Panasonic LUMIX S PRO 16-35mm f/4 review

Panasonic’s wide-angle zoom for its full-frame mirrorless cameras keeps the weight off

5 Star Rating
Panasonic LUMIX S PRO 16-35mm f/4
(Image: © Future)

Digital Camera World Verdict

Instead of creating a ‘trinity’ wide-angle zoom with an f/2.8 aperture, Panasonic has designed this 16-35mm f/4 lens. It’s relatively lightweight, compared with the likes of Canon’s 15-35mm f/2.8 lens for mirrorless full-frame cameras, at 500g instead of 840g, but is nevertheless impeccably built with pro-grade handling and image quality to match. It strikes a perfect balance on Panasonic S1-series cameras, and performs equally well for both stills and video.

Pros

  • +

    Excellent image quality

  • +

    Refined handling

  • +

    Strong, weather-resistant build quality

Cons

  • -

    Aperture rating is ‘only’ f/4

  • -

    Quite pricey for an f/4 zoom

  • -

    Push-pull focus ring isn’t universally liked

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Like other Panasonic ‘S PRO’ lenses, including the 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/4 and 50mm f/1.4, this 16-35mm wide-angle zoom is built to exacting standards and is Leica certified. Compared with notable recent competitors for mirrorless full-frame cameras, including the Canon RF 15-35mm and Nikon Z 14-30mm, it doesn’t go quite as wide but has a more classic zoom range that equates to viewing angles that stretch from 63 degrees to 107 degrees, measured on the diagonal of the image frame. 

• Read more: Best L-mount lenses

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Matthew Richards

Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners! 

His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia  when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. 

In an earlier life he was a broadcast engineer at the BBC, as well as a former editor of PC Guide.