Conclusion

The LUMIX G VARIO 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH. POWER O.I.S. standard zoom offers a versatile focal range of 24-120mm in a relatively small package, backed-up by very good image quality throughout the focal range and impressively fast and quiet autofocusing. It is a little soft wide-open though, so it's best used stopped down for the best results, but the asking price of £369 / $499 is very reasonable.

This lens is small and lightweight considering the zoom range on offer, making it well suited to life as a walk-around lens. It's also very fast to focus on the DMC-GX7 camera that we tested it with and also virtually silent too, making it well-suited to candid stills and video work. Build quality is more than acceptable given the price-tag.

Optically the lens is a very good performer. At all focal lengths, it's best to stop it down by one f-stop for optimum results - wide-open the center and edge sharpness is less acceptable. Chromatic aberrations are only noticeable by their almost complete absence, while distortions aren't too bad either.

If you need the versatility of a standard zoom with a little more reach than normal, we can definitely recommend the Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH. POWER O.I.S. lens.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4
Image quality	4
Value for money	4