Panasonic Lumix G X VARIO PZ 45-175mm/F4.0-5.6 ASPH./POWER O.I.S Pro Reviews

The Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm f/4-5.6 ASPH. POWER O.I.S. is a good albeit not superb telephoto zoom lens as some might have hoped from its "X" designation. The delivered resolution is decent across the image field and the focal length. The lens suffers from a relatively high degree of lateral CAs - despite two extra low dispersion lenses - which is mainly a problem for Olympus users whereas the auto-correction can cope with this issue on Panasonic cameras. Distortions are well-controlled and not relevant for most use-cases. Unfortunately this doesn't apply to the vignetting performance of the lens which is visible throughout the zoom range at fully open aperture. That said it's not really an issue anymore from f/8 onward. The optical image stabilizer is basically a requirement for hand-held photography at such focal length on Panasonic micro-four-thirds cameras. An effective gain of about "2-3 f-stops" seems realistic from what we have seen during actual use. The AF performance of the lens is excellent. The combination of electric zoom lever and the inner focusing system is certainly helpful with respect to minimizing shake during movie recording - this was one design objective of this lens. The constant physical length across the zoom range is also a differentiator. Please note that cameras with old firmware won't be able to set up accurate focal lengths between 46 and 174mm due to a missing focal length scale. This is certainly not a show-stopper though.

For a lens carrying a premium price tag, the performance is good but could be better in some areas. Excellent sharpness levels are maintained throughout the zoom range at maximum aperture, but sharpness towards the edges falls behind. Stopping down does improve sharpness a little, but as diffraction limits how effective stopping down can be, quality peaks at f/8 throughout the zoom range. Overall this lens is a very good, if a little pricey, general purpose telephoto, with good build quality and design. It may take those who are used to using more traditional lenses a little while to get used to the motorised zooming mechanism, but any issues will soon diminish with time given to familiarise yourself with its quirks.