Big, yet small!
With compact mirrorless cameras, the Micro Four Thirds Standard seems to have stolen the lead, as far as the number of lenses are concerned. Apart from lenses supplied by Panasonic and Olympus, Micro Four Thirds lenses are now also available from the likes of Sigma, Tokina and Zeiss. Panasonic entered the professional arena with the 12-35mm (equivalent to 24-70mm in the 35mm format) standard zoom in early 2012. This has now been followed by the 35-100mm f/2.8 (equivalent to 70-200mm f/2.8) telephoto zoom lens. Read on to see how this lens performed on the SP test bench.
Design & Build Quality
Being a lens with a Micro Four Thirds mount, the Lumix lens immediately impresses with its small size. The lens is less than 100mm in length and only 67mm in diameter. Quality of construction is very good and Panasonic has also made the lens splash/dust proof. For a 70-200mm f/2.8 (effectively), the Panny is very light at 360g.
Key Features
The Lumix 35-100mm boasts an aperture of f/2.8 and goes right down to f/22. Focal lengths have been legibly marked at 35, 50, 70 and 100mm settings. 18 elements in 13 groups have been used to ensure optimum optical quality. Of these, 2 are ED ( Extra-low Dispersion) elements and one is a UD ( Ultra-low Dispersion) element. Panasonic has given the lens a Nano surface coating to minimize ghosting and flaring. Focus distance ranges from 0.85mm (approx. 2.8 feet) to infinity, and maximum image magnification is 0.2x. The lens also focusses internally and hence there is no change in the lens’ physical size during zooming and focussing. The filter diameter of 58mm means you won’t spend a fortune on filters. And since the front barrel does not rotate during focussing, it is convenient to use Graduated ND and PL filters. Optical image stabilization can be availed through a switch on the lens. With the lens, you get a storage pouch, a lens hood and front and rear lens caps. This Lumix lens also supports HD video shooting.
Ergonomics
The lens balances perfectly with the small size bodies of the Panasonic G series. Ideally, it should be coupled with the flagship camera in the range, namely, the GH3. The lens handles extremely well. The zooming action is very smooth and the internal focussing ensures that we do not have to refocus. As far as ergonomics are concerned, this lens posed no problems at all.
Performance
Like the rest of Panasonic’s range, the 35-100mm f/2.8 uses a contrast autofocus system. Panasonic is keen to point out that the signal contacts between the lens and the body have been increased from 9 to 11 to improve data transmission. This was borne out in our test and autofocus was both precise and speedy and in some cases, much faster than that achieved with digital SLRs. The zoom ring has perfect damping to avoid accidental changes in focal lengths. The lens showed no perceptible distortion throughout its focal range, which is exemplary. The Power O.I.S. performed as expected, but surprisingly, due to the lens’ low weight of 350g without end-caps (and the absence of the sharpness-robbing reflex mirror in the camera body), we were able to take a rather good number of sharp shots at all marked focal lengths even with the Power O.I.S. off. Flare was obvious in strong against-the-light shots but colour fringing was very well controlled – very slight purple fringing was noticed towards the corners when the images were enlarged beyond a certain point. Some darkening of corners at the widest focal length setting of 35mm (equivalent to 70mm in the 35mm format) was observed up to f/5.6.
Value For Money
This 35-100mm f/2.8 lens retails in Singapore for around 1550 Singapore Dollars. This translates to around Rs.65,000/-. For a lens of this quality, this is a fair price. An Indian price will be announced shortly.