In summary
Being bundled with both the S1 and S1R cameras, this lens is likely to be the first lens acquired with either camera body.
The 24-105mm zoom range is justifiably popular with photographers because it covers a wide variety of subject types from landscapes through portraits to relatively close action. The constant f/4 maximum aperture will provide opportunities for depth of field control throughout the zoom range.
The ability to shoot at half life-size is an advantage not provided by many other lenses in this zoom range and will be a further advantage, as will the built-in image stabilisation. And its physical size and weight are an excellent match for either camera body.
Full review
The Lumix S 24-105mm f/4 Macro O.I.S. (S-R24105) lens is the ‘kit’ lens that will be bundled with Panasonic’s new S1 and S1R cameras. Covering angles of view from moderate wide angle to medium telephoto, it boasts a constant f/4 maximum aperture throughout its zoom range and a minimum aperture of f/22. It will also focus to within 30 cm of a subject, where the 105mm focal length provides a half life-size reproduction ratio to justify its ‘Macro’ designation. Panasonic’s 5-Axis Dual I.S. 2 system claims six stops of shake compensation.
Angled view of the Lumix S 24-105mm f/4 Macro O.I.S. lens, shown without end caps and lens hood. (Source: Panasonic.)
Like other lenses in Panasonic’s S series, this lens uses the Leica L-Mount, which was designed to be suitable for both ‘full frame’ and APS-C format sensors. It boasts a large inner diameter of 51.6 mm and a lens-to-camera communication interface with ten connection points that will cater for future interfacing requirements. It also enables users of Panasonic’s cameras to utilise L-Mount lenses from alliance partners, Leica and Sigma.
The optical design of this lens is quite complex, comprising 16 elements in 13 groups. In the mix are two aspherical lenses and two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) lenses to suppress chromatic aberrations plus a pair of aspherical ED lenses and one element with ultra-low dispersion. Their positions are shown in the diagram below.
This diagram shows the positions of the various exotic elements in the lens design. (Source: Panasonic.)
A nine-bladed iris diaphragm closes to a circular aperture to ensure attractive bokeh. This lens accepts 77 mm diameter filters. A fluorine coating on the front element repels water and oil, making it easy to keep this critical area free of contamination.
Autofocusing is fully internal and driven by a high-precision linear motor which can reach speeds of 480 fps for fast auto focusing. It uses data from the DFD (Depth From Defocus) contrast based autofocus system in Panasonic’s cameras and claims to be competitive with speeds from the technically more responsive DFD contrast based autofocus systems used in competing camera.
Panasonic claims a minimum focus acquisition time of just 0.08 second at a light level of 11EV with the 24mm focal length. Focusing is also silent, making this lens ideal for recording video and the lens is equipped with a mechanism that suppresses focus breathing (small changes in effective focal length when focus is adjusted ), another advantage for those who shoot movies.
This lens is supplied with the regular front and end caps plus a petal-shaped lens hood that attaches via a bayonet mounting and can be reversed over the lens barrel for transport and storage. A soft carrying pouch is also provided.
Who’s it For?
Being bundled with both the S1 and S1R cameras, this lens is likely to be the first lens acquired with either camera body. At the listed RRPs, buying the lens with either the S1 or S1R body will save you AU$200 on the listed price for the lens.
The 24-105mm zoom range is justifiably popular with photographers because it covers a wide variety of subject types from landscapes through portraits to relatively close action. The constant f/4 maximum aperture will provide opportunities for depth of field control throughout the zoom range.
The ability to shoot at half life-size is an advantage not provided by many other lenses in this zoom range and will be a further advantage, as will the built-in image stabilisation. Finally, its physical size and weight are an excellent match for either camera body.
Interestingly, three of the main players in the ‘full frame’ mirrorless camera have similarly specified lenses on offer, with Nikon’s two general-purpose zoom lenses covering a 24-70mm range in two maximum aperture options, f/2.8 and f/4. The table below, listed in alphabetical order, provides a quick comparison.
| Brand | Max. aperture | Min. focus | Diameter x length | Weight | RRP |
| Canon | f/4 | 45 cm | 83.5 x 107.3 mm | 700 grams | AU$1799 |
| Panasonic | f/4 | 30 cm | 84 x 118 mm | 680 grams | AU$1899 |
| Sony | f/4 | 38 cm | 83.4 x 113.3 mm | 663grams | AU$2099 |
The Panasonic lens is marginally larger than its competitors but its weight and its price fit between its rivals.
Build and Ergonomics
Build quality is generally very good and there’s an obvious rubber seal around the lens mount that is wide enough to keep out moisture and dust. The lens barrel is made from magnesium alloy with a matte black coating that looks businesslike and smart.
The focusing ring is located at the front of the outer barrel, just behind the 15 mm wide section of the inner barrel that extends during zooming. It’s completely covered in fine rubber ridging to provide a secure and comfortable grip. With focusing being driven from the camera, this ring rotates full circle when power is off.
Behind the focusing ring is a 12 mm wide, slightly in-curved band that separates the focusing ring from the zoom ring to its rear. The zoom ring is approximately 34 mm wide, with a 23 mm wide band of fine rubber ridging encircling its leading edge.
The un-ridged trailing edge carries stamped marks for the following focal length settings: 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 70mm, 85mm and 105mm. The inner barrel extends by about 45 mm when the lens is zoomed from 24mm to 105mm but it doesn’t rotate, making this lens usable with angle-critical filters.
The final portion of the outer barrel consists of a 20 mm long flat section carrying the white index mark against which the focal lengths are lined up. Around the left hand side of this section of the barrel are slider switches that control the zoom lock, AF/MF and IS on/off settings. There is no distance scale or depth of field indicator and we found nothing to indicate where the lens is manufactured.
Performance
Although we ran Imatest tests of this lens with both the S1 and S1R bodies, we have used the results from the S1 in this report since we believe they better reflect actual usage and are more likely to be relevant to the greater numbers of photographers who are likely to buy the lower-priced camera. In line with our normal practice, the results are based upon JPEG files.
Imatest showed this lens was almost capable of meeting expectations for the sensor’s resolution with JPEG files, which indicates very good performance. We also checked the raw files and have reproduced them as well in our test result below, where you can see that central resolution exceeded expectations while edge resolution fell only a little short.
The remarkable feature of this lens is the consistency of the results we obtained across both the aperture and focal length ranges for this lens, as shown in the graph of our test results above. While the highest resolution recorded was at the 35mm focal length with an aperture of f/6.3, central resolution remained within the 2500-3000 line widths/picture height band all the way through to f/16 with all focal lengths.
Edge softening was apparent at f/4.0 and f/4.5 but edged up above 2500 widths/picture height by f/5.0 and remained there until the diffraction-related fall off at f/16. This represents excellent overall performance and largely accounts for our high rating for this lens.
Lateral chromatic aberration remained almost entirely within the ‘negligible’ band for JPEGs, as shown in the graph of our results above, in which the red line marks the boundary between ‘negligible’ and ‘low’ CA. Checks of a few raw files (where CA is not corrected) showed it to be slightly higher on the whole, but still within the low-to-negligible range.
We found no evidence of coloured fringing in either JPEGs or converted raw files shot with this lens. This issue is largely irrelevant since both Panasonic S1 cameras provide in-camera corrections for coloured fringing, as do most raw file converters.
The same is true for aberrations like vignetting and rectilinear distortion, where we had to assess performance by using uncorrected raw files. Vignetting was obvious at the 24mm and 105mm focal lengths, and just visible at the remaining focal lengths. Rectilinear distortion was slight enough to be effectively negligible.
The review lens highly resistant to ghosting and flare, even when a bright light source was included within the frame. No flare artefacts were generated and there was minimal loss of contrast. Normally backlit shots were rendered with full colour and tonal fidelity.
Bokeh was a mixed bag and heavily dependent upon the background lighting. With evenly-lit backgrounds it was very smooth and attractive. However, outlined highlights were common in unevenly-lit backgrounds.
The ‘macro’ capabilities of this lens are only achievable at the 105mm focal length, where they can result in some attractive images. But magnification is only half life-size, so it’s not true 1:1 reproduction. At the 24mm focal length, the 30 cm minimum focusing distance produces a much lower reproduction rate.
Autofocusing was generally fast and very quiet and the lens was able to take advantage of the camera’s IBIS system, which enabled us to use shutter speeds as slow as one second with the camera hand-held and obtain a high percentage of sharp images. Subject tracking was also competently handled.
Conclusion
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SPECS
Picture angle: 84-23 degrees
Minimum aperture: f/22
Lens construction: 16 elements in 13 groups (including 2 aspherical ED, 2 aspherical, one UED and 2 extra-low dispersion elements)
Lens mounts: L-Mount
Diaphragm Blades: 9 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: Linear motor DFD system
Stabilisation: Yes, optical; up to 6EV of shake compensation with IBIS in camera
Minimum focus: 30 cm
Maximum magnification: 0.5x
Filter size: 77 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 84 x 118 mm
Weight: 680 grams
Standard Accessories: Lens front and end caps, lens hood, lens storage bag
Distributor: Panasonic Australia, Ph. 132 600; www.panasonic.com.au
TESTS
Based on JPEG files taken with the Lumix DC-S1 camera.
Results from RW2.RAW files captured simultaneously.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at 24mm f/3.5.
Vignetting at 35mm f/4.7.
Vignetting at 50mm f/5.4.
Vignetting at 70mm f/6.1.
Vignetting at 85mm f/6.2.
Vignetting at 105mm f/6.3.
Rectilinear distortion at 24mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 35mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 50mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 70mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 85mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 105mm.
24mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/8.
50mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/8.
85mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/160 second at f/8.
105mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/16 second at f/8.
Close-up at 24mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/1300 second at f/4.
Close-up at 105mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/2500 second at f/4.
Very strong backlighting; 24mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/800 second at f/8.
Stabilisation test; 25mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/1.6 second at f/4.5.
105mm focal length, ISO 125, 1/100 second at f/10.
66mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/1000 second at f/8.
40mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/1300 second at f/5.
28mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/60 second at f/5.6.
70mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/800 second at f/5.
87mm focal length, ISO 1250, 1/100 second at f/5.6.
105mm focal length, ISO 800, 1/125 second at f/4.5.
105mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/250 second at f/4.5.
105mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/25 second at f/4.5.
67mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/80 second at f/5.6.
64mm focal length, ISO 2000, 1/60 second at f/4.5.
105mm focal length, ISO 1600, 1/100 second at f/5.6.
105mm focal length, ISO 500, 1/125 second at f/4.5.
24mm focal length, ISO 32000, 1/30 second at f/5.6.
407:66mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/160 second at f/9.
Additional image samples can be found with our reviews of the Panasonic S1 and S1R cameras.
Rating
RRP: AU$1899; US$899
- Build: 9.0
- Handling: 9.0
- Image quality: 9.0
- Versatility: 9.0
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