Review by Sebastian Milczanowski, published March 2012

Introduction

If we take a closer look at the micro-four-thirds lens lineup we will find five telephoto zoom lenses - 2x Olympus and 3x Panasonic lenses including our test candidate. The Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO PZ 45-175mm f/4-5.6 ASPH. POWER O.I.S. belongs to the new premium d “X” series. The Panasonic lens features an electric zoom lever and an optical image stabilizer ("OIS") as well as 2 ED lenses which are supposed to reduce optical aberrations.
You should be able to find one for around 400EUR which is not cheap in absolute terms but this is roughly in line with comparable offerings from other original manufacturers.

Objectively the build quality is fine thanks to very tight tolerances as well as good quality plastics and the metal mount. Furthermore, the zoom and focus control rings operates smoothly and the same applies to the electric zoom lever which allows comfortable as well as shake-free zoom operations during movie recording. However, with a length of 90mm the lens is anything but compact but on the positive side the overall length remains constant. The front element does not rotate thanks to a "Multi-Actuator Floating Inner Focus System".

The following figure shows the Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO PZ 45-175mm f/4-5.6 ASPH. POWER O.I.S. and the Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO HD 14-140mm f/4-5.8 ASPH. OIS - just to give you an idea about the differences in size.

Last but not least, the AF performance of the lens is outstanding and the silent lens drive is well suited for movie shooting without annoying focusing noise.