Panasonic 45-200mm Review

If you’re looking for an unbiased panasonic 45-200mm review then you have come to the right place. The Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-200mm f/4-5.6 OIS is one of the few telezoom lenses out in the market for the micro-4/3 format.

Normally, when you purchase it, you have to buy it as a part of a double lets kit with the Panasonic G1, but you can also get it by it’s own. It’ll be a bit more expensive though. It’s a very compact lens, but the magnitude is not all that smaller compared to the Canon EF 55-250mm f/4 5.6 IS.

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Panasonic 45-200mm Review: Advantages

Having said that, the build quality is very good and has fantastic and tight tolerances. The plastic is of great quality and so is the stainless steel mount. Another thing to point out is the fact the rubberized zoom and control focus ring operate very smoothly.

I need to mention one downside though. The fluted rubber rings are prone to collect dust. But, there are plenty other benefits when it comes to the lens extending and zooming towards the long end of the range of the zoom. There is not wobbling of the inner lens tube. Also, it’s possible to use a polarizer without an attached hood when the front element focuses as it doe not rotate when doing so.

The Panasonic Lens uses a dedicated AF motor that is virtually silent during operation and very fast. This is typical for most 4/3 lenses and this is not an exception here. The AF accuracy is extremely high looking from a lens perspective and this can be attributed to the contrast AF system of the G1.

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The manual focusing is also possible by wire, which was working well during the field tests. It should be noted that for Panasonic, their lenses are based on a “Mega OIS” (Optical Image Stabilization) solution. What this effectively means is that during the field conditions, the OIS is able to provide you with 2 to 3 f stop extra potential when you’re engaged in photography handheld style. However, I would like to point out that sometimes it’s a bit odd that the OIS is always on “on” mode even in situations when you’re in non stabilizing mode.

Panasonic 45-200mm Review: Disadvantages

What does this mean?

Well put simply, optically this doesn’t have a huge impact, but it does cause some unnecessary drain on the power and is better if it didn’t occur in the first place. Having said that though, it’s probably most likely that the average user will prefer to have the OIS activated all the time, so this will cause a bit of a pain.

Panasonic 45-200mm Review: Conclusion

As you can see, it’s one of the best lenses in the market today and definitely at the top of Panasonic’s range. If you are interested in purchasing it, I recommend you go over to Amazon and check out other customer reviews to see if they will sway you otherwise. Also, if you do buy it, get it from Amazon as you are nearly always guaranteed the lowest prices and the delivery within USA is nearly always free. So click here to read reviews from Amazon today about this lens now.

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