Introduction

Ease of Use

The Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO 35-100mm F2.8 lens

The LUMIX G VARIO 35-100mm F2.8 ASPH is relatively small and light for a fast zoom lens covering a 35mm equivalent focal range of 70-200mm, measuring just 10cms in length from the tip of the lens to the base side of the lens mount. An extra 4cms is taken up by the supplied lens hood, which helps prevent lens flare and also protects the protruding front element from scratches and finger marks.

Mounted on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5

Mounted on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5

Alongside the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5

Zooming is internal, so the front of the lens never extends. It's very light at 360 grams, despite its high-quality construction which gives it a premium look and feel.

Front of lens, isometric view

Front of lens

In terms of features, the lens has little to offer (aside from its fast aperture, of course). There is no distance scale and no focus limiter, although there is a handy image stabilisation switch for the Power O.I.S system which helps to combat camera shake.

Rear of lens

Rear of lens, isometric view

The LUMIX G VARIO 35-100mm F2.8 ASPH lens is predominantly made of metal parts, including the barrel and the mount, which makes this the best constructed Panasonic lens to date. Panasonic claims some degree of weather resistance for this lens (splash/dust proof), and indeed you can see a rubber seal around the lens mount.

Side of lens, focal length set to 35mm

Side of lens, focal length set to 100mm

In-hand

The lens comes with a premium lens pouch and a large lens hood in the box. You can fit 58mm filters to this lens at the same time as using the hood.

Lens hood fitted

Lens hood fitted

Focal Range

At the 35mm end of the zoom range, the lens has a diagonal angle of view of 34°, equivalent to that of a 70mm lens in a 35mm system.

Field of view at 35mm

At the 100mm end, the angle of view is 12°, which is the same as that of a 200mm lens on a 35mm full-frame camera.

Field of view at 100mm

Focusing

The LUMIX G VARIO 35-100mm F2.8 ASPH lens offers virtually silent focusing thanks to the inclusion of a stepping motor. In use, we found the system surprisingly quick on the DMC-G5 that we tested the lens with. The lens also incorporates an inner focus system, good news for filter users, as it means that it doesn't rotate in use. This combination of silent, quick focusing makes the lens well suited to shooting both stills and video.

Manual focusing is possible in a focus-by-wire fashion. This should not put you off using it as it feels pretty natural in use, and actually enables the camera to display a magnified view of the subject automatically, i.e. without your having to press a dedicated button or enter the menu. The focus ring is fairly slim but adequate for the job.

Chromatic Aberrations

Chromatic aberrations, typically seen as purple or blue fringes along contrasty edges, are not a problem with this lens at either end of the focal range.

Light Fall-off

With the lens set to its maximum aperture of f/2.8, you can see some light fall-off in the corners at both 35mm and 100mm, but nothing too excessive. You will likely only notice this when photographing a subject with large homogeneous surfaces.

Light fall-off at 35mm

Light fall-off at 100mm

Macro

The LUMIX G VARIO 35-100mm F2.8 ASPH has a closest focusing distance of 85cm / 2.8ft at all focal lengths and a maximum 0.1x magnification rating, so it's no macro lens, although that's not too surprising for a telephoto zoom lens.

Close-up performance

Bokeh

Bokeh is a word used for the out-of-focus areas of a photograph, and is usually described in qualitative terms, such as smooth / creamy / harsh etc. In the LUMIX G VARIO 35-100mm F2.8 ASPH lens, Panasonic have employed an iris diaphragm with seven rounded blades, which has resulted in nice bokeh in our view. We do realise, however, that bokeh evaluation is subjective; so we've included several 100% crops for your perusal.

Sharpness

In order to show you how sharp this lens is, we are providing 100% crops on the following page.