First impressions: Panasonic 12-32mm pancake zoom

I received a silver 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 in the mail a few days ago for my wife's E-PM2. It was removed from a kit and sold on ebay for $280 free shipping.

I have only taken a few test photos inside, and managed some outside tonight, so can't judge the IQ too much yet. So far, here are my impressions:

Pros:

• nice feel, I like the metal zoom ring
• focus is fast and quiet
• about half the length of the 14-42IIR collapsed, and still shorter than Oly when extended
• 12mm end nice to have
• makes the E-PM2 more pocketable

Cons:

• zoom ring very stiff, not comfortable on a small body like the E-PM2
• difficult to mount/unmount due to smooth barrel 
• focus not always accurate, especially up close - I can consistently get it to indicate a focus lock on subjects less than 12" away when it is clearly OOF. I cannot get the 14-42IIR to ever do this - it either locks or it doesn't.
• CA is really awful in the corners, sometimes beyond what LR can deal with even with manual adjustments - some strange examples I've not seen before.
• Contrary to reviews I've read, the CA doesn't change much with aperature - tree branch against sky shows it clearly, starting about just inside the centre 1/3 of the frame, increasing quickly toward the edges. This CA is handled by LR fine.
• 32mm end a bit short

So far the IQ appears to be quite even across the frame, but the sharpness seems about the same as the 14-42IIR.

More to follow when I have time to compare with the 12-50 and 14-42IIR

zuikowesty wrote:

I received a silver 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 in the mail a few days ago for my wife's E-PM2. It was removed from a kit and sold on ebay for $280 free shipping.

I have only taken a few test photos inside, and managed some outside tonight, so can't judge the IQ too much yet. So far, here are my impressions:

Pros:

• nice feel, I like the metal zoom ring
• focus is fast and quiet
• about half the length of the 14-42IIR collapsed, and still shorter than Oly when extended
• 12mm end nice to have
• makes the E-PM2 more pocketable

Cons:

• zoom ring very stiff, not comfortable on a small body like the E-PM2
• difficult to mount/unmount due to smooth barrel
• focus not always accurate, especially up close - I can consistently get it to indicate a focus lock on subjects less than 12" away when it is clearly OOF. I cannot get the 14-42IIR to ever do this - it either locks or it doesn't.
• CA is really awful in the corners, sometimes beyond what LR can deal with even with manual adjustments - some strange examples I've not seen before.
• Contrary to reviews I've read, the CA doesn't change much with aperature - tree branch against sky shows it clearly, starting about just inside the centre 1/3 of the frame, increasing quickly toward the edges. This CA is handled by LR fine.
• 32mm end a bit short

So far the IQ appears to be quite even across the frame, but the sharpness seems about the same as the 14-42IIR.

More to follow when I have time to compare with the 12-50 and 14-42IIR

Thanks for the information.  280 is a good price since it is now up to 330. Its too bad that CA is a problem because it would go really well with the EM5.  It would be interesting to see more of a comparison with the other zooms.

The first one has some in the tree leaves on the top right - look at the "hole" in the leaves for purple fringing. It is much better than my results since you are using a Panasonic body, which I believe corrects the CA.

I don't think the CA is a show stopper, since it usually easily removed in PP, but I was surprised at the amount, and how close to image centre it begins. But to be fair, I have only taken a few shots with it.

Forgot a few more niggles: I read someone complaining about Oly lenses not having a bump so the red dot can be felt in low light - well the 12-32 has no bump, and it's white on silver! Maybe it glows in the dark, but it's hard to see in the light! Also the close focussing is not nearly as good as the 14-42IIR, and combined with false positives, this can be a problem. The first close up I took was OOF (probably too close to focus) but it gave a focus lock solid light and beep. Same on E-M5 and E-PM2.

I'm hoping the IQ will meet expectations so I can forget about these mostly minor issues!

The zoom on my 12-32mm is stiffer to turn than my Panasonic 14-42 II kit zoom for sure, but not uncomfortably so; my GF6 is a little larger than an E-PM2 though so maybe I'm getting more leverage on it. More crucially, the pressure is constant and smooth throughout the whole travel, which is nice, my kit zoom seems to stick towards the tele end which feels kinda off (my mother has the same kit zoom and hers is smooth the whole way tho).

The smooth barrel is definitely a little finicky to mount tho, you can forget about even trying it with gloves on. My 20mm is wide enough and the edges beveled enough that it makes a decent difference when trying to mount it quickly.

I haven't really tested close focusing with mine, gonna have to give it a go later... I can try posting comparison pics vs the 14-42 II & 12-35/2.8 if anyone wants but I'm no expert so my methodology (or lack thereof) might make it borderline pointless.

I still have not had time to really test the 12-32, but here are few more observations from two outings this weekend:

1. The Olympus 12-50 is noticeably wider than the Lumix 12-32 at 12mm. The 12-32 is sharper at 12mm.

2. Comparing the 12-50 + E-M5 with the E-PM2 + 12-32 shows the E-M5 IBIS works better than the OIS in the 12-32 (yes I have lens priority ON).

3. The 12-32 seems to soften up around 20-25mm, where the 12-50 is noticeably sharper.

4. The 12-32 at 32mm doesn't come close to the Olympus 40-150 at 40mm in terms of sharpness, contrast or CA. All this means for me is that I will opt for the 40-150 if I have it with me, which I usually do.

Here are two samples illustrating the difference at 12mm, and the signficant CA of the 12-32, which can be fixed in LR5.3, but requires the eyedropper and maximum settings. The Oly CA is almost entirely fixed by using LR defaults. Each shot is from RAW to LR5.3, Adobe Std profile, no other adjustments, exporting at 100% JPG quality, except the Lumix was reduced by 2/3 stop to match exposure. One was 1/50s, the other 1/30s, taken within seconds of each other on the E-M5 and E-PM2.

Lumix 12-32, 12mm f/7.1, focus on alder at left of centre.

Olympus 12-50, 12mm f/7.1, focus on alder at left of centre.

The 12-32 appears to have better contrast.  I have one and have no complaints.

I have this compact lens connected to GH4.

Both photos and videos are very sharp and bright. Taking into account that this is rather cheap kit lens, the results are surprisingly good. I can only strongly recommend it.

Adam

Heh, it must look hilarious on a GH4... Pics?

tjdean01 wrote:

I got mine as soon as they came out and I won an auction for $280 when they were going for more. I don't use it all that much but on one of the smaller cameras you can't not have. That plus + 20 + 45 is the smallest complete kit. I have the 14 too but it doesn't get used as much now that I have the 12-32. And the 12-32 is amazingly sharp. If I got the 20 again I might NEVER use the 14.

I have owned this lens for a few months now and I have used it in a few trips, the last being one to Tampa and Orlando. The images were quite sharp and close to the 25mm f1.4 Summilux. I used the 12-32 on the GX1 as well as the GX7. Once I got accustomed to having to open the lens first, it is a pleasure to use.