Hi I'm Gordon from camera labs and this Is my review of the Panasonic Lumix s 100 mm f2.8 macro a short telephoto lens With one toone close-up capabilities It's designed for the fullframe l-mount System which means it works on L Mount Bodies from Panasonic Sigma and Leica I Tested it on the Lumix s52 one of the Best value full framers around and if You're interested in this body I have a Separate review all about it announced In January 2024 and costing around $999 Or pound the S100 becomes Panasonic's First macro lens for the l-mount system It doubles the macro options for Fullframe L Mount owners joining sigma's Earlier 105 mil f2.8 dgn from 2020 which Cost just over 2third of the price at Around $700 or pound note Leica also has A 60 mil 2.8 macro lens for El Mount but It's designed for smaller apsc sensors Or of course fullframe bodies in crop Modes so if you want a proper fullframe L Mount Mac macro lens is down to the Sigma 150 and the new Lumix S100 both of These lenses are capable of delivering Life size one:1 reproduction or one Times magnification from a reasonable Focusing distance and also double up as Good portrait options with a similar Focal length and the same f2.8 maximum Aperture but physically they're quite Different beasts and despite sharing the Same 74 mil diameter the new alumix lens
Is over 50 mil shorter and less than Half the way to the Sigma lens 2 indeed It's around half the weight of Equivalent macro lenses for other Systems as well making it one of the Most compact full-frame macro lenses to Date here it is mounted on the s52 body Where you can see the barrel is notably Shorter than many rival telephoto macro Lenses it's also light enough to be a Good walk around option let's now switch It for the Lumix s85 mil 1.8 lens and You'll see Panasonic has maintained a Similar size in turn matching their Other 1.8 primes this should mean Minimal if any rebounds ing on stands And gimbals and the filter thread is the Same across them all twoo in terms of Designs and controls it's pretty simple Matching the other primes in this series There's a generous and smooth manual Focusing ring and a pair of switches Including a focus limiter with three Ranges 20 to 50 cm 50 cm to infinity or The full range Panasonic describes the Lens as being dust Splash and freeze Resistant down to minus 10 Celsius and There's a rubber gomet at the mount Meanwhile at the other end is the same 67 mil filter thread as the other primes In this series minimalizing the need for Different accessories Panasonic also Includes the bayonet mounted lens hge Which can be reversed for transportation
In terms of autofocus the lens felt Swift on the s52 whether photographing Normal or macro distances like all macro Lenses the speed and confidence will Benefit from setting the focus limiter So when you're shooting macro go for the 20 to 50 cm range and for normal use the 50 cm to Infinity should suffice for Most sit situations now for my Optical Results and as a macro lens I'm going to Start with the close-up capabilities Kicking off with a Boke bable comparison Here's the Lumix s 100 Mil 2.8 wide open From a distance of about 80 cm now I Chose this initially so that I could Make a direct comparison against the Lumix s85 1.8 which may not be a macro Lens but it does Sport a brighter Aperture so now here's the S100 macro on The left and the s85 on the right both From the same distance and at their Max Respective apertures of f2.8 and F1.8 now this again is as close as the 85 lens will focus and from the same Position it'll deliver a slightly larger Boer balls with its larger aperture more Than making up for a slightly shorter Focal length in terms of rendering style Though they're looking pretty similar Here but of course as a macro lens the S100 on the left can focus much closer So let's now switch it for an image Taken from a much closer distance where The difference has now become pretty
Dramatic but this is actually only Around nor .5 times magnification so Let's now switch this image for as close As the lens can focus well deliver one Times magnification more than filling The frame with the star at top the Ornament the Lumix S100 delivers its Maximum magnification from a distance of 20.4 CM versus around 30 cm on the Sigma Lens both allow you to be positioned far Enough from the subject to avoid casting Shadows on it and once you've taken the Lens Barrel into consideration you're Looking at a gap of around 11 cm from The tip of the new Lumix lens to the Subject itself in order to achieve one: One reproduction I confirmed the maximum Magnification by photographing my ruler As close as I could focus on it here Delivering 34 mm across the frame given The s52 sensor measures 35.6 mm across This represents fractionally greater Than one to1 reproduction I think more Importantly though it's an impressively Flat field with little to no Distortion And sharp details right into the corners Even when the lens is wide open at f2. 8 As I close the aperture there is some Benefit to the ultimate sharpness and Lifting vignetting in the corners but I Was impressed by the quality f2.8 from The closest focusing distance here now For some more shots at the minimum Distance and maximum magnification as
You can see from this distance and Aperture the depth of field is Unforgivably shallow at f2.8 so for Greater depth of course just stop The Lens down this next shot was taken at F16 now if you're new to one to1 macro You may be surprised how shallow the Depth of field is even when the lens is Closed down by several stops I took this Photo of a lemon wedger f8 where there's Still some quite nice blurring beyond That surface plane here I've stuck with F8 to capture more of the fine details Between the pages of this book although You may prefer the look of this version Taken at f2.8 personally I love how Macrophotography reveals details in Everyday subjects that you're rarely Aware of like these mold and sea salt Crystals snapped to f11 or how about This cheese biscuit again taken at f11 Sometimes I prefer the creative Opportunities at f2.8 though such as This fork or Christmas decoration both Benefiting from some nice blurring while The autofocus did a pretty good job at Close distances especially when the Range was reduced I personally prefer to Nail the focus manually to ensure the Desired portions of the subject are Sharp the smooth and nicely damped Manual focusing ring on the lens makes This easy although do not that while Focus breathing is pretty minimal at
Normal distances there are some Substantial differences when adjusting The focus within the closest couple of Cenm while Focus breathing isn't Uncommon on macro lenses at their Closest distances I did wonder how this Might affect focus stacking in software Later so to try it out I positioned a UK Pound coin with a lower edged positioned At the minimum focusing distance now I Took these at f4.5 where the depth of Field is only showing the tip of the Coin in sharp Focus I then set up a Focus bracketed sequence on the s52 and After some experimentation I found that I needed around 80 frames at intervals Of three to capture Focus strips of the Coin all the way from the front to the Back now as I scroll through this Sequence from the front to the rear of The coin note how the effect of Breathing gradually shrinks the subject Size as the lens ad just from its Closest focusing distance to a couple of Centimet further away now it's quite Visible here but to see if it would Actually present a practical problem During the software composite process I Imported the 80 image sequence into Helicon Focus my preferred software for Stacking you can see it here gradually Combining the focused elements of each Image into a single one and here's the End result showing not just the entire
Coin surface in sharp Focus as desired But also apparently unaffected by any Magnification differences due to focus Breathing as such I wouldn't say it's Going to be an issue for anyone who's Into focus stacking to increase the Apparent depth of field before moving on To more normal distances I thought it Would be interesting to compare the Stacked coin image on the left with a Single image on the right this time Focused in the middle of the coin and Starting here wide open at f2.8 where Obviously only a very narrow plane is in Focus and now let's switch the single Frame on the right to one at f5.6 and Next to f11 where there's still Insufficient depth of field to have a Fully sharp surface and while the lens Can be closed further to F22 it's still Not actually enough for this particular Subject while additionally suffering From softening due to defraction not to Mention having an increased risk of Camera shake or the necessity of a Higher eyeso this is why focus stacking Is a popular technique for macro Photographers so overall a solid Performance from the Lumix S100 as a one To1 macro lens but how about using it at More normal distances here's a quick Portrate test with yours truly snap to F2.8 illustrating how much blurring you Can expect at this kind of distance and
Looking closely at the details they're Very nice and sharp around my eyes let's Put the 2.8 macro on the left and Compare compare it with the 85 1.8 on The right both of their maximum Apertures the camera is in the same Position on both shots but I've moved Forward a little bit for the 85 to Roughly match the subject size on the Frame you can see how the 85 has Captured a slightly wider field of view Thanks to its slightly shorter focal Length but it's also delivered more Blurring in the background thanks to Both its larger aperture and my slightly Closer distance to the lens but look Closer at the details and you'll see the 2.8 macro on the left has sharper Details on my eyes versus the 85 wide Open on the right now the 85 will Roughly match it when it's also set to F2.8 but the 100 is certainly performing Pretty well as a portrait lens now you Can of course also use either lens to Present video to camera with similar Results and here you can see the 100 2.8 Macro focusing as close as you dare to Stand to it sorry for peering into your Soul with my wrinkly eyes Here and Now For both lenses side by side from the Same camera position with the 2.8 micro On the left and the 851 .8 on the right Again both of their maximum respective Apertures of f2.8 and f1.8 and finally a
Test of the lens at more of a landscape Distance here with bright and peir Angled so that details run into the Corners I focused in the middle of the Frame here and I'm starting with the Lens fully open to f2.8 where you'll Enjoy sharp details in the center with Minimal benefit to closing the aperture Any further moving out into the corner Of the f2.8 image you'll find Details Remain respectably sharp and only minor Evidence of darkening due to vignetting As you close the apture you'll quickly Eliminate any Corner darkening and There's also minor gains to be had in Ultimate sharpness but again the lens is Performing pretty well across the frame Even with the aperture wide open and now With my final verdict during which I'll Show you a bunch of sample images many Of which are also available on my Matching review page at cameralabs.com If you'd like a closer look the Lumix s 100 Mil 2.8 macro is a welcome addition To the El Mount system delivering sharp Results across the frame near and far in My test it was equally sharp whether Shooting Landscapes at Infinity Portraits from a meter or so or right up To its closest focusing distance and With the subject around 11 cm from the Tip of the lens you'll achieve life size One times magnification again with sharp Details and impressively minimal
Distortion it's not the only game in Town though for fullframe El Mount Owners as sigma's Al 105 2.8 dgn also Delivers one times magnification on Fullframe bodies from a similar focal Length lens with the same aperture and At a lower price now I've not tested the Sigma lens so I can't comment on its Optical quality but I can tell you the Lumix lens is Comfortably shorter and Less than half the weight making it a Much more portable proposition not to Mention a more consistent match for the Existing Lum excess primes so I'd Recommend that you compare these two Lenses closely but one thing's for Certain the Lumix s00 2.8 macro delivers The goods at all distances with an Impressively compact form Factor so it's Highly recommended to El Mount owners Who want a great quality macro lens Which also doubles as a decent portrait And walk around telephoto option and That's it for this review let me know What you think in the comments and if You'd like me to review more El Mount Lenses it's certainly becoming a Compelling system especially with all of Sigma's mirus lenses and Panasonic's Great Value bodies and in the absence of A sponsor for this video I'll just thank You for watching and I'll see you next Time Bye-bye
