More on the 12-35

[Mac]

I received the Lumix 12-35 a week ago and have had enough time with it to evaluate its pluses and minuses.

I'll start with the minuses.

It's not long enough. That's been said already. I wish it was a 14-50 - I'd gladly have given up a little on the wide side to have more room at the top - but since Panasonic and Olympus both already have (poor) zooms in that range, I suppose Panasonic chose to offer a new option

It's one of those lenses that extends when zoomed in, which, because of the wide end, precludes the use of a matte box. I use filters often, especially ND grads ( which are often needed with the AF100) so when I do need a matte box, I have to set the focal length before securing it to the rails, and swing-aways are useless (I have a very nice 20-year-old Chrosziel swing away). Not a huge problem, but it takes getting used to.

The focus ring is not easily identifiable by touch next to the zoom, especially in the cold. I fixed that simply by making a 1/4" thick doughnut out of soft neoprene for the focus ring. Problem solved.

I don't like tulip hoods. They may be computer designed, but so what, they're ugly - my personal opinion. I fitted an old-school metal hood from one of my super16 lenses. I don't like the cheesy graphics they stamp on the lens either...

Some think it's pricy - Well, it is over a grand, but it's a tool.

It's native MFT, which means if you're saving up for an FS700 or C-300 you won't be keeping this lens.

The pluses far outweigh the minuses.

F2.8 through the range goes without saying - and according to my meter, it's pretty close to a true 2.8 too.

The lens is very small and light. For handholding it is perfect, it doesn't add any appreciable weight or bulk to the camera. It seems very well built compared to other Lumix and Zuiko lenses.

Optically it's on par with my best lenses, and is very good at 12mm - sharp and with minimum distortion or vignetting - a problem with many of the other zooms I've used, especially the Red. And it doesn't exhibit a lot of breathing - most noticeable at 12mm, but negligible, no more than most top-of-the-line cine zooms.

It is not a true mechanical parfocal, as some have intimated, but when you zoom in to focus and then pull back it seems to "remember" the setting and reset focus at the new focal length - you can see it searching in the display - I guess it might be called "electronic parfocal". But it's very fast, and it works well. Good enough for me anyway.

It talks to the AF100. I've measured distances (that's what the tape hook on the top the camera is for) and the manual and auto focus seem dead on - so you can believe the readout in the finder.

The auto exposure is pretty good too, not nearly as steppy or noisy as other Lumix and Zuiko looms. And the auto focus is pretty fast at 24p, better than, say, the HPX250. I don't use auto much, but I do use "push-to-focus", and it works. And using the Function button I can tell the camera where in the frame to focus and set exposure - It's like having a spot meter with the addition of a focus feature.

It's native MFT, which means If you're happy with the AF100, you'll use it a lot. And there's something secure about not having an adapter - it clicks in to position with no play - very good tolerances compared to even my Novoflex and Metabones adapters.

All-in-all it's worth the money.

[tacotim]

Thanks for the thorough recap Mac. One question, if you manually set the aperture to an stop and then do a smash zoom from 12 to 35 or 35 to 12 does the exposure fluctuate at all during the zoom?

[mcbob]

No it does not. As mentioned, it may blur out of focus for a fraction of a second, but that's the only anomaly I've noticed.

[ulisses]

Do you have a olympus 14-54mm ? I'm interested in how optical quality is compared.

Thanks for the report.

[Mac]

I do have a 14-54, and optically they're pretty close - The Lumix is better wide though. The Lumix also doesn't seem as cold as the Zuiko, but that could just be bad memory (I don't use the 14-54 anymore, I gave it to my wife for her Pen - and interestingly it works on auto on that camera even with the Panasonic FT>MFT adapter). I found the 14-54 a good lens for the price, but it's clunky when you change apertures, it's noisier and, worst of all, the footage readout in the finder isn't accrete and seems to vary, which makes it difficult to estimate focus on the fly.

And tacotim, I'm not noticing any exposure variation when zooming as long as it's set to manual. generally I'm pleased - I've been waiting for over a year for a good documentary zoom for this camera.

[Mac]

Also, I want to add that when the 12-35 was revealed, Panasonic also showed a prototype for a 35-100 f2.8 that is also small and light. With those two lenses (plus a Voigtlander 17.5 f0.95) I can forever dispense with my cumbersome bag-o-lenses for documentary shooting. I'll still use my Leica primes, but only in controlled environments.

Further, if Panasonic upgrades the sensor and offers a 10 bit output - and develops a dockable external P2 recorder for AVC-I or AVC-U (which, by the way, could be used with other cameras) the AF100 would... well, I don't mean to start another wish list, and if wishes were horses...

[Erik Naso]

So far I'm liking the 12-35 as well. I used it for two shoots with the Fig Rig and couldn't be happier. So nice having a light fast lens for handheld work. I was surprised that the OIS really didn't have to work very hard in the Fig Rig. Push To Focus seems faster as well compared to the Lumix 20mm and was spot on. Thats a great feature.
I did a extreme snap zoom that had a interesting look to it. It went a tad darker during the snap. Not a typical thing to do with this type of lens but still a little strange.
I feel really good about the purchase and will add the 35-100 when it comes out. It better be at least 2.8. The thing that sweetens the deal is I'll have a fast sharp set of zooms for my GH2 as well. I use that camera a lot and mostly for stills and time lapses. So even if Panasonic doesn't come out with a updated MFT AF-XXX I know they will update the GH2 and my lenses will move right along. 7-14, 12-35, 35-100. Oh yeah! I never had glass this nice when I shot with Canon DSLR's I do hope an updated AF-100 will impress. I like the format especially now we have nicer native lenses to work with.

[Mac]

Curious - what stop were you shooting at? - I tried f2.8 and 4 and am not noticing an obvious change.... I do notice it with focus of course - the electronics apparently aren't fast enough to keep up with a snap zoom - luckily I rarely use zooms in a shot, so the lens is fine for me.

[Erik Naso]

Curious - what stop were you shooting at? - I tried f2.8 and 4 and am not noticing an obvious change.... I do notice it with focus of course - the electronics apparently aren't fast enough to keep up with a snap zoom - luckily I rarely use zooms in a shot, so the lens is fine for me.

Cant remember what F-Stop I was at. It's not an issue. I was trying an artsy hard push and it made it in the spot. Go figure. I don't this is a typical thing to do with any hybrid lens.

[anatusa]

i wonder if GH2 has any kind of focus assists?