Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-150mm f/4.0-5.6 Lens Review

Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-150mm Handling and features

Compared to a 35mm or APS-C lens covering the same angle of view, this optic is remarkably light weight and compact. Being only 200g in weight, this lens will barely be noticeable carried around as part of a multi-lens kit in a suitable bag, making it the perfect companion for Micro Four Thirds bodies, such as the Panasonic G3 used for testing.

High quality plastics with a gun metal finish have been used for much of the lens barrel's construction and the lens mount is metal. The zoom action is smooth, and zoom creep isn't an issue as the zoom mechanism has just enough resistance to prevent the lens travelling forward on its own when pointed downwards.

Focusing is performed internally, so the 52mm filter thread doesn't rotate, which makes this lens ideal for use with polarising and graduated filters. Autofocus is pretty quick in single focus mode in good light, although it may struggle to keep up when attempting to track moving subjects or for focusing in dim lighting conditions. The manual focus ring is well damped, which makes fine adjustments quite easy to apply.

The optical image stabiliser allows sharp hand held images to be taken at shutters speeds as low as 1/40sec at 150mm, which is around three stops slower than the usual rule of thumb would allow otherwise.

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