Panasonic 45-200I finally had time to check out the first technical review of the Panasonic 45-200mm, the first telephoto to match the new G1 Panasonic digital cameras. A lot of the camera world is watching, because this is the first telephoto zoom for the new Micro Four Thirds system, a system which seems positioned to render the ultra-zoom market somewhat obsolete if it succeeds.

Unlike Nikon lenses or Canon lenses, the Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds have a crop factor of 2x, which makes this first offering effectively a 90-400mm lens, which isn’t too shabby for something measuring all of 4 inches long.

The review so far indicates that it’s a solid if not spectacular lens, but it’s a kit lens coming in at around 350 bucks, so I think that’s perfectly acceptable. And, for people looking for a pocketable telephoto zoom, this is the biggest step forward yet.

Looks like we should be getting stock on some soon.