This is a great lens. It has metal construction and feels great. The zoom range of 14-140mm covers a range sufficient for most situations. I like to travel light and often only have this single lens mounted on my camera. It keeps things simple and this setup works great. I’ve yet to think….gosh this lens is so slow with an F3.5-5.6 variable aperture. The reason is, the majority of my travel photography is during the day. Having the range of the zoom has been far more helpful than using an F2.8 zoom that would be much heavier and have far less zoom range. The 14-140mm is light, weather-sealed, and even has stabilization if you are using a Panasonic body.
Olympus offers a similar lens which is a 14-150mm F4.0-5.6. The Olympus lens offers weather sealing as well. The price of the Olympus and Panasonic lenses is similar. If you have a Panasonic body, the Panasonic lens might be the best bet as you’ll get the lens stabilization as well. That feature will not work on the Olympus bodies.
It’s tough to say what you will come across while on vacation or even just on a simple hike. These all-in-one zooms are perfect when out and about. I use mostly prime lenses for my paid work. It is nice to throw on a single lens and go for a walk. It keeps things simple and fun.
The optics of the 14-140mm aren’t bad, but they aren’t great either. This is a great lens to capture and document your surroundings. Having the range and being ready for anything is where this lens shines. Now that I have the Olympus 12-40mm F2.8 Pro, I might not use this lens as much on my travels. I’ve found many of my images and most of my videos are wide-angle. Side by side the 12-40mm will win out every time in that range. The 14-140mm has a far greater reach and is lighter weight. It would be my top choice when going to the zoo or something like that.
So to summarize, the Panasonic 14-140mm is not the best lens ever created. It is, however, one of the more useful and functional lenses on the market. If you have a Micro Four Thirds camera and want a lightweight versatile lens, you can’t go wrong with the Panasonic 14-140mm or the Olympus 14-150mm.
For what it’s worth, everything in this video was shot with the Panasonic 14-140mm. I have the first version of this lens which does not have the weather-sealing. The used price was just over $200 which makes it an excellent value.
Panasonic 14-140mm F3.5-5.6 II
Panasonic 14-140 F3.5-5.6 (original)
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#panasonic #microfourthirds #m43 #zoomlens