[CHEAPEST]Panasonic 45-200mm f/4.0-5.6 Lumix G Vario MEGA OIS Zoom Micro Four Thirds Lens for Panasonic and Olympus Micro Four Thirds Cameras $199

Amazon.com [amazon.com] has Panasonic Lumix Telephoto Zoom 45-200mm F/4.0-5.6 Micro Four Thirds Lens (H-FS045200) for $199 with free shipping. Thanks debtofmoney

Panasonic EPP has it for 164.96 right now. Tax would be added. Has to be an EPP account...

First post, go easy!

$199 Brand new, cheapest I've seen it outside a kit.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/...PDKIKX0DER

Good lens.

Lots of camera deals recently, I wonder if this is just going to be the retail price within a few month or so.

Prices have been high for all the lenses especially the 14mm and the 20mm for a while now. Could just be a bunch of new stock coming in though. Either way I'm not sure how usable the range is compared to the 14-140 which can go wide.

On M 4/3rds a 45mm equivalent to 90mm on its 2x crop sensor so that could be annoying if its your only lens.

Good deal!

Quote from EYESNYPE : First post, go easy!

Your assumptions:
1) People are inherently intolerant, even for a good post.
2) First post somehow deserves a tender love, even if it is a crappy deal.

Both assumptions are incorrect. I find it unnecessary to include "go easy" in the first post which is what the general trend is.

tempting but trying to save for the 14-140

Good deal.

Just want to add that Olympus 14-150mm lens is currently running a $100 instant discount everywhere, making it at $499 new

Quote from TH CrazyJ : Prices have been high for all the lenses especially the 14mm and the 20mm for a while now. Could just be a bunch of new stock coming in though. Either way I'm not sure how usable the range is compared to the 14-140 which can go wide. On M 4/3rds a 45mm equivalent to 90mm on its 2x crop sensor so that could be annoying if its your only lens.

That 14-140 is super expensive. Is it worth the hefty price tag?

Quote from dQn : That 14-140 is super expensive. Is it worth the hefty price tag?

What you save in money you lose in terms of ease. You have to ask yourself:

-Do you mind changing lenses when you need to go wider than 45mm?
-If so would it bother you if you missed a great shot of something, maybe kids if you have em?
-Could you live with it being your only lense if you don't feel like carrying two?

For me I don't bother with zooms, I would rather stick with primes. If I was traveling I would take either the 14mm f/2.5 or 20mm f/1.7 along with an Olympus 45mm f/1.8 for a little bit more range for an affordable combination. I don't really feel the need to go long range ever but that's just my experience shooting and the way I shoot.

When I had a D90 I decided to take my 28-105mm slow zoom as my only lense, I felt constricted by the lack of low light capability even when pushing to 1600iso and I rarely ever used it at the long end. Also minimum focus distance sucks on zooms as well. For the Panasonic 45-200mm it's 1 meter (3.3 ft) which is typical for zooms but I felt that trying to take a picture of something on a table in front of me and not being able to focus that close really annoyed me. Hence 99% of the picture taken on my D90 were with the 35mm lens during the time I owned it.

So you have to ask yourself if saving money is worth the hassle or whether you will even experience or mind it.