By Adam Reed

Sony, Canon and Nikon have dominated the mirrorless camera market for years now, with giants like the Sony FX line, the Canon EOS line and the Nikon Z series. Many may overlook Panasonic’s LUMIX series of cameras when choosing a new mirrorless camera, but all that is changing.

With powerhouse cameras like the LUMIX S5ii and slightly more feature-rich S5iiX, Panasonic has carved out a spot among other industry leaders. It’s hard to find a better bang for your buck in 2024. Still, there have been concerns about if the glass (AKA lenses) offered for the LUMIX system can stand up to those of the competition. 

In this post we’re going to examine why LUMIX’s full-frame, L-mount camera system has more than enough options for everything from the simplest video projects to more serious filmmaking endeavors.

Top Three Panasonic LUMIX Lens Options 

LUMIX S PRO

The LUMIX S Pro series of lenses is, without throwing any shade at Panasonic, surprisingly very good. You have an array of shorter focal lengths with the 16-35mm and 50mm, a do-everything 24-70mm and a nice telephoto option with the 70-200mm offering. 

The build quality might not be quite on par with something like the Sony G-Master series, but for the price, the differences aren’t really worth quibbling over. Best of all, each of these options is plenty fast, with the 70-200mm F4 the slowest of the S Pro options, and even that is remedied by a F2.8 version, though it will cost you nearly twice as much.

SHOP LUMIX S PRO LENSES

SIGMA Art

This list won’t be comprehensive like the previous one, and that’s simply because there are just way too many incredible SIGMA lenses for the LUMIX system to choose from. SIGMA boasts nearly 50 LUMIX-compatible options as of the last time we visited their website (which let’s be honest, was probably 5 minutes ago). 

Looking for wide angle options? Check! Macro? Check! Really long zoom? Of course. Versatile, do-everything lenses? There are more to choose from than you could possibly need. All of these come with the build quality and more importantly – image quality – you have come to expect from SIGMA. There’s no reason a pro videographer or filmmaker can’t get everything they need for the LUMIX system on the SIGMA website.

SHOP SIGMA ART LENSES

Meike Prime Cinema 

For more serious artists, the prime (fixed to one focal length) cinema lenses from Meike are an outstanding choice. These are available in seven different focal lengths, including 16, 24, 35, 50, 85, 105 and 135mm. Or buy them as a complete set, including a nifty protective hard case for around $6,000. All things that price is a steal for having a complete set of fast lenses with superb image quality.

These heavy duty lenses boast a 330-degree focus rotation and a clearly visible dual focal length scale on the exterior of the lens for quick, precise focusing. The focus breathing is kept to a minimum and users also rave about the lack of chromatic aberration and distortion.

SHOP MEIKE PRIME CINEMA LENSES

What do you think?

How do you think LUMIX stacks up against the competition? What's your favorite L-mount lens for video?

Let us know here.