Widespread issue Lumix S lenses? Part III

[Melidonia]

Well, that's kinda-sorta the point of these threads - to cause concern.

I would say it's to raise awareness rather than cause concern.

In either the first or second part of this thread, at least one person was able to get Panasonic to help them in some way (don't recall exactly what they did) even though the lens was out of warranty. So, the squeaky wheel can get the grease.

My S-Pro 16-35mm f/4, which was bought used so had no original Panasonic warranty I'm aware of, was replaced free of charge by Panasonic.

You're lucky because Panasonic doesn't want to replace my 2500$ 50mm S pro lens.

 

[Jonathan Mac]

You're lucky because Panasonic doesn't want to replace my 2500$ 50mm S pro lens.

Bear in mind that my Panasonic lenses (all three of them) suffered from blue fogging, not the white spots. As far as I'm aware the two problems are not related and Panasonic may regard the white spots as not a QC problem, or it may just be that I got lucky or that they're more generous in some geographies than in others.

 

[Melidonia]

You're lucky because Panasonic doesn't want to replace my 2500$ 50mm S pro lens.

Bear in mind that my Panasonic lenses (all three of them) suffered from blue fogging, not the white spots. As far as I'm aware the two problems are not related and Panasonic may regard the white spots as not a QC problem, or it may just be that I got lucky or that they're more generous in some geographies than in others.

Yes I saw some threads on Reddit from people saying they had the white spots issue and they had their lenses replaced, but it was not in Europe.

 

[jschoonj]

You're lucky because Panasonic doesn't want to replace my 2500$ 50mm S pro lens.

Bear in mind that my Panasonic lenses (all three of them) suffered from blue fogging, not the white spots. As far as I'm aware the two problems are not related and Panasonic may regard the white spots as not a QC problem, or it may just be that I got lucky or that they're more generous in some geographies than in others.

Yes I saw some threads on Reddit from people saying they had the white spots issue and they had their lenses replaced, but it was not in Europe.

I did in Belgium. In warranty though.

I think Jonathan lives in Spain.

 

[Melidonia]

You're lucky because Panasonic doesn't want to replace my 2500$ 50mm S pro lens.

Bear in mind that my Panasonic lenses (all three of them) suffered from blue fogging, not the white spots. As far as I'm aware the two problems are not related and Panasonic may regard the white spots as not a QC problem, or it may just be that I got lucky or that they're more generous in some geographies than in others.

Yes I saw some threads on Reddit from people saying they had the white spots issue and they had their lenses replaced, but it was not in Europe.

I did in Belgium. In warranty though.

I think Jonathan lives in Spain.

Yes but like Jonathan said, its issue was the blue fogging and it seems Panasonic is reluctant to replace the S lenses with the white dots issue. Like me, most people I've seen on Facebook never had a replacement for their S lenses out of warranty.

 

[jschoonj]

You're lucky because Panasonic doesn't want to replace my 2500$ 50mm S pro lens.

Bear in mind that my Panasonic lenses (all three of them) suffered from blue fogging, not the white spots. As far as I'm aware the two problems are not related and Panasonic may regard the white spots as not a QC problem, or it may just be that I got lucky or that they're more generous in some geographies than in others.

Yes I saw some threads on Reddit from people saying they had the white spots issue and they had their lenses replaced, but it was not in Europe.

I did in Belgium. In warranty though.

I think Jonathan lives in Spain.

Yes but like Jonathan said, its issue was the blue fogging and it seems Panasonic is reluctant to replace the S lenses with the white dots issue. Like me, most people I've seen on Facebook never had a replacement for their S lenses out of warranty.

Mine was dots but in warranty as you said.

Might be worth taking it up with customer service and pointing towards these threads.

 

[Braptrus]

I have not experienced this issue with any Lumix lenses I've owned (20-60mm x2, 50mm, 85mm, 14-28mm) but definitely makes me hesitate before investing in any of the more premium options.

There is currently a survey about Lumix / L-Mount lenses promoted in the Lumix Lab app. It would be a good opportunity to share concerns / feedback. If it's genuinely a widespread issue it's a really bad look to not address it.

 

[georgehudetz]

I have not experienced this issue with any Lumix lenses I've owned (20-60mm x2, 50mm, 85mm, 14-28mm) but definitely makes me hesitate before investing in any of the more premium options.

I have a 16-35, a 24-105, a 20-60, a 28-200, a 50 1.8, a 70-300, and a 70-200 F2.8. Some of them old, some new. None have any of the problems reported in this thread.

There is currently a survey about Lumix / L-Mount lenses promoted in the Lumix Lab app. It would be a good opportunity to share concerns / feedback.

Great idea!

If it's genuinely a widespread issue it's a really bad look to not address it.

It's not a widespread issue. At least, there is no evidence that it is widespread. And by "widespread" I mean "there is a good chance you will experience this problem if you buy a LUMIX lens."

I have a lot of empathy for those that have seen this happen, and they have every right to report their experiences and reactions here. But it remains relatively uncommon, IMO.

Personally, I'm not going to hesitate getting more LUMIX glass. I'd hoping to get the 100 macro, either the 24-60 or 24-70, and either the 18mm F1.8 or the 14-28. Finances allowing.

--
http://georgehudetzphotography.smugmug.com/
Capture One LUMIX FF feature request thread: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4658107#forum-post-66298057

 

[Jonathan Mac]

It's not a widespread issue. At least, there is no evidence that it is widespread. And by "widespread" I mean "there is a good chance you will experience this problem if you buy a LUMIX lens."

I understand that you've been lucky with the lenses you own or have perhaps not fully checked them (the blue fringing is invisible unless checked in a very specific way) but I don't understand how you can continue to believe this given that we're now in the third thread, all chock full of people who have experienced problems. And this is just a small proportion of users as I'm sure most are not frequenting DPR. To say it's not widespread is questionable in the extreme, to say there's no evidence for it being widespread is outright untrue.

 

[georgehudetz]

It's not a widespread issue. At least, there is no evidence that it is widespread. And by "widespread" I mean "there is a good chance you will experience this problem if you buy a LUMIX lens."

I understand that you've been lucky with the lenses you own or have perhaps not fully checked them (the blue fringing is invisible unless checked in a very specific way) but I don't understand how you can continue to believe this given that we're now in the third thread, all chock full of people who have experienced problems. And this is just a small proportion of users as I'm sure most are not frequenting DPR. To say it's not widespread is questionable in the extreme, to say there's no evidence for it being widespread is outright untrue.

I see it exactly in the opposite. I have not been lucky; others have been unlucky.

It is true that you have persisted the thread, and one more user has come forward.

In my view, calling it widespread is what is questionable "in the extreme."

Like you said, it's just a small portion of the users who have come forward with problems. We all know people don't come to forums like this to say "I haven't had any problems with my lenses."

Without hard data, one cannot make a substantiated claim about how "widespread" these problems are, or how Panasonic quality compares to other manufacturers.

I will say that it's not my intent to be an apologist for Panasonic. It's important to hold all manufacturers to a high standard. However, you (and I) may have an opinion or feeling about it, but without statistically meaningful data it's just a guess as to how widespread it is.

--
http://georgehudetzphotography.smugmug.com/
Capture One LUMIX FF feature request thread: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4658107#forum-post-66298057