Panasonic 24-70 s pro

[jacopastorius]

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Hi all. I was about to buying a Leica 24-70 vario elmarit but was reading that the Panasonic 24-70 is so good that some is comparing the images that it produces to the look that 24-90 Leica gives. And it is so much cheaper compared to the Leica, both 24-70 and 24-90.

Can anyone confirm that this lens is that good? I would using it along with SL 601

Edited June 14 by jacopastorius

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[LD_50]

It’s probably good. All three will be. 

I have the 24-90. It’s great. 

I don’t like the weight and it would be nice if it had constant max aperture instead of variable. The zoom creep is extremely annoying. I wish it could be fixed length instead of extending when zooming. 

All that said, I’ve had the lens since the SL system started and I’ve never been tempted to move to the Panasonic, the Sigma(s) or the Leica versions of the Sigma(s). I’ve previously shot multiple versions of Nikon’s similar FL zooms and the 24-90 is still the best I’ve used.

I took a trip to Italy recently with just the 24-90 and didn’t regret it for those focal lengths. It’s that good. 

[Photoworks]

all 3 lenses are good, Leica has image stabilization that may benefit the 601. Panasonic is geared to video, with AF-MF clutch on the lens (no back button focus)
there is a Sigma Zoom that is good too. I use both.

[jacopastorius]

thanks for replies. I'm not a huge fan of the protruding lens and 24-90 seems to protrude more then the others because of the 90 focal length. it is also moto big and to heavy for me since I shoot mainly street photography. So the choice is between the 3 24-70. I like the "Leica look" which seems to be only given by the 24-90 and the Panasonic seems to produce similar images. Also it protrudes a bit less compared to sigma and Leica. 

[Richardgb]

On 6/14/2025 at 2:45 PM, Photoworks said:

all 3 lenses are good, Leica has image stabilization that may benefit the 601. Panasonic is geared to video, with AF-MF clutch on the lens (no back button focus)
there is a Sigma Zoom that is good too. I use both.

All the Panasonic S-Pro lenses have the AF-MF combined 'clutch' and focus ring, as opposed to an AF-MF slider switch on their other lenses and separate focus ring. The 'clutch' system is argued to be a better way to focus manually.

The 'clutch' system does not have anything to do with video. For example, the focus ring does not have the gear teeth to engage with a third-party focusing system (see various manufacturers' cine lenses for examples of such a system).

Are you perhaps confusing this with Panasonic's less-highly-spec'd (and cheaper) lenses which were designed to have common dimensions and similar weights so that they may be swapped on gimbal-mounted cameras without haveing to re-balance the system? Panasonic made this a selling point of these lenses (which have the 'S' but not 'S-Pro' designation, S being for their full-frame cameras).

[Photoworks]

3 hours ago, Richardgb said:

All the Panasonic S-Pro lenses have the AF-MF combined 'clutch' and focus ring, as opposed to an AF-MF slider switch on their other lenses and separate focus ring. The 'clutch' system is argued to be a better way to focus manually.

The 'clutch' system does not have anything to do with video. For example, the focus ring does not have the gear teeth to engage with a third-party focusing system (see various manufacturers' cine lenses for examples of such a system).

Are you perhaps confusing this with Panasonic's less-highly-spec'd (and cheaper) lenses which were designed to have common dimensions and similar weights so that they may be swapped on gimbal-mounted cameras without haveing to re-balance the system? Panasonic made this a selling point of these lenses (which have the 'S' but not 'S-Pro' designation, S being for their full-frame cameras).

not confused.

when these lenses came out, they were the only lenses to do proper MF, especially for video users. Back then all L Lenses were fly by wire and only years later other manufacturers implemented linear focus true firmware. 
Moreover, these Panasonic lenses have a parfocal correction when used on Panasonic cameras.

[Planetwide]

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It's a really good lens. I had it for a while alongside my 24-90mm. Since they weigh practically the same, I opted to keep the 24-90mm, but the Pana is superb.

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[Ivar B]

The Panasonic 24-70 is a superb lens, but I remember reading a review which was quite informative. Comparing the Panasonic to the Sigma 24-70, the Panasonic was seen as the better lens but differences were very small, so was the Panasonic worth the extra cost? According to this tester, no. You get a little more but pay a lot more. But perhaps you can find a used Panasonic 24-70? They depreciate badly over time. 

[SrMi]

On 6/14/2025 at 9:06 AM, jacopastorius said:

Hi all. I was about to buying a Leica 24-70 vario elmarit but was reading that the Panasonic 24-70 is so good that some is comparing the images that it produces to the look that 24-90 Leica gives. And it is so much cheaper compared to the Leica, both 24-70 and 24-90.

Can anyone confirm that this lens is that good? I would using it along with SL 601

The Panasonic 24-70 has an MF/AF clutch which prevents BBF (back button focusing) from working on SL cameras.

[Tirpitz666]

After having basically discarded the idea of of the Samyang 35-150 because of regularly reported AF accuracy issues, I'm now seriously considering this as my "event" lens, since I'm reading rave reviews on it everywhere and in particular that it compares very closely with the Leica 24-90, also in terms of image rendering and not only sharpness.

I have the Sigma 24-70 (first iteration) in Sony E mount and it's indeed a very capable lens, nothing to complain about, but has just this very clinical Sigma rendering, images that I've always seen shot with the Leica 24-90 looks definitely on another level to my eyes, they often look as they have been shot with a prime lens (something about the "depth" of the images, difficult to express in words).

So I was wondering if I could find the same magic in this Panny at less than half the cost (used), the only real gripe would be to lose BBF, which I regularly use (it's pretty annoying indeed that Leica doesn't have a dedicated setting in the menus, rather than having to pass through that MF thing).

Edited July 10 by Tirpitz666

[oculaii]

9 hours ago, Tirpitz666 said:

After having basically discarded the idea of of the Samyang 35-150 because of regularly reported AF accuracy issues, I'm now seriously considering this as my "event" lens, since I'm reading rave reviews on it everywhere and in particular that it compares very closely with the Leica 24-90, also in terms of image rendering and not only sharpness.

I have the Sigma 24-70 (first iteration) in Sony E mount and it's indeed a very capable lens, nothing to complain about, but has just this very clinical Sigma rendering, images that I've always seen shot with the Leica 24-90 looks definitely on another level to my eyes, they often look as they have been shot with a prime lens (something about the "depth" of the images, difficult to express in words).

So I was wondering if I could find the same magic in this Panny at less than half the cost (used), the only real gripe would be to lose BBF, which I regularly use (it's pretty annoying indeed that Leica doesn't have a dedicated setting in the menus, rather than having to pass through that MF thing).

I had the 24-70mm DG DN (first version and for FE mount), the 24-90mm SL and the 24-70mm S Pro.
I kept the 24-70mm S Pro because it has the same rendering than the 24-90mm SL, same sense of volume and same contrast. It's just my 24-70mm S Pro was slightly sharper wide open than my copy of the 24-90mm SL. However my first copy of the 24-70mm S Pro was very soft, maybe because of the famous S lenses coating issue (white dots). 
So, be sure to test the lens before buying it, a good sample of the 24-70mm S Pro is very sharp wide open in the center from 24mm to 70mm.
The 24-70mm DG DN just had not the same impact and rendering and I ended with a lot of dust inside this lens, I sold it for a very low price.

[Tirpitz666]

That's valuable direct experience of course, and so far the Panny is the one that "inspires" me the most for sure, even if I suspect that a lot of people have jumped on the Sigma 24-70 F2.8 II (or 28-70 if they value reduced size and weight) bandwagon in the meantime, since regardless of the optical qualities of the Panny, I can see really a lot of them for sale on MPB here in Europe for example.

For sure if I decide to bite, will buy from a reputable seller with a solid return policy in place.