PANASONIC Lumix S 24mm f/1.8 L-Mount

Filmmakers will be delighted with this new lightweight Lumix S 24mm lens, says Damien Demolder, as there's no sacrifice in quality to make it compatible with the size and shape of the other Lumix S f/1 lenses.8

The Lumix S 24mm f/1.8 is the third in the promised set of four lightweight and matching lenses for the Lumix S system. 

So far we've got the Lumix S 85mm f/1.8 and the Lumix S 50mm f/1.8, so this new Lumix S 24mm f/1.8 adds a nice wide angle of view to the set that settles down quickly. 
The idea of these lenses is that they all have the same physical dimensions, weight, and control point placement, so they can be turned on and off the camera with as little rebalancing as possible when the camera is mounted on a gimbal or video equipment. 
In addition, Panasonic has been careful to ensure that the center of gravity of each lens is in the same place, so when one is swapped out for another, your rig should balance out almost immediately.

PRESENTATION
There's only a 10g difference between the weight of this new 310g 24mm lens and the 300g 50mm f/1.8, and only slightly more with the 355g Lumix S 85mm f/1.8, and all three measure 82mm from front to back and 73.6mm at the widest diameter. 

When placed side by side, they are impossible to distinguish, except for their focal length markings on the cylinder and around the front element.
This wide angle allows users to focus down to 0.24 m / 0.79 ft, so close-up work is more than a small possibility. 
The width of the viewing angle will present dramatic close-up images with a dominant subject, as well as an extension of the environment to show where the subject is. 
The wide f/1.8 aperture can also boost this effect with a dramatically out-of-focus background, and the 9-blade iris ensures that out-of-focus detail and highlights will look fantastic.

CONSTRUCTION
Twelve elements go into the optical construction, including three aspherical elements, three Extra-Low Dispersion and one Ultra Extra-Low Dispersion to control sharpness, image shape and also chromatic aberrations. 
The idea of all these elements is to make sure that the lens produces images in which the straight lines at the ends of the frame look straight, that there's a lot of detail, and that we don't have colored edges around the high-contrast edges. 
The design is certainly very successful, as the image quality is excellent even with the aperture fully open or closed.

FOCUSING

This new lens is able to take full advantage of the fast focus systems built into Lumix S cameras, as it operates at a frequency of 240Hz. 
This means that it reacts very quickly to the instructions given, so that subjects can be found and tracked smoothly and efficiently. 
In manual focus mode, the lens gives you the option of linear or non-linear responses when the focus ring is rotated - you just need to tell the camera which mode you want to use: Settings Menu> Lens/Other> Focus Ring Control . 
Here you can also set the degree of rotation required to bring the lens from its closest focus point to infinity. 
As before, there's an AF/MF dial mounted on a barrel on the lens, so switching between methods can be controlled directly by the camera or the lens.

CONCLUSION

Just like the Lumix S 50mm f/1.8 that was released in June and the S 85mm f/1.8 that came out in November 2020, this Lumix S 24mm f/1.8 offers exceptional performance in a very lightweight and compact body. 
While its size and weight make it an ideal partner for the Lumix S5, it also pairs very comfortably with the other three Lumix S cameras and will help reduce the weight of any kit it's a part of. 
While the physical design of this lens is very important, it seems that no compromises were made on image quality just to ensure that it met certain weight/size objectives. 
It's an optically excellent lens that will become a favorite for wide scenes, confined spaces, and when we want a slightly over-the-top perspective. Now I can't wait for the Lumix S 35mm f/1.8 to finish the set.

Box Contents:
1x PANASONIC Lumix S 24mm f/1.8
1x Front Lens Cap
1x Rear Lens Cap
1x Carrying Bag