Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH, worth buying used?

One of my friend thought he got a great deal out of eBay (Aust) a few weeks ago, he paid an equivalent of NZD240.00 for this three year old  Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH.
Since I used to review Panasonic cameras and lenses , he also would like my opinion on how good this preloved high speed "normal" lens for M43 system is.

This "pancake" lens actually has a long history, Panasonic presents their large (F1.7) aperture "pancake" 20mm (40mm equivalent) lens as the kit lens for the Lumix DMC-GF1 camera in 2010, TEN years ago.

I wrote about this lens, which I still got in Jan 2014; I reckoned then this is the Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH, the "Perfect Normal" Lens.

The Lumix 20mm was placed beside a SD card to show how small it is.

With a focal length equal to the M43 sensor's diagonal; this compact optics will produce images free of the 'perspective distortion' associated with wide angle or telephoto lenses!

PANASONIC LEICA 8-18 at f/2.8 & Up Close

After I published the review of the Panasonic Leica DG 8-18mm f2.8-4 lens, a reader wanted to know how good is the lens at FULL f/2.8 and if this delightful Leica M43 zoom any good at close range.

Sadly, I do not have this Leica zoom anymore, it has been returned to Panasonic New Zealand!

Digging into the hundreds of shots I took with this lens and examining the embedded meta data, I was relieved that some shots were taken at full f/2.8 setting!

Before I start, I would like to point out that the "bright" f/2.8 setting is only available at 8mm (16mm eq) zoom setting. As soon as you move away from 8mm, you are getting a little less light, until you ended up with f/4 at 18mm.

Panasonic Leica DG 8-18mm F2.8-4

The Leica DG Vario Elmarit 8-18mm f2.8-4 is an ultra-wide zoom lens for the M43 system. It delivers equivalent coverage of 16-36mm on a M43 camera.

Thanks to PANASONIC NEW ZEALAND, I had the pleasure of trying out this well built, weather-proof zoom!

The lens  employs 15 elements in 10 groups, there are 3 Aspherical Lens, 2 ED Lens, 1 Aspherical ED Lens and 1 UHR Lens. Seven aperture blades are used for a nice bokeh, the closest focusing distance is 23cm and the lens is dust and splash-proof.

The closest comparable Panasonic ultra-wide zoom is the Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 7-14 mm f4.0 ASPH, one of my favourite ultra-wide zoom and it is only natural that I compare it with this NZ$1,600 beauty.The 7-14 now cost NZ$1,290, I bought mine a few years ago.

Panasonic Leica 12mm f/1.4 - BOKEH-LICIOUS!!

In my recent posting about this very bright, pricey super-wide "Low Light King",  I follow up with a "Second Take" where I compared the NZ$2,500 lens with cheaper glass, I received some feed back from Panasonic Hew Zealand...

"Thank you for the review.

While comparing all 3 lenses at F5.6 for sharpness is valid as part of a whole review I do feel that you have overlooked the main feature of the lens that is also the main contributor to the cost of the lens. Namely, its brightness. 

Getting a 12mm lens to F1.4 and keeping sharpness at that aperture is not cheap. Also keeping the size in check and using 9 aperture blades and weather sealing also add to the cost.

Will you be following up with reviews showing the Bokeh performance?"

That timely feed back reminded me that I should look into one of the main attraction this lens can offer... NICE, CREAMY BOKEH!

For those that don't know what BOKEH is...

In short...

The visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens.

A "nice" bokeh will help to isolate your subject from a distracting background. In general but not always, a large aperture lens will exhibit nice bokeh.

PANASONIC-LEICA DG 100-400 - Second Take

The First Time when we visited the Wellington Zoo was in 1988, (the first week when we arrived from Penang); since then, we probably went back only once!

But yesterday, taking advantage of a rare SUNNY WINTER DAY, my Home Minister and Moi went walking down the memory lane again!

1988 at the Wellington Zoo! © C.Y.Leow

Apart from reliving our lost youth, I had another mission on hand, to give the PANASONIC/LEICA 100-400 super zoom a good run for their money!

Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 ASPH, Second Take..

I have mix feeling on this pricey Panasonic / Leica optics, some of my friends think this prime lens is specially created for low light photography; in some way, they are correct, I informed them this exotic glass is also very good for day to day shots and landscapes photography.

"For NZ$2,400.00 a pop, surely there must be a cheaper optics that give similar results?"

That question got me going to compare this well made 12mm or 24mm Eq optics with 2 of my own Panasonic lenses.

To make sense of my comparison, we must only compare a focal length of 24mm Eq and f/5.6. Pointless to compare f/1.4 on the Panasonic/Leica with a cheaper lens on f/4, most likely the expensive Leica will loose!  So lets standardise our test aperture at f/5.6.

Some of my friend think I am loosing it because the first lens I choose is the tiny Lumix G Vario 12-32, the kit lens that came with my tiny GM1.

The ultra compact Lumix G Vario 12-32 f3.5/5.6 zoom have a 24-64mm equivalent focal length. I will just set it to it's 24mm Eq to compare with the 24mm Eq Summilux.

My test target was my favourite Oriental Bay vista that I use for all my lens test.

Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 ASPH - the Low Light King?

I was lucky to have this incredible Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 ASPH Prime Lens, send to me from Panasonic New Zealand, last Friday. I discovered this Leica branded 24mm Eq wide angle beauty is not even in the NZ shops yet!  WOOHOO!!

Don't let anyone tell you this is a "small lens', it is NOT, it is solid, chunky and heavy. In Leica tradition, very well made.

It is also Panasonic's widest and BRIGHTEST 24mm Eq M43 weather-sealed, auto-focus super-wide.

Auto focus is very fast and you can switch to manual focus in a flash and oh.. you also get a clickable APERTURE RING that will make the Leica fan boy grin!

To enjoy all these features will set you back a cool NZ$2,300!

They Shoot Planes With PANASONIC LEICA 100-400 Don't They?

"Bird" hunting while driving up Mt Victoria, in Wellington with the Panasonic Leica 100-400 super zoom.

It was a clear winter afternoon, the gusty wind packed an insane chill factor, cannot see any birds at all! Not even the long legged humanoid kind!

Half way up the mountain I noticed some IRON BIRDS negotiating the Wellington blow to land on this windy Capital.

I parked the car and became a plane spotter!

The chunky Leica zoom is quite heavy mounted on the just as chunky Lumix GX8, the total weight was quite a handful standing in the very strong southerlies.

I could have use my monopod but I want to find out what it is like hand holding this set up.

Surprisingly, the big 100-400 balance really well on the Lumix GX8.  The GX8, I think is the ideal camera body for this lens. A smaller body like the GX85 will not balance as well.

PANASONIC-LEICA DG 100-400 - First Impression

WOOHOO!  As promised, I received the long awaited Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f/4.0-6.3 ASPH zoom lens from Panasonic New Zealand today!

It was raining cats and dogs when this super-zoom arrived outside my front door  and I was dying to take it out with the Lumix GX8 (came together) for a spin!

Not wanting to give these lovely Panasonic beauties a shower, even though they both can take the plunge because both are weather sealed... I thought for this wet day 1, I will just take some quick shots from our rain drenched deck!

But first, lets look at this Leica designed super-zoom...

First of all, this is a heavy and PRICEY zoom lens, is Leica lenses EVER CHEAP?

Our local Photowarehouse is asking NZ$2,499 for this 985g (34.7 oz) beauty!

Why so much?

Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH, the "Perfect Normal" Lens

Four years ago Panasonic presents their large (F1.7) aperture "pancake" 20mm (40mm equivalent) lens as the kit lens for the Lumix DMC-GF1 camera.

Shortly after, M43 photographers discovered the "beauties" of this compact prime lens...

The 40mm-equivalent may at first appear unusual, but some discovered that; with a focal length equal to the M43 sensor's diagonal; this compact optics is in fact a 'perfect normal' lens!

This means the 20mm will produce images free of the 'perspective distortion' associated with wide angle or telephoto lenses!

Shortly after launch, this "pancake" lens became a celebrity when photo blogger Steve Huff claimed that the lowly kit lens is sharper than a Nikon 50/1.8 on a D3S!

Suddenly, this small wonder was so hot, it was hard to come by!

Lumix 45-175mm f/4-5.6 ASPH X Revisited

A friend who bought an Olympus OM-D recently, decided to supplement his 14-42 (Eqv 28-84) f3.5/5.6 "kit zoom" with a telephoto zoom. He had his eyes on the Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm f2.8 zoom, he nearly fainted when he found out how much this chunk of a glass cost!

A whopping NZ$ 1,959.00 at our local Photo Warehouse in Wellington city! Since he is a poor photographer like me, who have to save up our pennies for photography addiction; he came and seek a second opinion on an alternative cheaper lens.

First, our friend wanted to know why his dream lens cost so much more than something nearly in the same range, a Lumix 45-175mm f/4-5.6; which is also a "X" lens! The zoom range of this cheaper lens is even longer than the 35-100!

Prima Facie - Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II

Three days ago, my colleague Martyn received his spanking new Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II lens! I was the first person he show the 1.6 KG, NZ$ 4,000.00 chunk of glass to ;)

Alright Martyn, I don't have one :)  The fact is, I can't afford one!

Fondling this cold metallic wonder optics bring back memories of those great time I was with the papers, most of my news pictures were shot with a similar lens but WITHOUT the luxury of IS (Image Stabilizer).

Canon launch their first generation EF 70-200 f/2.8 L in March 1995, rapidly the versatile zoom became the "must have" of all EOS totting pros.

In September 2001 Canon delivered the same lens with an advance image stabilizer and priced it 3 times more than the non IS version.

Canon claimed their version two IS zoom have a three stops advantage over the non IS, what they meant was if you are able to shoot a shake free shot with your non IS at 1/125 (@ 200mm), you will be able to do the same at 1/15 with the IS lens!  A bit of exaggeration, but possible ;)

Tokina 300/6.3 Reflex MFT - Mirror Lens Back In Fashion?

What is a mirror lens?

According to my friend Leonard Foo of MIR...

"You can called a Reflex Lens a poor man's ED lens.
In a reflex lens, light path is 'folded' by the mirror surfaces.

This permits the design of lens type permitting a significant reduction in size and weight as compared to conventional lenses of equivalent focal length.

Since the light path is folded, another benefit is the virtual elimination of chromatic aberration, this provides images taken with mirror lens with superior sharpness and contrast!"

It's a Bitch Focusing Manual Tele Lens On OM-D!

Saturday... after days of doom and groom of wet and cold days, mother nature decided to show a little mercy to Wellingtonian by dishing out a dry, mild day!

As usual, I have a couple of hours to kill after dropping Le General for her line dancing at Newtown.

I had with me the OM-D E-M5 (with grip) and my old Nikon 300/4.5 IF-ED manual lens plus a Nikon TC-14 tele converter.

My Manfrotto carbon monopod came with me too.

 I head for my favorite "lens test area"; the Oriental Parade where I knew, on a nice day like this, people come out for exercise and play :)

The 15 year old Nikon lens with the 1.4X converter took on a field of view of a 420mm lens. When this combo is attached to the M4/3 OM-D it "became" a whopping lens with a FOV of 840mm!

Do In Camera Stabilization Work For Long Primes?

Image stabilization (IS) is a family of techniques used to reduce blurring associated with the motion of a camera during exposure.

Specifically, it compensates for pan and tilt (angular movement, equivalent to yaw and pitch) of a camera or other imaging device. It is used in image-stabilized binoculars, still and video cameras, and astronomical telescopes.

With still cameras, camera shake is particularly problematic at slow shutter speeds or with long focal length (telephoto) lenses.

With video cameras, camera shake causes visible frame-to-frame jitter in the recorded video. In astronomy, the problem of lens-shake is added to by variations in the atmosphere over time, which cause the apparent positions of objects to change.    - Wikipedia

Old Nikkor 35/1.4 on OM-D E-M5

When I joint the newspaper in 1974 as photojournalist, there was one lens that was found in every photojournalist's bag throughout the 70s and 80s; that "standard lens" was the Nikkor 35mm f/1.4 wide angle lens.

The Nikkor 35mm f/1.4 was introduced, in 1969.  It was Nikon's first multicoated lens and it has been used by NASA in space!

Olympus ED 75mm F1.8 V Leica 90mm F2 Summicron

I lied ;)  It is not actually a real "V" confrontation because the NEW Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 75mm F1.8 lens is not even in the shops yet!  But what I have are high resolution samples taken by this big deal telephoto lens from Olympus themselves, that to me are good indication of it's quality!

What I do have is Olympus's competitor, my LEICA SUMMICRON-M 90mm f2 short telephoto.

From 1980, for 18 years; this chunky, weighty glass was Leica's most expensive 90mm lens! In 1998 Leica replaced it with the even more expensive but even more spectacular LEICA APO-SUMMICRON-M 90mm f/2 ASPH !!

Lumix 45-175mm f/4-5.6 ASPH X Lens on OM-D

The lens we are trying out is known as...

Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm f/4-5.6 ASPH/POWER O.I.S. Lens

What a mouth full!

August 2011, Panasonic launched two new powered zoom lenses for its Lumix G Micro Four Thirds cameras.

Of the two, the Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm f/4-5.6 ASPH/POWER O.I.S. lens provides the longer 3.9x zoom magnification and covers a focal length range equivalent to 90-350mm (in 35mm term).

According to Panasonic...

"This is the world's First Digital Interchangeable Power Zoom Lens."

"Panasonic introducing a new cutting-edge interchangeable lens LUMIX G X VARIO PZ 45-175mm / F4.0-5.6 ASPH / POWER O.I.S. with electric-powered zoom operation from the new premium lens brand “X”.

Crystallizing Panasonic's optical technologies, the “X” lens features a unique Nano Surface Coating for minimal ghosts and flaring and natural atmospheres with remarkable transparency."

Ultra-Wide WC-E75 G12 @ Martinborough Fair

Every year, for twice a year; on the first Saturday of February and March, since 1977; Martinborough  hold her famous fair which attracts ten of thousands visitors to this sleepy small town.

The Fair was scheduled for Saturday 3rd March but due to the Weather Bomb was cancelled for the first time in 35 years. Due to overwhelming demand it is being rerun on the first Saturday in May.

Martinborough is a town in South Wairarapa, a district in the Wellington region on the North Island of New Zealand. It is 65 kilometres east of Wellington and 35 kilometres south-west of Masterton. The town has a population of about 1300 full-time inhabitants.      - Wikipedia

Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 7-14 mm F4.0 ASPH - Revisited

Sixteen months ago I wrote about my favorite ultra-wide zoom lens, the Panasonic Lumix G Vario 7-14 mm F4.0 ASPH; I was surprised how popular the page became, it is among the top three most read in my blog!


There was even one reader who informed me she bought the same lens because of my rant ;)

Her last comment...

"Hi, finally I got myself landed with Panasonic 7-14 wide lens. It is indeed a great lens! Just want to say thank you very much for your review and the sample images you posted in your blog [ and also answering my questions earlier ]. I really appreciate it :) " - Fiziskandarz.

I went and look at her blog and what do you know, she already started using her new ultra-wide for some cool shots!