Panasonic LUMIX S PRO 24-70MM F2.8

A 24-70mm pro zoom has a lot of expectations. How does this one perform?

BUILD AND HANDLING

The first thing you notice about the LUMIX S Pro 24-70mm f2.8 is just how solid it feels. There’s a lot of metal used in the construction and it almost gives the impression of being machined from a single piece – very impressive. This does of course add weight, but not prohibitively so – you could happily carry this around all day. All controls are effortlessly operated and we really like the sliding ring philosophy for changing between auto and manual focusing. Any professional would be happy to use it in all conditions.

PERFORMANCE

You can’t fault the sharpness here, especially around f/5.6. Even at the edges detail remains intact. Wide open the performance is still impressive, though there is a notable drop off at f/22. Vignetting and chromatic aberration are basically absent in our tests. Even wide open and along the boundary between some stonework and a bright sky, colour fringing was minimal. We did notice that, without correction, there was quite an abundance of barrel distortion at 24mm, with lines very obviously bending across the frame. This is easily removed of course, but is more pronounced than with other 24-70mm zooms we’ve tested.

VERDICT

With a fast AF speed, low noise footprint, great build and satisfying image quality, the LUMIX S Pro 24-70mm f2.8 is a true professional performer for full-frame mirrorless cameras. It has its quirks, and is quite large, but it is the perfect standard zoom for L-Mount users.

Left STANDARD RANGE The lens covers some of the most important focal lengths for professional photographers. Here the 24mm end allowed inclusive views of the cathedral Below left LOW LIGHT ESSENTIAL The constant f/2.8 aperture allows handheld shooting in lower light. Even wide open, where it will likely be often used, the LUMIX S Pro 24-70mm f2.8 is critically sharp