Panasonic’s Lumix 100mm f/2.8 Macro is arguably the world’s smallest full-frame macro lens with more than 90mm of focal length.
The brand has introduced the new optic as an addition to several other L-mount lenses that include 18mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm f/1.8 models
This new 100mm shares the same centers of gravity and balance as these primes, which makes all of them ideal for use with camera rigs and gimbals according to Panasonic. However, the new model is specifically a macro device.
Just how small is the Lumix S 100mm f/2.8? Well, it has a maximum diameter of only 7.36 cm and is just 8.2 cm long with a weight of just 298 grams or 10.5 ounces.
Compared to many other macro lenses, this is pretty compact, equating to roughly 1/3 the weight of similar Nikon, Sony and Sigma optics.
On the other hand, the new Lumix 100mm doesn’t have optical image stabilization, unlike Macros such as Nikon’s Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S or Sony’s FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro.
To achieve compactness, Panasonic gave the new lens a double focus system that let the brand decrease lens length by 25mm. Internally, three aspherical lenses let the lens lose a further 20mm of length.
What’s more, the Lumix 100mm has a Dual Phase Linear Motor Actuator that helps the double focus system along by giving more power at a smaller size.
Panasonic claims that it can offer up to three times the thrust of ordinary linear motos despite being half their size.
Despite all the above, the new lens contains 13 elements in 11 groups and among all of these are three UED elements and an ED optic too.
To further save on space, Panasonic gave the 100mm a thinner aperture that has a smaller diameter and also engineered its circuit board to have an unusually high density that lets it take up less space.
The overall result is what we mentioned above, the world’s smallest 100mm f/2.8 macro lens and one of the most compact L-mount lenses on the market.
Panasonic has also given this optic an extremely smooth, quiet and quick AF system using new technology that lets it avoid the jerky slowness of many older AF system designs. The brand also claims that this macro lens has minimal focus breathing.
Other useful technologies inside the Lumix 100mm f/2.8 are a new focus ring system and magnetoresistance sensor that lets the lens detect ring rotation with exceptional precision during focus.
The minimum focus distance in the new lens is 8.03 inches or 0.204 meters and there’s also a focus range limiter switch on the lens barrel.
In terms of image quality, Panasonic has promised sharpness across the whole frame and also claims superb bokeh for the same image space. Test images released by the company seem to bear this out.
In discussions with the website Petapixel, Panasonic has claimed that the new advanced and compact lens is only now in the process of being released because the technology to get it built didn’t exist yet.
When Panasonic’s f/1.8 prime lenses, with an identical compact chassis, emerged years ago, fitting a macro like the 100mm into a similarly sized body simply wasn’t possible.
At the time the Dual Phase Linear Actuator, compressed circuit board and aperture diaphragm hadn’t even been developed yet.
Now however, by innovating across several angles of development, Panasonic’s engineers managed to take innovative steps with new means to make the 100mm f/2.8 lens a reality in such a small chassis.
Furthermore, according to Panasonic, the company makes a consistent effort to ensure that its lenses produce a consistent visual quality during use.
This is made to deliver the same quality results across all similar lenses for color quality, contrast, aberration handling and flare management.
Panasonic has applied the same consistency to the Lumix 100mm f/2.8.
The new Lumix 100mm f/2.8 lens will start shipping as of late January for a retail price of $997. This price makes it cheaper than the similar but larger Sony and Nikon Macro lenses described above.
Overall, for access to the world’s smallest 100mm macro lens, it’s not a bad deal.
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