12-35mm came in the mail today from Amazon US

• it feels much more solid than the other Panasonic lenses I've handled.
• The color is not an absolute black; it's not purple like the review lenses, but there is a red tint to the metal.
• It only seems slightly bigger than the 14-45mm volume-wize. However, it also feels heavier and I will probably be using the extra grip on my OM-D.
• The close focus is fantastic. No one will mistake it for a macro, but it gets plenty close at 35mm.
• The rubber ring to seal around the lens mount is very tiny and almost unnoticeable.

reggieandtfe said:

Initial thoughts:

• it feels much more solid than the other Panasonic lenses I've handled.
• The color is not an absolute black; it's not purple like the review lenses, but there is a red tint to the metal.
• It only seems slightly bigger than the 14-45mm volume-wize. However, it also feels heavier and I will probably be using the extra grip on my OM-D.
• The close focus is fantastic. No one will mistake it for a macro, but it gets plenty close at 35mm.
• The rubber ring to seal around the lens mount is very tiny and almost unnoticeable.

I could only do a quick comparison with the 14mm pancake and it seems to have slightly more distortion while also having a higher resolution and better colors and contrast. I would post the quick sample pics with crops I did, but I'm currently unable to upload to dpreview galleries for some reason.

Time to go sell a kidney...haha.

Click to expand...

reggieandtfe said:

Initial thoughts:

• it feels much more solid than the other Panasonic lenses I've handled.
• The color is not an absolute black; it's not purple like the review lenses, but there is a red tint to the metal.
• It only seems slightly bigger than the 14-45mm volume-wize. However, it also feels heavier and I will probably be using the extra grip on my OM-D.
• The close focus is fantastic. No one will mistake it for a macro, but it gets plenty close at 35mm.
• The rubber ring to seal around the lens mount is very tiny and almost unnoticeable.

I could only do a quick comparison with the 14mm pancake and it seems to have slightly more distortion while also having a higher resolution and better colors and contrast. I would post the quick sample pics with crops I did, but I'm currently unable to upload to dpreview galleries for some reason.

Time to go sell a kidney...haha.

Click to expand...

Dixa said:

when the upload tool goes pear shaped, try a different browser. usually works for me.

reggieandtfe said:

Initial thoughts:

• it feels much more solid than the other Panasonic lenses I've handled.
• The color is not an absolute black; it's not purple like the review lenses, but there is a red tint to the metal.
• It only seems slightly bigger than the 14-45mm volume-wize. However, it also feels heavier and I will probably be using the extra grip on my OM-D.
• The close focus is fantastic. No one will mistake it for a macro, but it gets plenty close at 35mm.
• The rubber ring to seal around the lens mount is very tiny and almost unnoticeable.

I could only do a quick comparison with the 14mm pancake and it seems to have slightly more distortion while also having a higher resolution and better colors and contrast. I would post the quick sample pics with crops I did, but I'm currently unable to upload to dpreview galleries for some reason.

Time to go sell a kidney...haha.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Dixa said:

i want this lens, but i need a 2nd om-d body more.

Click to expand...

stephc222 said:

So what do you think, is it worth keeping the 14mm if I get the 12-35mm zoom? I don't care about the compactness of the pancake.

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• It feels solid -- about on par with the 7-14mm. I'd put the build quality between Canon's high-end EF-S lenses and their pro L lenses;

• I find the appearance a bit tacky, honestly -- too shiny and busy;

• In a quick comparison to my 14-140, the 12-35 is slightly sharper wide open than the 14-140 is wide open ... but the 12-35 is a stop faster at the wide end and about 1.5 stops faster at 35mm;

• At like apertures the 12-35 is noticeably sharper than my very good 14-140;

• The 12-35's Power OIS is noticeably more steady than the 14-140's mega OIS. I managed to get a couple sharp pics at 25mm and .5s.

• AF seems as fast as any MFT lens I've used;

• Overall I'm quite happy with it. It's compact, light (for an f/2.8 normal zoom), and has very good IQ. The long awaited, much lighter successor to the 17-55/2.8 that was my walkaround lens in my Canon DSLR days.

reggieandtfe said:

Initial thoughts:

• it feels much more solid than the other Panasonic lenses I've handled.
• The color is not an absolute black; it's not purple like the review lenses, but there is a red tint to the metal.
• It only seems slightly bigger than the 14-45mm volume-wize. However, it also feels heavier and I will probably be using the extra grip on my OM-D.
• The close focus is fantastic. No one will mistake it for a macro, but it gets plenty close at 35mm.
• The rubber ring to seal around the lens mount is very tiny and almost unnoticeable.

I could only do a quick comparison with the 14mm pancake and it seems to have slightly more distortion while also having a higher resolution and better colors and contrast. I would post the quick sample pics with crops I did, but I'm currently unable to upload to dpreview galleries for some reason.

Time to go sell a kidney...haha.

Click to expand...

gteague said:

got mine today as well. i find that it balances much better on the em5 with the optional grip than my gx1 body. it would be usable on the gx1, but it just doesn't handle near as well. this lens feels like it was made for the em5--i'm stretching for a comparison, but perhaps much like a nikon f3 or fm2 with one of the old, pre-plastic, ai nikon lenses such as the 85/1.8--a package solid as a rock.
--
/ guy

The world is going to pieces and people like Adams and Weston are photographing rocks! ~Henri Cartier-Bresson

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reggieandtfe said:

I'm actually about to put my 14mm up for sale! There's seems to be significantly more Chromatic Aberration and vignetting on the pancake. Ignoring size, I see no reason to keep the 14mm.

stephc222 said:

So what do you think, is it worth keeping the 14mm if I get the 12-35mm zoom? I don't care about the compactness of the pancake.

Click to expand...

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chris24net said:

I love my 12-35. I'm not much for comparison testing, but I did use it on a trip to Sri Lanka the first week of July if anyone wants to see some in the field images. Other than the first and third images taken with the 45mm, all were taken with the OM-D and 12-35.

http://www.chris-sorensen.com/sri-lanka

And I'm keeping my 14mm. God forbid something happens to the 12-35 on a shoot, I have a small, lightweight and fairly inexpensive wide angle backup to go with my 20mm and 45mm.

--
http://www.chris-sorensen.com

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