Orchard Road in Singapore lights up during the Christmas period, and I went down a couple of times, each time bringing a different lens with me.

I decided to compare standard zooms with long-ish telephoto ranges - the Panasonic Leica 12-60mm and the Panasonic 14-140mm. So I didn't bring the Panasonic 12-35mm below cos its telephoto end of 35mm is just too short.

 

Image Quality (IQ)

I've had these lenses for some time now, and so am sensitive to what I perceive as better IQ from the Panasonic Leica 12-60mm which I can only describe as better contrast and bokeh. But my wife, who isn't into photography, had previously also commented that she can tell that the photos from the Panasonic 14-140mm were from a "cheaper" lens.

Sharpness

 If I'm being honest, even when zoomed in at 100% on my computer screen, I don't think there's too much in it when it comes to sharpness of the photos from both lenses. So I don't think sharpness is what contributes to the better IQ I perceive from the Panasonic Leica lens.

Image Stabilization

 Both lenses have dual-stabilization where the stabilization in the lens and my camera body (Panasonic GX9) work in tandem. I think the image stabilization for both lenses are equally excellent.

It's not to say that image stabilization could be taken for granted, though. I did have motion blur for some "run-and-gun" shots I took where I didn't particularly ensure that I held the camera as steady as I could.

Telephoto Range

Yes, there were indeed times when I wanted more than the 60mm of the Panasonic Leica lens. The versatility of the 14-140mm allowed me to better zoom in and isolate ornaments and distant subjects.

Noise

 The Panasonic Leica lens has and aperture of 2.8 to 4.0 over 12-60mm, while the Panasonic lens is a 3.5 to 5.6 over 14-140mm. By right, there isn't much in it when you consider the overlapping 14-60mm of the 2 lenses, but maybe it's because of the better rendering of the Panasonic Leica lens that I sense more noise from the Panasonic lens.

Conclusion

 This comparison is simplified to the following for me. If I'm going for a trip where IQ is of utmost importance, I'd take the Panasonic Leica 12-60mm. If not, like for shopping trips to Bangkok, I may take the Panasonic 14-140mm for that extra versatility. So both lenses will continue to stay with me.

Here're the shots I took with the Panasonic Leica 12-60mm:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

...and here're the shots from the Panasonic 14-140mm:

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 


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