The Panasonic Lumix 12-60 f/3.5 – 5.6 is a kit lens I got bundled with the G85. It also ships with the G95, and sometimes the G9 and GH5. When I declare that this lens has a place among the “Royals” of lenses, I’m referring to the class of Panasonic Lumix and Olympus non-pro lenses.
Price
This lens is going for $500 on Amazon and you can find it used for around $270 on sites like KEH. If you’re looking at this lens and also need a camera, I recommend picking it up with a bundle as it’s a much better bargain.
Competition
12-32mm – Check out this comparison video.
14-42mm (and 14-45mm) – The 12-60 is wider and 18mm longer.
Build Quality
Mount
The lens mount is made of metal and includes a weather-sealed rubber gasket.
Zoom Ring
The zoom ring is wide and smooth, but it wouldn’t hurt if it was more smoother.
Focus Ring
The focus ring is smooth to turn, but ring is quite narrow. And like many M43 lenses, it’s a focus-by-wire lens which works for most consumer scenarios.
Physical Buttons
There’s no physical buttons are presents no AF/MF or OIS on/off. I like having the AF/MF buttons as this is useful on camera bodies where there’s no external buttons to change focus type – and this is the case on my GX85.
Minimum Focusing Distance
Minimum focusing distance (.2m, .66 ft)
Weight
Weight: 3.52 ounces / 100G
Filter Thread
The filter thread is 58mm.
Features
Parfocal
Focus is not parfocal, so if you get focus at 12mm then zoom into 60mm, you will lose focus.
Variable Aperture
Aperture is variable from 3.5 to 5.6, again, if when you zoom from wide to telephoto, the exposure will change.
Stabilization
It’s a stabilized lens which I really like and I’ll speak more on this later.
Conclusion
Reasons to skip this lens
- If you’re looking for something sharp, there’s other sharp lenses available like 25mm f/1.4 or the Lecia 12-60 f/2.8-4.
- If you’re looking for constant aperture, you’ll want to skip this lens as this has variable aperture.
- The widest aperture is f/3.5 so this isn’t great for low-light video or photography. If you need something for low-light, you’ll want to look elsewhere, like 25mm f/1.7, 15mm f/1.7 or the Panasonic 10-25mm f/1.7.
Reasons to get this lens
- Dual Image Stabilization. That’s the power of this lens. If you shoot video and control the camera movements, you can avoid using gimbals.
- The 12mm is perfect for vlogging and if you also want to capture some footage at a slight distance away from you, the 60mm comes in handy. It’s also perfect for home video, travel, and non-professional photography. Remember the 12-60mm on Micro Four-Thirds is equivalent to a 24-120mm on full frame.
- Best Panasonic kit lens and it’s worth upgrading from 12-32 or 14-42 for the higher focal range. Many Lumix MFT cameras have a slight crop in 4k so having that extra 12mm comes in handy.
Considering the stabilization, zoom range from wide to telephoto, weather-sealing… this camera is a great addition to your MFT lens collection.
Why queen? If you’ve played chess, you know the queen is the most versatile players on the board. The Panasonic Lumix 12-60 f/3.5-5.6 also has that same versatility among the Micro Four-Thirds lenses. The G85 with the 12-60mm lens, is one of the best budget camera bundles. It makes an even more compelling case to pair this lens with the Panasonic Lumix G7 – as this camera body doesn’t have in-body image stabilization. Pair that with a rode video mic and an ND filter, and you’re set for YouTube, social media or even family home videos!
