Panasonic is proud to introduce a new telephoto zoom digital interchangeable lens, the LEICA DG VARIO-SUMMILUX 25-50mm / F1.7 ASPH. (H-X2550), which boasts a large F1.7 aperture throughout the entire 50-100mm (35mm camera equivalent) zoom range with exceptionally high optical performance clearing the stringent LEICA standards. The LEICA DG VARIO-SUMMILUX 25-50mm / F1.7 ASPH. is suitable not only for photo shooting but also for video recording to satisfy both professional photographers and videographers.
This new LEICA DG VARIO-SUMMILUX 25-50mm / F1.7 ASPH. (H-X2550) has been designed to be a pair with the LEICA DG VARIO-SUMMILUX 10-25mm / F1.7 ASPH. (H-X1025), which is available on the market and has been highly acclaimed by the creators. They both feature the full-range F1.7 high-speed aperture that provides beautiful bokeh. These two lenses cover a focusing distance from wide angle to telephoto, functioning as eight fixed focal length lenses (20mm / 24mm / 28mm / 35mm / 50mm / 75mm / 85mm / 100mm, 35mm camera equivalent) providing the same or an even higher level of detail than a fixed focal length lens can offer. They have a common aperture, high quality performance, shape and operability so that it is easy to make the creator’s own unique image product using these two lenses with minimal workflow.
Comprising 16 elements in 11 groups, the lens system features an aspherical lens and three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) lenses that effectively suppress the axial chromatic aberration and chromatic aberration of magnification. Spherical aberration and distortion are also corrected by the aspherical lenses for stunningly high resolution. The use of aspherical lenses and the optimum design of the lens system results in a compact size and light weight despite its outstanding optical performance.
Compatibility with a maximum 240-fps high-speed sensor drive realizes high-speed, high-precision auto focusing. Notably, the new lens excels in video recording performance. In addition to the silent operation achieved by the inner focus drive system, the stepless aperture ring and micro-step drive system in the aperture control section help the camera to smoothly catch up to brightness changes when zooming or panning. The optical design achieves exceptional barycentric stability to minimize image shifts during zooming. A focus ring is equipped for intuitive, precise focusing and linear/ non-linear setting can also be switched with this ring. The LEICA DG VARIO-SUMMILUX 25-50mm / F1.7 ASPH. also excels in video recording performance with a mechanism that suppresses focus breathing at entire zoom range.
The LEICA DG VARIO-SUMMILUX 25-50mm / F1.7 ASPH. boasts minimum focusing distance of 0.28m (at wide end, 0.31m at tele end) and the maximum magnification ratio of 0.42x (35mm camera equivalent) for superior macro photography. The rugged dust/splash-resistant* design can withstand use under harsh conditions even in 10 degrees below zero for high mobility. Filter diameter is in 77mm.
