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PMA: Panasonic and Leica Announce 10.7x Zoom Lens
The new Four Thirds lens will feature optical image stabilization and a manual aperture ring.
By Aimee Baldridge
March 8, 2007
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| The Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 is one of several Four Thirds System digital SLRs compatible with the Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S. lens. |
Panasonic and Leica have announced a new Leica D large-diameter telephoto zoom lens. The Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S. lens will be compatible with digital SLRs that follow the Four Thirds standard, including Panasonic's Lumix DMC-L1 and Leica's Digilux 3. The Four Thirds 2x conversion factor gives the new lens the same angle of view as a 28mm-300mm lens on a 35mm film camera.
The new Vario-Elmar will be the first Leica D lens with a range up to 300mm. Panasonic and Leica say it will be as light and compact as the current Leica D Vario-Elmarit 14-50mm/F2.8-3.5 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. lens. The new optic contains four aspherical elements and an extra-low dispersion (ED) element for minimizing chromatic aberrations, and it's also the first D lens to incorporate Leica's Extra Silent Motor (XSM) technology, which aims to make autofocusing quieter, faster, and more accurate.
Among the other notable features of the new lens are a manual aperture ring, a constant minimum focus distance of 50 cm, a circular aperture diaphragm, and multiple lens coatings.
The Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH./MEGA O.I.S. lens will be available in March 2007 for a retail price of $999.95.
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