Panasonic Lumix G X 14-42mm PZ Lens

Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Handling and Features

On the camera, this lens projects out from the body just enough to form a comfortable grip and in my size hands, at least, the power zoom lever falls exactly in the right position for instinctive operation. I expected to miss the zoom and focus rings but given the focus accuracy and speed of the latest CSCs, I never find occasion to use the focus ring. The zoom lever I find instinctive in use and preferable to a manual ring anyway.


From extreme wide-angle to extreme tele takes 3.5 seconds and sweeps smoothly through the range. There is no focal length indication on the lens or (on the Panasonic Lumix GH2 I tested on, at least) the camera. The image stabilisation works as expected but has no on/off switch on the lens so must be disabled (for tripod use for example) from the camera menu. It does not work at all on Olympus cameras. The auto-focus and zooming are practically speaking, silent. You can just hear some noise with an ear close to the lens. On movies, you can just hear the motor noise with the onboard camera mic sensitivity set to maximum and maximum volume on playback. The normal background noise of even the quietest room would mask it.


Standard 14-42mm Lens, and X Lens Side by Side

It has a nano surface coating for flare reduction – important because you cannot fit a hood to this lens. You can fit a filter to the lens, however and this might be a good idea given the proximity of the front element to the leading face of the lens.

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