Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO LENS, 12-35MM, F2.8 ASPH., PROFESSIONAL MIRRORLESS MICRO FOUR THIRDS, POWER OPTICAL I.S. H-HS12035 (2012 Model - USA BLACK)

I don't often give 5 starts to a product, lately I've become very critical of the photo gear I spend my money on, but this one truly deserves the 5 stars!I got into the micro43 system recently, and quickly fell in love with it. I come from having a FF Canon 5Dmk3 with an array of lenses, but a need to simplify and compact the size of my bag for traveling with a baby made me look at mirror-less as an option. I used the Sony NEX system for a while and then I stumbled upon the OM-D EM5, which really blew me away! I wanted to have the best zoom lens for the MFT system and so I got this. Man! this is one of those lenses that you can just leave it on the camera and shoot away! The lens does great indoors, outdoors, low-light, high-contrast scenes, and all weather conditions due to its weather-sealing. This is the BEST lens I have on my MFT collection, which grew fairly quickly after I got my OM-D.I also have the 25mm F1.4 Lumix/Leica, the Zuiko 17mm F1.8, and a Ronikon Fisheye lens. This zoom lens outperforms all of those lenses when it comes to focus speed, sharpness, and CA, this lens really performs amazing for it being a zoom lens, comparable to the results from a Canon's 24-70mm F2.8L II (which costs twice the money that this lens costs)If I had my choice of only having ONE lens for my OM-D, this would be it. A work-horse that performs like a pro!I really do not have anything bad to say about this lens, except maybe that it is a bit bulky and heavy so your compact camera system is not so compact anymore with this guy hanging from your camera mount.If you are reading this as part of your research to help you make a decision on purchasing this, I can honestly tell you that it is well worth the price, the build quality, the responsiveness, the I.S., the sharpness, and most-important: the IQ that you get from this lens are incredible, on-par with pro-level prime lenses. Yes! it's THAT good! If you can afford it, get rid of the kit lens that came with your camera and shoot for this guy, you won't regret it!

I am slowly changing camera systems to micro four thirds from Canon DSLR's.Portability is the main driver for that and after getting an Olympus E-Pl 3 and taking it with me on an extended trip I was hooked on the format. It wasn't perfect but it had great potential. I knew that technically; picture quality, speed of operation, construction, the E=PL3 couldn't compete with my Canon gear but it was so easy to carry out on the trail. I loved the portability but I also wanted the image quality, speed of operation, etc, of a DSLR, could I have the best of both worlds? I ordered an Olympus OM-D E-M5 and loved it, DSLR quality, feel and operation. What I wanted was a high quality "professional" walk around lens, this Panasonic 12-35mm is it. I had the equivalent of a very good DSLR system at half, or less, the weight.There are two downsides to the lens, cost of course - $1299 isn't inexpensive and weight - It is, for its size and format, heavy. Still nothing like my Canon L Lenses but for a camera this size, heavy.However those are outweighed by the quality of the lens. When I say quality I mean image and construction, this is a very well built and designed lens. While f2.8 doesn't sound fast, when it is coupled with the Olympus M5 it is excellent in available light situations, even fully stopped down image quality is very good. During daylight the image quality and operation is superb.Auto-focus seems instantaneous with this combination and picture quality rivals my Canon gear at great weight savings and increased portability. I mentioned it is heavy, still, while attached to the M5 it is very well balamced and gives one a comforting feel of quality.Pro'sImage qualityAuto-focusSpeedConstructionAvailable light operation (especially when coupled with the Olympus OM-D E-M5)Con'sWeight (not really an issue when compared with other pro quality lenses but it is much heavier than a kit lens if that is the basis of comparison. I add this for those who are expanding from the original kits lens on a MFT camera, P&S, etc)CostIn summary - a terrific lens, for real world use the equivalent of pro grade lenses from other manufacturers (Canon, Nikon, etc)