The Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 Zoom.

The Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 on a GX1 body.

I invested in the micro 4/3 format some time back, but never got around to taking it seriously especially since I shoot with a Nikon D800, which is an amazing camera.

I have used the Panasonic GX1 with the kit lens (14-42mm f3.5-f5.6) during my Ladakh trekking trip, but the slowness of that lens never really impressed me. It is good in daylight, but gives poor results in low light situations. I tried using prime lenses, but that becomes extremely inconvenient for trekking, where you need to travel as light as possible, and changing lenses on the side of steep trails is not an option.

Since I do lot of trekking, I wanted something comparable to the results of the D800, but without the bulk. Is that even remotely possible?.  When Panasonic announced their professional grade 12-35mm f2.8 fixed aperture lens, I was immediately interested. Could this be it?

The price of the lens was a deterrent for me. At $1,299 it is priced almost similar to a professional grade FX lens. I thought if the price ever goes below $1000, I would jump at the opportunity to own this lens. Over the last few months, Amazon dropped the price by $100 to $1,199, but it still wasn't enticing enough for me.