Conclusion

The LUMIX G FISHEYE 8mm F3.5 is a very specialist lens that provides a unique view on the world. It delivers great image quality in a tiny package, but at £729 / $799.99 you've got to really love the fisheye effect.

As you'd expect given the premium price tag, build quality is excellent, with the ability to fit rear sheet filters very welcome. As with most other Panasonic Micro Four Thirds lenses, it's extremely fast to focus on the new DMC-GH2 camera and also virtually silent too, making it well-suited to creative video work. This lens is also very small and quite lightweight, fitting in size-wise between the 14mm and 20mm pancake lenses and the standard kit zooms.

Optically the lens is an excellent performer. At most focal lengths, you can safely use it wide open or for optimum results stopped down to F/4.0, with even the edges of the frame looking sharp. Chromatic aberrations are present but are generally well-controlled, while distortions are automatically corrected on both Olympus and Panasonic bodies.

As with several other Panasonic lenses that we've looked at recently, the only real drawback of the LUMIX G FISHEYE 8mm F3.5 lens it its price. £729 / $799.99 is lot to ask for such a specialist lens, so you really need to ask yourself if you'll get enough use out of it to justify the serious investment. If the answer is yes, then the LUMIX G FISHEYE 8mm F3.5 will certainly add a unique string to your photographic bow.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	5
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	4
Value for money	3