Review of Panasonic 12-32mm kit lens

[Duncan]

Tyson Robichaud has a very positive review of the small Panasonic 12-32mm kit lens over at http://tysonrobichaudphotography.wo...c-lumix-g-vario-12-32mm-f3-5-5-6-lens-tested/. He does some comparison shots with the Panasonic 14mm and PanLeica 25mm, and the kit lens holds its own fairly well.

 

[marcl]

It's the only kit zoom I purchased with a camera that I plan on keeping. Great lens.

 

[FlyPenFly]

Corners are pretty weak at infinity on 12mm but the rendering and color is nice. It's also really small.

It is prone to shutter shock on Olympus bodies, don't know about the bigger Panasonic bodies but I've never had a lens shutter shock so much on an E-P5 or E-M1.

 

[RDM]

I have a Panasonic GH-2 and was considering getting this.

 

[pellicle]

I have a Panasonic GH-2 and was considering getting this.

Me too actually, but I think its size would suit a GF style camera more. I've also got both the 14mm f2.5 and the GWC-1 wide adapter which kind of makes this lens a difficult choice. Is the OIS worth it? So far my answer for myself is not really...

I just sold my GF because it provided me little to no advantage over my GH1. A used LX-5 will now be added for pocket camera and its as wide as this lens and more telephoto and has OIS too.

 

[RDM]

Me too actually, but I think its size would suit a GF style camera more. I've also got both the 14mm f2.5 and the GWC-1 wide adapter which kind of makes this lens a difficult choice. Is the OIS worth it? So far my answer for myself is not really...

I just sold my GF because it provided me little to no advantage over my GH1. A used LX-5 will now be added for pocket camera and its as wide as this lens and more telephoto and has OIS too.

Maybe it has a size more conducive with a GF series body but its nice to have a compact lens on any camera. However I'm more interested in the lens as an economical solution for a walk around kit lens that has 12mm on the wide end. The only other alternative for such a budget kit lens was the whether sealed Only 12-50mm, but that thing is huge & I believe costs more.

I'm thinking of this lens to replace my 14-45mm zoom, that I park on my camera for speedy use, for those Kodak moments that pop up suddenly & disappeared just as fast. I jokingly call it my body cap. :smile:

 

[pellicle]

Hi

Maybe it has a size more conducive with a GF series body but its nice to have a compact lens on any camera.

well that's for sure, and pardon me, my musing was pretty much out of context and related more to my own issue / struggle with selling my GF1 (which I liked but ...)

However I'm more interested in the lens as an economical solution for a walk around kit lens that has 12mm on the wide end.

I think its a good candidate. Have you considered the 14mm f2.5 and the 0.79 wide adaptor? That would give you a little wider but of course fail you on the 'normal' aspect provided at 32mm end.

I guess that personally if I didn't have the 14mm already I'd probably get the 12-32.

FWIW a 14mmf2.5 is going to set you back $190 or so , therefore with the 12-32 you'd have a single lens which does what it would take at least 2 primes to do.

They aren't real dear either ...

I see them on eBay for under $400

 

[Steven]

Corners are pretty weak at infinity on 12mm but the rendering and color is nice. It's also really small.

It is prone to shutter shock on Olympus bodies, don't know about the bigger Panasonic bodies but I've never had a lens shutter shock so much on an E-P5 or E-M1.

How can one test for this?
Is it any different with OIS activated and IBIS off, or vice versa? Thanks.

 

[RichDesmond]

...and related more to my own issue / struggle with selling my GF1 (which I liked but ...)...

Never sell a GF1!! :smile:

 

[SojiOkita]

I've just made some quick tests to see how my 12-32 was performing. For my tests the focusing distance was near infinity (it was a "landscape" test).

My conclusion is not as positive as the one in the review.
The center resolution is always excellent (I would even say pretty impressive), but the corner are weak at 12 mm. Stopping down doesn't help.

I briefly tested a few weeks ago the Oly 12 mm f/2 and the 12-50, but I didn't make a direct comparison.
The 12-50 was also very soft on the borders are 12 mm (and not as sharp on the center), and the 12 mm prime was also quite soft in the corners.

So the performance of my 12-32 (I suppose some would be better than mine) is nothing to be ashamed of, but the corner softness at 12 mm is visible (the fact that the center is excellent makes it stand out even more).

 

[FlyPenFly]

The 12mm f2 sharpens up quite nicely when stopped down to f4, extremely sharp.