Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 50-200mm f/2.8-4.0 ASPH Review

Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 50-200mm f/2.8-4.0 ASPH. Performance

Starting with sharpness, at 50mm the central results are excellent from f/2.8 to f/5.6, very good from f/8 to f/11, good at f/16 and only softening at f/22 as diffraction takes its hold. The edges are very good from f/2.8 to f/8, good at f/11 and f/16 and again soft at f/22.

At 100mm, the centre follows exactly the same pattern as at 50mm, being excellent from f/3.6 to f/5.6, very good at f/8 and f/11, good at f/16 and softening at f/22. The edges are very good from f/3.6 to f/5.6, good from f/8 to f/16 and soft at f/22.

150mm sees the same again, with the centre being excellent from f/3.9 to f/5.6, very good at f/8 and f/11, good at f/16 and soft at f/22. The edges are very good from f/3.9 to f/5.6, good from f/8 to f/16 and soft at f/22.

The longest focal lengths of a zoom are rarely, if ever, the best area of performance and it does indeed drop a little as expected. So, 200mm centrally is very good at f/4, excellent at f/5.6, good at f/8 and f/11 and softening at f/16 and f/22. The edges are good at f/4, very good at f/5.6 and softening progressively from f/11 to f/22.

This is overall a very consistent performance, and well up to producing sparkling, sharp images across the focal length range.

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is extremely well corrected. Because MFT format cameras tend to apply corrections that we cannot control or know about, even in the RAW output, it is not possible to state that the CA figures are low because of the lens design or because of the lens/camera interaction. What we can say is the CA is very tightly controlled, almost banished at the centre at all focal lengths. At its highest values, at the edges around f/11 and mid zoom settings, it is still well under control. CA is not a likely issue that will need further correction, but of course, this would be possible using software solutions, if desired.

Distortion figures are also very impressive. At 50mm we have -0.02% barrel distortion. This reduces still further at 100mm to -0.01% barrel. At 150mm, distortion measures +0.03% pincushion and at 200mm +0.08% pincushion. This is as near to rectilinear as makes no difference and straight lines in an image can be expected to be reproduced as straight.

Flare is not evident, with no loss of contrast or created artefacts in against the light shots.

Bokeh is, of course, the smoothness of the gradation of out of focus areas and all long lenses are already ahead of the game by virtue of the reduced depth of field. This lens excels in having ultra-smooth bokeh, making it ideal for quality images with diffused backgrounds.

The OIS system is a very welcome addition and it was with ease that a full 6 stops advantage could be enjoyed. Beyond that, signs of blur start to creep in. This is an amazing performance. However, it is worth remembering that this does nothing to address subject movement, so for much wildlife photography, it may well be best to switch OIS off.

Value For Money

The Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 50-200mm f/2.8-4 Lens is priced at £1599.

There are some similar specification MFT lenses, not as wide in terms of apertures or range.

Olympus M. Zuiko 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO, £1099
Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-200mm f/4-5.6 II, £359
Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 45-175mm f/4-5.6, £349

However, maybe a fairer comparison is what other marque users might have to pay for their full frame 100-400mm lenses:

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, £2049
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR, £2209
HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 ED DC AW, £1949
Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 OSS G Master, £2499

These lenses are slower, bigger and heavier as well as more expensive, so against that the Panasonic looks pretty good value and highlights the benefits of the MFT format. For more options have a look at the Top 11 Best Panasonic Lenses or Top 35 Best Micro Four Thirds Lenses.

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