Panasonic-Leica 12-60mm f/2.8-4 Review & Parfocal Surprise!

My review of what I consider to be the best walkaround lens for Micro 4/3.

[@viera996multi]

"You can zoom in, get those tighter crops" ** shows a picture of crops **

[@derekaggs11]

Well, I just bought a Panasonic 12mm f/1.4! Review coming soon. At equivalent apertures this zoom holds up with this prime just fine.

[@rickmears7670]

Parfocal, that caught my attention. I really appreciate your meticulous, thorough and honest reviews!

[@derekaggs11]

Why thank you! I’ll admit to not knowing the term before researching this lens, but it’s a cool attribute for sure. I try to make my reviews thorough without being too long-winded. It’s a tough balance and an ongoing battle.

[@kvrga]

@@derekaggs11 Leica 12-60mm f2.8-4 (H-ES12060) is not parfocal. I have done tests, as I am pretty disappointed with the lens. I do video and was so keen to find the one lens to cover that range from wide to decent telephoto, but image quality is not good and it is not parfocal, its variable aperture is not problem for me as I shoot at f4 anyway. Overall, Lumix 12-35 f2.8 and 35-100 f2.8 are both better IMHO.

[@dx3200]

A month ago I got the G9 with this lens as a kit and also got the Leica 50-200mm. That’s all I need and it’s an amazing set up.

[@davidkubicki2564]

The 50-200 is a stunning piece of engineering.

[@JeevesTCW]

So true that you this lens dramatically reduces post processing, the ooc contrast and colour is fab. Just love the 3d look of the pics with this lens its like you can walk into the scene.

[@jiraz]

Outstanding review from other 10 people who was review this lens. Thank you for this 🏆

[@jiraz]

Subscribed to see more Panasonic review from u in the future

[@AFlyingGlenn]

thank you for reviewing this lens, and actually using said lens to shoot the review. At least I think you said you were shooting with it.

[@foodforthought1149]

Thanks for the review..please make more! Especially with panny g9

[@derekaggs11]

For sure! Getting a few more shoots under my belt before I put the G9 review together. Loving it.

[@Princeton_James]

Love my g9.

[@MarkoKoskenoja]

Now I want this lense as an upgrade over my G85 12-60 kit lens. Thanks

[@derekaggs11]

Marko Koskenoja You’ll like it!

[@ddsdss256]

Yeah, I blew it by not getting this lens as part of a kit with my G9 or G9M2, as I already had that FL range covered. However, the versatility of this lens finally won me over (my ninth MFT lens and third Leica--yikes). I'm looking forward to its arrival!

[@markriley7472]

A great lens! Super IQ, well built and focusses close (20 cm at 12mm and 24cm at 60mm). Not a true Macro lens but still very good for close up photography! The weather sealing and image stabilisation make this lens a terrific option (even if many people are hung up about the variable aperture!). Pair this with an older Olympus EM-5 Mark 2 and you have got a weather sealed kit which should be rugged enough for anything! Shame that the GX9 didn't get weather sealing. I know it is a fine camera, but I still prefer my older GX8 because it has it! I prioritise the build quality of the equipment I use over a camera with a lens of variable aperture and am not bothered too much about latest sensors or fancy image processors with more power than Apollo 11's computers! Good review, thank you :)

[@Mraz75]

Yeah i realised 12-60 stability is super stellar than 12-35 f2.8 on GH5ii. I even tested these two lenses on my GF10, 12-60 works wonder for my video than 12-35.

[@rayjenkins2754]

Enjoyed your presentation & the degree of info in the video. I'd heard about par-focal lenses but . . . now I have a better idea. For flying birds in flight shooting I wouldn't need to hold the AFC button down while working the zoom ring I'm thinking ? Recently bought the G9 w the 2.1 firmware. I 1st got the Leica 100-400mm for wildlife / bird shooting. While at the camera store I showed some interest in a PZ 45-175mm, f4.0 - 5.6 lens which does it's zooming internally & has lens SB that pairs w the G9's stabilization. They sold it for $175 - I think it had been sitting there a while. Both of the lenses are made in Japan. Over some weeks with trying a few other lenses I decided I wanted a wider and longer lens - an all purpose kind of lens - & ended up getting the Olympus 12 - 200mm. Although it doesn't have any lens stabilization, the G9's IBS does just fine. The instant I touch the back focus button, any jitters stops & I sure enjoy It's range. At f3.5-6.3 It's defiantly an outside in good light kind of lens.

[@martinaudrlicky]

Is it possible that the parfocal feature works only when your autofocus is on? I have this lens on BMPCC 4K which doesn't have AF and it doesn't behave like a parfocal lense at all.

[@kvrga]

I have that lens and it is definitely NOT parfocal.

[@gabrielalamberti5860]

Do you recommend this lens for the G85, or is it overkill? Ty

[@tommydommi]

Great Review!!! I have the lumix 12-60 but I‘m thinking about to get the leica 12-60 because I mostly do filming and therefore it has some important advantages :))

[@l3lackpitty]

very good informative videos! I would like to buy the g9 for photos and videos, currently I have a old fz200. The G9 is the perfect photo, video, handling, stabilisation flippy screen package for me I take youtube videos in a small garage(little distance to the object) with moderate light (car restoration) and also in the car outside while driving with a passenger and some vlog style also when traveling I would like to use the cam for landscape and architecture my biggest problem is to chose the best lens for me now -12/60 F2.8-4 OIS -12/35 F2.8 OIS -15 F1.7 -12 F1.4 I dont know how f2.8 performs in my situation. 12-15mm focal lenght is the best for my garage work and in the car an vlog. If F2.8 are ok(only use 12mm in low light), the 12/60 was the best allroundlense I think Advantage of the 12/35 is the continuous f2.8 which allows me to zoom without darker video or higher iso. The two primes are without OIS and the f1.4 is very expensive I don't know if it's worth its money What do you think?

[@bigdhav]

You didn't mention that it's only f/2.8 for the first mm or so beyond 12mm, then rapidly drops down towards f/4.

[@derekaggs11]

dpanch_89 It’s a pretty linear fall-off, but yeah, it starts the second you touch the zoom ring :/

[@justinlloyd6455]

Thanks for the great video about this interesting lens. I am interested in it for my Olympus EM1-MK2 for its parfocal qualities. And also THANK YOU FOR -NOT- USING DUBSTEP music or some other sappy mildly depressing piano music. I really love #retrowave music and its refreshing to use that rather than noisy, ugly, vomit inducing dubstep thats on every single multi-million-view reviews channel.

[@scottclark1455]

Great review, thanks!

[@game2572]

The 12-35 is a 24-70 a normal pro lens

[@blammo8208]

best music in the game...

[@DEVUNK88]

I wonder if the footage would look warped if you used a gimball+Ibis at the same time? Like it is so stabil it's unstable

[@AutospeciLvAkumulatori]

This lens is not even close to parfocal, focus point is keeping while zooming by software from body on Pana. If you put this lens on Oly, you can see reality without that feature.

[@AutospeciLvAkumulatori]

Pana 12-35 2.8 Ii is parfocal or very closa to that.

[@kvrga]

@@AutospeciLvAkumulatori I have both and neither of them is parfocal. The fact is that 12-35 is wider and the lose of focus is less visible, I think. i would never swap from 12-35 or 35-100 to Leica. I got it new in the kit with GH5II and it is a bit decentered. So far, 35-100 f2.8II is my favourite.

[@jeffreybeigie5244]

I see that some of your shots were at Antietam. (Burnside Bridge, Sunken Road) Way cool! Now for a real question. How do you think this compares to the 14-140 f3.5-5.6 lens? I have been using that as my walk around lens on my G9 and was able to get some insanely long shutter shots with it. I am wondering if you have done any comparisons? I kind of feel it needs to be way sharper to justify the expense and giving up that extra focal length. I don’t feel the IBIS combination would be significant considering what I have been able to do with the 14-140.

[@derekaggs11]

Jeffrey Beigie And Harpers Ferry! I hiked nearly 20 miles last weekend there. Lots of fun.

[@jeffreybeigie5244]

DDW Reviews A few years ago I did the trifecta of Civil War battlefields - South Mountain, Antietam and Monocacy. If you ever watch Gods and Generals, the Fredericksburg town scenes were shot in Harpers Ferry.

[@derekaggs11]

As to your your question, I haven’t personally tried the 14-140mm but I’ve heard very good things. The 14mm wide end would get my a bit though... 12 and it would be perfect.

[@dzeng]

Good review. But you have to get the new 50-200 f2.8-4 with the 2x teleconverter next. It's now my only telephoto lens with good reason.

[@derekaggs11]

I think you’re right. I’ve seen comparisons of the PL 50-200mm vs my 100-300mm II that absolutely destroy it. It would really be an upgrade! Waiting on prices to drop a bit on it though. My employer offers a discount on random Panasonic lenses, one of which is the 12mm f/1.4 for $900. I think that’ll be my next buy.

[@dzeng]

DDW Reviews the 100-300 is a great lens and value. Nothing to dislike about it.

[@willprice7475]

Love the outro music

[@derekaggs11]

Will Blake Echo Beach - Hugo Rancho :)

[@zhanghaiyang2654]

Great video! The 12-60 lens is good

[@derekaggs11]

It’s so sharp and consistent. Top notch!

[@juanalvarado7794]

Its not parafocal. If you turn AF off it won't stay in focus. It May seem parafocal but you can't zoom in our out quickly

[@getoffthisrocktravel2054]

Agreed im searching around for a alternative. Only thing i found is a hack with a speedbooster where u turn the internal lens to different position. This is supposed to give infinity focus.

[@johnjon1823]

24-120 is a great general range.

[@RhettThompsonFilm]

I got this along with my new GH5 and was pretty impressed. I zoom often while recording video and the 12-35 flickers a ton. Makes me want to invest in the leica 50-200 as well.

[@Harrzack]

Sorry - but you WILL get hit with sales tax on ebay! I got my G9 and was shocked to see the final charge was about $59 more! Totally forget about the tax...😳

[@nikos-giorgos]

You never mentioned that it extends when you zoom in.That's a big downside for any lens.

[@derekaggs11]

νικος γιώργος Ummm... I figured that would be obvious... What comparable focal length zoom doesn’t extend when zoomed?

[@RhettThompsonFilm]

Expensive ones! I dont know if that would be considered a "big" downside per say either.

[@nikos-giorgos]

Rhett Thompson You said it man!

[@danieldougan8613]

Meh, I'll keep my Olympus 12-40mm f2.8. If this lens kept its f2.8 aperture at least to 35mm, then it might be a good choice. But it drops off to f4 so quickly, it's hard to see that as a better choice than my Oly or the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8.