N°1008980 · Family detail
LeicaCinema·MICRO 4/3 mount
Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm F/2.8-4 ASPH Power OIS
Specifications01
MountMICRO 4/3
Focal length12-60mm
Max aperturef/2.8
TypeCinema · Zoom
Weight320 g
Filter size62 mm
Physical length86 mm
Min focus distance0.2 m
Max magnification0.3003
Aperture blades9
Optical elements14
Groups12
Lens hoodPetal-shaped, supplied, bayonet mount
Additional Info02
Category["Micro-Four-Thirds"]
Keywords["Micro-Four-Thirds","Panasonic","Standard","Zoom"]
Review AuthorKlaus
Review Rating7
Equiv Aperture“f/5.6-8” (full format equivalent in terms of depth-of-field)
Other FeaturesDust- and splash-proof, Freeze-proof (-10C), Nano-Surface Coating
Review VerdictThe Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4 ASPH Power OIS delivers a very good job without being brilliant - which is hardly surprising given its 5x zoom ratio. The resolution is perfectly fine (tack sharp) in the image center. However, like many MFT standard zoom lenses it suffers from aggressive distortion auto-correction at the wide end of the range which is limiting the border quality to max. good to very good results at 12mm. Due to field curvature you should also stop down a little here although this doesn't increase the technical performance anymore other than reducing corner noise (due to less vignetting compensation). The quality is great in the middle range and still impressive at 60mm. Lateral CAs are low and generally no issue. Vignetting and distortions are handled via image auto-correction so you don't need to worry about these two aspects in real life. The quality of the bokeh is a bit on the rough side. The build quality is very high - the used materials are top-notch and everything is tightly assembled. The weather-sealing and a freeze-proof designs are reassuring. It's also very compact lens relative to it's zoom range and speed. The AF is very fast and absolutely noiseless. Panasonic Power OIS (optical image stabilizer) wasn't overly convincing unfortunately. It's hard to tell whether I'm a shaker or whether I have simply a different definition of critically sharp results but during the field session it gave me 2-3 f-stops max. Coming to a final conclusion is difficult - less so because of the Leica lens itself but because there are so many MFT standard zoom lenses. It tries to find the "right" balance between range, quality and size and it certainly succeeds here in our opinion. Whether this specific balance is right for you is a different question.
Review Criteria{"Build Quality":9,"Optical Quality":7,"Price / Performance":8}
Review Published2017-05-06T13:37:00+00:00
Equiv Focal Length“24-120mm” (full format equivalent)
Optical Construction14 Elements in 12 Groups (4x Aspherical, 2xED)
Field Notes02
Micro Four Thirds zoom lens with a 12–60mm focal range and variable aperture f/2.8–4, designed for general-purpose photography and light video use with Power OIS stabilization.
AI-assisted summary — verify against linked sourcesSources03
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Other Mounts03
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