H-FS12060E Lumix G Vario 12-60 mm F3.5-5.6 Aspheric Lens (5x Zoom, Power O.I.S., Image Stabiliser, Dust/Splash Protection) Black

I must have bought hundreds of lenses in my time, with a cupboard full of primes and zooms of various formats, focal lengths and apertures . And one thing I have learnt is not to expect too much from cheap-ish walkaround kit lenses with 5:1 zoom ratios - like this! But all rules are made to be broken, and this one certainly surprised me on test. And in a good way. Optically, it really exceeds expectation, with sharp centres and even decent edges from wide open. Stopped down, everything tightens up nicely and is essentially optimal by about F7.1. CA is of course dealt with in Panny bodies, and it works well with their dual IS, too. AF speed is decent and decentering was not an issue on my copy. Tested against the considerably more expensive PanaLeica 12-60, its performance proved wholly comparable within the available aperture range. Of course, that has an extra stop available, and is much better built - but what do you expect for double the price? In short, this lens offers excellent VFM and an ideal range of focal lengths for a walkaround. It's a bit plasticky, iffy for low light situations and is certainly no speed demon, but what it does, it does well. It's probably a better match for Panasonic m4/3 bodies than for Olympus, but there are plenty of good ones knocking around in sensible price ranges!

Suits my requirements just fine, using it on a Panasonic GX7 and gives me exactly the range of focal lengths I was after.

It’s not enough wide lens that I expected, but for the price, it’s worthy. The delivery is big tumb up xxx

Bought this for my GH5 and been very pleased with the image stabilisation.

Wanted to replace the Lumix 12-32 that came with my GX9. Basically wanted the same focal length (24mm equiv) at the wide end with more at the long end. And the 12-60 ticks all the boxes. A 24-120mm full frame equivalent focal range all wrapped up in a small and lightweight package. Already read the pro reviews, so knew the optics made this one of the best kit lenses out there. Just wasn't ready for just how good the optics are. And the price is very good on the secondhand market. Despite being a mainly plastic lens the build and tolerances are excellent. Nice smooth zoom action and manual focus. The lens is also Power OIS, so fully compatible with the newer Panasonic bodies that use Dual OIS, combining body stabilisation with optical stabilisation. The front element is non rotating, so great for filters. Takes 58mm filters, so filters are not expensive. Fast AF. It basically has no downsides except the boggo standard max aperture of f3.5-5.6. And that would be the only reason for choosing the pricier lenses. But if you already have a few of the faster primes you have that covered anyway. Double thumbs up this lens. This is why you go Micro 4/3. A full frame 24-120 on a full frame DSLR body would be a monster.

Cheap lens for cheap performance. Well ,almost cheap. Picture quality is good in good light. Cant ask for much on this money. The zoom ring is far from smooth. The rest is fine . Great for begginers.

This is a good lens good for everyday use. Good price £349 which is half the price of the f2.8 equivelent. Not great for night photography being f3.5-5.6 but good enough.This 12-60mm is equivelent to 24-120mm on Full frame