S-R26EEAN  5025232962563

Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 - New Compact L-Mount Zoom Lens

L-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
Aperture Range: f/3.5 to f/22
Three ED Elements, One UHR Element
Two Aspherical Elements
Stepping AF Motor
AF/MF Switch
Weather-Sealed Construction
Fluorine Coating
Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm

Panasonic has just launched a new compact zoom lens for the L-mount full-frame system: the LUMIX S 20-60mm f/3.5 - 5.6 zoom lens. According to Panasonic, this lens has been designed with both photographers and videographers in mind.

The brand new LUMIX S 20-60mm zoom is rather lightweight and compact when you compare it to other zoom lenses. It weighs a mere 350g which makes it a perfect companion for gimbal-mounted full-frame cameras. But of course, there's a twist. This lens is kind of slow with an aperture of f/3.5 down to 5.6 when fully zoomed in. For outdoor shooters this might not be a problem, but as for moody twilight scenes, it might be just too slow. Apart from this, there is a lot to like about the new LUMIX S 20-60mm!

What this new lens does not offer is lens stabilization. So we're talking a rather basic but still versatile zoom lens with a decent range here. Auto focus (stepper motor) can be engaged via a simple switch on the lens itself.

According to Panasonic, the engineers have managed to minimize focus breathing on this lens, a feature especially useful for filmmakers. As a result, the framing won't shift as much while racking focus as you might be used to when shooting with "regular" photo-centric lenses. Furthermore, the minimal focus distance is just 15cm, which is pretty impressive, indeed. The whole design consists of 11 elements in 9 groups (2 aspherical and 3 extra-low dispersion ones). The iris consists of 9 blades and the filter thread measures 67mm.

We think the lens is great for accompanying a full-frame camera mounted on a gimbal. You get a decent range in terms of focal range (especially on the wide end) but you don't stress the motors too much with a super-heavy setup since the LUM