One of the main selling points of mirrorless cameras was their promise to be smaller than their DSLR counterparts, a goal they have achieved to some extent, particularly with the camera bodies. However, the size of the lens is just as crucial as the camera body in ensuring the kit's portability. Kit lenses, often underestimated due to their average optical qualities and features, actually play a vital role for manufacturers. They allow the offering of the most compact and affordable combinations of camera and lens, thus attracting more people to their systems.
Below, we have compared the scaled size comparison of the most compact full-frame mirrorless kit lenses by Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Panasonic - namely the Canon RF 24-50mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM ($299), the Nikkor Z 24-50mm F4-6.3 ($396), the Sony FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 ($498), and the Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 ($497) - to see which systems offer the smallest kit lenses:
Panasonic S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 vs Canon RF 24-50mm F4.5-6.3 vs Nikon Z 24-50mm F4-6.3 vs Sony FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 Lenses Size Comparison
(click on the image for larger version) Panasonic S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 vs Canon RF 24-50mm F4.5-6.3 vs Nikon Z 24-50mm F4-6.3 vs Sony FE 28-60mm F4-5.6
Panasonic 20-60mm is not your typical kit lens
Conclusions
The Panasonic 20-60mm stands out as the largest in the group, but it's far from your typical kit lens. Starting at 20mm on the wide end, which is quite unique and genuinely useful, it extends up to 60mm, matching Sony for the longest telephoto reach in this comparison. Additionally, with an aperture of F3.5 at 20mm, the 20-60mm is the fastest lens of the bunch.
The other three lenses from Canon, Nikon, and Sony are fairly similar in size, with Sony's being the smallest due to its wide end starting at 28mm. Personally, I find a minimum of 24mm significantly more versatile than 28mm, especially for video, vlogging, landscapes, and any situation where a wide angle is essential. My problem with the Canon and Sony is the 50mm max focal reach, it is really limiting for portrait shooting whereas the 60mm is a little more acceptable.
The Nikon 24-50mm and the Canon 24-50mm are the most comparable pair in this comparison, and despite having identical focal range and slightly faster aperture (F4 vs F4.5 at wide end), the Nikon is significantly smaller and lighter than the Canon which is quite impressive.
Sony and Panasonic are the only two weather sealed lenses in the group
Canon 24-50mm is the only lens with Optical Image Stabilization
Panasonic has an excellent max magnification of 0.43x while the others range between 0.11x-0.17x
I probably wouldn't purchase any of these lenses at their full MSRP price, with the possible exception of the Panasonic 20-60mm, which has a very useful focal range, max magnification and weather sealings. However, I would be happy to pay a little extra to get one as part of a kit when buying a new camera.
Also check the pages below where you can find these lenses attached to all the recent compatible camera bodies:
Panasonic S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 vs Canon RF 24-50mm F4.5-6.3 vs Nikon Z 24-50mm F4-6.3 vs Sony FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 Specs and Feature Comparison
And here is a feature and specs comparison of these four kit lenses to see which of these offer the best feature set.
Sony 28-60mm with the A7C II is one of the smallest FF combos in the market
