There is a lot to like about the Panasonic Lumix S9. It is compact yet packs a full-frame sensor, it makes editing a breeze with built-in LUTs, and it looks pretty damn good. But when I reviewed the camera, one thing that marred the whole experience was the underwhelming selection of lenses that paired well the body.
Panasonic was clearly aware of this, and launched the Lumix S 26mm pancake lens alongside the S9 in an attempt to fill this void. It looked the part, but is still one of the most bizarre lenses I have covered. The Lumix S 26mm is a fixed f/8 aperture manual focus-only lens with very mediocre image quality – and was certainly not what the S9 deserved.
At the time of the launch, Panasonic also teased a Lumix S 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3 lens – a lens that looked perfectly designed for the S9. Yet instead of releasing alongside the camera as it perhaps should have, it had an unconfirmed date for later in 2024.
The Lumix S 18-40mm has just been shown off by Panasonic for the first time at the 25th Shanghai International Photographic Equipment and Digital Imaging Exhibition (P&I 2024) – and looking at pictures of the lens sitting next to the S9, I can't help but wonder how I might have felt about the Lumix S9 if that lens was available at launch.
Testing the camera, the three lenses I had available to me were the Lumix S 20-60mm, Lumix S 35mm, and the brand-new Lumix S 26mm. Neither of the first two lenses felt right on the compact body, and honestly, I didn't enjoy using the camera because of it.
I love a compact camera body – I have spent more money than I care to reveal on Fujifilm X-E and X100 cameras over the years – but one thing I have always lusted after is a full-frame sensor in a similar form factor, so my excitement at the prospect of the Lumix S9 was palpable. But the clue is in the name; the one thing I want most of all from my compact cameras is for them to be, well, compact, and the Lumix S9 hit all the right marks – until you attached a lens.
As an independent reviewer, I have no agenda, but I like what I like – and the Lumix S9 is a camera that I really want to like, as it ticks so many boxes for me. I am excited to try the Lumix S 18-40mm, and I want to give the S9 combined with the 18-40mm lens another shot.
I haven't put the final verdict on my Lumix S9 review just yet as we still need to lab test the sensor, but I am hoping the 18-40mm lens can come in time to sway my final opinion for the better.
For more on all things Lumix, check out our guide to the best Panasonic camera and the best L-mount lenses.
