I am about to look for a second hand example of the above lens to go on my recently purchased G3.

Are there different versions ie mk1 or 2 and are they all made in Japan?

Also are there any issues with buying older Panasonic lenses in terms of firmware etc. I have purchased a 14-45 off ebay and this is excellent.

What are your thoughts?

Regards

Phil

Far as I know there's just the one version.

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EOS: 5DII, 30DIR, 24-105L, 35L, 135L, 15/2.8 FE, Σ 50/1.4, Σ 105/2.8 macro
Mu43: GF2, E-M5, P14/2.5, P20/1.7, O45/1.8, P7-14, O12-50, P12-35, P100-300
Legacy: Contax Zeiss 50/1.4, 35/2.8, Leica R 50/2.0, 28/2.8, Pentax 50/1.7

Agreed.

Unless you're getting an especially good deal I think I would avoid ebay. Maybe look at the third party sellers on Amazon - I think Amazon are more pro buyer than seller so at least if you have a problem any resolution could be easier.

Actually Amazon Warehouse deals is listing two at the moment for £235 - they say they have "minor cosmetic imperfection" but that seems to be a fairly generic description from them. And with Warehouse Deals you have a decent return policy anyway (as it's linked directly to Amazon themselves).

I'm sure Amazon Warehouse is fine, but I've never had trouble with EBay. I prefer to buy here on the forum, but I've bought well over 100 items on EBay without a single problem.

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Love mercy, do justice, walk humbly - Micah 6:8
"A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words." Ansel Adams

Try and get one off here. The prices seem better than Ebay, probably because the sellers save on fees and are less likely to get ripped off. It's a great lens, fairly essentially unless you already own or plan to own one of the 25mm lenses. It's a bit noisy when autofocusing , so kind of useless for video unless you plan to get good at focus pulling with only a tiny LCD for feedback. Still makes a little noise with manual focus mind, but not enough to interfere with a shoot.

If you act fast, you might be able to snag the one that was just posted here for $275. As far as I know, there is only one version of this lens. I paid full retail price for mine, and I never regretted it for a minute. I never upgraded the firmware on mine, and I have not had any problems at all with it.

--Warren

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Lumix DMC-G1, Lumix DMC-GF1, Lumix DMC-G5, Lumix LX5
Lumix 14-45mm, Lumix 20mm f1.7, Lumix 14mm f2.5, Lumix 45-200mm, Lumix 100-300mm