Panasonic Lumix S 50 mm f/1.8 review - Vignetting

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Panasonic Lumix S 50 mm f/1.8

8 September 2025

Maciej Latałło

8. Vignetting

In case of full frame systems we have showed vignetting results both for the smaller APS-C sensor and full frame. Why? The systems of Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony, or Sigma have one mount that allows to attach full frame lenses both to full frame cameras and to cameras that are equipped with the APS-C/DX sensor. That's why information about vignetting or distortion on the second, smaller detector, is very important for some users. Panasonic also have been developing two systems, the L-mount and the Micro 4/3, but they are not compatible with each other – the Micro 4/3 lenses cannot be attached directly to Lumix S system cameras. In such a situation we have to base our vignetting (but also distortion) test only on a full frame detector.

As you could notice in the previous chapters the data on the edge of the APS-C/DX sensor were left for measurements of resolution and chromatic aberration. In these cases it was important because it provided additional information about the resolution and chromatic aberration spread across the frame.

First let's deal with vignetting observed on uncorrected JPEG files – let's remind here that in this case you deal with an image practically distortion-free and its field of view amounts to almost 47 deg.

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S1R II, FF, JPEG, f/1.8	S1R II, FF, JPEG, f/2.0

S1R II, FF, JPEG, f/2.8	S1R II, FF, JPEG, f/4.0

At the maximum relative aperture light fall-off in the very corner of the frame amounts to 44% (-1.68 EV). It's not a small value but we should emphasize the fact that the Panasonic outperforms here its rivals because the Nikkor showed a level of 53%, the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55 mm f/1.8 ZA – 59%, and the Sony FE 50 mm f/1.8 as much as 62%. Compared to that the result of the Panasonic looks really well.

According to our expectations stopping down of the aperture limits the aberration described here quite efficiently. By f/2.0 you deal with a value of 39% (-1.43 EV), by f/2.8 and f/4.0 vignetting becomes not especially bothersome, with results, respectively, of: 23% (-0.74 EV) and 15% (-0.48 EV). Problems end by f/5.6 and f/8.0, where this aberration reaches 10% (-0.29 EV) and 8% (-0.24 EV).

We also can check vignetting on RAW files that weren't distortion corrected – consider it to be a kind of bonus addition to this chapter. Let's remind here that in this case you deal with a field of view amounting to 47.23 deg.

S1R II, FF, RAW, f/1.8	S1R II, FF, RAW, f/2.0

S1R II, FF, RAW, f/2.8	S1R II, FF, RAW, f/4.0

In this case at the maximum relative aperture brightness loss in frame corners reaches 48% (-1.88 EV) and then it decreases to 44% (-1.66 EV) on stopping down the aperture to f/2.0. Applying f/2.8 makes vignetting decrease to a slight value of 28% (-0.96 EV). Most of problems end by f/4.0 and f/5.6, where we got respectively: 20% (-0.66 EV) and 13% (-0.42 EV).

Panasonic S1R II, JPEG, 50 mm, f/1.4