Introduction
The little Panasonic GM-1 really blew me away when I first started using it several years ago. Since then, it has contributed quite a few images to my portfolios, including a significant portion of the series Afghanistan 50K, which was shot from the air while transiting Afghanistan. It is tiny, produces good file quality and comes as a kit with the comically small (and stabilised) 12-32mm f3.5-5.6 G lens. No, it cannot compete with a full-frame camera, like the Sony A7 or A7R, in terms of file quality, but it is dramatically smaller. The kit zoom is of remarkable quality and far better than most, which is surprising considering how small it is! This combo provides far greater flexibility than the astonishing Ricoh GR (which comfortably exceeds the GM-1 and rivals Leica + prime for sheer image quality) by virtue of its zoom lens and interchangeability. Most reviewers considered the little extendable 12-32mm lens a knockout and about a year ago along came the Panasonic 35-100mm f4-5.6 G Mega OIS Lumix to go with it. I have been watching prices and now that they seem to have bottomed out, I bought one. Actually, I bought two, because the first one was a lemon!
So what does a Lemon look like?
Well, whenever I buy a lens, I run through a very quick test that takes about two minutes just to check it is working as they should. If a lens looks fine (and the majority are), I then go and do more detailed testing to check its optical performance in more detail and I look for decentering, as well as performance through through the apertures. To be honest, most inexpensive lenses show some slight signs of imperfect centering, but its not a problem as long as it within price-performance (and usage) expectations. However, the first Panasonic 35-100mm f4-5.6 G was pretty appalling and did not get past the first ten frames without sending my eyeballs spinning in their sockets. Some of you have asked ‘what does a decentered lens look like?‘ This was a great example – see the end of this article.
In the case of the first example, the left side was soft at the 35mm end and it switched to the right side by 100mm. In the middle of the range it was still softer on the left than the right but the centre was going fuzzy and the camera did not know where/how to focus. The prize for the worst decentering I have ever seen on a lens goes to a Zeiss/Sony 55mm f1.8 FE, which is a much more expensive lens.
As you can see, it wasn’t hard to spot with my first copy. In fairness to Panasonic, Amazon UK does not always pack lenses as well as they could and I suspect some are getting smacked about in transit. Regardless, if it’s a la milk bottle it’s not much use to us! So, the very next day the second copy arrived. Thankfully, it was nothing like the first one, so here goes Part 1 of the review!
Design & Specifications
Panasonic has tried to follow in the footsteps of the diminutive 12-32mm kit lens that comes with the GM-1 and GM-5. They have succeeded too, because the Panasonic 35-100mm f4-5.6 G is absurdly small, even compared to other 35-100 M43 lenses, like the Panasonic 35-100 f2.8. The Panasonic 35-100mm f4-5.6 G weighs 136g (rather than 360g) and is 6cm long (rather than 10cm). 136g is about half the weight of a Leica 50mm Summicron!
Comparison: Panasonic 35-100 f4-5.6 G incl. filter (right), Zeiss ZM 28mm f2.8 incl. hood (left)
The 35-100mm f4-5.6 G uses the same retractable ‘pop out’ design as the 12-32mm kit lens and with only a 46mm filter thread (same as a Leica 24mm f3.8 Elmar, or 21mm Zeiss ZM Biogon) it is entirely pocketable. If you are wearing a jacket, this lens will drop into the one lower pocket, with the GM-1/GM-5 and kit lens in the other. So there it is, a travel kit that will shoot from 24mm (equivalent) to 200mm vanishes into your clothing, allowing you to walk normally, look normal and just enjoy feeling unencumbered. With built in stabilisation, much of the time you can forget about needing a tripod, as well.
As per the kit lens, it comes in black or silver.
Build Quality & Handling
It’s light weight and made mostly of very thin metal alloy. If feels better built than most kit lenses and will stand up to small knocks and abrasions fine. Weight is important if you’re carrying it in a jacket pocket and I think Panasonic got the balance just right here.
The pop our design works well, though sometimes you will forget it is retracted if you have not been using it for a while. Its so short, you may as well just leave it extended unlike you are stowing the lens. The zoom action ‘works’, but don’t go expecting Rolls Royce refinement. At £260, one can only commend Panasonic.
Autofocus
It’s quick, just like all native M43 lenses. It is almost instant and always silent.
Resolution & Contrast
The Panasonic 35-100mm f4-5.6 G is very good indeed. In fact mine is a little better than my 12-32mm (because it is noticeably better at 35mm than the kit lens is at 12mm). I find the 35-100 is a little stronger in the middle of the zoom range than at either end, but it is remarkably consistent and manages to always put in a very good performance from wide open too. f5.6-8 is the sweet spot at the wide end and f7.1-9 or so at the long end. Contrast is high, colour saturated and it has plenty of bite. This lens will punch out 20×16 prints with no room for excuses.
Panasonic 35-100 f4-5.6 G OSS @ 35mm and f4
Bottom Left at f4
Bottom Left at f5.6 – a bit less vignetting, but similar to f4 only a touch tighter at the very edge/corner
Performance is similar throughout the range, peaking in the mid-range of the zoom.
62mm f9
Bottom right. Not bad, eh?
The short version is that this lens absolutely shows up the lower priced offerings from Canon and Nikon in the 70-200/300 range. From what I am seeing you would not be able to tell this lens on the GM-1 from the Sony 70-200 f4 G (a £1000 lens) on the Sony A7 at A3 (for sure) and it would be a close run thing at A2. I really cannot see what (aside from speed) is being compromised in this tiny package. I certainly feel that this little optic on a 16MP M43 camera will produce better end results under normal conditions than many Canikon kit lenses on a 24MP SLR, simply because this lens ensures that each pixel counts.
Panasonic 35-100 f4-5.6 G OSS @ 35mm & f5.6
35mm & f5.6 Centre crop
35mm & f5.6 left edge crop
Vignetting, Flare & Bokeh
Vignetting is quite significant wide open, but it hugely improved one stop down. It’s not something I thought about in use.
Flare resistance is definitely better than the 12-32mm. I noticed that quite quite quickly. Bokeh looks excellent.
Conclusion
What a superb little lens. It has no flaws at all, assuming you recognise that you are not going to get the subject isolation at 100mm (and f5.6) that you would get from the 35-100 f2.8 at f2.8. However for scenic orientated travel/landscape work, you are unlikely to care one bit, because you’re likely keen on obtaining sufficient depth of field for all scenic elements to be in focus. Shot wide open, this lens does very well. Shot a stop down it is very crisp across the frame and does a genuinely superb job. This is an absolute must have lens for GM-1 and GM-5 owners IMHO. It pairs beautifully with the 12-32mm and seeing as both are pop out lenses, you will get into the groove of using them. Sure, you can travel unencumbered with the Ricoh GR, but it is only a 28mm camera (unless you use the electronic zoom or 21mm converter). The beauty of this Panasonic 35-100mm f4-5.6 G is that it allows you to build a 24-200 (equivalent) rig for less than £550 (using the GM-1 + 12-32 as the base). And let’s face it, there isn’t much you cannot shoot with this. If you want to, perhaps add a 25/45mm f1.7/f1.8 and what else would you realistically need to wandering around a foreign city, or taking a stroll beside the river?
Who Is It For?
Everyone who appreciates not being weighed down by camera equipment!
What’s Next?
I got the chance to spend a few hours shooting with the GM-1, 12-35 and 35-100 in Budapest a few weeks ago, so will post those shots in ‘Part 2’ very soon. I did not get to spend long shooting, unfortunately, but could not fail to notice the flexibility this little kit gave me. My appetite was whetted for a proper photo trip to say the least…
Decentering Shots:
I shot plenty of images taking care to ensure I was nicely square with the fence and the below are ‘representative examples’
Full frame @58mm – notice left edge softness
Bottom left
Lets try again! Full Frame @35mm
bottom right looks OK…
Centre not so good…
Bottom left
Great little lens.
I bought an Olympus E-M10 plus its (surprisingly good!) 14-42 II, the Panasonic 25/1.7 and this lens to replace for non-photographic travels (where I’m not lugging around the A7r and a set of heavy – but beautiful – Contax glass) my previous “lightweight & cheap” (so that I can leave it in the hotel without worrying if needed) Nikon setup: D3200 + 35/1.8 + 18-55 VR II + 55-200 VR.
Maybe my Nikon was a dog, but the 35-100 smoked out of the water the 55-200. Besides, the image stabilization on the Pana (and on the Oly body) works a treat, while I had to shoot the 55-200 at most @ 1/200s to avoid vibrations; VR on or off it didn’t matter. And I have a pretty stable grip, I can reliably shoot an un-stabilized 85mm @ 1/15s on the A7r with pin sharp results so I’m pretty sure it was the lens fault!
Hey Tom,
When I was travelling last year, I had an xt1 and a kit lens. Worked quite well as a street camera. Lens was great. Low light performance was good too.
I sold it to get into the A7 series for higher quality still life work and bought a sony rx100iii for street, but I’m not happy with the little camera in a number of ways, particularly with respect to low light performance. Its too fiddly and falls apart at iso1600, and that won’t do for what I’m doing.
I read your experience with the GM1, and wonder if you have a view on the successor, the GM5, or should I also look at a particular Olympus? Will your panasonic GM1 do better in low light than the 1″ sensor in the rx100iii do you think?
I also had a sony a6000, and while the camera was great, the kit lens was unpardonable rubbish. It would have been a great combo size-wise.
OK I know you are not a camera store, but you may have checked these out a bit, so I’m asking.
Hi George, I’d say any M43 sensor will do better than the 1″ in the RX100 series. Were it me, I would probably be thinking along these lines:
M43 may require you to buy some fast lenses to get the most out of the smaller sensor (compared with APS-C/FF) if you are concerned about high ISO noise. Such lenses are not all that cheap either and this is why my GM-1 ownership is all about one body and two zooms: it is simple, but well priced. The performance envelope of this limited system does not really compete that well with top APSC cameras with a range of faster lenses, however.
The GM1 is a great little camera (as is the GM-5), but if you like the A6000 size-wise, I wonder if you would be better off going down the A6000/6300 route and fixing the lens issue. There are much better lenses available now and by shooting a second body in FE mount, there are obvious benefits keeping it in one system. The A6300 is remarkable, but not that cheap I know.
FWIW, I bought a A5000 on behalf of a friend with the 15-60mm powerzoom lens and tested it beforehand. It was an excellent copy. I mean I was really surprised. Perfectly centered, good at wide apertures at the wide end but needed a stop or so at the long end. That said, were I to own such a camera, I would be looking at the current 20mm pancake, as this is supposed to be pretty good. There is a very good 35mm f1.8 too. If you were ever tempted to get a 21mm Loxia, then that lens would give you a fantastic 31.5mm on APS-C which would almost certainly be my favourite focal length ever, sitting right between 28mm and 35mm. Zone focused, it would be great for street shooting and of course it will work nicely on your A7.
If I were going for a M43 camera for travel and wanted it to be a more fully rounded camera than the GM1-5, I would look at the EM-5 II and probably aim to own a 14mm/15mm, 25mm, 35-100mm. Broad brush strokes, but does this help at all? I do very much prefer the overall sensor performance of the APS-C Sonys compared to the M43. more dynamic range, more flexible files and much better noise. That said, if you WANT grain, the M43 can allow you to make it quite easily 🙂