Firmware Friday: Panasonic 45-175mm PZ lens now supports Dual I.S.!

 

 

Firmware Friday is short and sweet this week with news of just one update, giving us a brief respite from the recent whirlwind of firmware news. (If you haven't been keeping up to date, you'll want to dive into the Firmware Friday archives quickly, as just in the last four weeks we've seen around 40 updates for cameras and imaging-related gear from Blackmagic, Canon, Fujifilm, GoPro, JVC, Metabones, Nikon, Panasonic, Pentax, Sigma, Sony and YI.)

This week's news will be of interest to Micro Four Thirds shooters, as we've just learned that alongside its update for the GH5 mirrorless camera last week, Panasonic also released updated firmware for one of its lenses. The Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm / F4.0-5.6 Asph. / Power O.I.S. lens first shipped back in 2011, and was the company's first power zoom lens model. Firmware updates were issued for this optic in late 2011 and early 2013, but since then things have remained unchanged for quite a while.

And then on April 24th, firmware version 1.3 for the 45-175mm optic landed, adding support for the company's Dual I.S. technology when the lens is used in concert with a body that also supports Dual I.S. If you're not familiar with the tech, which made its debut in the Lumix GX8 in late 2015, you'll find a nice summary of its capabilities in our review of that camera. In a nutshell, though, it allows for use of both in-lens and in-body image stabilization together for a greater corrective strength than either system can deliver on its own.

You can download firmware version 1.3 for the Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm / F4.0-5.6 Asph. / Power O.I.S. lens from the company's website for both Windows and Mac OS computers. And that's all for this week -- be sure to check back next time!

(Camera parts image courtesy of Kelly Hofer / Flickr; used under a Creative Commons CC-BY-2.0 license. Image has been modified from the original.)