G7 and Olympus 9-18 Focus Issues

Hello,

I recently got a Panasonic G7 camera and so far I like it a lot. I added the 9-18 lens but I'm having some focus issues. More than half of the shots the focus is slightly off even with confirmed. Here are 2 examples. The first one is manual focus, the second one is auto focus. The focused on object is circled in red.

Has anyone else experienced this with Panasonic camera and the Olympus 9-18mm? I tested the Pana 14-42 kit lens and the Pana 25mm wide open at 1.7 but they appear to work fine.

Manual focus with peaking

Auto focus - the focus point was at the object, no recomposing.

The other lenses work fine, so since the focus problem only occurs with the 9-18, then it follows that it is the 9-18 that is at fault.

Since I have the 9-18 and have used it and continue to use it in all sorts of situations and at all sorts of distances from the subject, mainly at 9mm, on Panasonic cameras, G6, GX7, and G85, with no problems whatsoever, then the problem must be with the your copy of the lens.

About three years ago, I did have some problems with the lens when it got rather badly knocked about accidentally. It cost a fair bit for Olympus Australia to fix it, but they did fix it and it has been fine since.

Maybe you need to get Olympus Service to have a look at your lens.

Seems weird to me, though, that the problem should show up with both MF and AF.

Is there something odd about your focus target?

Maybe you should try focusing on something else. Also try closer, for a start. A line on a brick wall is good because the rendering of the bricks tells you where the sharpest focusing point is.

Also, set up the focus for pinpoint.

And I might also look at another side.

Might I ask how you shoot for the AF image?

• Had you used a single focus point in its smallest size? It is the focusing mode that allows the smallest area for the camera to lock on a focus (usually on the highest contrast point inside that box). If a larger size of focusing box be used, it might focus at the back of your aimed object or its neighboring object. In your case, likely the camera for whatsoever reason put the focus on the sky, making the entire frame OOF.

BTW, if a single focusing point be used but controlled by touch AF, I personally might not be able to put the focus point precisely on an aimed small far away object. It might also make the camera to AF on some other place else.

How you shoot?

• Very often for certain reason we have to hit the shutter in one go to take a picture. As no matter how fast AFS of our camera could be, it still needs time to find the focus, lock on it, drive the lens to focus on that point and shoot. I found after we half hit the shutter and the AF confirmation beep/green spot be head/seen, hold the shutter in half pressed condition for an extra brief moment than 99% we can get a good focused image.

Finally, if you wish to test the AF performance of your combo, I might test it with something bigger, closer under better lighting condition. Like a pot of flower on a table under plenty of light 5~10 feet away...

Did you try this on a steady tripod or other stable fixture with a timed shutter release? It would be good to rule out any movements of the camera as the picture is being taken. Try it at a wider aperture, too.

Thank you all for the replies. During the tests I purposely kept the lens stopped down with shutter speed above 1/400 to eliminate possible shutter shock or corner softness.

It looks like the overcast day yesterday and the specific target were not a good combination although the other lenses worked fine during the same conditions. Today the sun was out and the lens behaved better. Probably the lens' micro contrast is lower at the widest angle and this affects the camera's contrast driven autofocus system. I experimented with different targets and the problem exists only on lower contrast objects or with busy backgrounds.

When the problem occurs it is always front focusing rendering pretty much the entire photo soft. Knowing this behavior and having in mind that I will mostly use this lens outdoors in good weather I will keep it and pay attention when choosing a focusing target. It would have been better if the focus failed altogether instead of turning green but nothing is perfect...

Marks Photography wrote:

I own a lumix g7 and I just purchased the oly 9 18mm zoom. And although I have NOT received the lens yet. I have this nagging feeling that the lens won't fit my g7. Should I be concerned or is my fears unfounded?

Fits on, and works with my several Panasonic G series cameras, one newer but mostly older than yours, so I'm sure you'll be fine!

However of that group it's only the GX85 that offers any stabilisation with Olympus lenses.

Peter

hindesite wrote:

Marks Photography wrote:

I own a lumix g7 and I just purchased the oly 9 18mm zoom. And although I have NOT received the lens yet. I have this nagging feeling that the lens won't fit my g7. Should I be concerned or is my fears unfounded?

I use mine with the G7 all the time, it works perfectly.

Lack of stabilisation isn't an issue for UWA lens (for most people).

At all light levels?

Peter

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http://hindesite.co.nz

Relax, generally there should be no problem unless you have a bad copy, which should rarely happened.

Just use the right technique as using any other lenses, hold your camera steadily and avoid using crazy slow shutter speed because you have a non stabilised combo etc you should be alright.