Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm f/2.8 Asph OIS Lens Review

Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm f/2.8 Handling and features

This lens feels very well built, despite being incredibly lightweight and compact for a telephoto zoom with a fast, constant f/2.8 maximum aperture. It is constructed from high quality plastics, that have a dark grey gun-metal finish and the lens mount is made from metal. Also, it only weighs 360g, which is incredible, especially as a 35mm equivalent lens will tip the scales at well over a kilogram. As a result, this lens feels right at home on the Panasonic Lumix G3 body used for testing.

The zoom does not extend as it is zoomed to the telephoto end of the range and the action is smooth, not tightening up at any point. The zoom mechanism has just enough resistance to prevent zoom creep with the camera pointed downwards, whilst only needing a light touch to make quick adjustments.

Focusing is also performed internally, so the 58mm filter thread does not rotate, making this lens ideal for use with graduated and polarising filters. Autofocus is very swift and accurate and the manual focus ring is well damped, making fine adjustments easy to apply.

With care, the optical image stabiliser allows sharp hand held images to be taken at shutter speeds as low as 1/15sec at 100mm, which is roughly four stops slower than the usual rule of thumb would allow otherwise.

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