PANASONIC LUMIX G VARIO LENS, 35-100MM, F4.0-5.6 ASPH, MIRRORLESS MICRO FOUR THIRDS, MEGA OPTICAL I.S, H-FS35100K (USA BLACK)

This moderately priced lens is a good example of Panasonic quality. Fit and finish are very good to excellent. The lens is light and pleasantly compact, even racked out all the way. The design is spartan, with little information on the lens, so there are no distance or depth-of-field scales..I lean toward short- to normal-focal-length lenses for most of my picture taking, but I'm finding this 70-200mm (35mm equivalent) handy. Initial test results are crisp, with good color and negligible to moderate chromatic aberration at the extremes, at least in bright sun, base ISO and f/6.3. I see no noticeable falloff peripherally. The lens' built-in image stabilization appears to be effective 2.5 to 3 f/stops worth. Given its slow f/4 maximum aperture at the wide end and slower f/5.6 racked out, the ability to use some slow shutter speeds and still get sharp images in low light is a blessing.Those willing to spend two to three times the price can get a top-of-line lens good for two f/stops more maximum aperture. That would make possible handheld shooting in dim light without resorting to very high ISO's and the noise and color shifts that can come with them. Pricier lenses in this range can be expected to deliver virtually ca-free results on today's Panasonic and Olympus cameras, no doubt with yet greater sharpness and slightly higher definition. Micro four thirds photographers whose needs fall short of pro-grade image quality at large blowup size in all circumstances should find in this lens a nice balance of IQ and affordability.

This is one of the sharpest lenses I have ever used. I am simply amazed at how good it is. Buttery zoom, too.I look at this on my Olympus and I have to remind myself that this is a 70~200 equivalent lens.

The new Panasonic 35-100mm f/4.-5.6 lens is an excellent addition to my micro 4/3 arsenal. The older version of the same focal length is an excellent and also a faster lens ,but the lens is also more expensive. If you need the extra speed and have the money,then buy the older version. I personally could not justify the more expensive lens, and when I saw the new Panasonic 35-100mm f/4.-5.6, it peaked my curiosity. After much debating I finally bought it. This new lens is surprisingly small and light but feels solid. After many test Images I really was impressed by the image quality this lens produced. If you are on a budget and need a good walk around lens, I really do recommend this lens

I wasn't expecting anything extraordinary when I ordered this lens. It has been one pleasant surprise after another.Special thanks to Panasonic for including a hood. Yes, that's correct. A quality, light-dampened hood is included. Hear that Canon?! The plastic hood wasn't a $40 add on. :)Not much I can add to what other positive reviewers have mentioned. I will parrot some of their same points. Nice build quality; feels sturdy. Produced especially for Panasonic's GM series (GM-1 and GM-5) so this lens is tiny. Clear and crisp images at all focal lengths.thanks,Cameron

The illusion of metal (internally, there's plastic). Good performance in terms of sharpness. Compact and a good companion to the GM cameras. But the lens has a lot of falloff even after automatic image correction and despite the slow aperture. Don't know if this lens is held together with double stick tape like the 12-34mm kit lens, but the lens body design is similar. Several folks have had those kit lenses come apart, although I haven't experienced the problem with my copies.