We have a couple of Panasonic 42,5mm and 30mm lens news:
Starting from today both new lenses will ship in Japan via [shoplink 52804 ebay]multiple Japanese ebay sellers (Click here)[/shoplink]. Europe and US will follow soon.
On top you can see the video with the new LUMIX G 30mm F2.8 Macro & 42.5mm F1.7 Portrait lenses with Scott Mellish.
CameraLabs tested the 42,5mm lens and writes:
Despite my initial fears the Lumix G 42.5mm would have little to differentiate itself against the Olympus 45mm f1.8, it’s ended-up becoming another valuable addition to the Micro Four Thirds catalogue. It comfortably out-performs the Olympus in contrast and sharpness in the extreme corners and throws in the added bonuses of closer focusing, a lens hood and optical stabilisation for Lumix G body owners. The mid-forty focal length may now be even busier than before in the range, but the 42.5mm f1.7 carves itself a compelling position and represents a step-up from the popular 45mm f1.8 in many respects without breaking the bank.
Photoreview tested the 42,5mm lens and writes:
Panasonic’s Lumix G 42.5mm f/1.7 ASPH./POWER O.I.S. lens is a strong performer that delivers sharp images across most of its aperture range. Edge-to-edge sharpness of frames is very good for such a fast lens and other potential aberrations are either negligible or very well controlled.
The Japanese site Yodobashi shows some nice images with the 42,5mm lens (here) and 30mm macro (here).
New Panasonic lens preorders:
Panasonic 42.5mm f/1.7 POWER O.I.S. Lens at Amazon, BHphoto and Adorama.
Panasonic MACRO 30mm f/2.8 MEGA O.I.S. Lens at Amazon, BHphoto and Adorama.
47 Responses
nobody cares…..next
I’m interested. I’ve never warmed to the Oly 45 and am interested in how this lens does.
Please speak for yourself as I care. I’m interested in a portrait lens as I’m new to m43. I’m waiting for the review on the 42.5mm to see how it compares to the Olympus 45mm before making a purchase.
Of course Oly 45mm F1.8 is your choice for a portrait lens especially if you holding an Oly body .
The Lumix lens is more on an new alternative in such almost similiar FL
( 42.5mm & 45mm ) .
That’s what a 10 year old says.
wow the panasonic has better sharpness , and contras,. but what interesting me more is the close focus distance,.. and they both in quite similar price,..
Who care about that minor sharpness & contrast in the extreme corners assuming if the test is right for a portrait shoot ?
Sharpness in the middle with wide open & creamy defocusing effect are the main criteria
to deliver in a true portrait & this lens just can’t make it different against the great 45mm F1.8 .
Ahahah, you’re great, Yun. Even in the face of contrary evidence you persist in your argument.
It’s pretty hard to argue that this is not a “creamy” lens. Perhaps not as creamy as the Oly 45 at f1.8 (though it’s better when they’re both at f2.8…). But not everyone sees this as solely a portrait lens. If you can’t see benefits to significantly shorter close focus distance and much sharper corners, then that’s on you.
Looks like the Panasonic is clearly the better choice – except if a very minor bokeh disadvantage wide open, some blue/purple fringing around specular highlights wide open, and less pronounced starbursts around specular highlights when stopped down would weigh more than a major sharpness and contrast advantage in the corners of the frame. Which may well be the case if the one and only purpose of the lens would be shooting portraits.
Good thing I already have the ZD 50mm f/2 Macro (a really excellent lens, although it shows even more pronounced blue fringing around specular highlights when shooting wide open) and several manual options (one of my favourites being the Minolta MD Rokkor 85mm f/2 plus Speed Booster, resulting in a quite decent 60mm f/1.4), so there’s no pressing need here to buy either the Lumix or the M.Zuiko 😉
The blurring is unpleasant and huge purple fringe is almost a signature among all panasonic lenses.
is that you, Yun?
Well nan has a point, the bokeh of the Olympus is much better, more rounder smoother spheres. Also it’s much sharper at F16 and F22. I wonder if the focus was off or the camera too close in the picture of the bottle and straw for the Olympus. I get very sharp result with the 45 in such a case, these looked faulty focus.
Lulz. Who uses ANY m43 lens at those Fstops?
And the linked test shows no real difference in bokeh.
Right about the apertures.
Admittedly if you looked at the first shots with the object in the immediate foreground at f1.7 and the incredibly OOF bokeh balls, the Panasonic’s weren’t perfectly round and had slightly harsher edges. But that was clearly a test shot with no artistic value. If you look at the real world shooting, the differences are so minor as to be trivial.
A true photographer never fool around with false ID .
Yes, purple fringing is a signature of Panasonic lenses. It’s as though they have never considered testing their designs on Olympus bodies.
So, the lens bokeh is ugly, and the CA is out of control. On the flipside it has sharper corners up to f4, where both are on par
And as a Olympus Fanboy, You’re STILL in Denial….
-Tissue?
lol who is in denial?
CA appears to be the fault of the Sony sensor, not the lens.
Those bokeh balls are definitely a bit nervous. But in all the real world samples he isn’t just taking pictures of out-of-focus lights, it looks quite nice and smooth.
It looks nervous in all scenarios
Absent more direct comparisons, I have to suggest that your brand loyalty is shaping your perception.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cameralabs/16389496414/in/photostream/
Just flip through a few of those. The flowers and cupcakes are about as smooth as you can hope for. I’m not in love with the guitars and amp drivers, but it’s a hard scenario and I’d need something other than 45mm owners’ assurance that the 45mm can actually do better under those conditions.
The fact that it is nervous has no correlation to “smoothness” it is nervous, hollow and thin bokeh doesn’t matter how smooth you think it is
Yuck
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cameralabs/17011023141/in/photostream/
So is the Canon 50mm/1.2L on a 5D also known to have nervous bokeh?
Looks somewhat similar.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/squinza/2789336004/
I’m having some difficulty parsing the subjective language you’re using here and attaching it to the real world examples. Can you please post a comparable image out of the 45/1.8 that demonstrates much better bokeh in the same circumstances? I’m legitimately curious.
Put that LUMIX lens on a LUMIX body, like say a GX-7 and get back to me..
In other words: CA is BETTER CONTROLLED and CORRECTED on LUMIX BODIES.
If you have an Olympus camera, then stick with the Olympus equivalent.
I hope that’s Clear Enough for you…
CA is better controlled in the Olympus lens, stop crying
Exactly. Point proven that you’re just hating on the lens because it’s a Panasonic.
Love that you’re trying to use my own witty comment against me.
Try harder next time… LOL.
Like EVF optics, Panasonic has issues
Eh…I am sticking with my Oly 45mm for my small set-up ….(EPL6 VF4)..and my Nocticron when it matters. The new Panny lens is larger than my Oly…Costs more and the CA is well, embarrassingly bad. Since I am using the Oly for portraiture usually the more-pleasing bokeh and small size is what I will run with. The Panny does not offer any real temptation for me.
Yes . I like your words .
” The Panny does not offer any real temptation for 45mm lens owners to have it ”
My GX7 definitely will stay with M.ZuikoDigital 45mm F1.8 as well .
Better start to save for something serious , a 50mm F1.0 for example .
It’s only a few mm bigger – literally unnoticeable in real life. Costs more only in some parts of the world, but exactly the same price in North America. CA is likely the fault of the Olympus body’s weak UV filter.
You’re entitled to your decision – and to justify your purchase – but please don’t pretend that these are objective dealbreaker disadvantages for a normal person.
The Oly 45mm is noticeably smaller. Duh. Are you in denial?
I had Oly 45mm shipped from Tokyo for under $250. Here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Olympus-M-ZUIKO-DIGITAL-45mm-F1-8-45-mm-F-1-8-Lens-Japan-2-Colors-/121610947959?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c5093cd77
“but please don’t pretend that these are objective dealbreaker disadvantages for a normal person.” ????????????????
I told you what “I” was doing. My facts are spot on. …oh..wait….I must be talking to a turbo-panasonic fanbois…yes..yes…that explains the pana-panties in a bunch!!!! Oh MY! 🙂
….you are definitely not normal!
http://www.technologreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/top.jpg
Okay, so you’re right, it’s noticeable when you look at them. But in a bag? A pocket?
You’re also right that it’s possible to get the Oly as a grey market product for less – as you’d expect. But if you walk into a retailer and want to buy a lens new, it’s the same price. On B&H the Panasonic is exactly $2 cheaper…
Sorry, I probably came across as much to adversarial there. But it’s just irritating when people make mountains out of mole-holes. Saying the CA is “embarrassingly bad” when it’s almost certainly a simple matter of a UV filter to solve – and an issue with the body, not the lens – for instance, makes it sound like you’ve got an agenda, even if you don’t. Anyway, like I said, sorry if it came across wrong.
No biggie ….but when you said “don’t pretend”…it REALLY rankled me.
WTF? LOL! Thanks for caring and acknowledging my facts. I am pretty serious and well-read about my photography! …but I do not know it all.
For anyone already having the 1.8/45, statu quo seems to me like the obvious choice, or at the very least a perfectly defendable one. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
Gordon tested it on an E-M5. I’m beginning to think that a lot of the CA is a product of the weak UV filter on Olympus bodies. The 7-14mm is obviously the canary in the coalmine example, but I was also really concerned about CA on the 11-22mm, since it looked really bad in someone’s E-M5 samples. On my GX-7 there’s barely a trace.
My guess is that if you use the 42.5 on a Panasonic, there will be no issue (or very little, anyway). If you use it on an Olympus? Get yourself a 37mm Haze 2A UV filter, and I bet it will miraculously go away…
+1 – That Pany lens/Oly sensor interaction is the likely culprit and the images at night will improve dramatically. I’ll likely get one and see if I can part with my wonderful 42.5/1.2 PL . . .
He used an EM1 which has a Panasonic made sensor…. so there goes the Sony sensor theory. No, the Panasonic lenses have an optical issue
It’s a Panasonic sensor made to Olympus specifications. They clearly have a preference for a weaker UV filter.
This is well documented stuff at this point. It’s not really up for debate:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/51390321
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3515049
http://www.mu-43.com/threads/45013/page-4#post-466671
Think about it: if a given lens produces no problems on a certain set of sensors, and produces problems on another set of sensors…why would you blame the lens and not the sensor? This is Logic 101 stuff.
The purple flaring still occurs on the Panasonic bodies, so that tells you it’s the optics that aren’t corrected.
G5 – Purple blobs. It’s an issue with the lens.
Cheap coating is cheap coating, if it was an issue with the sensor then the Zuiko lenses would have purple blobs? For a guy who blabs on about logic 101, you have bugger all understanding about signal chains
I’m obviously not saying that the Olympus sensor will flare under all circumstances, merely that it’s less tolerant to it. So you’re right, the Panasonic lens theoretically produces flare (as nearly all UWAs do), but the Panasonic filter stack eliminates it (mostly or entirely) while the Olympus filter stack doesn’t.
Here’s the same image you posted, taken with the E-M5, which I notice you omitted. Notice a difference?
http://www.entropicremnants.com/resource/hosted/PBEM5-crop.jpg
No, it isn’t issue with the lens, it is designed for Panasonic filter stack that has stronger UV filter. Olympus doesn’t use that UV filter level in its sensors but coats their lenses with higher UV filtering.
Two different ways to do lenses and sensor stacks, just like IBIS vs OIS.
Having used the Panasonic/Leica 15mm f/1.7 lens on my GH4 and E-M1, the purple fringing is apparently removed by the Panasonic firmware.
Olympus has some software tricks, as the correction of the 12mm f/2.0 on their own bodies.