Most Promising and Puzzling Cameras of 2012

MOST PROMISING AND PUZZLING CAMERAS OF 2012

One opinionated review of the year that was

Author AndrewS   December 2012

The blogger's Imperative  The process of creating and maintaining a blog like this one involves considerable labour. Most of the articles I publish consist of  a carefully worded summary of detailed observations. But just occasionally one has to loosen the shackles of self imposed restraint and express personal opinions more freely. I did this with "MILC, Gap Filler or Distruptive Innovation" published in November and  the three part part "MILC 4th Birthday Progress Report" in December. Most camera website and blog proprietors have a shot at "Year's Best Camera" evaluation, so here is mine, albeit in a different format from most.

Manly Beach Long View Lumix G5 Lumix 100-300mm lens

Introduction  The reported number of cameras sold in 2012 declined in favour of smart phones. Some of the big name makers are in serious financial trouble. Despite or maybe because of this there were many new and  interesting products  released during the year.  It appears manufacturers are trying to come up with something special to revitalise consumer's interest in cameras.

Best ?  I decided that any attempt to declare a "Best" camera was an enterprise doomed to fail as each individual has a different set of requirements. So here is a slightly different idea, namely my personal take on the Most Promising CameraSystem of the year. This is obviously as much a bet on the future as it is a comment on the present. I think that is fair enough. Anytime one buys a camera or a car or smart phone, whatever, one wants to be part of a successful enterprise with future prospects.

Manly Beach Wide View  Lumix G5, Lumix 12-35mm lens

Camera Systems  The two big systems are the well established DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) and the newcomer, the MILC (Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera).

DSLR   My view is that the DSLR, and it's variant the Sony SLT(R) will gradually decline in favour of the MILC.  The reasons ?

First the DSLR has reached the end (apart from the side trip to Sony SLT) of it's evolutionary voyage. The DSLR cannot evolve into anything else. It is stuck with inherent separation of optical view from live view. It is stuck with the flipping mirror and it's attendant complications. The Sony SLT does have continuous live view in the EVF and Monitor and the mirror does not flip. But there is always a mirror sitting between the lens and the imaging sensor, collecting dust,  and the flangeback distance is the same as a DSLR.

Second there is a lot of  optical/mechanical stuff  in a DSLR which is expensive to make and assemble and is not required for a MILC.  So the MILC should be cheaper to make.

The demise of the DSLR will not be sudden for several reasons.

First CaNikon make most of them and these two have a strong hold on camera selling outlets and brand recognition.

Second millions of people are holding millions of DSLR lenses and would probably be disinclined to give them up in a hurry.

Third there are still a few performance realms where MILC's are not quite up to DSLR's yet, in particular follow focus on moving subjects with continuous AF. On the other hand the latest MILC's are at least as fast, probably faster and certainly more accurate with single shot single AF.  

MILC  I think over time the MILC will prevail to become the dominant interchangeable lens system camera type. The question then becomes, which size, variant or brand  will become most popular ?

Sensor Size I discussed this in more detail in Part 1 of my "MILC 4th Birthday Report" on this blog.  In summary Micro Four Thirds is the smallest which gives me "good enough" image quality for a wide range of photographic assignments.

Body Size  This is determined by a range of design parameters, sensor size not being one of them.

Lens Size  This is basically determined by sensor size. In a multi lens kit, lens size will be the main determinant of total size, weight and carrying requirements.

Lowe Pro Rezo 160 AW bag containing G5, 7-14mm, 12-35mm, 100-300mm, plus 4 spare batteries, many memory cards, lens cleaning equipment. This M43 kit covers a Diagonal Angle of View range from ultra wide (114 degrees) to super telephoto (4.1 degrees) in a compact kit weighing 2360 grams including the carry bag. At this time, it is not possible to assemble a kit with comparable range, quality and versatility in such a compact package, with any system other than M43.

The Happy Medium  My assessment is that Micro Four Thirds delivers the most convincing balance between  image quality and compact lens size.

APS-C  Sony NEX,  Canon EOS-M,  Samsung NX,  Fuji X-Pro/EX  (why all the X's ??) and Pentax K-01 have all gone with the larger 27mm (Canon) or 28mm (The rest) APS-C sensor.  There is nothing "bad" or "wrong" with the APS-C sensor size. But these makers are stuck forever with  lenses which will always be appreciably larger than those for M43. When M43 is delivering really excellent image quality and even Nikon CX has "good enough" image quality for most people, what is the point of the larger sensor ? I think that future prospects for the 27-28 mm sensor are not wonderful.

"Full Frame"  Leica uses the 43 mm diagonal sensor which is the same as a standard  35 mm film frame. Many DSLR's use this sensor size. I think professional photographers who want/need the very best image quality will skip the 27-28mm sensor and go straight to full frame. At present they can only do this in Mirrorless with Leica, but the potential is there for a maker brave enough to launch a full frame MILC.

Nikon CX   (a.k.a. "One Inch")  Nikon's entry into the MILC contest has been with the 15.86 mm diagonal, 2.7x crop factor CX sensor. They made an awful lot of ergonomic mistakes with the first iteration of cameras at this size. However I suspect this format has more prospects for the future than APS-C. Why ? Because it's image quality will be good enough for most people most of the time and the lenses, and therefore kit size, can be much more compact. The Sony Cybershot RX100 which uses the same sensor size, has a DXO Mark IQ rating of 66 which is the same as the Canon EOS 60D.  I don't hear too many people complaining about the IQ of the 60D.

This is the Rezo 160 AW bag in carry position.

So my award for Most Promising Camera System of the Year 2012 goes to the Micro Four Thirds System.  M43 has been rolling out some excellent products over the last year with more rumored to be in the pipeline. Image quality has taken a jump, courtesy of Sony with the new sensor in the Olympus EM5, EPL5 and EPM2. The Panasonic GH3 is rumored to have the same or very similar sensor. Panasonic and Olympus have a selection of very high quality single focal length lenses and Panasonic has released some high quality pro style zooms which are still very compact.

I am backing my own judgement by investing in M43 and nothing else. I have a GH2 and G5 with GH3 on order. My lenses are all zooms, mainly (Panasonic) Lumix, 7-14mm, 12-35mm, 35-100mm on order, 14-45mm, 45-150mm, 100-300mm. There is a Lumix 150mm f2.8 rumored for 2013 which sounds very appealing.

Now for the puzzles  Advancements in the technology of image capture and manufacture have provided camera product developers with options never before seen in the history of photography. The result has been a rush of new camera styles, sizes and shapes. In all the excitement it will come as no surprise that some of these new products appear to be suffering from a lack of clear direction and purpose. Others have apparently been released to market before full product development was completed.  

Samsung produced a few decent NX cameras then appeared to lose interest in favour of  Galaxy cams, which actually might be a better fit with Samsung's overall product lineup. Sony made some amazingly small NEX cameras, gave them a dreadful menu system then forgot about good  lenses. Fuji made some technically innovative sensor designs but struggled to get their  lenses to focus with reasonable speed or accuracy. Then they neglected  to collaborate with the independent RAW converters. Nikon had an interesting idea with the strangely named 1 Series but then gave the cameras truly dreadful ergonomics. Pentax, with 60 years experience in cameras,  got a furniture and jewellery guy (who cheerfully admitted no camera experience at all) to design them a camera. What on earth were they thinking ?  So there are candidates for the  Bad Camera prize on all sides. I have chosen three as they seem to me to represent the gap which can develop between marketing hype and reality when, in my view,  generally competent camera makers lose touch with customers who wish to use a camera for the purpose of making photographs. That is, making photos as opposed to showing off  how small it is or how many pixels it might have or that it comes in cool colors or tells you where you are right now or any of a host of other things peripheral to or totally unrelated to making photos.  

Sony Cybershot DSC RX-1  Right now camera reviewers are lining up to shower praise on this thing so what's the problem ?  In two words, conceptual integrity. If you buy the Camera, Electronic Viewfinder, Thumb Grip and Lenshood the outlay will be about $3600.  For that you get a moderately but not very compact camera with no built in viewfinder, no secure handle and no flip out monitor. Sony's game plan here appears to have been to put the Biggest  sensor into the Smallest camera body.  If that is so, they appear to have succeeded.  If good camera design was determined by numbers this one would be a winner. But numbers, of pixels or DXO Mark scores or dimensions are only a part of the story. A good camera, Especially  one this expensive has to have good ergonomics. This means good holding, viewing and operating. The RX-1 lens axis is almost centered in the body. As a result there is no room on the right side (as viewed by the operator) for a handle. There is room on the back for a decent thumb rest, but none is provided. Instead you are offered an expensive accessory thumb rest. If they moved the lens axis over to the left there would be room on the right for a handle. Don't believe me ? Entry level Sony NEX cams are 117mm wide and have a decent handle.  The  RX-1 is 113mm wide, just 4 mm less. There is plenty of room for a small but ergonomically useful handle. The lack of an inbuilt viewfinder at this price is inexplicable to me, the viewing problem being compounded by the monitor being of fixed type.

So we have a camera which doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Is it a compact camera ? If so it's not all that compact and is ridiculously expensive. Put the thumb grip and one of the viewfinders on, and it's as high as a small DSLR.  Is it a tool for professional photographers ? With poor holding and viewing characeristics I doubt it.  So the puzzle is- Why did they make it ?  I have no inside knowlege about this at all  but I would  be surprised if the answer was very far from "Because They Could".

Just by way of historical comparison, I mention that ten years ago I owned a film compact camera called the Contax T3. This had very similar design specifications to the Sony RX-1. Compact size, 43mm sensor (in the form of 35mm film in the case of the T3), 35mm focal length lens. The Sony, without a viewfinder,  has 2.5 times the box volume of the Contax  and 1.5 times the mass of the Contax. Yet the Contax had a built in optical viewfinder of good quality. The Sony has an f2 lens while the Contax was f2.8. A lens of  f2 aperture doesn't make better photos than one of f2.8 aperture but it sure is bigger. The Contax, in it's day, was overpriced for the boutique market but still less than half the price of the Sony.  My point is that progress in camera design is sometimes real, sometimes illusory, and that bigger numbers do not necessarily make a better camera.

On the left is a Lumix G5 with Lumix 12-35mm f2.8 lens mounted, in a Lowe Pro Apex 110 AW bag. This bag is large enough to take the Lumix GH3 (which is 10mm higher) with the same lens. On the right is a Canon G1-X in a Lowe Pro Apex 100 AW bag. The 110 bag is only one size up from the 100 bag and is just as easy to carry. For this small increase in bag size one can gain a  huge increase in photographic capability by moving to M43.

Next we have the Canon Powershot G1X    My wife, who is an occasional snapshooter, came home with one of these several months ago. She bought it because it had a better grip than her previous camera, a Canon IXUS 220HS.   Canon's promotional material at the camera's release included the following   "Created for professional and serious photographers......the Powershot G1X creates a prestigious new category at the top of Canon's legendary G Series lineup and redefines the performance achievable from a compact camera"  It would appear that Canon with the G1X and Sony with the RX-1 are both trying to appeal to the market's desire for big camera image quality in a compact camera size.  So does the G1X deliver on it's maker's claims ? In a word, no. The DXO Mark score is 60 which puts it in line with mid range M43 cameras. Not bad but hardly a prestigious new category. Holding is reasonable with a decent handle but inexplicably a video button where the user should find a thumb rest. There is no EVF. The optical viewfinder does not do the camera justice at all. On a recent trip my wife complained that the picture which the camera made was different from the view she saw in the viewfinder.  Indeed. Operation is slow. Slow at everything. Slow to start up, slow to focus, slow shot to shot times. The lens is of good quality but people like me who had previously used a G12 were disappointed at the lack of close focussing ability.

Apparently the G1X sold quite well, suggesting that many photographers are indeed looking for big image quality in a small package. However I suspect that quite a few of them will be disappopinted by the G1X. The two puzzles with this camera are (a) Why did Canon make a camera which falls so far short of it's own promotional claims ?  Again I have no inside knowlege but I would not be surprised if the answer was "Price Point". (b) Why did  lots of people buy it ? I have no idea what people's camera buying motives might be but I would not be surprised if the answer was the prospect of getting something really special at  a very attractive, you guessed it.........Price Point.  All of which suggests Canon knows how to market cameras. But I wonder what effect  in the long run this kind of half baked product will have on  Canon's reputation.

Talking of disappointment brings me to the third camera on my "most puzzling" list, the Canon EOS-M.    Canon was the last player to arrive at  the MILC party. They waited 4 years from the first MILC which was the Pansonic G1. They had all the time in the world to evaluate their competitor's products, analyse their strengths and weaknesses, develop  a strategy then produce a category killer product line.  Instead they presented the EOS-M, in my view the most derivative, uninspiring, under achieving new camera release in recent photographic history. To create the EOS-M,  Canon took an EOS 650D then hacked off  most of  the useful holding, viewing and operating parts.    Canon's image quality is going backwards. My EOS 40D of 2007 had a DXO Mark score of 64. The EOS 650D which apparently uses the same sensor as the M, scores 62. The slow autofocus performance of the M has been widely reported. The 650D's handle and thumbrest along with the eye level viewfinder and most of the buttons and dials, have all gone, along with the swing out monitor. If this thing were really inexpensive it might make sense, but they are asking you to pay the Same price as a 650D.  While I am complaining about Canon I can't resist a comment about naming. Canon has gotten itself in a complete mess with confusing and inconsistent naming for it's DSLR's.  They appear to be doing it all over again with the EOS-M. Is it the first of a line and if so why not call it the M1 ? Or M something. Will they introduce a more upmarket version with EVF and if so what will that be called ?

The puzzle is - What is Canon trying to achieve with the EOS-M ?  I really can't figure it out at all. I can understand  that maybe they are trying to make something that puts them in the MILC tent but won't steal sales from their own DSLR line. The problem, it seems to me, is that it is unlikely to steal sales from anywhere. Of course, it might turn out to be a smash hit contrary to my prediction.  In that event the second puzzle will be--why did they buy it ??

But that question, if it arises, will be for another day and another blog post.

Setting Up the Panasonic Lumix G5 Camera, An Ergonomic approach

How to set up The Panasonic Lumix G5 Camera

An ergonomic approach

Like the movie --- It's Complicated

Author AndrewS  December 2012

Introduction  My apologies for the length and complexity of  this article. It's not exactly a light read. But complexity comes with the territory of  configurable  electronic cameras so us camera users must learn to manage that complexity or use a smart phone to make photos.

Operating Instructions  Before tackling this article I strongly recommend you  print out the entire 232 page text of the  Panasonic G5 Operating Instructions.  Due to the complexity of the camera and the poor design of the Instructions, one is constantly jumping back and forth from one section to another. This is much easier with the printed document than the unprinted PDF.  Page numbers and other  references in square brackets in this article refer to the Operating Instructions. Unfortunately there is no index in the instructions so the task of finding any particular item can be tedious.

Dolce Vita Palm Beach Sydney. Lumix G5, Lumix 45-150mm lens

Camera use  This article refers to use of the camera in P,A,S,M,C1, C2 positions on the Mode Dial. I have nothing useful to say about use of the camera in [Scene Guide Mode, Page 121] or [Creative Control Mode, Page 130] or [iAMode, Page 42] or [iA+Mode, Page 46]. Motion Picture I never use video and know nothing about it, so you won't read about it here.  However there is just one little thing.  If you want to use the Extra Tele Conversion [Ex.Tele Conv.] function for still photography, go into the Motion Picture Menu and set [Ex.Tele Conv ON] [Page 161].

Historical background     Once upon a time, way back in the good [?] old days, cameras were really basic.  My favourite camera of the 1970's, the Pentax Spotmatic,  had a very simple user interface. You could control shutter speed, aperture, and set the film speed. You could focus manually. You advanced the film after each exposure with a thumb operated lever. And that was yer lot. There was no question of the user deciding what function would be allocated to each of the UIM's.

Fast forward to the subject of this report and we find the Panasonic G5 offers a very high level of user configurability.  For instance there are 33 user selectable choices for each of the 5 [3 hard, 2 soft] Fn buttons, making a total of 28,480,320 possible combinations for Function Buttons alone. [33x32x31x30x29].  Compared to the Pentax Spotmatic, modern cameras including the G5 are incredibly complex, confronting the user with millions of potential operating combinations. Hence this article, which is an attempt to help the reader through the  labrynth of choices.

The Four Phases of Camera Use  I have written extensively about these phases elsewhere on this blog but for the present a short summary may suffice.

Setup  Phaseis the subject of this article. It consists of the many settings you make at home, at leisure, preferably with the Operating Instructions to hand.  However in order to negotiate the considerable demands of Setup Phase successfully you need to have a very clear understanding of the UI requirements for the other stages. Setup Phase adjustments are best alocated to the Main Menu system.

Prepare Phase  takes place in the minutes before starting to make photos. It is used for changing settings to adapt the camera to a new set of photo tasks, for instance, indoor/outdoor, flash/no flash, static/action etc. Prepare Phase adjustments can usefully be made with a variety of User Interface Modules [UIM]. Typically these would include the Custom Mode Settings on the Main Mode Dial, the Q Menu, and selected Buttons. Each photographer will have a different idea as to which parameters need adjusting in this Phase. The one thing you most definitely do not want is Prepare Phase adjustments buried in the Main Menu ststem.

Capture Phase is the most critical as it requires a large amount of information processing and specific camera control actions in a very short time span.  I strongly recommend you set up the camera to prioritise Capture Phase capability.

The principal Capture Phase tasks are to adjust primary and if possible secondary exposure and focussing parameters then make the exposure.

Exposure Parameters

 Primary:  Time Value [shutter speed], Aperture Value [f stop], Speed Value [ISO setting].

Secondary:  Exposure Compensation, Flash Exposure Compensation, White Balance.

Focus Parameters

Primary:  Start/Lock AF, Adjust MF.

Secondary:  Shift position and size of active AF area.

Capture Phase adjustments are generally made with buttons, scroll wheels or levers, preferably those accessible to the right index finger and right thumb without shifting grip or the left hand, for zoom and manual focus, again preferably without having to shift grip. In fact the ideal ergonomic solution is not available with the the G5 as you have to shift grip to operate the 4 way controller [Cursor Buttons in Panasonic language]. You do not want Capture Phase adjustments in the Menu system, either Main or Q.

Review Phase  This is basically self explanatory and I won't have much to say about it in this article. However individual camera users have very different ways of using a camera's review capability, requiring quite different groups of review settings.  For instance I hardly ever use in camera review so I have Auto Review switched off and other settings left at default positions. Others like to review every exposure on the monitor and make image adjustments in camera. In any event, function of the Playback button is not user assignable.

A note about touch screen controls  The G5 is an EVF camera so this article is written for the user who views through the EVF most or much of the time. In that case touch screen controls are not useful. I have read on user forums that some people use their EVF camera in Monitor View all or most of the time and may find touch screen operation useful. That's fine but to prevent this article from getting even longer I will say only two things about touch screen controls. One is that the Instructions decribe a method of configuring the Q Menu using touch screen. However a more satisfactory  method is to use the cursor buttons, see the Q Menu section below.  The other is a feature called [Touch Pad AF, Page 171]. The idea of this is to allow the active AF position to be moved by pressing on the monitor while viewing through the  EVF. You can set [Touch Pad AF] independently of other touch functions. I tried this and found it an impediment to the smooth flow of camera operation so I switched it off rather quickly.

The Main Menu System   I will go through the Setup, Rec and Custom menus making comment and suggestions along the way. This is not prescriptive but intended to help the reader translate his or her photographic preferences to the camera's operating system. For the proud owner of a new camera I would suggest initially leaving all button functions to default settings. Start with the [Setup Menu].

Setup Menu [Page 70]

* [Clock set], [World Time] and [Travel Date]: Set to preference.

* [Beep] and [Volume]: Set to preference. If you want silent operation with the E-Shutter set [Beep Volume] and [E-Shutter Volume] to OFF.

* [LCD Display]/[Viewfinder]. [Page 72] If you look through the EVF this adjustment will be applied to the EVF display. With Monitor view the Monitor [LCD Monitor] will be adjusted. You have lots to play with here. I have found the default settings to be quite satisfactory.

* [LCD Mode]. [Page 72]  Again lots to adjust here.  I just left this setting on [Auto] which appears to be satisfactory. 

* [Economy] Set [Sleep Mode] and [Auto LCD Off]  to preference. You need to balance the economy of short times against the convenience of long times.  It's not a big deal however as the camera wakes in 4 seconds from sleep with a half press shutter button.

* [USB Mode], [Output], [Viera Link], [3D Playback]. Sorry, I can't help you with any of these.

* [Menu Resume, Page 75]   Setting this to [ON] allows automatic recall of the last used item in each of the sub menus. I find this very handy particularly for [Format] which I use frequently. It is useful for quickly accessing your most frequently used Menu item.

* [Rotate Disp]  Set this [ON] to playback vertical format pictures oriented as you shot them.

* The items on [pages 76-77] are all pretty much self explanatory. [Reset] can be useful if you get in a Menu muddle, which is easy to do,  and want to start over.

Rec Menu [Page 147]  Yes, the Menu lists are all over the place in the G5 Operating Instructions which could be more coherently designed. The GH3 Operating Instructions feature a more logical layout indicating Panasonic is on a learning curve.

Note that Photo Style, Focus mode, Metering Mode, iDynamic, iResolution and Digital Zoom are common to both the Rec (still photo) and Motion Picture Menus. Changing a setting in one Menu is reflected in the other menu. For some reason [Ex Tele Conv] only appears in the Motion Picture Menu although it does apply to still photos.

Also note that many settings can be made in the [Rec Menu], [Q Menu] or a button. Any change made via one of these access points will be reflected in the others.

Now let us get on with the [Rec Menu, Page 147]

* [Photo Styles]  These apply to JPG files. Note that if you are using RAW capture, Photo Style effects are present on the preview and review images (which are jpgs)  but not in the RAW file itself.

* [Aspect Ratio, Page 149]  (AR)  The GH1 and GH2 cameras have a unique multi aspect ratio sensor, which the G5  lacks. So any aspect ratio other than 4:3 is just a crop of the full frame with the G5. If you like to do your processing in camera there could be benefit in setting an aspect ratio other than 4:3 but for RAW capture cropping is easily done in Adobe Camera RAW.  If you do want to alter AR  in the Prepare Phase or Capture Phase of use you will want to get it out of the Main Menu. There is no option for AR  in the Q Menu, which is a disappointing omission, so you will have to allocate it to a Fn Button, thereby preventing that button from being used for something else. My solution is to shoot 4:3 and crop after capture as desired, but other camera users may have different ideas about this.

* [Picture Size] The camera has 16 Mpx so you might as well use them all by setting  [L = 16Mpx] for almost everything. The exception is that if you want to use [Ex Tele Conv] you must set [M=8Mpx] for 1.4x or [S=4Mpx] for 2x tele converter simulation. This is a Prepare Phase setting. To avoid delving into the Menu you can use one of the Fn buttons for [Picture Size] but that would most likely be a waste of the button. You can allocate it to [Q Menu] or a [Custom Mode] setting on the Mode Dial for those occasions when you might want to use [Ex Tele Conv].

* [Quality, Page 150] Unless you invariably use either RAW or JPG this will be a Prepare Phase selection.  You can allocate [Quality] to the Q Menu or a Fn Button. If you mostly use RAW but sometimes need JPG for shooting, say, sport/action where fast frame rates are required you can create a Cusom Mode  which includes JPG capture.

Note that Photo Style, iDynamic, Red Eye Removal, iResolution, Color Space selection and HDR are not available in RAW capture.

* [Focus Mode]    This allows selection between [AFS], [AFF], [AFC], and [MF]. You can find details on [Page 36], in the [Rec Menu] on [Page 150] and in the [Q Menu] instructions on [Page 69]. You can set [Focus Mode] via the [RecMenu] or [Q Menu].

This is an adjustment you are likely to require frequently in Prepare Phase or even Capture Phase, as most M43 lenses lack a MF/AF switch on the barrel,  so it needs to be readily accessible without delving into the Main Menu. You can allocate it to the [Q Menu] or a [Fn Button].  You can also set up a [Custom Mode]. For instance if you usually use AF Single, set that in the [Rec Menu]. Then you can set up a [Custom Mode] for, say, sport/action  with a group of appropriate settings including AF Continuous.

Note about [AF Mode, aka Autofocus Mode] Strange as it may seem, you will not find this Mode in the [Rec Menu].  [AF Mode] Allows selection between 23 Point, 9 Point, Single, Pinpoint, Tracking and Face detect. [Page 9]   You can access it in two places. The first, by default,  is the < cursor button on the 4 way controller. However if you select [Direct Focus Area] in the [Custom Menu, Page 167], then if you want access to AF Mode it must be from the second place which is the [Q Menu, Page 69].

* [Metering Mode]  This selects between Multiple, Center Weighted and Spot. My experience is that the G5 reliably makes good exposure decisions in Multiple method. Panasonic recommends using this method  and so do I.  If you have a special photographic purpose requiring Spot Metering, consider including it on a Custom Mode setting on the Main Shooting Mode Dial. You can allocate it to the Q Menu or a Fn Button, but I would think twice about using up a Fn button on this function.

* [HDR]  This belongs in the Prepare Phase of use and is a JPG only function. If you think you would like to use this, at least include it in the list of available Q Menu functions. If you usually shoot RAW you will have to switch to JPG in addition to setting HDR so consider a Custom Mode setting on the Main Mode dial.

* [iDynamic], [iResolution] and [Red Eye Removal] If you regularly shoot JPG there may be some merit in exploring these options. I have not done so.

* [Flash, Pages 84-87], [Flash synchro, Page 153] and [Flash Adjust, Page 153]  are all well described, with no need for further comment by me.

* [ISO Limit Set, Page 154]  This operates when Auto ISO is set and limits the highest available ISO setting.  Unless there  is some pressing reason to avoid high ISO levels set this to 3200.

* [ISO Increments]  Set this to [1 EV]  You will have access to exposure increments of 1/3 EV level via the standard 1/3 step  increments for Shutter Speed and Aperture. There is no need for 1/3 step increments on ISO as well.

* [Long Shtr NR]  If set to ON this operates at shutter speeds of 1 second or longer. It does apply to RAW files and does appear to apply a detectable amount of noise reduction on my tests. I leave it set to ON.

* [Shading Comp]  This evens the imbalance between center and corner brightness, often evident at the wide end of a zoom lens at the widest aperture. It works on RAW and JPG files by adjusting the brightness of both center and corner parts of the frame. On my tests the actual amount of shading correction is partial so some corner darkening is allowed to remain. I set this to ON.

* [Digital Zoom, Pages 156, 80] Note about digital zoom functions  The G5 has two types of digital zoom, [Ex Tele Conv] and [Digital Zoom]. Both are available for still photos, JPG only.  Digital zoom uses 16 Mpx capture, Ex Tele Conv uses 8 or 4 Mpx capture. My tests show that when output files are adjusted to the same image size, (8 or 4 Mpx)  there is no advantage in image quality of one over the other. In fact I found that shooting RAW and  cropping the file in Adobe Camera Raw to the same size also gave the same image quality when output as JPG. The advantage of  Ex Tele Conv is that the image is cropped in the viewfinder with full control of active AF Area position and size.   If you do want to experiment with digital zoom, I would suggest allocating selection to the Q Menu so you don't have to trawl around in the Rec Menu to get it.

* [Electronic Shutter]  The G5 is the first M43 camera to have this feature. It can be silent, (if desired) and  prevents shutter shock. Limitations are: Slowest shutter speed 1 second, highest ISO 1600 and the process takes 0.1 seconds to scan the frame, compared to 0.006 seconds for the mechanical shutter. This means it is incompatible with electronic flash and moving objects in the frame may show shape distortion. It is still handy however especially with the camera on a tripod or with some lenses at certain shutter speeds.  So I recommend giving E-Shutter a Fn button. I use the Fn3 button as selecting E-Shutter will usually be a Prepare Phase action and the Fn 3 button is not suitably located for Capture Phase actions.

* [Burst Rate, Page 89]  The fastest burst rate which provides Live View and CAF on every frame is [M, Middle Speed, nominally 3.7 frames per second].  [SH] might be useful for checking a golf swing or similar.  For sport/action photography I recommend the [M] setting and JPG capture. If you select M in the [Rec] Menu,  M setting will appear when you access the Drive Mode (Down cursor on the 4 way controller).

* [Auto Bracket, Page 91]  This is the place to set up Auto Exposure bracketing Single/Burst, Step and Sequence. You can also change the number of steps after pressing the Down cursor button. If set to [Single] you must press the shutter button for every exposure in the sequence. With [Burst] set you must press and hold the shutter button down to make the sequence. To prevent camera shake, a tripod and wired remote control are desirable. There is no facility to set both timer delay and AEB, it is either/or. Your settings made here will appear in the Drive Mode options.

* [Self Timer, Page 93]  The Instructions require no further elaboration.

* [Color Space] You can select sRGB or Adobe RGB. Always set this to Adobe RGB which is best for RAW capture. If you do use JPG doing so will automatically set sRGB  for the JPG photos as this is the JPG color space.

* [Stabiliser, Page 78] Some Lumix lenses have a Stabiliser On/Off  switch on the barrel some do not.  Setting the stabiliser is a Prepare Phase action, so it needs to be readily accessible. One suggested way to manage this would be to set stabiliser ON in the Rec Menu then make subsequent changes in the Q Menu. The Menu options which appear depend on the lens fitted. Lenses with a switch show no OFF position in the Menu.

* [Face Recog, Page 142-145] This looks like one of those functions which they included because they could. I have never used it on the basis that I think I can probably recognise someone better than the camera.

Custom Menu, Page 163

[Cust Set Mem, Page 139-141]  The process for setting a Custom Mode is well described and straightforward in practice.

[AF/AE Lock/Fn1, Page 104, 105, 113]  At this point of the setup you have to decide, using the [AF/AE Lock/Fn1] field on Page 1 of the Custom Menu,  if you want this button for

(a) One of the lock functions, [AE], [AF] or [AE+AF]  OR

(b) Fn1 with 33 options from which to choose, AND

(c) If you chose AF/AE Lock, then go to [AF/AE Lock], mysteriously located on Page 3 of the Custom Menu instead of  Page 1 right after the [AF/AE Lock/Fn1] field where it should be and choose [AE,AF or AF/AE].  There is no option on this camera to use this button to start and continue AF with CAF. If CAF is set and the button is set to start AF it also locks AF and disables CAF. I personally find this a nuisance as I like to use a camera DSLR style with back button  [Start-and- continue-CAF] separate from AE and capture on the shutter button. The GH3 does allow this, by the way, at least it appears so from the Instruction Manual.

The default setting is [AF/AE Lock].  My thinking is that you get AF/AE lock with half press on the shutter button so why use up another button to do essentially the same thing ? One reason might be that you want to lock AF or AE without having to half hold the shutter button.  If your camera use is mainly deliberative, perhaps on tripod, for landscape or architecture for instance, this button might well be used for AF/AE/L but for more spontaneous hand held work you might get more value from one of the Fn settings. In my time with the camera I have changed my use of this button several times because none of the 36 functions it can perform is the one I actually want.  It is currently set to Fn1>Focus Mode.

[LVF/LCD/Fn3, Page 34]  This is on Page 1 of the 8 page Custom Menu. Just to confuse you [Eye Sensor AF, Page 35] is on Page 3 and [Eye Sensor] is on Page 6 of the same menu when logic would indicate they should be adjacent to each other and arranged in reverse order to that provided.   Anyway you have to decide:

(a) Using the [Eye Sensor] options, whether or not you want auto switching between Monitor and EVF view using the proximity sensor just below the eyepiece, and if so what sensitivity to set.   Following a chorus of complaints about the lack of auto switching on the G3, I suspect most people would opt for Auto switching [Eye Sensor>LVF/LCD Auto>ON]. I find [Sensitivity>Low]  is actually a little more sensitive than I would prefer. Some people tape over half the sensor window to make it less sensitive for waist level viewing with the Monitor.

(b) If you go for Auto switching, you still have to decide, using [LVF/LCD/Fn3] whether to use the button for manual switching which can over ride the auto function OR to allocate the button to Fn3, and if you do, THEN decide which of the 33 options to allocate to Fn3.  I did say at the start of this article that it is complicated !!

If it is any help I set the Eye Sensor to Auto>On, the button to Fn3, and the Fn3 function to E-Shutter.

[Eye Sensor AF, Page 35] Some people might find this useful. If set to ON the camera focusses as you bring the EVF up to the eye. It works as a prefocus feature with  no beep. I found it also sets the camera focus hunting at unexpected moments. I don't like cameras to  do unexpected things so I switched this feature off.  But, give it a try, you might like it.

[Fn Button Set] The method of allocating a function to each button is simple. Deciding which function to select is difficult. More on this below.

[Function Lever, Page 15] The G5 is the first Lumix Camera with this UIM.  If you are using the Lumix 14-42mm collapsing power zoom lens, set this to [Zoom].  Otherwise set the lever to [EXP]. This gives direct access to Exposure Compensation in P,A,S Modes and Aperture in M Mode. If you are setting up a Custom Menu group with Ex Tele Conv allocate [Zoom] to the lever to operate the Ex Tele Conv.

[Q Menu]  The default is [Preset] but to optimise your personal camera use, set this to [Custom, Page 69].

[Histogram]  The live view histogram is one of those features which looks better in the brochure than it actually turns out to be in practice. I have now switched it off for three reasons. (1) It clutters up the screen/EVF and distracts attention away from the subject, (2) The camera has a reliable auto exposure system which makes good AE decisions most of the time, (3) If I am photographing a white-on-white high key subject or dark-on-dark low key subject I can usually more easily judge any Exposure Compensation required by looking at the whole preview on the Monitor or EVF.

[Guide Line]  You get three options for types of guide line plus OFF. As with most on screen data options you need to choose between information and clutter. I use the simplest guideline option which provides one vertical and one horizontal line both of which can be positioned anywhere. I run them both through the frame center. I find this particularly useful when I am photographing a subject with architectural elements which I need to have vertical in the final output.

[Auto Review] Some people like to auto review every shot. I find that as one gains confidence in one's own ability and that of the camera this becomes redundant and just slows down the photographic process. So beginners will probably like auto Review ON and more experienced users will want it OFF.

[Highlight]  Set this to ON so with Auto Review or manual review using the Playback button you see the "blinkies" on blown out highlights and can reshoot with exposure compensation if the opportunity arises.

[Expo Meter, Page 166]   This is a prominent display of shutter speed and aperture options overlaid on the Monitor/EVF screen when applying Exposure Compensation or adjusting Aperture or Shutter Speed. As  usual the information-vs-clutter decision has to be made. I got rid of it.

[AF/AE Lock] We have already dealt with this.

[Quick AF]  This feature is different from [Eye Sensor AF]   Whereas eye sensor AF focusses once when you place the eye to the EVF, quick AF has the camera focus hunting all the time, with Monitor or EVF view.

[Direct Focus Area, Page 100, 102]  If this option is set to ON,  the 4 way controller cursor button functions are disabled, so think carefully about this one.  You press any one of the cursor buttons to activate the [Change active AF area position and size] function, then move the AF area position with the Up/Down/Left/Right cursor buttons.  ISO, WB, AF Mode and Drive Mode have to be allocated to the Q Menu or a Fn button. There are two  problems with [Direct Focus Area]  The first is that it's not really direct, you must activate the function with a button pre press. The second is that you lose access to the default cursor button functions.  I have fiddled about with this over several months. My current setup uses Fn2 to activate [Focus Area Set]. This is not optimal as the right hand has to be removed completely from the normal hold position to get the thumb onto Fn2. I don't really see the possibility of an ergonomically optimal setup with this camera.

The ideal solution to the [Focus Area Set] problem would be a JOG type lever located  approximately where the Fn1 button now sits.

[Focus Priority]  If set to ON, this tries, not always successfully,  to ensure the subject is in focus prior to allowing capture to proceed. I have it set to ON which appears to work well most of the time.

[Shutter AF]  Set this to ON.

[Pinpoint AF Time] In pinpoint AF the subject frame is automatically enlarged for a preset time when focus is achieved. This is where you decide that time.

[AF Assist Lamp]  I have never met a person who appreciated the AF Assist Lamp beaming out at them and you can forget about being inconspicuous with it on. Anyway Lumix cameras have just about the best single AF performance in the business even in low light. So I leave it OFF  all the time.

[AF+MF] This allows you to touch up focus manually even with AF on. Set this to ON.

[MF Assist, Page 101] Set this to ON.

[MF Guide, Page 101]  This has two hills at one end of the analogue scale and a flower at the other end. If it had actual distances it might be useful.

[Power Zoom Lens] This feature refers to the PZ 14-42 mm lens and possibly the PZ 45-175mm lens.

[LVF(EVF)  Disp Style, Page 40, 170]  and [LCD (Monitor) Style]  As usual with these data/viewing options the task is to find a balance between information and clutter. I strongly recommend the [Viewfinder Style] for both the EVF and the Monitor. By the way in case you were wondering the camera will adjust the EVF if you look through it. Viewfinder style places essential primary exposure data beneath the preview image where it is always easy to see.

[Eye Sensor] Discussed above.

[iA Button Switch]  For those who use the iA function set this to [Single Press] for quick access. For those who don't use iA set to [Press and Hold] to make it less easy to activate by accident.

[Video Button] For those who use video, enable this by setting to ON. For those who do not use video set this to OFF and wonder why the option was not provided to use this button for something else like ISO.

[Rec Area]  I  have to confess I don't quite understand the purpose of this one. If set to Still photo a 4:3 preview is displayed, but changes to 16:9 if video recording begins.  If set to Video a 16:9 preview is displayed.

[Remaining Disp] Self explanatory.

[Touch Settings]  Already discussed.

[Dial Guide]  Set this OFF.

[Menu Guide]  Refers to Scene or Creative Control Modes.

[Shoot w/o Lens]  Set this ON.

Fn Button Setttings  The underlying principle is to allocate your highest priority Capture Phase task to the Fn1 button which is easy to reach with the right thumb during Capture  and a lower priority task to the Fn2 button which is not easy but possible to reach with the right thumb although that does mean shifting grip with the right hand.  The Fn3 button is the least easy to reach, requiring the left hand to be completely removed from the lens, so is best for Prepare Phase tasks.  I will go through the list of available options for the Fn buttons with comments. Bear in mind there are only 3 Hard Fn buttons and 33 options.

* [One Push AE, Page 116]. This works as advertised but a much better way of managing exposure is to learn how Aperture, ISO and Shutter speed interact to produce the "firing solution" for correct exposure.

* [Preview, Page 115.] This is of more theoretical than practical use.

* [Level gauge, Page 41]. Don't waste a Fn button on this. The tilt sensor display a.k.a. Level Gauge will appear with repeated presses of the [Disp] button.

* [Focus Area Set]  This is a Capture Phase action and a strong contender for the Fn1 or Fn2 spot. 

* [Photo Style, Page 147]  This is one to leave in the Main Menu unless you use this feature a lot when it could usefully go in the Q Menu.

* [Aspect Ratio, Page 149] This is another one to leave in the Main Menu as the G5 does not have a Multi Aspect Ratio Sensor.

* [Picture Size, Page 149] Another one for the Main Menu.

* [Quality, Page 150]  Best allocated to the Q Menu or a Custom Mode.

* [Focus Mode, Page 36]  This is one for Capture Phase and rates highly for inclusion on Fn1.

* [Metering Mode, Page 151]  Unless your photography calls for frequent switching from Multi to Spot Mode I would leave this in the Main Menu. Otherwise it might rate consideration for the Q menu.

* [HDR, Page 151]  If you want to experiment with this fairly specialised function I recommend including it in a Custom Mode.

* [Flash, Page 84] and [Flash Adjust, Page 153] Unless you have specific requirements for accessory and/or off camera flash just make flash settings in the Rec Menu then pop the flash up with the sliding switch as required.

* [i.Resolution], [i.Dynamic], [Digital Zoom]. If you want to experiment with these try a Custom Mode setting.

* [Electronic Shutter, Page 156]  This is useful and a strong contender for the Fn3 spot.

* [Stabiliser, Page 78]  This is a Prepare Phase Adjustment for lenses without an IS switch. Best allocated to the Q Menu.

* [Sensitivity] (=ISO) This is a Capture Phase adjustment and best left on the default location at the Up Cursor button, unless you have set [Direct Focus Area] in the Custom Menu, in which case ISO will have to go somewhere else, possibly on Fn2.

* [White Balance] Best left at the default location on the Right Cursor button  or if you selected [Rec Mode, Direct Focus Area] it could go on the Q Menu.

* [AF Mode, Page 95] Another one best left in the default location, in this case on the Left Cursor button.

* [Drive Mode, Pages 38, 89] Another one best left at default position which is the Down Cursor button.

* [Playback]  There is a non assignable playback button so I don't understand why you would create another one.

* There are 3 [Motion Picture] Menu and 6 [Custom] Menu items in the list on [Page 113] of the Instructions.  Most are Setup Phase items which I don't really see a place for on an Fn button.

Q Menu screen on Lumix G5

Q Menu, Page 69   This is an ideal place for Prepare Phase adjustments, those you might want to make in the minutes before Capture. Implementation of the Q Menu on the G5 is a huge improvement over that on the GH2. The G5 system uses a "Samsung Style" interactive screen with up to three tiers of information visible together. There are 27 functions from which to choose, up to 15 of which can be placed in the Q Menu. However only 5 items are visible at any time. You have to scroll left/right if there are more than 5. So I think the optimum number of functions to allocate to the Q Menu is 5.  [Page 69] describes the procedure for placing items in the Q Menu using the touch screen. This works but the drag-and-drop action gets the wobbles. You can do it better with the cursor buttons although the Instructions have little to say about this. Press the Q Menu button on the back of the camera to bring up the Q Menu screen. Press the Down Cursor to activate the Q+Wrench icon bottom left on the screen. Press Menu/Set to bring up the configuration screen. Then navigate with the Cursor buttons, select with the Menu/Set button,  move the selected item with the cursor buttons, Set the item in place with the Menu/Set button.

The 27 Options available for the Q Menu are very similar to those available for the Fn buttons. Many are the same. Think about which ones you might want in Prepare Phase. If you set [Direct Focus Area] on Page 4 of the Custom Menu then [Sensitivity], [White Balance], [AF Mode] and [Drive Mode] would be prime candidates for the Q Menu as they are no longer accessible from the 4 Way Controller.

Note about [Picture Setting, Page 69]  This function is exclusive to the Q Menu. It is a combination of image size and aspect ratio. With JPG capture [Picture Setting] brings up 12 options. With RAW capture [Picture Setting] brings up 4 options. 

Custom Mode Navigation Screen Lumix G5

Mode Dial Custom Mode Settings, [Pages 139-141].  There are 4 Custom Mode settings available. These are C1, C2.1, C2.2, C2.3.     C1 is accessible directly. If you turn the Mode Dial to C2 then press the Menu/Set button, a special [Custom Mode] icon appears on the navigation screen. Select that then navigate to and select the SubMode required. It would have been nice to have all four Custom Mode settings directly available on the Mode Dial but they are not so a few extra button presses are required. Custom Mode settings are among the most useful features you will find on an electronic camera because they allow you to memorise many setting as a group.  The Panasonic system is easy to configure and use, much more user friendly than the Olympus "Mysets" system found on the EM5.

Step 1: Configure the camera as you want for a specific photographic task.

Step 2: Go to the Custom Menu, Page 1, Item1. Follow the prompts. Setting a Custom mode is easy.

But before doing so, understand what you are about to lock into memory. Each Custom Mode memorises everything  except the items listed at the bottom of [Page 141] and the dependent variables. ( For instance Shutter Speed in Aperture Priority, Aperture in Shutter priority, actual ISO in Auto ISO). Everything else is saved.  This includes the Shooting Mode, independent variables, such as aperture in Aperture Priority, Screen Display, All Main and Q Menu items, all Fn button functions. So before committing a feature set to a Custom Mode trawl through all the Menus, Q Menu and all settings to make sure you end up with exactly what you want. Just be careful if you make a Custom Mode setting then sometime later change a Menu item. If you want this change incorporated in the Custom Mode you have to reset the Custom Mode to incorporate the new Menu setting.

 You can of course alter any settings while in a Custom Mode. These changes will not be memorised if you switch the camera off or turn the dial to another Mode position. You can easily register a new set of camera settings to any Custom position.

By way of example I currently have three Custom Mode settings:

C1 is my "tripod/landscape" group.  Quality RAW, E-Shutter ON, Timer 2 Sec, Aperture Priority f5.6, Electronic level ON, Screen Data display ON, Lever to +/- Exposure Compensation, ISO 160, AF Single.

C2.1 is "Sport/Action, large JPG". Image Size L, JPG fine, Auto ISO, Shutter Priority, Shutter Speed 1/640 sec, Lever to +/-, AF Continuous.

C2.2 is "Sport/Action with Ex Tele Conv". Image Size M, Quality JPG Fine, Auto ISO, Lever to Zoom, Shutter Priority, 1/640 sec, AF Continuous.

Each user will have their own ideas about making best use of the Custom Mode settings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lens Test Panasonic Lumix GX 12-35mm f2.8 OIS

Lens Test Report

Panasonic Lumix GX Vario 12-35mm f2.8 Asph Power OIS

Premium standard zoom for the Micro Four Thirds System

Author AndrewS November 2012

Lumix GX Vario 12-35mm f2.8 Lens mounted on Panasonic Lumix G5 body

Introduction This is Panasonic's fourth standard zoom for the M4/3 system. First came the 14-45mm f3.5-5.6  OIS, which is still in production and offers excellent performance at a moderate price. Then came the budget 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 OIS often bundled with new bodies in a kit. Next came the 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 Power Zoom collapsing OIS lens designed,  I suspect mainly for video use. Now we have the 12-35mm constant f2.8 OIS lens which is a big jump up in specification and price from the other lenses. The 12-35 f2.8 is available separately or bundled with the GH3 body in some kits.

Lumix GX Vario 12-35mm f2.8 lens on Lumix GH3 Camera

Place in the M43 system  The 12-35mm is the second Panasonic zoom aimed at the  professional or serious amateur user at a premium price. The first pro quality zoom was the 7-14mm f4  ultrawide, the third is the 35-100mm f2.8 mid range tele zoom. 

Specification and features  Length is 73mm bare, 91 mm with 58mm filter, front and rear caps. Diameter is 66mm without the supplied petal type lens hood, 73mm with the hood reverse mounted over the barrel.  Mass is 300g bare, 355g with filter, front and rear caps and lens hood.  The lens is of varifocal type which has to be refocussed after zooming. This precludes the fitting of a focus distance scale. There is an OIS On/Off switch on the left side of the barrel but no AF On/Off switch, which I find disappointing on a lens at this price/performance level. There is a thin rubber O ring around the metal lens mount for weather sealing.  The aspheric rear glass element is fixed and located as far to the rear of the optical pathway as physically possible. It has a diameter of 22mm which is slightly greater than the 21.5mm diagonal of the imaging part of the sensor. The inner barrel of the lens extends 24mm while zooming from 12mm to 35mm. Focus is internal. The front element does not rotate with zoom or focus.

The fixed rear element is close to the outer world, requiring care when the lens is removed from the camera.

Price, Primes and zoom range  Some M43 user forum members have expressed a view that this lens is "Too expensive". I thought it worth  putting some perspective on this idea with a list of the single focal length lenses for M43 which are covered by the 12-35, for which  I paid AU$1371 over the counter retail at a Sydney CBD camera shop. Prices from the same shop are:

Olympus 12mm f2,  $949

Panasonic 14mm f2.5, $539

Olympus 17mm f2.8, $339

Olympus 17mm f1.8, ?$600 ($499 at B&H New York)

Sigma 19mm f2.8, $225

Panasonic 20mm f1.7, $449

PanaLeica 25mm f1.4, $717

Sigma 30mm f2.8, $225

Obviously you wouldn't buy all of these lenses, for a total cost of $4043.  I have no wish to engage in the  "Zooms-vs-Primes" argument or even canvas the merits of one or the other in this review. However  I think the 12-35 does make a  stronger case than any previous M43 zoom to be a genuinely viable replacement for many primes.

Photo Courtesy of camerasize.com
This photo shows, on the left a full frame (43mm) sensor camera with 24-70mm f2.8 lens, In the middle An APS-C (27mm) sensor camera with 17-55m f2.8 lens and on the right a M43 (21.5mm sensor) Panasonic Lumix GH3 with 12-35mm f2.8 lens. You can easily see that the APS-C kit is closer in size to full frame than to  the largest M43 camera with lens of equal angle of view, zoom range and aperture. [The EFS 17-55mm is not a perfect match, having a slightly narrower angle of view than the other two lenses]

Comparison with premium zooms from full frame and APS-C  This is one of those situations where a photo is worth a thousand words. Courtesy of the Camera Size website you can immediately see the difference between the classic 24-70mm f2.8 lens for 24x36mm sensors compared with lenses of the same field of view, zoom range and aperture for APS-C and M43. A price comparison may be of some interest to readers. Prices in Australian dollars, over the counter retail, GST paid.

Panasonic M43 12-35mm f2.8 OIS, $1371. New lens just released.

Canon EFS 17-55mm f2.8 IS,  $1399.  Lens has been in production for 7 years.

Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8 L Mk2 USM, $2389. New release Mk 2 version No IS.

Lens Diagram courtesy of Panasonic

Performance, Mechanical

Focus and zoom   The zoom action is smooth but not quite as smooth as that on the 45-150mm. The focus ring turns smoothly. In Focus Mode [AFS] and AF Mode [Single Area], autofocus on the Lumix G5 is so fast with most subjects one is hardly aware of it. All of my several hundred test frames taken in a wide variety of conditions  are sharply in focus.  Manual focus and AF+MF work well, with no problems. In a quiet room with one's ear on the lens, it can be heard making several little noises while operating.  These come from the OIS unit, the AF drive motor and the aperture diaphragm motor.  As usual with Panasonic OIS lenses this one rattles if shaken side to side when unpowered.

Optical Image Stabiliser   On my tests, OIS allows sharp results at 1-1.5 steps slower shutter speed than is possible without OIS. For instance a typical test run saw sharp frames from 1/13 sec  with OIS  at 35mm focal length, and from 1/30sec without OIS.   So, OIS works but the benefit on my testing is modest.

Shutter Shock   I found no evidence of blur, doubling or any other kind of image degradation which might have been attributable to shutter shock, at any shutter speed or camera support condition, tripod or handheld.

Aperture Diaphragm Actuation  On Page 10 of the (English Version) of the Operating Instructions for the lens the following slightly cryptic notice appears: "A sound is heard from the lens when taking a picture of a bright subject such as when outdoors.   This is the sound of lens or aperture movement and is not a malfunction."  In normal use the lens aperture remains fully open when the shutter button is half  pressed for acquisition of autofocus and auto exposure, closing to the set aperture only for the actual exposure. But in very bright conditions such as when a bright sky is included in the frame, the lens aperture will close down without user input. When I first encountered this behaviour I thought it was some kind of intermittent fault, but it appears to be a design feature the purpose of which is unknown to me. I have read on user forums that it may be to protect the sensor from excess light levels.

Tree trunk, detail, Lumix 12-35mm

Tree trunk detail, Lumix 45-150mm This is a good lens, which I happened to be testing at the same time,  but the 12-35mm just picks up more texture and detail

MTF Chart Courtesy of Panasonic

Performance, Optical

Sharpness/resolution  My benchmarks for testing were the Panasonic 14-45mm and 7-14mm  zooms. I did not have access to any single focal length lenses for comparison. I carried out my usual test protocol, photographing a test chart at 40x  focal length and a stand of casuarina trees with uniformly fine foliage at 1000x focal length. Then I made a few hundred photos of a range of subjects in different conditions. When viewing the resulting files on screen I make notes and frequently open pairs of files in ACR>Photoshop for direct side by side comparison. This method of lens evaluation is rather time consuming but does give me a broad based set of data for evaluation.

My experience is that test charts give me about half of the information I want about the performance of a lens. I have encountered many  which did quite well with evenly lit, high acutance chart targets but fell apart when subjected to more demanding conditions such as  backlighting, strong contrast, very low contrast or foliage against a hot sky.  What follows is a summary of the combined results of all the  tests.

The 12-35mm showed very high sharpness and rendition of fine details, right from f2.8 at all focal lengths.  The effect of stopping down was to increase the diameter of the circle of maximum resolution from about 80% of the frame at f2.8 to 100% at f4. Stopping down further increased the depth of field but not resolution which started to suffer from diffraction, which causes overall softness of the image, from about f8 and was really obvious by f11. There were no signs of optical weakness at any focal length and my copy is well centered.

Compared to the 14-45mm zoom the 12-35 at matching focal lengths gave slightly better sharpness, resolution and local contrast at f2.8 than the 14-45 could manage at any aperture. I should make it  clear, however that the 14-45 is a very good lens and I had to do a lot of pixel peeping at 100% with matched files to discover the 12-35 actually is the better performer by a small margin. On the test chart runs I could not separate them. It was only on  matched pairs of photos of many different real subjects that the superiority of the 12-35 became clear.  The main advantage of the 12-35 over the 14-45 is the extra 2/3 stop at the wide end and 2 stops at the long end.

Compared to the 7-14, the 12-35 files at f2.8 were indistinguishable from the 7-14 files at f4.

I was also testing the Panasonic 45-150mm lens at the same time and while this is a very nice budget  performer it is a step down from the 14-45 and two steps down from the 12-25 and 7-14. You would hope this might be the case, since the 12-35 costs 4.5x as much as the 45-150.

The most striking feature of the 12-35's optical performance is it's ability to render surface textures and fine details with great clarity. With apologies to some breakfast cereals, words like "pop" and "snap" spring to mind.    This characteristic might not translate fully to formal resolution measures expressed in line pairs per image height or similar, but  is evident when actual photographs are inspected.  For instance I photographed my wife and discovered from the photographs but not from my own eyes [which are not too bad, I can read a newspaper without spectacles]  that she had a very small lesion on the face for which a trip to the dermatologist was indicated.

Note that all my testing is done with RAW files. Due to the propensity for Panasonic JPG's [up to and including the G5 anyway] to soften fine details you will not get the most from this lens with Panasonic JPG capture.  The GH3 may have better JPG's,  we shall see.

Quick closeup. Lumix 12-35mm at 35mm and f8. This was handheld, viewing on the monitor, AF on the center of the left flower. I didn't notice the little insect until the image was on screen.

Chromatic Aberration and purple fringing  Olympus camera users have reported clearly evident CA with this lens. This is corrected in Panasonic cameras even with RAW images so is not evident in the output files. Slight purple fringing can be seen towards the corners with some high contrast subject types [foliage against cloudy bright background]. This is controlled by slight reduction of the lens aperture.

Corner shading  is quite apparent at all focal lengths at f2.8, becoming less evident as the lens is stopped down 1-1.5 stops.

Drawing  There is moderate barrel distortion at the wide end, slight barrel at 25mm and mild pincushion at 35mm. This is the result after  in camera autocorrection, see comments below from the Photozone test report.

Bokeh  Rendition of out of focus subject elements is generally soft and smooth but  there is a slight tendency to tramlining and double imaging with some subject types, for instance small twigs in foliage or other straight sharp edged objects.

Contrast/microcontrast  This is the lens' forte. Files come straight out of the camera with a level of local contrast which would require a Contrast/Clarity boost in Adobe Camera Raw with some other lenses.

Flares  In general use the lens does not exhibit a problem with flare. Deliberate attempts to induce flare can  produce green blobs, magenta flares or veiling flare with the sun near the frame edge.

Close up  At 35mm the lens will focus down to 240mm from subject to sensor plane. This enables occasional close ups of  small subjects like flowers to be made hand held without the need for special macro equipment. The results are very acceptable.

Waterfront scene, crop, right lower segment of the frame. Lumix 14-45mm at 35mm f5.5

Same waterfront scene and crop, one minute later. Lumix 12-35mm at 35mm f2.8

Comment on published reviews  Evaluating and comparing published reviews can be difficult as each uses a different format for presenting results.

photozone.de  presented very good findings for resolution but was critical of the high level of uncorrected barrel distortion [5.8% as revealed in RawTherapee] at 12mm, describing this as "excessive"  They went on to describe Panasonic's  automatic in camera correction as "lossy" and "highly disappointing". They were also critical of the level of corner shading at f2.8. I think these comments form part of an ongoing debate about the best location for correction of chromatic aberration, possibly other aberrations, corner shading and distortion which are inherent lens characeristics. Should they be corrected in the lens, in the camera or  in the post capture software [such as ACR]  or all three ?  My own very careful observation has been that the [Panasonic] in camera correction of distortion with this lens produces very sharp, clear photos which do not appear to be "lossy" at all and are not in the least bit disappointing. Manufacturers  can presumably make lenses with very low inherent levels of CA, distortion and shading but I expect they would be much larger and more expensive.

slrgear.com   made a more positive report, essentially in line with my own findings. They reported the out of camera levels of CA, shading and distortion without much comment as to the source of corrections.

ephotozine.com  also produced a good report, again with high ratings for resolution, with little in the way of negative commentary.

Lumix 12-35mm bokeh. The out of focus rendition with this lens is generally smooth, but sometimes a slightly nervous appearance creeps in, as here.

Compatibility with Olympus cameras  When it was introduced, my understanding of the M4/3 format was that any M4/3 lens would work properly on any M4/3 body.  But in practice, this has only been partly true. All of them in my experience give correct exposure and mostly correct autofocus operation although I have found some Panasonic lenses focus more reliably on Panasonic cameras. Panasonic and Olympus zooms rotate in the opposite direction. Pansonic has in lens IS, Olympus has in body IS,  Panasonic autocorrects in camera a different set of lens faults than Olympus.  In consequence, I think it is fair to say that in several cases, Panasonic lenses work better on Panasonic cameras and likewise for Olympus.  So, what about the 12-35mm?  I have read several reports of clearly apparent chromatic aberration from this lens on Olympus cameras. So the 12-35 is a better match with Panasonic than Olympus cameras. However Olympus does not yet have a Pro level M4/3 standard zoom, leading some Olympus M4/3 users to mount the Olympus 14-54mm 4/3 lens on an adapter. But that combination is larger, heavier and slower to focus than the 12-35mm. I suspect that some Olympus users might  like to see a M4/3 version of the Olympus 12-60mm f2.8-4 [4/3 system] lens, although it would have to be larger and heavier than the 12-35.

Summary  Since the advent of the Micro Four Thirds format in 2008, there has been some uncertainty,  dare I say confusion, about the place of M43 in the camera world.  Some thought  it would be a platform for compact camera upgraders, some saw it as a "gap filler" between compacts and DSLR's.  I have always seen it as the format best positioned to supplant the APS-C  DSLR  as the most popular interchangeable lens system. Until now this prospect has not been realised due to a lack of sufficiently convincing M43 products. That has started to change. The Panasonic 7-14mm f4 has always been a pro standard ultrawide  zoom but has been a bit of an orphan with no pro system to back it up. Now we have the 12-35mm f2.8, the 35-100mm f2.8 and the GH3 body forming the core of a pro standard product set within the M43 system.

The 12-35mm f2.8 which is the subject of this review is fully capable of taking on a professional photographic role. It is a highly capable and versatile lens with excellent image quality, excellent mechanical operation and no deal breaker deficits.

It is not "perfect". The edges are not absolutely sharp until f4. Bokeh is good  but not perfect.  There is no distance scale. It is a varifocal not a parfocal.  [But a parfocal version would probably be larger] There is no AF On/Off switch on the lens barrel. Oh, yes, and mine has a bit of dust inside the rear element, on the periphery, thank goodness.  But the overwhelming impression is of a highly competent lens  capable of handling any photographic task, in a remarkably compact and reasonably priced package.  With this lens and it's pro grade companions,  the Micro Four Thirds system is coming of age.

Is it worth the money?  Should I buy it ?   Micro 4/3 system users are spoilt for choice with standard zoom lenses. From Panasonic there are the 14-42mm OIS, 14-42mm Power Zoom (collapsing), 14-45mm OIS, 12-35mm OIS and 14-140mm superzoom. From Olympus we have the 14-42mm Mk2 R (collapsing), 12-50mm with selectable macro and power zoom and the 14-150mm superzoom.

On the basis of my own testing of several of these lenses plus aggregated results from published test report sites, I rate the optical performance of these lenses on two levels. This is a bit aribtrary of course, but it helps me to get a sense of  where various lenses fit in the scheme of things.  Note that some of the lenses may be preferred for atttributes other than optical performance such as focal length range, image stabiliser, power zoom, collapsing barrel or macro capability.

I rank the  Panasonic 12-35mm near the top of  Level 1 and the Panasonic 14-45mm near the bottom of Level 1. The rest go to Level 2.  That does not mean they are bad lenses but the other two  are better optically.

So this is what I would suggest:

If you want the best and don't mind paying the price, forget the rest, get the Panasonic 12-35mm. And, to follow the logic, also get a Panasonic GH3 body and Panasonic 35-100mm f2.8 lens to round out a pro standard twin lens kit. At this level total cost is a very substantial consideration so the gear had better be good.  The 12-35 is good, I will report on the other two items when I can get my hands on them.

However if you are more budget conscious the question is more difficult to answer. The Panasonic 14-45mm probably delivers the most optical performance for the dollar.  If you are more concerned about compact size then one of the collapsing zooms would appear to be an obvious choice. The Olympus 12-50mm is very versatile without breaking the bank and the Panasonic 14-140mm has a solid reputation as a superzoom with very decent optical quality.

You pays your money and makes your choice. Good  luck.