For two days you can save $100 on the superb Nocticron 42,5mm f/1.2 lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
US deals Reminder:
Olympus US launched a $50 rebate on the following MFT lenses:
$50 off on the 45mm f/1.8 lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
$50 off on the 17mm f/2.8 lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
$50 off on the 60mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
$50 off on the 75-300mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
$50 off on the 40-150mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
All current Olympus deals can be seen on that Amazon page and on that GetOlympus page.
Those are all current Olympus deals at GetOlympus:
Save $50 on Fast Prime Lenses for OM-D & PEN
Save $50 on Zoom Lenses for OM-D & PEN
Save $100 on the Award-Winning OM-D E-M1
Get a FREE Camera Grip with OM-D E-M10 Purchase
Up to $900 Off Lenses with OM-D or PEN E-P5 Purchase
Up to $100 Off Recorders with OM-D or E-P5 Purchase
FREE Wi-Fi Card with the E-PL5
54 Responses
Please knock off another 400 and I’ll consider it. They cannot be selling a lot of these.
I got a deal when they had some damaged boxes in a shipment 1200 delivered, and the box was even flawless. Best lens purchase I ever made, possibly next to my 35-100 2.8 which gets points for versatility.
I’d consider that. I saw one go for similar on ebay as an international version.
My main problem now is that my equipment far exceeds my photography skills :-/
I think that is a “problem” many of us have too.
I bought it right away after was released. Yes, I did have to scrape but it is soooo awesome.
And I’m sure that awesomeness is totally real. But I have to stop myself as I have to much glass. TO MUCH GLASS………………………………………………………………………………………………………….dang I want that lens.
I feel like I should have done more research when switching to MFT. I love the lenses that I have… the 12-35mm and the Leica 25mm… but I just can’t afford lenses in this price range.
The olympus 45mm f1.8 is a great lens that offers a similar look to the image, also i use an adapted 50mm (100mm full frame equivalent) canon fd lens at f1.4 that makes gorgeous images, and for much cheaper.
I use a zeiss 50mm 1.4 sony and seriously- it’s amazing. I’d still consider this if the price were less.
luckily no one is holding a gun to your head to buy this 🙂
Thank you, Commander and Chief of Planet Obvious.
It is a very, very expensive lens, to be sure.
But the output from it is spectacular. Like the Olympus 75mm/1.8, it really does hold up even when compared to some of the finest lenses available on the other systems.
Can you get better equivalent speed and DOF with a $500 85mm 1.8 and a Nikon D610 or Canon 6D for about the same price as the Nocticron + GX7 or E-M5? Sure.
Will the larger format result in better looking photos? Well, it probably won’t be a sharp across the frame. And will it have the same micro-contrast and quality of rendering wide open (or even stopped down to f2 or 2.8)? That’s also open to debate. Will you have higher resolution? Also debatable. Will the smaller format be a lot lighter and a smaller? That’s the one thing not up for discussion…
Dof on FF is of course thinner at 1.8 but light gathering on The nocticron is superior, and add to that the OIS and it bests the FF camera,1.8 combo. Plus 2.4 ff equivalent Dof is more usable for family pictures indoors etc.
But the full frame camera has 1.5-2 stops better ISO performance, so even with the smaller aperture they will have a slightly better signal to noise ratio even with the ISO bumped up 1 stop to match the light gathering…
aperture + OIS will in many situations still be better than the iso advantage you get with FF setup. However, if you are shooting subjects with a lot of motion, ISO advantage > OIS of course. It will obviously depend on what you shoot as well. As mentioned, indoors in low light, I tend to prefer more DoF rather than less, to make sure more people are in focus. Other people may not want this, and in that case, the FF alternative would probably work better.
The whole discussion is of course mostly just theoretical, as we have now come so far in low light capability, so any option is good. I think I read that low light capability is the first area where technology has surpassed human vision.
On a funny sidenote, I took a portrait with the Nocticron, set at f1.6. I got a comment that it was an amazing picture, except the background was fuzzy…… :-/ this coming from someone that runs around with a dslr all day and thinks she is a pro photographer…
Some studio photographers are used to work with closed apertures and maybe they are conditionized by such wide dof scenarios where everything looks in focus. Maybe this guy too? But quite alot of people want to shoot at the aperture which has the optimal resolution. I posted a full body shot done with a Nikon D70 plus Nikkor AFD 85mm at f/1.8…it showed a nice subject isolation but one replied I should have shot it at f/8 because he heard “the lens rocks at that aperture”, this is a typical example of making a”max mood photo” or a “max resolution photo”
Looks like we all get this feedback 🙂 Oh well, it is of course needed to be used in the right situations, but the odd thing about this particular photo was that it was just perfect for shallow DoF.
How’s OIS helpful with shooting people? Applying the general 1/FL rule, you can use something about 1/85 regardless of stabilization. How much slower do you want to go? 1/50? 1/25? At such settings, getting people critically sharp is just pure luck unless you’re shooting professional models.
Imo it’s way better to bump the ISO a little than getting a slightly blurry image due to subject motion.
At 1.2 and running a reasonable ISO on the GH3, it is not a problem shooting people hanging out inside w/OIS (shutter speed isn’t THAT low). I agree bumping iso is smart if you see too much motion obviously, but you can easily do that with today’s m43 sensors as well. (Obviously not as much as FF, but you can push it quite high if that is what you like).
I’m not talking about FF or m43, I just don’t get why anyone would say that OIS is useful for shooting people. If your SS is in the safe zone, you don’t need OIS anyways, do you?
I agree that OIS is useful for many interesting applications but I just don’t see that shooting people is one of them.
OIS for fast prime is not necessary. In the past, I used FF( D700) with Nikon prime lens without OIS or without any stabilization system, and never missed had any important moment.
Yes, true but my FF camera bag was 3 times heavier (10-12kg) than my GH4 bag which is 4kg max. Besides that, with the GH4 i remain unnoticed while with the 5DII, people tend to spot me sooner than i spot them !
The 5D is not for you, sell it and buy yourself some candies. Of course, if you own one at all, the net is full of “honesty”.
Already sold my 5DII. Never had so much joy in photography as i have with my GH4 ! And my back does not hurt anymore. Also… After selling my lenses i could afford a free Mac Pro 8-core ! Lol… Talking about sweet candy !!!!
Family is the most important thing for most of us, but I dont think I would buy a Nocticron for family pics
True, it may be a bit overkill for family snapshots, and so would a FF DSLR w/ a good lens be too of course. I suppose people made due with instamatic cams for a long time, and now we have cell phones and cheaper cameras that take quite good pictures except in quite dark rooms. I now use the Nocticron for more “serious” family portraits, and hope to venture to “bigger things” when I get comfortable with all the gear and start taking what I would consider professional photos.
For family pictures, I however prefer highly-praised Nikon 85/1.8 or Oly 45/1.8 and will spend the rest of money for trips..
The higher resolution is not debatable. You’ll get more if you have one of the better FF equivelant lenses. Will it be lighter….that’s debatable as well. There are some seriously light legacy 50mm 1.4 lenses out there. Extremely small as well.
“If you have one of the better FF equivalent lenses.” That is exactly the point.
Will the $500 85mm f/1.8 that matches the total system cost (with the pricey full-frame body included) have better resolution? And if doesn’t have that advantage right from wide-open – i.e. you need to stop down – then you aren’t gaining anything in terms of light-gathering on your FF body. If you need to step up to a 85mm 1.2 or 1.4 in order to get good resolution at f2, then you’re spending way, way more on your body/lens combination.
And yes, I know that legacy lenses can be light. I use one on a regular basis (the ‘legendary’ Super Takumar 50mm/1.4). But your 50mm/1.4 won’t have the same equivalent focal length, won’t have autofocus, won’t have image stabilization, and was designed for film (i.e. it probably isn’t going to stand up to a 36MP D800).
Unless you shoot with Fuji. Then you save money for the same size and quality
This lens won’t fit on a fuji.
the brilliant xf56 f1,2 is amazing even wide open, and has a dof (35mm equivalent) to a f1,8 vs f2,4.
They forgot a 0 in the off column.
From an arm and a leg
Could be that Panasonic are testing the market through a couple of outlets to see if $100 significantly affects the volume of sales on this lens, maybe it hasn’t been selling as well as they’d like.
A lot of people are complaining about the price of this lens. It is the most expensive lens I have bought in a long time including Canon L glass. But, I have to say it is worth it many times over. Just used it on the last 7 shoots. This includes B-Roll. With the other lenses there is no image stabilization and I like to shoot with out a camera rig to hold the camera. I did not think of this lens as a B-Roll lens but the image stabilization is superb and I love the creamy bokeh. It is my go to lens for A-Roll and now B- Roll as well. Thank you Leica and Panasonic.
I think the price is only a problem for people who dont live from photography and have a wife who wants a justification for every investment in photo stuff. When you make enough money with the gear or have a good paying job, its easy to spend it on this lens (even when you dont use it alot)
But rather than lust for this lens, buy and enjoy the lighter $350 Olympus 45mm, which is every bit as good as this lens in the real world after f2.8 minus the OIS.
This lens from Canon or Nikon either wouldn’t exist or would cost $2,500+, so we should consider ourselves fortunate. Just look what Nikon wants you to pay for their newly designed 58mm f/1.4. Praise to the Fuji 56mm and Sony 55mm as well. Brilliant lenses they all are.
The 45mm is the only lens I had during my photographic activities for the last 2 years (did some sessions with the summilux 25 but 45mm focal length suits me more) but sometimes I just want to dream 🙂
Ditto. I’m loving mine. This and 75mm f/1.8 are my favorites.
If it was full frame I’d gladly fork over the wad of cash. It is not and does not give me the crazy resolution or DOF I would expect at this price point. Its still the best m43 lens and for that I understand its price. For me, I can’t justify the performance. I think this guy is riding on name a bit here.
For those with more money than sense.
I would like to see Olympus make a lens like this that is smaller, i.e. no IS and with a snap-ring manual focus that works on Olympus and Panasonic cameras….Oh..lower price, and equal IQ to the Nocti. I would buy THAT lens, and Olympus certainly has the capability to deliver it!
I wonder how much OIS explains the size of the Nocticron. I look at the 1.8/45 and the part of the diameter beyond the front element seems to be just as thick.
…which begs the question, can equal IQ be archived with a smaller front element? If at all, usable IQ at a cheaper price. f1.2 of course.
Of course, it’s because its price is relatively unreasonably high for any m4/3 camera which I mostly use it for my family trip. The price will be lower and lower according to low sale volume.
Yay, only $500 more to go
The Nocticron is running out of stock again in my place .
But the price still firm as usual .
Might need to wait for new stock with a bit price drop before going into it .
It’s in my no 1 waiting list at the moment .
I am wondering if all panasonic lenses on olympus bodies makes the fps for stills drop to a lower rate at smaller apertures. It happens noticeably with the 20mm 1.7 on E-pl5. If you choose aperture 5.6 and try 8 fps you surely won’t get 8, but something like just max 4 fps.
Meh, my manual focus 85mm f1.4 Rokinon does just as good a job of isolating the subject.
My 300mm f4 Tokina pro with a 2x tele can blur the back ground on any subject into oblivion as well. It still doesn’t make it a 42.5mm 1.2 for my oly. Price is still crazy to high….but no rokinon I’ve over owned came close to leica quality glass.
Except the Nocticron is a Panasonic lens, with a name and design licensed from Leica. It’s not Leica glass, any more than the 25mm f1.4 (which is branded Leica under license, but was actually designed and manufactured by Sigma)
Now if you would kindly remove the first digit on that price we’d be all set.