The Lumix S 100mm f/2.8 macro – the smallest and lightest of its kind

The new Lumix S 100mm f/2.8 (S-E100) is the smallest and lightest AF telephoto 1:1 macro lens for full frame on the market

It’s no good making a system of small camera bodies and then producing big lenses to go on the front of them, which is why Panasonic has put so much effort into its line of Lumix S f/1.8 lenses - so they can be the ideal match for cameras like the S5ll and S5llX. The new Lumix S 100mm f/2.8 Macro follows exactly the same principles as the existing five lenses already in the set, with matching dimensions and a similar weight. While even on the surface it might seem remarkable to make a 100mm lens that has the same length and diameter as an 18mm, a 24mm, a 35mm, a 50mm and an 85mm, the feat is even more extraordinary when we take into account that this 100mm lens is also capable of recording 1:1 life-size macro images.

The new 100mm lens blends in perfectly with the other five focal lengths in the series

Panasonic has accomplished this significant achievement through the development of a new focus mechanism that allows the drive-section of the lens to not only be very fast but also extremely small.

Small and lightweight, the new lens is designed to sit comfortably on the Lumix S5 type of camera – though it’s completely compatible with all the cameras in the L-Mount Alliance

The Lumix S 100mm f/2.8 Macro uses a new design for its autofocus system that incorporates a newly developed Dual Phase Linear Motor. This linear motor shifts the focusing elements inside the lens using electric pulses within an array of magnets, so the elements can be propelled forwards, backwards and brought to a halt as the polarity of the magnets are switched. These motors produce silent and precise movements within the focusing arrangement, and work well with lenses designed for mirrorless systems that record video as well as stills. Panasonic has developed a way to make these motor designs more than twice as powerful as the motors in other lenses, so it has been possible to use a much smaller motor to generate the same power as is usually required in a lens of this type. The smaller motor has allowed the engineers to make the lens much smaller than it would have been otherwise, while maintaining the excellent AF performance we have come to expect from this series of lenses.

The macro performance of the lens is excellent, with focusing just as fast and accurate as it is at normal subject distances

Further miniaturisation has been achieved through the use of three aspherical elements within the optical construction, to reduce the space between the rear and the front elements. So, between the optical design and the new AF motor, Panasonic has been able to create a mid-telephoto lens with 1:1 macro and wide maximum aperture in the same barrel size as a 50mm standard lens – and all the other f/1.8 lenses for the Lumix S system.

While one-to-one macro will be enough for many subjects sometimes we need to crop in a little to make exceptionally small objects fill the frame. The optical quality of this lens allows dramatic magnification while maintaining excellent detail rendition

The lens uses twin focusing groups via Panasonic’s Double Focus System to both speed up the movement of focus but to also help retain excellent optical quality at all focus distances. This is a lens that can focus as close as 2cm as well as infinity, so there’s a lot of movement needed within the lens to allow this to happen. Using two focus groups makes transitions from close to normal distances quicker and smoother, and also helps to reduce changes in magnification as the focus distance shifts.

In 1:1 macro situations even snails move quickly, but the speed of the AF system and the touch-focus controls in Lumix S cameras make keeping up and tracking very easy

In still photography changes in magnification aren’t usually noticeable, but in video when the focus is shifting from a close to a distant position changes in the size of the background, or just how much of the scene is in the frame, can be obvious and distracting. These changes are called ‘focus breathing’ and the Double Focus System helps to avoid them.

Panasonic has also introduced improved handling when working in manual focus for macro work. The focus ring of the lens detects movement more quickly and is able to recognise much smaller movements to allow more precise focusing

This lens is designed using 13 elements divided into 11 groups, 3 elements of which are aspherical lenses, 2 of which are in Ultra Extra-low Dispersion glass and a further is in Extra-low Dispersion glass. As I said above, the three aspherical elements help to keep the lens compact, while the low dispersion glasses improve resolution, ultimate sharpness and contrast. 

As the lens has exactly the same external design as the f/1.8 series of fixed focal lengths, you’ll find the AF controls where you’d expect them. This is though the only lens in the series to offer a focus limiter. The limiter can allow us the full range of the lens’ focusing distances, or we can choose to cut off the macro range. We can also instruct the lens to only operate in the close-focus zone, so it will never have to hunt far for the subject

For attractive out-of-focus highlights Panasonic has used a nine-bladed iris for the aperture. The blades are designed with rounded edges to ensure highlights appear circular and smooth. To help keep focusing as straight forward as possible we have a focus limiter on the side of the lens, so we can direct the lens/camera to the zone in which our subject sits. When working in macro we are able to tell the lens to only look in the zone between the 20cm closest position and 50cm. This makes it very much easier for the camera to find your subject, and for it to retain focus in the right region even when the subject moves from under the focus point.

As you can see here, the paint used to mark the name of the lens is grey instead of the usual white. This is to make the writing less reflective, and so it won’t show up in highly polished subjects when the lens is very close to them. Note the difference in the way the writing reflects in this picture

As with the other lenses in the f/1.8 series, this 100mm f/2.8 lens has a 67mm thread about the front element, so filters and accessories users might fit on the other lenses will fit on this model as well.

You can see from this table that the dimensions of each of the lenses in the series are identical. While weights vary across the range, they don’t by very much

It’s remarkable how Panasonic has grown its matched series of fixed focal length lenses for its Lumix S full frame cameras. While these lenses clearly will mount very comfortably on all the Lumix S models, they are really designed with the smaller and lighter Lumix S5, S5ll and S5llX in mind - as they complement the dimensions of these cameras particularly well.

Producing a set of matching lenses like this, that cover focal lengths from 18mm to 100mm, demonstrates Panasonic’s commitment to making using the Lumix S system a pleasure for film makers and videographers

The new S 100mm f/2.8 may not be an f/1.8 lens like the others, but with the longer focal length, especially in macro work, extremely wide apertures are less practical. And in this case the f/2.8 maximum aperture allows the lens to match the size of the other models in the system, so switching lenses on a rig or on a gimbal is much easier and quicker – which for many will be more important than a super-fast aperture.

The Lumix S 100mm f/2.8 Macro comes with a lightweight plastic lens hood with a bayonet locking mounting system

This group of Lumix lenses with matching dimensions and external design is unique among mirrorless camera brands, and shows how dedicated Panasonic is to ensuring its Lumix system offers users exactly what they need. The lenses are excellent for stills of course, but it is videographers and film makers who will most appreciate the attention to detail of the design, and how this consideration makes shooting so much more convenient.

Tack sharp, and a really attractive rendering of out-of-focus areas, this was shot at f/4

Read about the other lenses in this series:
Lumix S 18mm f/1.8
Lumix S 24mm f/1.8
Lumix S 35mm f/1.8
Lumix S 50mm f/1.8
Lumix S 85mm f/1.8
Using them together with angles of view compared

The Lumix S 100mm f/2.8 Macro will begin shipping at the end of January 2024, and will cost £999/€1099