Pentax DA 35mm F2.4 AL
l Guide price £70-90
Another example of a compact, lightweight
standard prime, the Pentax DA 35mm F2.4
AL is slated to deliver a ‘natural perspective
similar to that of the naked eye’. Its
6-element, 5-group design may seem
utterly conventional for this kind of prime,
but unusually it includes a hybrid aspherical
element in a bid to deliver enhanced contrast
and detail right into the corners of the frame.
In practice it’s impressively sharp, especially
when stopped down to f/4 or smaller. It
weighs just 124g and is only 45mm long,
while using relatively inexpensive 49mm
filters. However to keep the price down the
lens doesn’t have its own autofocus motor,
and instead exploits the screw-type drive
from the camera body, which means it can
be noticeably noisy. For those who lean more
towards photographing people, the similarly
designed and equally affordable Pentax DA
50mm F1.8 might be a better choice.Panasonic Lumix G
25mm f/1.7 Asph
l Guide price £100-120
In some ways, this inexpensive fast normal
prime is Panasonic’s equivalent to the
Olympus 45mm f/1.8 in the Micro Four
Thirds ecosystem. It’s tiny and lightweight
(just 52mm long and 125g), while also being
decently sharp, especially when stopped
down to f/2.8 or smaller. This makes it a
fine complement to a standard zoom for
those occasions when you want to achieve
shallower depth of field or shoot in low light,
or simply minimise the size of the camera
you’re carrying. Buyers should note that it
doesn’t include optical stabilisation, but then
again, neither does any other Micro Four
Thirds 25mm prime. It’s part of a trio of
small budget primes from Panasonic that
also includes the optically stabilised Lumix G
Macro 30mm f/2.8 Asph Mega OIS (around
£220) and the Lumix G 42.5mm f/1.7 Asph
Power OIS (£210-250).Panasonic Lumix G Vario
12-60mm f/3.5-5.6
Asph Power OIS
l Guide price £160-185
It’s difficult to think of a less remarkable-
looking lens than the Lumix G 12-60mm
f/3.5-5.6 OIS. It’s just a black plastic cylinder
with zoom and focus rings. But appearances
can be deceptive - this is one of the most
versatile and best-value small zooms around.
Of course it’s not as good as the Leica-
badged 12-60mm f/2.8-4, but you actually
get an awful lot for your money. The versatile
24-120mm equivalent zoom range is
capable of covering everything from
landscapes to portraits, while splash-proof
construction offers reassurance when
shooting outdoors in less-than-perfect
weather. Most importantly, the image quality
is more than respectable, while effective
optical stabilisation helps keeps images sharp
in low light. For Micro Four Thirds users, this
is a clear step up from 14-42mm kit zooms.Testbench SECOND-HAND LENSES
Panasonic’s budget
12-60mm is a great small
standard zoom for
Micro Four Thirds users
Panasonic Lumix GX8, 12-60mm at
23mm, 1/200sec at f/5, ISO 200ALL PRICES WERE TAKEN FROM W W W.MPB.COM AT THE TIME OF WRITING.