Digital Camera World - UK (2020-04)

124 DIGITAL CAMERA^ APRIL 2020 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com

K i t Z o n e

Panasonic

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12-32mm f/3.5-5.6

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£259/$317

A variation on a kit theme

Panasonic

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(JژàƏȸǣȒ0ٮǼȅƏȸǣɎ

12-60mm f/2.8-4

Asph Power OIS

£799/$898

No constant aperture, more zoom

Digital Camera verdict Digital Camera verdict

4.0 Excellent 4.5 Outstanding

Features Build & Performance Value Features Performance Value

handling

Build &

handling

Incredibly small and

light, yet with optical

stabilisation and

generous wide-angle

coverage, this is a

great lens for travel

and everyday shooting

on MFT cameras.

The jumbo zoom range

and effective optical

stabiliser are two of the

biggest attractions in

this lens, making up

for the aperture

shrinking from f/2.8

to f/4 at the long end.

ike the Fujifilm and

Olympus kit lenses on test,

this one comes in silver or

black and has a retractable

design. It collapses to pretty much the

same diminutive size as the Olympus.

It’s even lighter, at an unfeasible 70g in

weight, yet adding a three-stop optical

stabiliser that’s lacking in the Olympus.

The Panasonic has a manual rather

than motorised zoom mechanism.

You have to manually extend the

lens for use when you switch on

the camera and it’s not so convenient

for movie capture, but offers greater

zooming precision for stills.

Performance

There’s no manual focus ring, but

autofocus is quick, ultra-quiet and

very reliable. Image quality is good

for such a tiny lens but, as usual,

the widest available aperture of

f/5.6 at the long end of the zoom

range can be a challenge.

ompared with Panasonic’s

retractable kit lens on test,

this one costs about three

times the price and is a

much more hands-on affair. Whereas

the smaller lens lacks any control

switches or even a manual focus ring,

this one has AF/MF and stabiliser on/

off switches for instant control, plus a

smooth-action, electronically coupled

focus ring. It doesn’t have a retractable

design, and is somewhat larger and

heavier, at 68 x 86mm and 320g,

but still entirely manageable.

Unlike all the other upgrade zooms

on test, this lens doesn’t have a

constant-aperture design that

enables the widest aperture of

f/2.8 throughout the zoom range.

Performance

Thanks to the inclusion of four

aspherical and two ED elements, plus

a three-stop stabiliser, image quality

is highly impressive in all respects.

LC

Sharpness

It’s very good across most of

the zoom range, only dropping

off at the longest setting.

Sharpness

It’s sharper than Panasonic’s

12-32mm and delivers a much

greater zoom range.

Fringing

Short 0.4 Long 0.73

There’s virtually no colour

fringing to be seen.

Fringing

Short 1.12 Long 0.43

Short fringing is slightly higher

than in the 12-32mm lens.

Distortion

Short -2.01 Long -0.12

There’s only a little barrel

distortion at 12mm.

Distortion

Short -1 .79 Long 0.04

Auto corrections means you

get very little distortion.

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

f/3.5 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

12mm 18mm

25mm 32mm

f/3.5 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

12mm 25mm

40mm 60mm

3.5 3.5 4.0 4.0 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5

BEST FOR

PANASONIC

Group Test Standard zooms