Panasonic 45-200mm f4.0-5.6 LUMIX G Vario Micro Four Thirds lens

Comments about Panasonic 45-200mm f4.0-5.6 LUMIX G Vario Micro Four Thirds lens:

I purchased this particular lens for wildlife photography and was a little bit disappointed by the quality of my output. It does what it says on the 'tin' however and maybe 200mm focal length was not quite enough for bird photography. However even when I can get close enough quality seems lacking unless shooting in bright sunny conditions.

Ok though on sunny days with the aperture stopped down a bit and underexpose by a stop or two.

Yes a 'bright and cheerful' lens which does what it sets out to do.

I would recommend this lens for portrait work.

I also got some good moon photos at 200mm using a low ISO rating (tripod mounted).

Comments about Panasonic 45-200mm f4.0-5.6 LUMIX G Vario Micro Four Thirds lens:

My one, contrary to other reports, focuses sharply through complete focal range.
Only minor criticism is the lens creep when on a tripod and not level. ie. pointing up or down. But when handheld, my left hand cradles the lens, and restrains any lens creep. This after 18 months of usage.

Comments about Panasonic 45-200mm f4.0-5.6 LUMIX G Vario Micro Four Thirds lens:

Very high quality and brilliant autofocus. Probably a best in class product.

Comments about Panasonic 45-200mm f4.0-5.6 LUMIX G Vario Micro Four Thirds lens:

Autofocus is extremely fast, it manages to lock onto difficult subjects like seagulls splash landing even at full zoom. For the folcal lenght it is small and not too heavy and it feels well built.

Sadly the performance isn't great, and from 150mm to 200mm it is really only usable in bright sunlight; in poor light the lack of contrast and sharpness at these focal lengths result in very "flat" pictures totally lacking any kind of impact. Stay between 45 and 150 mm and choose the aperture carefully and you can get acceptable results. I've said I would recommend it to a friend mainly because there isn't currently much else to choose from at this focal length in micro four thirds.