Handling and features
Performance
Verdict
Specification


This new, standard zoom lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras covers a range equivalent to a 28-84mm lens on a 35mm camera, sports a compact design and optical image stabilisation.

Panasonic Lumix G Vario 14-42 mm f/3.5-5.6 II Handling and features

The lens barrel is constructed from high quality plastics, with a gun-metal effect finish, which feel quite sturdy and it only weighs 110g. As this lens is marketed as a luxury alternative to their other standard zooms, the lens mount is plastic. The small size of this lens should make it perfect for use with even the most compact Micro Four Thirds bodies and it also feels right at home on the Panasonic Lumix G3 used for testing.

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Panasonic Lumix G VARIO 14-42mm II Performance

At 14mm sharpness in the centre portion of the image is already outstanding, although the clarity towards the edges of the frame just falls short of good levels. Stopping down the aperture improves the clarity towards the edges of the frame, peaking at f/8. Here sharpness is still outstanding in the centre of the frame and the clarity towards the edges of the frame approaches excellent levels.

Zooming to 25mm results in a reduction in sharpness in the centre of the frame, although excellent levels are still attained here between f/4 and f/5.6. Very good levels of clarity towards the edges of the frame are also attained at these apertures.

Finally, at 42mm. Sharpness remains excellent in the centre of the frame at f/5.6, although stopping down to f/8 results in a slight increase in sharpness here. Clarity towards the edges of the frame for this focal length falls just below excellent levels.

As falloff and distortion are corrected by the camera's image processing engine when shooting JPEGs, falloff and distortion will only be easily visible when working with RAW files.

Resolution @ 14mm

Resolution @ 25mm

Resolution @ 42mm

How to read our charts The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges. Averaging them out gives the red weighted column. The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution. The taller the column, the better the lens performance. Simple. For this review, the lens was tested on a Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 using Imatest.

Chromatic aberrations are pretty well controlled throughout the zoom range, peaking towards the edges of the frame at 25mm and maximum aperture. Here fringing covers 0.7 pixel widths, which may become visible along high contrast edges if images are printed at large sizes, or harsh crops are taken from the edges of the frame.

Chromatic aberration @ 14mm

Chromatic aberration @ 25mm

Chromatic aberration @ 42mm

How to read our charts Chromatic aberration is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software. Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc. to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more. For this review, the lens was tested on a Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 using Imatest.

Falloff of illumination towards the corners is fairly typical for a standard zoom lens, and shouldn't pose too many issues. At 14mm and f/3.5 the comers are 1.52 stops darker than the centre of the image and stopping down to f/8 results in visually uniform images. At 42mm, there is even less falloff to speak of. At f/5.6 the corners are only 0.758 stops darker than the image centre and stopping down to f/8 also results in visually uniform illumination.

Quite unusually for a lens of this range, mild pincushion distortion is present at either end of the zoom range. At 14mm 0.273% pincushion distortion is present and at 42mm this level raises to 1.04%. The distortion pattern is uniform across the frame throughout the zoom range, which should make applying corrections in image editing software afterwards, relatively straightforward.

A deep petal-shaped hood is supplied with this lens, which does an excellent job of shielding the optics from extraneous light that may cause flare, or loss of contrast. However, this hood is quite large relative to the size of the lens, which makes it noticeably more bulky. Even without the hood in place, this lens is quite resistant to flare and produces images with good contrast, even when shooting into the light.

Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II ASPH Sample Photos

Value for Money

This lens will costs around £219 when it becomes available, which is a good price for a brand new lens design.

Panasonic also offer three other lenses in this range. Two of the lenses are a little more bulky, but offer optical image stabilisation and the same f/3.5-5.6 maximum aperture. The discontinued lens this replaces can still be bought new, for only £130. The 14-45mm lens, which is considered an upgrade to the discontinued lens by many costs around £230 and offers 3mm extra telephoto reach. Finally, Panasonic's 14-42mm X lens may also be considered. This lens is shorter when not in use, but uses a motorised zooming mechanism and costs around £250.

Olympus also offer a 14-42mm lens, which costs around £100. This lens sports a collapsible design, but lacks optical stabilisation, as this feature is built into Olympus camera bodies.

Panasonic Lumix G VARIO 14-42mm II Verdict

Most people purchasing this lens will probably pick it up as part of a kit with a new Panasonic G series camera, and shouldn't need to be in any rush to replace it, as it performs well. Those with existing Panasonic optics may find the compact size and manual zoom control appealing. Whether it is a worthy upgrade to Panasonic's other 14-42mm optics, is open to debate.

	The Panasonic Lumix G VARIO 14-42mm II Lens has excellent sharpness throughout the zoom range.

Panasonic Lumix G VARIO 14-42mm II Pros

Excellent sharpness in the centre throughout the zoom range
Compact size
Good build quality
Light weight
Optical stabilisation
Good value

Panasonic Lumix G VARIO 14-42mm II Cons

Sharpness towards the edges of the frame could be better at 14mm

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL

Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II ASPH Specifications

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