Revolutionary lenses are developed and manufactured by industry-leading technologies
The lens is a gateway for light. That’s why it forms such an essential part of the camera.
In its pursuit of truly natural photographic textures and atmospheres, Panasonic has always aimed for the ultimate lens. This led Panasonic to introduce the world’s first* lens with optical image stabilization for a compact digital camera, and to build a mass production system for the aspherical lenses that provide both superb images and a compact size. It’s also the reason why Panasonic is so highly acclaimed both for lens quality and for its unique lens production and evaluation technologies.
More than anyone else, Panasonic takes pride in crafting each and every lens with tremendous skill and care.
* For a compact digital camera with 3x optical zoom lens, as of October 2, 2003.
Aspherical Lens Manufacturing Technology
Higher Image Quality with Fewer Lenses
To assure superior image quality while reducing size and weight, LUMIX lenses feature a number of aspherical lenses that effectively prevent lens aberration.
Each aspherical lens has the effect of several spherical lenses, so a higher image quality can be achieved with fewer lenses. The result is smaller overall size and weight.
Advanced Lens Mold Technology
Panasonic is an established manufacturer of aspherical lenses, having started research into the lens shapes and materials that are suited for molding from a very early period.
High-quality lenses are mass produced using dies that are manufactured based on advanced technology and manually finished by engineers with a high level of craftsmanship.
Panasonic also mass produces ultrathin, small-diameter, and large-diameter aspherical lenses, which are difficult to mass produce. In addition to camera lenses, we also produce 1.0mm diameter aspherical lenses, and we are the only manufacturer able to mass produce large-diameter 80mm aspherical lenses.
Stringent Level of Quality Control
To inspect aspherical lenses, Panasonic developed an instrument called the UA3P [Ultra-Accurate 3D Profilometer], which is now used by many optical device manufacturers.
In addition to measurements with an accuracy of 1/10,000 mm using the UA3P, Panasonic engineers visually check each and every lens.
Uncompromising Devotion to High Image Quality
Minimal Ghosts and Flaring
Utmost caution is exercised in coating the LUMIX lenses to suppress ghosts and flaring, increase durability, and enhance image beauty while ensuring optimum color balance.
Multicoating Process
In addition to finely regulating the reflectance for the main wavelengths, LUMIX lenses feature a coating that reduces the reflectance of light that enters at an angle. This multicoating process is widely used on lenses with a small radius of curvature, such as those in ultra-wide-angle lenses and fisheye lenses. It greatly improves the image rendering performance when shooting against a light source.
Moreover, the bonded surfaces of cemented lenses are also given an original multicoating process to further reduce reflection. This results in high-quality images with superb clarity.
Nano Surface Coating Technology
Nano Surface is an original Panasonic coating used on high-grade lenses. By forming a thin film with an ultra-fine nano-level structure and a super-low refractive index on the lens surface, Panasonic has achieved a dramatic reduction in the amount of light reflection over the entire visible light range (from 380 to 780 nm).
This significantly decreases ghosts and flaring and renders pure and clear images. The coating also resists degradation and maintains a high level of quality for a long period of time. This advanced coating technology is highly acclaimed by the camera and lens industry.
Impressive Sharpness
Panasonic possesses a meticulous lens assembly and centering technology that is accurate to the micron level. By using six-axis adjustment for the optical axis instead of the conventional two-axis adjustment, error in fixation accuracy is suppressed to ±3 μm, to further improve resolution. This ensures impressively sharp images.
Superb Image Rendering
Even though a wide variety of cameras are made, each one uses the same principle of light passing through a lens and being recorded as an image. As lens performance differs, so does the look and characteristics of the resulting images.
Sharp Resolution
Resolution is an indication of how accurately a single thin line can be produced. With LUMIX lenses, even an individual stand of hair is rendered with astonishing clarity and detail.
Minimal Spherical Distortion
Wide-angle shots taken with most lenses tend to have distortion near the edges. With their superb image rendering, LUMIX lenses capture buildings and other objects with clarity and beauty.
Ultra Wide-Angle
The aspherical lenses that are widely used in wide-angle lenses are extremely difficult to produce because they demand high dimensional accuracy. But Panasonic has made great strides in this area. This has made it possible to provide ordinary users with versatile, wide-angle lenses.
Aspherical lens
Aberration is unavoidable with spherical lenses. Aspherical lenses can optimally correct aberration, resulting in light rays being focused on a single, ideal point.
High Zoom and Tele Zoom in a Compact Size
Telephoto lenses used to be large, heavy and difficult to carry around. Panasonic achieved greatly downsizing and reducing the weight of digital camera with zoom function in compact camera like the FZ-series and TZ (ZS) -series, and the LUMIX G Digital Single Lens Mirrorless (DSLM) models with digital interchangeable lenses.
Extra-Low Distortion Lens
The ED lens is used mainly in telephoto lenses and wide-angle zoom lenses. The ED lens suppresses the prism’s color separation effect to correct longitudinal chromatic aberration.
Fast Lenses
Panasonic’s leading optical technology achieves super bright lenses. These lenses freeze fast-moving subjects with fast shutter speed, or exceptionally sharp images even in low-light situations.
• F1.2/42.5mm LEICA DG NOCTICRON interchangeable lens
• F2.8 12-35 or 35-100mm LUMI G X interchangeable lens
• F1.7-2.8 lens and 4/3-inch sensor for the DMC-LX100
• F2.8/600mm lens for the DMC-FZ200 and more
Optical Image Stabilizer
The O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) compensates for the blurring caused by hand-shake. With optical system, the image is not electronically processed so there is minimal degradation and higher quality.
Beautiful Blur-less Images
Apart from the digital image correction, the O.I.S. corrects a jolt of the light axis by shifting the lens unit to offset it. Thus the image is not affected digitally nor deteriorated at all.
Leica Quality Standard
Ever since Oskar Barnack invented the "Ur Leica" in 1914, Leica has worked non-stop to introduce revolutionary cameras and lenses based on advanced optical technologies, and advanced progress in the field of photography.
Now, there are presently three categories - LEICA DC lenses for compact cameras, LEICA DG lenses for the LUMIX G, and LEICA D lenses for digital SRLs. They are manufactured by Panasonic using measurement instruments and a strict quality assurance system certified by Leica Camera AG.
* LEICA is a registered trademark of Leica Microsystems IR GmbH. The LEICA DG lenses and LEICA D lenses are manufactured using measurement instruments and quality assurance systems that have been certified by Leica Camera AG based on the company’s quality standards.
