Photographyblog posted a very long and very interesting Interview with Panasonic (Click here). And Panasonic confirmed the 25mm f/1.4 lens is coming, but there is a surprise. It will be Leica branded!!! So we will finally have an exact m43 version of the current [shoplink 16340 ebay]Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 Four Thirds lens (Click here to see that on eBay)[/shoplink]!
“Question: And there’s a new lens to go with the G3 isn’t there?
JM: “Yes, here’s the first working sample of the 25mm f/1.4; really eagerly anticipated and not planned for launch until the second half of this year. It will be Leica approved and branded. For those looking for more affordable alternatives of course Sigma has recently announced that it’s going to start making Micro Four Thirds lenses. We’ve got a large following of consumers who are going to be looking for that affordability, and also the enthusiasts who want everything to be the highest quality. The factory is committed to three to four lenses every year so this won’t be the only product we’ll be showing you this year.”
32 Responses
That’s great 🙂 I particularly like this comment:
“The factory is committed to three to four lenses every year so this won’t be the only product we’ll be showing you this year.”
Hope i’m one of those four people who get one this year then =)
Great news Admin, so we can expect very high image quality from this Leica branded lens. Let’s hope these expectations will meet with reality. Cheers ;).
You want to see how beat up my Leica F1.4 25mm is (pretty sure it’s taken near 200,000 photos!)
Great news! The PL25 has a true Leica character, which is a big advantage. Hopefully this is replicated in the m4/3 version. Don’t expect it to be small or cheap, though.
Probably slightly smaller than the FT version (-15% maybe?) and price will be around 900€. My guess.
From a previous FT5 rumor, it was said that the size should be around twice the size of the 20mm and price around $700.
But that rumor also said it wouldn’t be leica branded, so….
Hope leica branded means quality on par with the 4/3 version..
BTW : Panasonic, bring back the aperture ring!
Manual aperture rings may not be part of m43 specifications. Meaning it would have to be in manual mode only…
Aperture rings from the 4/3 panasonic lenses work on the micro 4/3 bodys when you’re in A mode..
I´m using PL25 with adapter on GF1 and aperture ring works perfectly. In aperture mode the ring set the aperture, in auto mode camera “force” aperture to lens even if it is set manualy. Why it wouldn´t work on new m4/3 version?
Yes, please can we have an aperture ring!
+1
I would welcome an aperture ring, but my vote goes for a programmable ring.
Aperture, ISO, Shutter speed, what the heck, aspect ratio à la LX, there are plenty of things an extra ring could do.
that could be useful if it has focus extent stops as well on the focus ring.
Aperture right would be sick. It would also be great to have a Still / video setting that for video guys that want smooth transitions between aperture settings.
I meant ring. not right. Haha
This is awesome, the old 25mm Leica produces such amazing Leica results….
So what was the new lens that comes with the G3?
You probably missed to read that there is a second Panasonic announcment in June 🙂
Great news on a 25 1.4!
And boy, I really hope that 12-50mm is at least announced in June. That would be the ultimate walk-around lens for many of us.
Well, this is very promising. A 50mm equivalent lens can be considered an “essential” item on every manufacturer lens line up – and we’ll have it Leica branded, which speaks in itself. An excellent move to show that the system is getting mature, and that it can compete with the bigger boys.
Lets now hope that third party manufacturers (sigma?) join the dance with m43 lenses not covered by Olympus and Panasonic and things will start getting interesting…
I know there is going to be lots of complaints when the price is out, but if that lens can resolve the new sensor, it will make sense to me.
With the superb Nokton already out there and soon to become more available, this is the wrong lens to be prioritizing. How do we get Panasonic to come up with a fast zoom?
Yeah, the nokton might be great, but no AF. It is a specialty lens – relatively expensive, hard to find, with beautiful metal finish, super fast, manual focus. Not for your average photographer hobbyist.
As long as Panasonic keeps making touch screen toys and baby DSLR shaped bodies, I’ll have plenty of money to buy good lenses. Come Panny, how about a gf1 (or rangefinder-shaped) body with no touchscreen. I want tactile, manual controls.
Better yet…touchscreen AND manual controls 🙂
Is Sigma designing lenses for m4/3 or they will just convert existing lenses?
Hopefully new lenses, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense…
This lens will be amazing….. I wonder if it will have better close-up performance than the 20mm (in regards to working distance and magnification).
20 mm f/1.7 – better price, better size, lighter, not pimp
vs.
25 mm f/1.4 – better image quality, Leica look, pimp!
The PL 25/1.4 isn’t that great so I wouldn’t hold my breath on this one.
We’ll see what it ends up like in µ4/3. I don’t think it’s a bad lens, but the price tag is in no way justified. Most other systems have a comparable lens in the ~$200-$300 range.
I own both the 4/3 version of this lens and the 20mm, and if I had to choose one, it’d honestly be the pancake. Even though the µ4/3 version is bound to be smaller than the full size 4/3 version, it’s still going to be huge, and it’s still going to be expensive.
Bah, and here I just recently got the Four Thirds Panaleica 25mm 🙂