G6 meets Lumix X-Vario 45-175

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G6 with 45-175 attached
 I have been looking at this lens for a while and tried it out during a visit to Calgary this past summer. I walked into a camera store to pick up a tripod plate and the salesman pointed to several Lumix lenses on display. One was the 45-175. I liked it right away. What a great lens in such a diminutive package. I already had the 14-45 and thought that it would neatly cover the entire 14 to 175 range. Perfect for almost every travel situation. And that was the reason I bought it, but not then. I had to think about it.

flower at 175
It came in the mail today from B&H. Once again I was impressed with its compact size and internal zoom action (the barrel does not extend).
street view at 175
Then I quickly noticed that there is no OIS on-off switch on the side of the lens like other Lumix lenses that I have. Stabilization has to be set internally through the menu system which I thought was a bit odd. Not a big deal but it is an additional step after mounting the lens.
Sunflower at 175
This is my first day with the lens and I have a lot to learn. Since it is a power-zoom it gives the G6 a super-zoom camera feel - a little strange and it will take some getting used to. It comes with a lens hood and a pouch. Oh, and it has a metal mount.
Unknown flower at 175
It is largely made of plastic, not off-putting, but robust and with a quality precision feel unlike an Olympus 40-150 that I have in my collection. In fairness the Olympus lens was a third of the price but still takes really good photos.

I fired off a few shots in less than good light and it is everything that I hoped for. More testing is required in the next few days. I am also curious to see how it handles video. More later.

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