Leica Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 Review

Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4 Asph Performance

Sharpness at the centre at 12mm is excellent from f/2.8 right through to f/11. It is still very good at f/16, but does tail off at f/22 to become fairly soft. The edges are very good from f/2.8 to f/8, good at f/11, but become progressively softer at f/16 and especially at f/22.

At 25mm, open aperture becomes f/3.5 and from here through to f/11 central results are excellent. f/16 is still very good, f/22 becoming soft. The edges are also excellent from f/3.5 to f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16, and again soft at f/22.

40mm shows an identical pattern, open aperture being f/3.9, and central results being excellent down to f/11. At f/16 sharpness is still very good, but the lens is soft by f/22. The edges are excellent from f/3.9 to f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16, softness creeping in by f/22.

By 60mm, from f/4 to f/11 is centrally excellent, the lens is very good at f/16 and still good at f/22. The edges are very good from f/4 to f/16, but fairly soft at f/22.

The overall sharpness picture shows a lens that is broadly excellent, very even in performance, especially at middle focal lengths, and generally very evenly sharp across the image area. It's an excellent set of figures all round.

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is very well corrected in the centre, especially at middle focal lengths. There is not the ultra-tight correction that some lenses have, but it is still impressive. The edges allow a little fringing to be seen in challenging situations, but of course all of this can be corrected in software.

Flare resistance is generally excellent, but given the right light at the right angle then flare can be seen. This shows itself as colour fringing and general loss of contrast, but also with some slight image artefacts as well. Most of the time this is not a problem.

Distortion is quite extraordinary overall. At 12mm we start off with -1.97% barrel distortion, very reasonable for a lens of this type. By 25mm the lens is almost perfectly rectilinear, having just -0.00544% of barrel distortion. This is better than some macro lenses. By 40mm we have slight pincushion distortion at +0.0631%, again remarkably low and insignificant. 60mm sees just +0.0285% pincushion. For any lens this would be an excellent result, but especially so for a zoom. We have here a zoom lens that will be perfect for architectural photography of the greatest precision.

Lenses also have a “look” that is influenced by many factors apart from sharpness. Bokeh is one of them, and the quality of the out of focus areas is given much attention. This zoom offers lovely bokeh, nice and soft in its gradation, offering a very attractive backdrop to whatever our main subject might be. It is not always the sharpest lenses that show the most pleasing Bokeh, but here we have both qualities, smooth bokeh and high sharpness.

Value For Money

The Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4 Asph lens is priced at £879, reflecting its premium quality. Panasonic also offer the 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 Lumix G Vario Power OIS at £329.

The closest alternative MFT lenses might be the Olympus M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO (£849), the Olympus M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4 PRO (£1099) or the Olympus M. Zuiko 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 Digital ED (£279).

To add perspective in the wider field, Nikon DSLR users would be looking at the Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 G AF-S ED VR, priced at £939.

If we are looking at premium quality lenses, the the excellent Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4 Asph does offer good value, although clearly there are less expensive options. For more options have a look at the Top 30 Best Micro Four Thirds Lenses.

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