Sometimes, a zoom lens pops up out of the wild that absolutely surprises us. And what’s most mind boggling about the Panasonic 18-40mm f4.5-6.3 is how small it is. But not only that, it’s weather resistant throughout the entire range. That means that it can come anywhere with you in earnest. That’s incredible. Top that off with how good the autofocus performance on L-mount camera bodies have become in the past few years, and you’re bound to have a winner. If it isn’t apparently obvious, this is also a very useful range of focal lengths for so many photographers going on trips, traveling, etc. We had a ton of fun with it.
Table of Contents
Declaration of Journalistic Intent
The Phoblographer is one of the last standing dedicated photography publications that speaks to both art and tech in our articles. We put declarations up front in our reviews to adhere to journalistic standards that several publications abide by. These help you understand a lot more about what we do:
- At the time of publishing this review, Panasonic is an advertiser with the Phoblographer. Regardless, this has nothing to do with our reviews and brands understand that our reviews will always be transparent. In the past few years, we’ve had to reteach brands that journalists shouldn’t be treated the same as YouTubers.
- Note that our reviews are constantly works in progress. This review will be updated later on if we manage to get the unit back in.
- None of the reviews on the Phoblographer are sponsored. That’s against FTC laws and we adhere to them just the same way that newspapers, magazines, and corporate publications do.
- Panasonic loaned the lens, camera, and accessories to the Phoblographer for review. There was no money exchange between Panasonic and the Phoblographer for this to happen. Panasonic and several other manufacturers trust the Phoblographer’s reviews, as they are incredibly blunt.
- Pansonic knows that they cannot influence the site’s reviews. If we don’t like something or if we have issues with it, we’ll let folks know.
- Panasonic sent the product to Phoblographer in NYC to loan the camera to us. Our home office is based in New York.
- The Phoblographer’s standards for reviewing products have become much stricter. After having the world’s largest database of real-world lens reviews, we choose not to review anything we don’t find innovative or unique, and in many cases, products that lack weather resistance. We’ve also steered away from Micro Four Thirds and APS-C as they’re dying formats. This is a conclusion that even the other members of TIPA agree on. Unless something is very unique, we probably won’t touch it.
- In recent years, brands have withheld NDA information from us or stopped working with us because they feel they cannot control our coverage. These days, many brands will not give products to the press unless they get favorable coverage. In other situations, we’ve stopped working with several brands for ethical issues. Either way, we report as honestly and rawly as humanity allows.
- At the time of publishing, the Phoblographer is the only photography publication that is a member of Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative. We champion human-made art and are frank with our audience. We are also the only photography publication that labels when an image is edited or not.
- Nothing in our review writing process is done using Generative AI. It’s all done by humans who sometimes use assistive AI like Grammarly to copy-edit.
More can be found on our Disclaimers page.
The Big Picture: Panasonic 18-40mm f4.5-6.3 Review Conclusions
Plainly put, the Panasonic 18-40mm f4.5-6.3 is a unique lens that’s fun to use and can also be used for artistic projects easily. It’s one of the best travel lenses that we’ve used and we’re shocked that other brands haven’t made anything like this.
The Panasonic 18-40mm f4.5-6.3 wins four out of five stars. Want one? Check it out on Amazon.
Pros
- Small
- Fast to focus
- Lightweight
- Weather resistant
Cons
- Honestly, not a thing.
- Some folks might want a faster aperture. But with Panasonic’s image stabilization, you technically don’t need to worry about issues with light gathering.
Gear Used
We tested the Panasonic 18-40mm f4.5-6.3 with the Panasonic S5 II and the Panasonic S9. Those are all long term loaner units. We also tested it with our own Leica SL2s, Profoto B10, and cross star filters that we own.
Who Should Buy the Panasonic 18-40mm f4.5-6.3?
Anyone doing travel work or wanting something to carry around with them all day should pick up the Panasonic 18-40mm f4.5-6.3.
Innovations
What’s really innovative about the Panasonic 18-40mm f4.5-6.3 is how unique of a focal length it is and how small the lens becomes when it’s fully collapsed. In addition to that, it has weather resistance and wonderful performance. If this becomes Panasonic’s new kit lens, we’d be very happy.
Hardware
The Panasonic 18-40mm f4.5-6.3 is tiny. It’s far from being a pancake lens, but it surely can be put onto the S9 and then shoved into a coat pocket with ease. You turn it to unlock it for shooting and then you zoom in and out as you need. Truly, there isn’t a whole lot to this lens in the way of controls or anything else. All you need to think about are the zoom ring, focusing ring, and the AF/MF switch.
Protect Your Camera Gear
Even though the Panasonic 18-40mm f4.5-6.3 boasts weather resistance, your warranty won’t cover problems that may occur with it from wear and tear. This is why we have the Photography Care Plan.
For years, here at The Phoblographer we’ve done tests on cameras, lenses, bags, computers, lights, and more. And we know that your warranty doesn’t always cover the damage. Plus, accidents can happen on set.
This is why we’ve created a Photography Care Program in partnership with Full-Frame Insurance. Now, photographers across the United States looking for extra security can get various protections to cover their craft. The Photography Care Program provides peace of mind; now you’ll know you can bounce back from a photoshoot gone awry, on-site or inside. We’re making it super easy to get it done, too! Better yet, there is coverage outside of the US and Canada when the photographer is traveling for short periods of time for business.
We’re able to do this through our partnership with Full-Frame Insurance, a company specializing in Small Business Insurance. Are you a Freelance Photographer? We’ll cover you. What about a freelance multi-media journalist? We’ve got you. The Photography Care Program will protect you.
Focusing
The Panasonic 18-40mm f4.5-6.3 focuses very quickly in our camera tests. What’s more, it also focuses accurately — even when there are issues with backlighting. For clarity, we found this to be the case with the Panasonic S9, S5 II, and the Leica SL2s. It’s a wide to normal angle lens, so it’s really just something that we have to expect.
Ease of Use
The most complex thing about this lens is how it locks and unlocks. But otherwise, it’s a point, focus, and shoot affair. Not only is it easy to use, it’s a joy to use. The extra need to activate the lens to start shooting is a nice added aesthetic that is otherwise sorely missing from the camera world.
Image Quality
We don’t really have any complaints about the image quality here. Sure, there’s a bit of distortion at the wider end. But it’s still not all that terrible. If anything, we’re more obliged to embrace it.
Let’s Talk Art
Here’s the section where we talk about art instead of focusing on tech and lab tests. This is designed to showcase how much more oriented we are with the creative process than the standard camera tests and pixel peeping that others do.
Using some in-camera LUTS, lens filters, and Lensbaby Prisms, we were able to have a lot of fun playing with the Panasonic 18-40mm f4.5-6.3 and getting unique looks at the wide and normal angles. I’m currently going through an eye surgery recovery process, and I loved what I was able to get from this lens.
Extra Image Samples
The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience since day one. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, many folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the lens can do. So, we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can decide for yourself.
Unedited
Edited
Panasonic 18-40mm f4.5-6.3 Tech Specs
Specs taken from the Adorama listing.
- Lens Construction: 8 elements in 7 groups (3 aspherical lenses, 2 ED lenses, 1 UHR lens) (excluding 1 protection element)
- Mount: L-Mount
- Focal Length: f=18-40mm
- Aperture Type: 7 diaphragm blades / Circular aperture diaphragm
- Maximum Aperture: F4.5 (Wide) – F6.3 (Tele)
- Minimum Aperture: F22 (Wide) – F32 (Tele)
- Closest Focusing Distance 0.49′ (0.15m) (at focal length 18-21mm)
1.15′ (0.35m) (at focal length 40mm) - Maximum Magnification: 0.28x (at focal length 21mm)
- Diagonal Angle of View: 100 Degree (Wide) – 57 Degree (Tele)
- Dust and Splash Resistant: Yes
- Recommended Operating Temperature: 14 Degree F to 104 Degree F (-10 Degree C to 40 Degree C)
- Filter Size: 62mm
- Dimensions (Dia. x L)2.67 x 1.61″ (67.9 x 40.9cm) (from the tip of the lens to the base side of the lens mount)
- Weight: Approx. 5.46 oz (155g) (excluding lens cap and lens rear cap)
- UPC Code: 885170433311