Hi everyone,

All being well I’m going to take my latest lens acquisition for a test at the weekend. I’ve bought a Panasonic Lumix 14-42 mm II lens at a good price. I’m swapping it over for my trusted and much loved Lumix 12-32 mm. The new lens fits squarely in with my love of small, lightweight lenses as it’s only 49 mm in length and weighs only 110g. Another advantage is that this lens takes the same 46 mm filter thread as many of my other lenses including some of my favorites, like my Lumix 14 mm f/2.5, 20 mm f/1.7 and 35-100 mm as well as M.Zuiko 12 mm f/2, 17 mm f/1.8, 25 mm f/1.8 and 30mm f/3.5 (macro) lenses and my Sigma Art 60 mm f/2.8 lens.

I do like the Lumix lenses for their size and weight, I’m not obsessed with the info to be found on lens testing sites. My experience is that these cheaper lenses with careful handling are very capable of producing very good image quality under most conditions. Especially so if one invests even a little time in post processing applying some basic adjustments as may be required to lens corrections, sharpness, contrast, saturation, shadow detail, vignetting, lightness etc.. I’m not hung up on an endless quest to find the ultimate in image quality especially if it comes, as it inevitably does, at a much higher price point and considerably heavier weight. I have neither the funds nor the will to play that game, I’d rather be out taking pictures and working on my shots. 🙂

The new lens looses a little at the wide angle end and gains a bit at the telephoto end compared with my 12-32 mm but I usually take my Olympus M.Zuiko 9-18 mm so it’s not an issue. So my kit for the day, in my new small Manfrotto bag, will be my PEN-F camera, 9-18 mm, 14-42 mm, 35-100 mm and 14 mm or 20 mm lenses or I might leave the primes and pack my 12-32 mm (70g) for backup. I’ll post some pics soon. Net lens weight 542g plus hoods, front and back lens caps and filters.For comparison my Olympus M.Zuiko 12-40mm PRO lens weighs approx. 380g, it’s weather sealed and constant aperture but it’s heavy and it’s only one lens.

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi everyone,

I love my small Manfrotto bags and, as soon as I stumbled across this one I had to have it. 🙂 Unlike my other Manfrotto bags this one comes with a rain cover, detachable shoulder strap with padded shoulder pad, belt loops, an internal pocket inside the top flap and a bungie pull cord to fit a small tabletop tripod like my Manfrotto Pixie shown here. With careful packing I managed to fit my PEN-F and Lumix 12-32mm, 20mm, 35-100mm and Samyang 7.5mm or 14mm Lumix (below the 20mm) lenses all with lens hoods fitted. I’ve chosen to stash the rain cover in the internal top pocket for quick access, the pocket could be used for spare batteries, lens wipes,filters etc.. The bag comes with two red soft padded velcro-fitting divider inserts, I’m using one. I think that it should be fairly shower proof as the material is claimed to be water repellent and I have no reason to doubt that but the inclusion of the rain cover for heavier downpours is a great feature. . Cost, £29 on Amazon, some pictures:

All the best,

Leigh