Many here will wonder why the world needs another 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, but keep in mind that the lens which comes with the camera is the only lens most people will ever own. It's also the one sitting on the camera when most people decide which camera to buy.

Version II of Panasonic's 14-42mm kit lens sports some nice if unexciting refinements compared to version I. It is lighter (110g vs 160g), shorter (49mm vs 63mm), has a shorter minimum focus (0.2m vs 0.3m), and comes in either black or silver.

Source: DPReview via 1001 Noisy Cameras

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Amin
Mu-43.com Webmaster (Site FAQ | Help Forum | My Disclosures | My Flickriver | My G+ Profile)

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AWESOME!!!! Nothing like yet another slow aperture kit zoom!! Yes, I'm being facetious. At least it does come in black or silver now. :)

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OMD
14/2.5 17/1.8 17/2.8 25/1.4 45/1.8 75/1.8 12-50 14-150
My FlickR!

looking forward if it will be optically good as the 14-45.

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Kindest,
Dave
www.xdayv.com

GH3 | G3 | GX1 | 7-14 | 12-35 | 35-100 | 20 | 45
Nikon FX | Leica MM

Have they not also improved the OIS?

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James E. Petts

My photostream

Olympus E-P3

Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 IIR, Panasonic 14mm f/2.5, Panasonic/Leica 25mm f/1.4, Olympus macro 60mm f/2.8,
Olympus 12mm f/2.0, Olympus 45mm f/1.8, Samyang 7.5mm f/3.5, Pentax Super Takumar SMC 135mm f/3.5

Why silver? I had thought that 90%+ of Panasonics came in black (the other 8% being red and 2% white/silver)? What about a red kit zoom? Doesn't that make it faster? :)

I always thought that previous 14-42 was pretty large for m4/3.

Yup. Especially on the GF bodies. I think Panasonic realized that and updated their lens to make a better show at Best Buy against the Nikon 1 stuff and Olympus EPLs.

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Oly OMD EM5 | P14mm f2.5 | Σ19mm f2.8 | PL25mm f1.4 | O45mm f1.8 | P14-42 | P45-200
Minolta XG-M | Rokkor-X 35mm f2.8
Canon AE-1 P | 28mm f2.8 S.C. | 50mm f1.8 | Sears 135mm f2.8 | Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f3.5 Macro

It's a bit confusing - it's the third 14-42 lens from Panasonic, so are they considering the X pancake version a different line? Or are they trying to forget it ever existed? ;-)

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OM-D E-M5 || O12-50 | P45-175 | P100-300 | PL25 | O45
Adapted: Minolta MD 28/2.8 Celtic, MD 35/1.8, MD 50/1.4, MD 85/2.0, MD 200/2.8, Nikon 100/2.8 E
Wish List: GH3, 12/2.0, 17/1.8, 75/1.8, Oly ZD FT SHG 300/2.8
Pentax K-5, K-01 || 18-135 WR | Sigma 30/1.4

I think it looks quite spiffy. Obviously the design styling from the new 45-150 zoom.
I do wonder what will happen to the 14-42 and 45-175 x zooms. Is Panasonic totally abandoning that line? I hope not. I hope they improve and rerelease them

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GX-1
20mm/1.7, 14mm/2.5, 14-42mm X, 45-175mm X, Rokinon 7.5mm

My Zenfolio

I'm not going to bash this lens until I see how it performs. The 14-45mm kit lens is probably my favorite lens for m43, even though I own several much more expensive lenses. It covers the focal lengths I'm most interested in, is fast enough for 90% of what I shoot, and is dang sharp. It's OIS is pretty amazing too.

So . . . if the new lens can do all that AND is about 1/2 the weight and 3/4 of the length then I'll be all over it. In a heartbeat.

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E-PM2 & OM-D in sunny Florida