Panasonic lumix 20mm slows burst rate fps, big time!

Hi,

can anybody shead some light on this:

I have the 20mm f1.7 II on my Olympus e-p5. I love the combo, except that i have noticed that i lose approx. 6fps from my high burst mode regardless of shutter speed. Does that make sense?

I know that focusing isn't amazingly fast with this lens, but that won't effect the burst, will it..?

I've tried setting the camera to manual mode, set a fast shutter speed and f4, and tested with my Olympus 12-40 f2.8, and the high burst is back up to roughly 9fps. Switch to the Lumix without changing camera settings and can't get more than roughly 3 fps.

Hmmm!?! Is this me doing something wrong or am i missing something obvious?!

Thanks.

never really noticed it because of how I shoot, but it makes sense being one of the older designs without internal focusing mechanism.

Now that you mention it, the 12-35 seems to reel off shots faster.  Typically I shoot 2-3 burst shots for stills, and with the 12-35, I often get 4 even though I think I am pressing the release for the same time length.

Read about the issues with the Panasonic 100-300 regarding burst shooting speed. I bet it's a similar issue.

ijm5012 wrote:

Read about the issues with the Panasonic 100-300 regarding burst shooting speed. I bet it's a similar issue.

It is thought that early Panasonic lenses have a problem with fps rates above about 4fps because of the type of diaphragm used.  It seems that the diaphragm can't open and close fast enough to allow AF between shots at high fps rates.

I don't think that Panasonic has ever publicly acknowledge this but at list one member of this forum got that answer in an e-mail from a Panasonic service centre.

As has been suggested, shooting wide open might work because then the diaphragm doesn't have to open and close between shots.

Do you have a 20mm f/1.7 MkI or MkII?  It would be interesting to know whether they changed the diaphragm design in the MkII.  I am still waiting for a 100-300mm MkII with the problem fixed.

physs wrote:

Hi,

can anybody shead some light on this:

I have the 20mm f1.7 II on my Olympus e-p5. I love the combo, except that i have noticed that i lose approx. 6fps from my high burst mode regardless of shutter speed. Does that make sense?

I know that focusing isn't amazingly fast with this lens, but that won't effect the burst, will it..?

I think that focusing motor (screw drive) does affect burst mode. For this very reason this lens does not work for video and AF-C.

Set your camera to manual focus, or switch AF priority "OFF" and try it again

I've tried setting the camera to manual mode, set a fast shutter speed and f4, and tested with my Olympus 12-40 f2.8, and the high burst is back up to roughly 9fps. Switch to the Lumix without changing camera settings and can't get more than roughly 3 fps.

Hmmm!?! Is this me doing something wrong or am i missing something obvious?!

Thanks.

s_grins wrote:

physs wrote:

Hi,

can anybody shead some light on this:

I have the 20mm f1.7 II on my Olympus e-p5. I love the combo, except that i have noticed that i lose approx. 6fps from my high burst mode regardless of shutter speed. Does that make sense?

I know that focusing isn't amazingly fast with this lens, but that won't effect the burst, will it..?

I think that focusing motor (screw drive) does affect burst mode. For this very reason this lens does not work for video and AF-C.

In the high-speed burst-mode tried by the OP, the camera makes no attempt to AF between shots. The focus remains what it was for the first shot.

Set your camera to manual focus, or switch AF priority "OFF" and try it again

I've tried setting the camera to manual mode, set a fast shutter speed and f4, and tested with my Olympus 12-40 f2.8, and the high burst is back up to roughly 9fps. Switch to the Lumix without changing camera settings and can't get more than roughly 3 fps.

Hmmm!?! Is this me doing something wrong or am i missing something obvious?!

Thanks.

-- hide signature --

Camera in bag tends to stay in bag...

Chris R-UK wrote:

ijm5012 wrote:

Read about the issues with the Panasonic 100-300 regarding burst shooting speed. I bet it's a similar issue.

It is thought that early Panasonic lenses have a problem with fps rates above about 4fps because of the type of diaphragm used. It seems that the diaphragm can't open and close fast enough to allow AF between shots at high fps rates.

The problem is not with the AF. In the high-speed burst mode used by the OP, the camera won't try to AF between frames. The focus remains what it was for the first shot.

But I fear the body might be stupid enough to open up the diaphragm between shots and then close it down again although there is no need for that in high-speed burst mode (where there is neither AF nor live-view between shots). For high-speed burst mode, the problem could be addressed by just keeping the diaphragm fixed during the burst, without any need to upgrade the diaphragm mechanism (which might well be slow on the 20/1.7).

I don't think that Panasonic has ever publicly acknowledge this but at list one member of this forum got that answer in an e-mail from a Panasonic service centre.

As has been suggested, shooting wide open might work because then the diaphragm doesn't have to open and close between shots.

Do you have a 20mm f/1.7 MkI or MkII? It would be interesting to know whether they changed the diaphragm design in the MkII. I am still waiting for a 100-300mm MkII with the problem fixed.

-- hide signature --

Chris R

physs wrote:

Hi,

can anybody shead some light on this:

I have the 20mm f1.7 II on my Olympus e-p5. I love the combo, except that i have noticed that i lose approx. 6fps from my high burst mode regardless of shutter speed. Does that make sense?

I know that focusing isn't amazingly fast with this lens, but that won't effect the burst, will it..?

I've tried setting the camera to manual mode, set a fast shutter speed and f4, and tested with my Olympus 12-40 f2.8, and the high burst is back up to roughly 9fps. Switch to the Lumix without changing camera settings and can't get more than roughly 3 fps.

Hmmm!?! Is this me doing something wrong or am i missing something obvious?!

Thanks.

Correct. It has nothing to do with shutter speed or focus speed. However, it is demonstrably dependent on the aperture. If you are wide open (at 1.7 for the 20mm) then you can achieve the full 9 fps. The more you stop down, the slower the fps. I can confirm that this is a real phenomenon for three lenses that I own or owned:

1, Panasonic 14mm f2.5

2. Panasonic 20mm f1.7

3. Panasonic 45-150mm

I am almost certain this applies to the Panasonic 25mm f1.4 as well. This is a known issue, but appears to not be widely known. I have seen reports of Panasonic lenses being affected, but have not seen reports of lenses not being affected. So I do not know if all Panasonic lenses are affected or not.

ristar wrote:

physs wrote:

Hi,

can anybody shead some light on this:

I have the 20mm f1.7 II on my Olympus e-p5. I love the combo, except that i have noticed that i lose approx. 6fps from my high burst mode regardless of shutter speed. Does that make sense?

I know that focusing isn't amazingly fast with this lens, but that won't effect the burst, will it..?

I've tried setting the camera to manual mode, set a fast shutter speed and f4, and tested with my Olympus 12-40 f2.8, and the high burst is back up to roughly 9fps. Switch to the Lumix without changing camera settings and can't get more than roughly 3 fps.

Hmmm!?! Is this me doing something wrong or am i missing something obvious?!

Thanks.

Correct. It has nothing to do with shutter speed or focus speed. However, it is demonstrably dependent on the aperture. If you are wide open (at 1.7 for the 20mm) then you can achieve the full 9 fps. The more you stop down, the slower the fps. I can confirm that this is a real phenomenon for three lenses that I own or owned:

1, Panasonic 14mm f2.5

1. Panasonic 20mm f1.7
2. Panasonic 45-150mm

I am almost certain this applies to the Panasonic 25mm f1.4 as well. This is a known issue, but appears to not be widely known. I have seen reports of Panasonic lenses being affected, but have not seen reports of lenses not being affected. So I do not know if all Panasonic lenses are affected or not.

Excellent, you're absolutely right.

I wouldn't have thought that the lens aperture would open up and close again in between each shot, but apparently it does with this lens.

And having tried it at f1.7, and smaller apertures, you can actually hear that this is the case. A shame, but good to know.

Thanks for your comments and help. ☺