The Panny f4-5.6 45-175mm in action

I am really pleased with this lens which I bought this year, used and three or so years old, on eBay.

It feels good on both the G85 and particularly the smaller GX7. It has just that bit more range than the 40/45-150s, and while it has been tested as performing under them (e.g. Photozone.de), I really like the images I am getting.

The lens is light and the zoom ring action is smooth. It zooms internally so there is no change to the physical length of the lens as you zoom in and out. The hood is deep.

There is one thing to be careful of in handling -- the electronic zoom lever on the barrel. The first time I actuated it by accident, I was peering intently through the EVF and was gob-smacked to see the lens zooming in -- and the little zoom graphic on the screen/EVF heading out to 175! (Love that zoom graphic!)

I changed the supplied lens cap for a generic pinch cap at a cost of couple of bucks. much prefer pinch caps -- I can put them on while lens hoods are in place and I can get them on without sticking my fingers onto the lens!

I bought this lens with two objectives in mind:

1. To have a moderate, general purpose tele zoom covering an extended range beyond the 45-150, which I was selling. An important factor was modest size since this would be a supplementary walkabout lens (the Olympus 40-150, much as I like it, is actually a little large, comparatively).
2. To be my primary close up/macro lens with the Raynox 250 fitted. To this end, I bought a 43-46 step up ring so I could screw the Raynox into the filter thread of the 45-175. The lens's (tiny!) 46mm filter size is too small for the Raynox quick fit clip mount. The huge advantage of this lens over the 40/45-150s is that it does not change physical length when zoomed, so you can set up your camera on a tripod, get focus, then zoom in or out without the physical length of the lens changing and forcing repositioning of the tripod.

So far, the lens has performed right up to my expectations in all areas.

Acting as a medium tele zoom fo0r general work. This is a 100% crop from the bottom left hand corner of the frame. OOC JPEG from the G85.

A 100% crop from a companion shot to the one below.

Walkabout zoom, here with the GX7.

In close-up mode with the Raynox 250. Cocoa beans. Ordinary looking, aren't they? But they sure pack a flavor punch! OOC JPEG cropped at the sides with a small exposure adjustment.

When I first chose "review" for my post, DPReview informed me that reviews of this lens belonged in the "Panasoinic Compact Cameras" forum and mh review would be psoted there and not in the m43 forum. I demurred and changed the type of post.

You can see for yourself. Just go to "New Post", specify review, then say it will be for this lens, and see what happens. You don't have to post anything. I wonder whether it is because this is an older lens and that the same thing would happen for some other older lenses.

Hen3ry wrote:

I changed the supplied lens cap for a generic pinch cap at a cost of couple of bucks. much prefer pinch caps -- I can put them on while lens hoods are in place and I can get them on without sticking my fingers onto the lens!

I'm a bit confused as the Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm F4.0-5.6 ASPH OIS named in your gear list should have a Lumix G X branded pinch cap. (Perhaps the original owner lost it!) ...

.. and it has a 46mm filter thread.

I've recently bought one too to replace a 14-140 ll as I found I never used the short end of that excellent lens since acquiring a 12-35.

dlpruk wrote:

Hen3ry wrote:

I changed the supplied lens cap for a generic pinch cap at a cost of couple of bucks. much prefer pinch caps -- I can put them on while lens hoods are in place and I can get them on without sticking my fingers onto the lens!

I'm a bit confused as the Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm F4.0-5.6 ASPH OIS named in your gear list should have a Lumix G X branded pinch cap. (Perhaps the original owner lost it!) ...

.. and it has a 46mm filter thread.

That's the lens, so it must have been a replacement. not to worry.

I've recently bought one too to replace a 14-140 ll as I found I never used the short end of that excellent lens since acquiring a 12-35.

That 12-35 is a sweet lens indeed, although my main "under the 45" lens to pair with the 45-175 is the 12-32. That's on the GX7 to make a wonderful walkabout kit.

The dopey thing is that I really liked the Oly 40-150 I had with the E-PL3, but when I moved to the G6 and added a couple of Panny lenses, I wanted my lenses to all be zooming the same way (with the exception of the 9-18, but it is exceptional). So I sold the 40-150 and having taken note of Guy's requent championing of the 45-150, I bought that.

For some unknown reason, although it performed well, I just never felt confident using it.

For some other (or perhaps the same) unknown reason, the moment I started in with the 45-175 it felt "just right" -- in the same way as the Oly 40-150 felt "just right" from the outset.

Odd, huh? But who cares? Really?

With the 12-35, I had to grow into it. At first I found it heavy and clumsy. Even a couple of months ago, I was thinking of selling it to move to the PL 12-60 as my "standard" lens for my pro work. That really forced me to look at the 12-35, and I ended up wondering to myself whether I would really want to go out on a job with the 12-60 on the camera instead of the 12-35. The answer was "no!" The 12-35 is a superb lens I can trust absolutely to do the job and handling it now is second nature. So it stayed, the PL idea was shelved, and I clarified what I really wanted and went in that direction.

I'm also a huge fan of this lens - light, compact, internal zoom, fast to focus, what's not to like?!?!  Dual IS with G85 after the firmware upgrade, takes any issue of it not having as fast as aperture as my primes away as I can easily hand hold 1/15.

It's a lens I like a lot too, both with and without a Raynox dioptre attached. It's nice and compact for use on my GM1, as well as serving as a macro lens alternative on my GX7. I think the last time I looked at my Lightroom catalogue it was my most used lens.

Actually, you've reminded me that I should pick up a 46-43 step down ring. I only had a 46-37mm, and have to stack a couple more to get back up to the 43mm thread of the Raynox.

The only thing I don't like about mine is that the focus ring is rather stiff. It's not great for precise manual focus and takes quite a firm grip to turn it, rather than being able to adjust it with one finger.