purchased a 77mm el-cheap-o Neewer fader filter from Amazon which unfortunately didn't have a front ring. Optically, it seems acceptable, but unfortunately I'll have to return it.

Luckily, I have a 72mm Fader brand filter which, as my luck would have it, it has a 77mm front female filter mount. Woohoo! (and phew, now don't have to do more research or spend more money! ;)

The verdict: it works very well at 12mm on up. There might be some vignetting, but mostly noticeable at the high end of the ND. It's enough for me to live with. I can probably zoom out a little wider but 12mm is safe. I'm very happy because I find 12mm to be the sweet spot with this lens for moving around. And the good news is that at F4, I have a decent amount of DOF. Can get real close to objects and rack to objects farther off.

One happy and unexpected side effect was that I now have the ability to turn the entire fader filter. At the high end of the faders, you can get uneven darkening of the image. This gives me the ability to level it out with the horizon by turning the whole filter x number of degrees right or left.

For the price of these parts, this is a great way to eek out a little more usefulness with this lens. A 77mm filter would have been nice, but I can live without it. I'll post some tests with it another day.

Sorry. That shows how much I've been out of touch with the latest forum topics. GH1 official firmwares have been irreversible. I guess this new GH2 firmware is reversible. Nice. That means I can go back to hacked mode.

@5thwall @pvjames This is not so much an ommision of the lens, this is a consequence of using an ultra-wide angle. You simply cannot have a such a wide angle lens with filters threads without vignetting or using very large filters, which is why lens manufacturers don't include them; the same goes for 14mm FF lenses. Unfortunately it does lack a rear gel holder. Just stop down; you're not going to get a shallow DOF with this lens.

@stonebat Since when ???

I did mine since only one of the gh2s would not take the patched GH2_V10E with Quantum v7. I patched it to v1.1and then back V10E with Quantum v7.

Hi guys @driftwood Thanks very much for the tips - I'll pass them on to her! She's learning several instruments at once at the moment.

Looking forward to trying it with my Blackbird Stabilizer as this lens certainly emphasises movement at the extreme edges. But I agree - it's great! Can't wait to try it out on a proper shoot.

To be on the safe side with the lens FW update, I patched the GH2 to v1.1 (stock) and that's what that was shot on - but I miss my low GOP patch so may go back to v1 + my version of your patch, which has always held up well. Not entirely up to date with the state of ptools / patches for 1.1 yet - although 1.1 does seem to be quite low on noise, or maybe it's my imagination. But it's a great time on this forum at the moment with some good tips on NR and on grading. Cheers! And yes, I'm happy I patched the lens with the new firmware and it was worth every penny.

@Mark_the_Harp Sweet video of your daughter playing drums. I play drums. The best tip I ever received from my jazz tutor years ago is hum/sing the beats/the song in your head as you play. I promise it comes quicker! BTW: The lens is looking good, eh?!

maybe throwing a 77mm to 85mm step up ring on the front would work?

@tvpglabs I did some tests with my 72mm and no, I don't think the 77 is enough to cover 7mm. But I rarely use 7mm. For my use, I'm most concerned about 10-14. I use 12mm for the bulk of my handheld shots.