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PANASONIC LUMIX G LEICA DG MACRO-ELMAR LENS, 45MM, F2.8 ASPH., PROFESSIONAL MIRRORLESS MICRO FOUR THIRDS, MEGA OPTICAL I.S., H-ES045 (USA BLACK)

3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 53 ratings

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Brand Panasonic
Focal Length Description 45 mm
Lens Type Telephoto
Compatible Mountings Micro Four Thirds
Camera Lens Description 45 millimetres

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This item: PANASONIC LUMIX G LEICA DG MACRO-ELMAR LENS, 45MM, F2.8 ASPH., PROFESSIONAL MIRRORLESS MICRO FOUR THIRDS, MEGA OPTICAL I.S., H-ES045 (USA BLACK)
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From the Manufacturer

The world's first Leica Micro Four Thirds lens, the Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm/F2.8 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S., features exceptional image quality in a compact size.

The Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm/F2.8 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S. (equivalent to 90mm on a 35mm film camera), features outstanding image quality that meets the renowned Leica standard. The new Leica lens uses both an aspherical lens and an ED lens comprised of fourteen lenses arranged in ten groups. This lens takes advantage of the Micro Four Thirds specifications to achieve a dramatic size decrease, while also minimizing distortion and glare. Panasonic's Mega Optical Image Stabilizer (O.I.S.) suppresses the blurring that is commonly caused by hand-shake, making it easy to shoot sharply-focused macro shots even in dimly-lit places without the need for a tripod.

The Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm/F2.8 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S. lens incorporates an inner focus motor system that makes action smooth and silent when capturing still and video content. By flipping a switch on the lens barrel, the minimum focus distance can instantly be changed to 150mm or 500mm (approximately 5.9 inches or 19.7 inches respectively). This lens excels when taking portraits, mid-range snapshots and landscapes, in addition to macro shots.

When mounted on Lumix G Micro System Cameras, the Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm/F2.8 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S. lens allows for use of the advanced contrast Auto Focus (AF) system, which includes Panasonic's Face Recognition functions. It's comprised of seven blades, which produce an attractive and smooth background blur effect when shooting at larger aperture settings. These lenses also feature a highly-reliable metal mount, and use multi-coated lens elements to minimize glare and further enhance optical performance.

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PANASONIC LUMIX G LEICA DG MACRO-ELMAR LENS, 45MM, F2.8 ASPH., PROFESSIONAL MIRRORLESS MICRO FOUR THIRDS, MEGA OPTICAL I.S., H-ES045 (USA BLACK)
PANASONIC LUMIX G LEICA DG MACRO-ELMAR LENS, 45MM, F2.8 ASPH., PROFESSIONAL MIRRORLESS MICRO FOUR THIRDS, MEGA OPTICAL I.S., H-ES045 (USA BLACK)
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Price$797.99$897.99-17% $497.99
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List:$449.99
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    PANASONIC LUMIX G LEICA DG MACRO-ELMAR LENS, 45MM, F2.8 ASPH., PROFESSIONAL MIRRORLESS MICRO FOUR THIRDS, MEGA OPTICAL I.S., H-ES045 (USA BLACK)


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    Customer reviews

    3.6 out of 5 stars
    53 global ratings

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    Customers say

    Customers appreciate the camera lens' sharp image quality and fast focusing speed. They find it versatile for macro and portrait photography, with good results for insects and plants. The lens is described as excellent and solid. While some customers like its quality, size, and fun to use, others have mixed opinions on autofocus and value for money.

    AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

    29 customers mention "Image quality"29 positive0 negative

    Customers appreciate the lens' image quality. They find it versatile, providing sharp images for macro and portrait photography, with a depth of field that brings out true colors. The lens is perfect for everyday use, producing beautiful still landscapes and macro photos.

    "The pictures are incredible, macro can't be beat, I couldn't ask for more beautiful up close shots...." Read more

    "...for features, internal focus, size, weight, match to the system, image quality, focus speed and versatility I rate this lens as Excellent with some..." Read more

    "...I was easily able to shoot great portraits with smooth bokeh. The macro function was also high quality and produced impressive results...." Read more

    "...It is capable of incredible close-ups once you know what you're doing." Read more

    25 customers mention "Lens quality"25 positive0 negative

    Customers are satisfied with the lens quality. They find it sharp, solid, and great for macro photography. The optics are outstanding, and the lens works well on their cameras. Many consider it the best 45mm lens on the M43 platform.

    "...One star knock off for useless AF, but lens quality is superb, plus an OIS decent lens." Read more

    "...It is very sharp, well built, focuses quickly at normal ranges, will search some at macro, typical for almost all lenses in the macro range...." Read more

    "...Don't get me wrong, the optics are outstanding. I was easily able to shoot great portraits with smooth bokeh...." Read more

    "...62; The optional plastic Zuiko lenshood is exceptional--the best lenshood I've ever used. When you want to use it, you just slide it forward...." Read more

    10 customers mention "Focus speed"10 positive0 negative

    Customers appreciate the fast AF speed for macro shots. They find it a great semi-fast lens.

    "...well on all 3, the 14-42 X lens however is incredible for videos and fast focus...." Read more

    "...Extremely fast, almost instant in good light. Fast in low light, Searches some in very dim light or if the subject(s) are of very dark (black) or..." Read more

    "...It's faster than the GH1 kit lens and it does not have the wide angle distortion of the 20mm/f1.7 or the 7-14mm/f4.0...." Read more

    "This is a wonderfully sharp Portrait and Macro lens. It's also decently fast at 2.8, though obviously not as fast as the [..." Read more

    8 customers mention "Size"6 positive2 negative

    Customers like the lens' size. They mention it's small, fits well on their cameras, and is easy to store in a gadget bag.

    "...Overall for features, internal focus, size, weight, match to the system, image quality, focus speed and versatility I rate this lens as Excellent..." Read more

    "...The real strengths of this lens are its small size (225g), beautiful color rendition, and pleasing bokeh...." Read more

    "...It's fast and compact, and it's on my camera a lot. If you want a good macro for a µ4/3, you really can't go wrong with this lens...." Read more

    "lens works great and fit perfect on my camera" Read more

    7 customers mention "Quality"7 positive0 negative

    Customers appreciate the quality of the lens. It provides excellent results for macros and in all situations, even in low light. They find it useful and a great tool for everyday use.

    "...is just perfect for picturing people on everyday use, I get better results every minute and if you use it on a Panni the AF is just perfect, think..." Read more

    "...f2.8, which confirms my personal experience with this lens -- it's good for macro and an absolute winner for portraits." Read more

    "...it is sharp and I have had good results. The only problem I have had is an occasional problem with the auto focus when using it for macro pictures...." Read more

    "...Also gives excellent results for macros although in a low contrast situation I did find some problems with the auto focus picking up the background..." Read more

    4 customers mention "Fun to use"4 positive0 negative

    Customers enjoy the lens's macro functionality. They find it flexible and great for taking close-up pictures, especially of food.

    "...The thrill of macro shots is awesome, you want close up, get this. Posed portraits and still landscapes are great also...." Read more

    "...it was not my main intention, but it makes the lens very flexible and fun, as in other reviews AF is not too helpful and moving insects are quite..." Read more

    "...I personally love the lens. The macro functionality is fun, and very sharp and well magnified...." Read more

    "...I love it. It is especially great at taking pictures of food...." Read more

    14 customers mention "Autofocus"7 positive7 negative

    Customers have different views on the autofocus. Some find it easy to use manual focusing and appreciate the focus limiter switch on the lens. Others report issues with autofocus at macro distances, loud motors, and a small minimum focusing distance. Overall, opinions are mixed regarding the autofocus performance.

    "...Micro Four Thirds and Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras support auto focus on this lens as well as the Olympus E Series lenses...." Read more

    "...I have three micro 4/3 bodies, and this lens can't focus well on all 3, the 14-42 X lens however is incredible for videos and fast focus...." Read more

    "...it have a very close focus distance for macro shots and the AF speed is very fast..." Read more

    "Fabulous lens...really fast focus and getting great depth of field from it. I am having a week nderful time learning how to use it." Read more

    12 customers mention "Value for money"8 positive4 negative

    Customers have different views on the camera lens' value for money. Some find it worth the cost and a solid investment, while others say it's pretty expensive.

    "...I love the lens and it is to me worth every penny...." Read more

    "PRICE, QUALITY, AND PERFORMANCE &#..." Read more

    "...While this lens is pretty expensive (I got a like new used at ~$500), it has both portrait and macro functionality, and is very sharp...." Read more

    "...This one was expensive, but worth it. Even an amateur like me can get amazing photos of all kinds of small things...." Read more

    Incredible macro shots, horrible AF
    4 out of 5 stars
    Incredible macro shots, horrible AF
    The pictures are incredible, macro can't be beat, I couldn't ask for more beautiful up close shots. Works well as a general purpose lens for landscape or set portraits. Autofocus is almost totally useless on any moving subject or when really close in. Treat this as a manual focus lens, and yes I know my camera, I have no problems with my other lenses, just this one is very bad with autofocus. posted two very nice pics I shot handheld at a very bad angle in low light with flash, and they came out great. The thrill of macro shots is awesome, you want close up, get this. Posed portraits and still landscapes are great also. I have three micro 4/3 bodies, and this lens can't focus well on all 3, the 14-42 X lens however is incredible for videos and fast focus. That reminds me, video-forget about it, unless you have a fixed focus vid, it just can't keep up. One star knock off for useless AF, but lens quality is superb, plus an OIS decent lens.
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    Top reviews from the United States

    • Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2013
      The pictures are incredible, macro can't be beat, I couldn't ask for more beautiful up close shots. Works well as a general purpose lens for landscape or set portraits. Autofocus is almost totally useless on any moving subject or when really close in. Treat this as a manual focus lens, and yes I know my camera, I have no problems with my other lenses, just this one is very bad with autofocus. posted two very nice pics I shot handheld at a very bad angle in low light with flash, and they came out great. The thrill of macro shots is awesome, you want close up, get this. Posed portraits and still landscapes are great also. I have three micro 4/3 bodies, and this lens can't focus well on all 3, the 14-42 X lens however is incredible for videos and fast focus. That reminds me, video-forget about it, unless you have a fixed focus vid, it just can't keep up. One star knock off for useless AF, but lens quality is superb, plus an OIS decent lens.
      Customer image
      4.0 out of 5 stars Incredible macro shots, horrible AF
      Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2013
      The pictures are incredible, macro can't be beat, I couldn't ask for more beautiful up close shots. Works well as a general purpose lens for landscape or set portraits. Autofocus is almost totally useless on any moving subject or when really close in. Treat this as a manual focus lens, and yes I know my camera, I have no problems with my other lenses, just this one is very bad with autofocus. posted two very nice pics I shot handheld at a very bad angle in low light with flash, and they came out great. The thrill of macro shots is awesome, you want close up, get this. Posed portraits and still landscapes are great also. I have three micro 4/3 bodies, and this lens can't focus well on all 3, the 14-42 X lens however is incredible for videos and fast focus. That reminds me, video-forget about it, unless you have a fixed focus vid, it just can't keep up. One star knock off for useless AF, but lens quality is superb, plus an OIS decent lens.
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      8 people found this helpful
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    • Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2010
      The Panasonic/Leica Elmarit 45mm F2.8 macros is a little bit controversial because of it's price. However there are a lot of considerations. Built by Panasonic but designed by Leica and built to Leica supervised quality standards.

      This lens is quite small and light, a perfect match for the mFT (Micro Four Thirds) cameras as size and weight are design considerations to match the systems. It is very well built solid construction with a blend of plastics and metal. Compared to better quality Macro lenses it is smaller and lighter by a good margin. It is most often compared to the Olympus Zuiko 50mm F2 which is one of the finest macro lenses built for the four thirds sensor systems or any system for that matter. The 50mm is heavier, larger and requires an adapter to be used on mTF cameras. On olympus mTF 50mm autofocus works erratically, on Panasonic mTF autofocus of the Olympus 50mm does not work at all, you must use manual focus . Auto aperture works with both. This same applies to any other "legacy" macro from other manufacturers. You can get adapters for about 90% of all legacy lenses made to use them with mTF cameras but most will be either fully manual, standard four third lenses will work with auto aperture but only some will provide autofocus. However, as of this writing, the 45mm F2.8 Elmarit is the only macro lens designed and built specifically for the mTF system cameras (Olympus and Panasonic). Some mTF zooms provide some very close focusing but none of the zooms provide true macro.

      The 45mm is an internal focus lens. This means that regardless of focus distance the front element of the lens never extends or changes position. The 50mm Olympus, is an extending design (as are most macro lenses), so the front element extends out farther the closer you get to the subject. While I don't have the ability to perform a technical comparison, generally this may means that at 1:2 magnification, an internal design, the front lens element may not be as close to the subject as an extending design. For most photography this is not significant but for macro it is. The actual focus point is internal to the lens optical system, not the front lens element. The closer the front lens element is to the subject, the more it blocks the light reaching the subject (because you are very, close). So internal focus lenses may provide the maximum possible clearance for the front element making it easier to light the subject. There can be exceptions so this is not a hard rule.

      Another consideration is "Effective focal length". You may read where advertisers promote a lens or camera based upon "effective focal length" Effective focal length is relative to a 35mm film camera or a full frame digital camera. On a full frame 35mm or digital camera, the optical focal length and effective focal length are the same in most cases, so the field of view is relative to the effective focal length. The shorter focal length, the wider the field of view (wide angle) the longer the focal length, the narrower the field of view (telephoto). Most digital sensors are smaller then full frame and are said to have a crop or magnification factor. For Four Thirds and micro four third sensors, the crop factor is 2X. Therefore the effective focal length of the 45mm is 2X or 90mm. This is a short telephoto and the advantage is it provides a longer working distance for macro shots.

      The 45mm also makes an excellent short telephoto and portrait lens. The 45mm has a focus limiter switch on the lens. When turned on under normal use this allows you to restrict focus range to normal distances so the lens does not search through the macro range. It speeds up auto focus in these circumstances.

      So there are some top end legacy macro lenses that are technically sharper then the 45mm F2.8 and some that are faster. They are also larger and heavier and currently cannot provide some auto focus or in some cases auto aperture with mTF systems. It is important to understand that this does not make the 45mm a bad lens, quite the Contrary, the 45mm F2.8 is an excellent pro grade lens. It is very sharp, well built, focuses quickly at normal ranges, will search some at macro, typical for almost all lenses in the macro range. I love the lens and it is to me worth every penny.

      The lens will focus to 1:1 magnification (life size) directly without an extension tube. Many macro lenses will only focus to 1:2 including the 50mm F2 Olympus lens and therefore require an extension tube to get all the way down to 1:1 magnification. (extra cost, size and weight)

      IImage quality for both telephoto, portraits and macro is very good to Excellent wide open at F2.8 to F11. Some deterioration at F16 to F22 due to diffraction but still good to very good (this is common for most digital sensors smaller then full frame and is an excellent performance overall)

      Vignetting: (corners darker then center) is noticeable (mild) wide open but insignificant stopped down 1 stop. (Very good)

      Distortion: There is none which is optically excellent and better then most. (Excellent)

      Chromatic Aberration: Color fringing is very mild at most apertures and not significant or detectable to most people. (very good)

      Bokeh: The term bokeh is the blur or the quality of the blur in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light or highlights. Ideally they should be very smooth and blended with no significant sphering or octagonal shapes. There is no technical specification for Bokeh. It is a subjective evaluation made by the viewer or photographer. For me, the 45mm Bokeh is "Very Good" but not excellent.

      Focus speed: I can only evaluate this as used on the GH1 as I haven't used it with other mTH bodies. Extremely fast, almost instant in good light. Fast in low light, Searches some in very dim light or if the subject(s) are of very dark (black) or of very low contrast in low light. Overall, as fast or faster then my Olympus E3 DSLR with 12-60 lens. (an excellent performance) -- I don't shoot much video but did a brief test in my apartment with low to dim lighting, using only 2 60 watt bulbs in one corner, bounced off the wall. I found the video focus to be better then most but not instant. The 45mm has virtually silent autofocus so the autofocus lens produces no noticeable noise when

      Overall for features, internal focus, size, weight, match to the system, image quality, focus speed and versatility I rate this lens as Excellent with some exceptions for vignetting wide open, very slight color fringing and Bokeh. Not matter how you measure it, it still comes up as a true professional quality optic.
      191 people found this helpful
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    • Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2015
      keywords: AF issue, AF broken, AF does not work, not focusing, autofocus does not work, autofocus broken, autofocus issue, panasonic issue, panasonic issues, panasonic does not work, af motor, autofocus motor, motor dead, motor broken, motor issue

      ---

      this lens has a design flaw where its AF motor dies, you might get "lucky" and it will die during the warranty period or not and it will die 18-24 month later... so the lens might be OK optically, but if you value your money please do not waste them on this lens or you are just taking chances
      5 people found this helpful
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    • Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2016
      Hunts for focus, motors are very loud.
      One person found this helpful
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    • Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2012
      I just dropped this off at UPS to return for a refund. After shooting with it for week, I just can't surrender to the high price tag. Don't get me wrong, the optics are outstanding. I was easily able to shoot great portraits with smooth bokeh. The macro function was also high quality and produced impressive results.

      The bottom line for me, however, is that I'm not going to use the macro often and just can't justify the extra $200 for a f/2.8. I just ordered the MFT 45mm Olympus (f/1.8 !) portrait lens for a fraction of the price. I've heard great things about that lens. Many think it actually has better optics than the pan 45mm and it should prove to be better for portraits with it's f/1.8.

      I'm rating this 4 stars due to my perceived value, not due to quality.

      I shoot with a Panasonic GX-1
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