Panasonic is proud to introduce a new large-aperture ultra-wide fixed focal length lens for the LUMIX G Series – the LEICA DG SUMMILUX 9mm F1.7 (H-X09) – delivering impressive optical performance for professional videographers and photographers.
Aaron Waters, Product Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic said: “We are pleased to further build on the broad range of Micro Four Thirds lenses available, supporting creators by developing unique lenses to fill the gaps in their kit. This wide angle, large aperture prime lens has an affordable price point, and we expect it to be a popular choice for vlogging, landscapes, macro and astrophotography.”
The precisely engineered LEICA lens offers the advantage of being highly mobile and compact in the ultra-wide category, weighing around 130 grams. To support macro shooting, the focusing distance is exceptionally short at 0.095m with an outstanding magnification ratio of 0.25x (35mm camera equivalent: 0.5x). Smooth, beautiful bokeh is achieved with background separation as well as realistic rendering.
The LEICA H-X09 has a rugged dust and splash-resistant design to withstand use under harsh environmental conditions, down to a temperature of -10° Celsius.
The lens system comprises twelve elements in nine groups including two aspherical lenses, two ED (Extra-Low Dispersion) lenses and one UHR (Ultra High Refractive Index) lens to suppress both axial and magnification chromatic aberration. Astigmatism is also corrected with these aspherical lenses, achieving high resolving performance. Furthermore, a UHR (Ultra-High Refractive Index) lens achieves uniform image quality from the centre to the edges of the image and contributes to the unit’s small size. The filter diameter is 55mm, with a 7-blade circular aperture diaphragm.
Videographers and photographers alike will be impressed by the smooth, fast and silent autofocus performance, as well as the repeatable manual focus capability. Smooth, seamless aperture blades open and close without visible steps, perfect when recording video with variable lighting conditions.
The LEICA H-X09 is compatible with the LUMIX G sensor drive at 240fps. In the non-linear setting, focus is shifted with a variable amount according to the rotation speed of the focus ring; while for linear setting, focus is shifted with a designated amount according to the rotational quantum of the focus ring. Sensitivity (the amount of focus shift per rotational quantum) can be selected from 90 to 360° in 30°increments. The lens mechanism suppresses focus breathing when video recording.