A lot of things have happened in photography in recent years, two of the biggest names in photography, Canon and Nikon, finally decided to seriously compete in the full frame mirrorless game, introducing their first flagship mirrorless systems to challenge Sony’s dominion over the mirrorless market.
Even more interesting (in my opinion) was the team-up between Panasonic, Leica, and Sigma — forming the L-Mount Alliance for full frame cameras. Two years, five cameras and a platoon of solid lens offerings from three camera giants later, the L-mount system is shaping up to be a formidable contender in the mirrorless arena.
Today, we’re going to run through some of the best L-mount lenses for Panasonic S-series cameras, according to pros.
LUMIX S PRO 24-70mm f2.8
Let’s start the list with a workhorse lens. The S PRO badge on this gem should tell you all you need to know about this one. It’s weather-sealed, dust and splash resistant, and can withstand less than ideal conditions as extreme as -10 degrees Celsius. When it comes down to optical performance, Devon Williams, Creative Director from The Raven Studio thinks it’s flawless.
“It’s optically perfect. It has sharp corners, 2.8 allows you to let lots of light in, keeps your ISO really low. You have a really nice depth of field in the background and I just really, really like it. The color— everything has pleased me about this lens. It pretty much lives on my camera whenever I’m going to any professional shoot.”
In a non-scientific test, this standard-zoom from Panasonic edged out its Canon, Sony, Sigma, and Nikon counterparts in terms of center sharpness and performed quite well in the corners.
But being a non-scientific test, this should be taken with a grain of salt. A glaring issue is that the Panasonic S PRO 24-70mm F2.8 was shot on an S1, a camera body without an AA filter while the rest were shot with camera bodies with AA filters. Without getting too technical, the AA filter sacrifices a bit of image quality to minimize moiré patterns, or strange, wavy patterns found in scenes with repeating fine details such as on certain shirts. The S1 does not have this filter, therefore giving the S PRO 24-70 an advantage in terms of sheer image quality. Nonetheless, the test tells us a lot about the lens’ resolving power. It’s currently listed for $2200 on Amazon, and as low as $1885 used.
LUMIX S PRO 50mm f1.4
Forget everything you know about the nifty-fifty, except the impressive image quality you can get out of a budget prime, then crank it to 11. Panasonic dubs this fast prime as a “reference lens,” setting the bar for succeeding lens releases for the maturing L-mount system.
The S PRO 50mm F1.4, carrying the S PRO badge, is another weather sealed lens. It’s a hulking piece of glass, reminiscent of the original Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art for DSLRs, but it also raised the standard of optical performance to new heights for the L-mount as the older Sigma did for the humble nifty-fifty.
Professional wedding photographer Steve Vansak says this lens is for those who strive for “the very best in image quality.”:
“I attended a Panasonic Lumix touch and try event and shot a model with this 50mm f/1.4 and it was then I understood why they called it a “reference lens”. After pixel peeping the images in camera I turned to the counter of the camera store and made my purchase right then and there… For me this is definitely a lens I plan to use for years to come. I find it perfect for obliterating a messy bridal prep area and it’s my new favorite for environmental portraits at engagement sessions and events.”
It’s currently $2300 on Amazon, and as low as $1750 used.
Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN Art
Chances are, you need a portrait lens if you’re a working pro. And there are two that really stand out, while my personal favorite is the Sigma 105mm f1.4, most people prefer the 85mm f1.4. It’s cheaper, smaller and arguably has a more usable focal length.
The latest, slimmed-down iteration of the famed Sigma 85mm HSM Art lens makes a strong argument for its place in your camera bag. It’s one of the best values at a mere $1200 on Amazon.
But the newer L-mount version does not stop at shaving just a pound of weight and cutting roughly half of its predecessor’s size. It’s a refinement to a cult classic. In Christopher Frost’s in-depth testing of the newer lens against the older HSM version, the Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN Art and its new optical redesign eliminates a lot of the purple fringing the original produced when shot wide open. It also exhibited improved corner sharpness over the previous one. Quite an achievement, especially when you consider just how much the Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN Art has shrunk down from the behemoth that was the HSM version.
Photographer and videographer Tom Calton has this to say about this phenomenal portrait lens:
“Sigma had previously warned me that this is probably one of the sharpest lenses they ever developed, and they weren’t kidding. In a previous life, I used to review lenses for a photography magazine and I can honestly tell you that this is by far one of the sharpest lenses I’ve ever shot with. Throughout the shoot, I was shooting predominantly wide open at f1.4 and even so, the shots were super sharp with very little evidence of chromatic aberration.”
Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art
How’d you like to own two wide angle flagship primes for the price of one? The Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art delivers unbelievable image quality across the range that it could very well be a series of prime lenses slapped together in a single barrel. Professional photographers in the real estate, landscape or astrophotography business should take a long, hard look at this one.
Matthew Saville, professional wedding photographer and senior editor at SLR lounge writes:
“…no matter how you compare all the options, or what your personal preferences & priorities are, the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN Art stands alone in its category. Whether you’re considering price, size, weight, balance, image quality, or all of the above, there’s one or more advantages for you with this lens. Lastly, yes, even if you already have a great ultra-wide lens on an adapter, you should probably try to trade it in for this new modern marvel.”
Seeing results from the tests above, there’s very little distortion throughout the range and reliably delivers phenomenal sharpness — it even beats its Sigma 14mm 1.8 Art prime cousin in overall sharpness at f2.8. If you need more convincing, the Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art matches the Sony 24mm 1.4 G Master prime in sharpness as well; that’s prime level quality at both ends right there.
I doubt landscape photographers will find this an issue as it’s something to be expected from this type of lens, but it’s worth noting that you’d be working with a third party lens filter system if you need specialty filters; thanks to the 14-24mm’s bulbous front element. Sigma included a nice template for you to cut out an ND gel filter to slot into the rear element, but going this route often hurts the lens’ optical performance.
So if you don’t need to go as wide as 14mm and don’t want to bother with aftermarket filter systems, and are looking for a go-to lens for filming, you might want to consider the LUMIX S PRO 16-35mm F4 which accepts 77mm filters instead.
Another solid value option, listed at $1299 on Amazon.
Panasonic Lumix S 24-105mm f/4 Macro OIS
If you’re currently contemplating getting a Panasonic S-series camera and can only have one lens at least for the time being, then you should go for the version with the bundled Lumix S 24-105mm f/4 Macro OIS. This swiss army knife of a lens for photographers and videographers (especially videographers) offers an incredibly versatile focal range that’ll get the job done.
Optically, it’s not too far off from the more expensive S PRO 24-70mm f2.8. Just look at the sample shots here and see for yourself. By the way, the sample shots in that test were shot with the high-megapixel S1R so that should tell you enough just how close it can get to the premium alternative.
Sure you’ll lose out on a stop of light going from the S PRO’s 2.8 maximum aperture to the 24-105’s f4 but it has more reach, a useful macro mode, and image stabilization. Combine its OIS with the Panasonic S-series’ already class-leading in-body stabilization tech and you’ll get 6 stops of image stabilization for hand-held shots and crazy smooth footage.
Devon Williams says the S 24-105mm f/4 Macro OIS still has a place in his camera bag, even after owning the S PRO 24-70mm f2.8. He adds:
“Even though it doesn’t have the S PRO branding… this lens is incredibly sharp and incredibly good for the money….
If you’re someone who’s just starting out and you have a lot of things to buy and you need things like audio or you need some other focal lengths and you need some other stuff… This is highly, highly flexible. You can do everything with this lens.”
LUMIX S PRO 70-200mm F2.8 OIS
Capping this list is a telephoto zoom. The 70-200 focal range is a mainstay for a lot of working professionals’ bags for that reach and background compression at the longer end, making it great for portraits, events, sports and even wildlife photography.
According to travel and adventure photographer Dan M Lee, the S Pro 70-200mm offers impeccable image quality:
“…the image quality is exceptional; I mean gold standard good. It’s sharp in almost any focal length and aperture even under a 1:1 crop to pixel peep in Capture One.
CA is managed well, color is well managed and faithful too. I haven’t got lens flare without purposely looking for it and the hood does a great job of protecting the flare from occurring anyway..”
Along with the S PRO badge, you’ll see the “Leica Certified” proudly stamped on the barrel. If you know anything about Leica, this should hint us at what this lens could do.
Professional fashion and commercial photographer Victor Quintana thinks it’s a strong contender to Leica’s very own telephoto-zoom for the L-mount:
“I think this would be the best option as far as an L-mount lens for a telephoto zoom… All in all, I think this is a great substitute (to the Leica APO-VARIO-ELMARIT-SL f2.8-4/90-280mm) and I look forward to possibly using this more in the future and maybe end up buying it.”
You can see Victor’s final images from a professional shoot he’s done with the S PRO 70-200mm F2.8 OIS in his review below, albeit paired with a Leica SL body.
Pair it with a Panasonic S-series camera, and this zoom’s optical image stabilization will give an effective 7-stops of stabilization in tandem with the camera body’s 5-axis IBIS. For action photographers, you’ll be pleased to know that there are two stabilization modes for you to play with: one for static shots, and one for panning shots. If you’re shooting wildlife photos, then you can get Panasonic 1.4x or 2x teleconverters that are compatible with this workhorse.
The L-Mount Alliance has covered a lot of ground in such a short time frame, thanks to three of the biggest name in photography working together to build a solid ecosystem for photographers and videographers. Six of the L-mount lenses featured on this list are very promising, and signals a bright and healthy future for the L-mount system. Which lens you should add to your bag will always depend on what you need before anything else, and from what the pros are saying, you can’t go wrong with any of the above.