LUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 S-R2060

Standard zoom lens with a wide-angle end of 20mm

A review and Photo example of the Panasonic LUMIX S 20-60mm.

Gallery

The photo examples were taken with the LEICA T typ701.

Review

Usage
Lens overview
Comparison with competitors

1．Usage

The LUMIX S 20-60 is often sold as a bundled lens, and in order to narrow down the specifications and make it cheaper, the lens is dark and does not have image stabilization on the lens side. Therefore, cameras that do not have an image stabilization mechanism on the body side, such as the Sigma fp, Leica SL typ601, T typ701, and CL typ7323, have a greater concern about camera shake in dark places. If you actively increase the ISO sensitivity in ISO auto mode to ensure a fast shutter speed, you can reduce the concern about camera shake. However, there is a high possibility that image quality will be sacrificed.

When used with an APS-C size sensor camera, the peripheral parts of the lens are not used, so there is no significant breakdown in the shooting results. In 35mm equivalent, it covers a range of 30mm to 90mm, which is the same as a standard zoom lens from a few years ago, but it is a light and compact lens, so you can bear it.

The minimum shooting distance is 0.15m on the wide side, which is relatively usable for table photos, but you need to be careful of camera shake in dark stores.

This lens was sold as part of a bundle, so owners who bought other lenses are selling it on the second-hand market, and it is often found second-hand. And it is inexpensive.

2．Lens overview

The LUMIX S 20-60 was released as a bundled lens for L-mount 35mm full-frame mirrorless cameras such as the LUMIX S5. It is a zoom lens that covers a very lightweight full-frame sensor, with a 3x zoom from 20mm at the wide end to 60mm.

The lens has a structure that is often used for low-cost zoom lenses, with 20mm being the shortest and 60mm being the longest. As mentioned above, the maximum aperture of the lens is F3.5 at 20mm and F5.6 at 60mm. The lens does not have an image stabilization mechanism.

3．About Panasonic’s camera business

This information applies to both the LUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 S-R2060 and the LUMIX S 24-105mm F4 MACRO O.I.S. S-R24105.

I know I’m being a bit pedantic about the business strategies of other companies, but as a Panasonic fan, I’d like to share my thoughts on Panasonic’s camera business as of 2024.

Panasonic’s S lenses are not bad in terms of lens performance, but if you look at the lens design and ask yourself if you want it, I honestly wouldn’t say so.

If you want to sell lenses to photographers, a design that is inferior to even Asian camera manufacturers, including Chinese ones, is a fatal flaw, and while the lens barrel doesn’t need flashy decoration, I think it is necessary to have a design that makes it recognizable as an S lens at a glance in the city or in the field.

And, although the timing is already too late, when the L-mount 35mm full-frame mirrorless camera was released, I would have liked the LUMIX brand, which has had a negative image since the release of the S1, to start with a new brand name for the new camera system as a brand dedicated to Micro Four Thirds.

For a product as hobbyist as a camera, brand and design are a must, and competing with other companies in sales volume without establishing this would be a huge disadvantage. The current situation must have been one that Panasonic was well aware of, so I feel that this shows the company’s inability to take risks.

Panasonic is also involved in the L-mount alliance, which includes Leica, which has brand power, and Sigma, which is low-priced, so Panasonic has no choice but to target the mid-price range, which is also thought to be one of the reasons for its predicament in not being able to escape from its half-hearted position. In fact, the current LUMIX S brand is stuck in a very unstable position, neither high-end nor low-priced.

Also, the monthly production of 50 units in the press release for this lens is a sad figure, and even for a lens aimed at bundles, it is too low, and here too, the difficulties of Panasonic’s camera business are apparent. Honesty is a good thing, but I think it would be better not to dare to release such figures.

Compared to Sony, which has made a big leap with mirrorless cameras, Panasonic, which continues to fly low in the digital camera market, seems to be happier working behind the scenes with Sigma or Leica.

I will continue to keep an eye on Panasonic’s camera business, where the word “withdrawal” always seems to be floating around.

In June 2024, the company released the LUMIX S9, which is equipped with an entry-level 35mm full-frame sensor, but the future looks bleak as it did not rank in the top 50 of BCN’s “digital single-lens camera” sales rankings from September 23 to September 29, 2024. If the S9 is not classified as a digital single-lens camera, I would understand why it is not ranked, but I think the S9 is a “digital single-lens camera.”

Specification and Competitor

Lens name	S-R2060	18-50mm F2.8 DC DN \| Contemporary	VARIO-ELMAR-TL
Focal length(mm)	20-60	18-50	18-56
Max aperture	3.5-5.6	2.8	3.5-5.6
Min aperture	22	22	16
Lens Construction	11elements in 9groups	13elements in 10groups	10elements in 7groups
Leaf blade	9	7	–
Min distance(m)	0.15〜0.4 （20〜40）	0.12〜0.31 （18〜50）	0.3〜0.45 （18〜56）
Lens length(mm)	87.2	74.5	60
Max diameter(mm)	77.4	φ65.4	63
Filter Size径(mm)	67	55	E52(52mm)
Weight(g)	360	290	256
Release date	2020.7.20	2021.10	2014.4
Price(Yen/No-tax)	74,000	Open(65,000)	200,000-