Price when reviewed
The Panasonic Lumix S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 Macro OIS is a telephoto zoom lens with the L mount. That means that although Panasonic would prefer you to use it on one of its S-series of full-frame mirrorless cameras, it can also be used on the Leica mount cameras from Leica and Sigma.
Leica currently has two full-frame L-mount cameras, the SL2 and SL2 S full-frame mirrorless cameras and two APS-C format L-mount cameras, the Leica TL2 and CL. Meanwhile, Sigma has the fp.
As it has a variable aperture, the Panasonic Lumix S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 isn’t as big or as heavy as either the or the Lumix S Pro 70-200mm f/4 or Lumix S Pro 70-200mm f/2.8 OIS which weigh in at 985g and 1570g respectively.
However, it still feels well made, with just the right amount of effort required to zoom from one focal length to another or to focus manually. And although there’s a lock on the barrel to prevent zoom creep when walking with the lens mounted on a camera, the lens doesn’t extend too readily without locking it.
It feels like a premium lens.
On one side of the Lumix S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 Macro OIS barrel, there are three switches just above the zoom lock. There are to switch the focusing range (full and 3m to infinity), to change between auto and manual focus and to turn the image stabilisation (OIS) on and off.
Matching the rest of the lens, these switches feel well made and have a nice action.
