Hi all, I've had a 12-35 for about a year and whilst it's an excellent lens, I'm finding I do most of my shots with primes these days so it seldom gets an outing. When it does get used, it tends to be for casual walk-around use in the daytime. So, I'm thinking of replacing it with something smaller and cheaper. As luck would have it, a friend has just purchased an E-M10 with the new Oly 14-42 pancake and he's selling his old Panasonic 14-42 PZ. I've got it for a few days on a sale or return basis and TBH, I'm fairly impressed with it. At 14mm, it's actually pretty damned close to the 12-35. I doubt I could tell them apart unless the images were side-by-side and even then it's a very small difference - just some better resolution of fine detail at the frame edge by the 12-35. At longer focal lengths (specifically, at 35mm), the 12-35 is noticeably better, but I think I can live with that for the intended use. It's slower of course, which would rule out low-light shots, but I'll usually have a prime or two with me to cover that. The size is great too, especially when paired with my E-P5. So, I'm tempted, but then I look at the reviews which are generally fairly uninspiring (except for one by Ming Thein who rather liked it). Any views?
I had it for a short while. It is very nice, good contrast, great form factor for a versatile walk around zoom. It did not handle flare too well, but other than that its great. I think its underrated. If you are getting it for a good price, don't hesitate. I think it got bad reviews (unfairly) because there was an issue with shutter shock on the GX1 when it was first bundled as a kit. I think that was more the camera than the lens and I'm not sure but it may have been fixed with a firmware update. I only got rid of it to make room for the 12-32 (which I still haven't purchased) which will give me more on the wide end and the same form factor.
