Lumix S100mm f/2.8 Macro

Ticks many boxes but is not a total success

£999/$999

Panasonic cameras go from strength to strength: it was the fastest-growing full-frame camera brand in 2023. However, Panasonic's Lumix S L-Mount lineup still lags a little behind the competition, with one major omission being the lack of a standard macro lens. Thankfully, the L-Mount Alliance saves the day here for Panasonic shooters, with fellow members Leica or Sigma stepping in to fill this gap with some superb choices, including the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro, as well as Venus Optics and TTArtisan offering some more budget options.

Key features

But what is a camera system without good first-party lenses? Finally Panasonic has seen fit to plug this non-macro-sized hole with the brand new Lumix S 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens - although with Panasonic being the company of 'firsts' in its Lumix cameras, this isn't your typical macro lens, of course.

Instead, Panasonic hopes to set a new bar for macro lenses everywhere with the world's smallest and lightest full-frame autofocus macro lens over 90mm with 1:1 magnification. The lens also has the world's closest focusing distance for a macro lens of the same description. That is a lot of caveats to being a 'world first', but Panasonic's reduction in size here is genuinely impressive.

Panasonic has achieved this size reduction with a newly developed Dual Phase Linear Motor (the motor used for focusing), which Panasonic claims offers the same performance at a fraction of the size. Eagle-eyed readers will spot fewer elements than rivals and no optical image stabilisation (OIS) as factors that have also most likely contributed to a much smaller body. But has this size reduction also reduced the performance? Let's find out.

Build and handling