Panasonic US launched greta rebates on MFT lenses. Among them we have that crazy 25mm f/1.7 deal which you know get for $99 only at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and Panasonic Store. Those are all lens rebates you can get right now (biggest savings on top):
$200 off on the Nocticron 42,5mm f/1.2 OIS Lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and Panasonic Store.
$200 off on the 12-35mm f/2.8 ASPH Lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto
$200 off on the 7-14mm f/4.0 Lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto
$150 off on the 25mm f/1.7 lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and Panasonic Store.
$1o0 off on the Panasonic 14-140mm Lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$70 off on the Leica 15mm f/1.7 Lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto
$50 off on the Panasonic 100-300mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$50 off on the Panasonic 45-150mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$50 off on the Panasonic 42,5mm f/1.7 lens at Amazon, BHphoto and Adorama.
$50 off on the Panasonic 30mm macro lens at Amazon, BHphoto and Adorama.
$30 off on the Panasonic 20mm II pancake at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$30 off on the Panasonic 14mm pancake Amazon, Adorama and Bhphoto.
The GM5 sells for $499 only at Adorama.
And Olympus will launch some more impressive rebates on Wednesday! Check out the list of deals that will be avialble for 5 days at Getolympus (Click here).
70 Responses
Head explosion.
Yep, it was absolutely impossible for me to resist this. Now I need to see whether I prefer this FL and the increased focus speed over the 20mm/1.7, or whether the tiny form factor wins out….
Unparalleled optical quality to price ratio. I can’t imagine anything that comes close.
Love my 20mm/1.7! same dilemna. From some reviews I have seen, focus is not super fast on the 25mm. See around 1.20 when focusing in video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRzpkrgJOG8
That looks like AF-C with a GX1, which isn’t necessarily going to be incredibly speedy. I’ll have to see.
If the autofocus speed doesn’t win me over, I’ll sell it. Still though, for $100, I’m happy to sell it along for more than I paid for it.
That’s a GF-6. I hope the AF slow hunting is because of the camera. If AF is not better than the 20 mm, I’ll have to sell the 25. OTOH, all modern m43 lenses focus better than the 20, so it seems unlikely.
“for $100, I’m happy to sell it along for more than I paid for it.”
In a few weeks everybody will have it bought at $99. Reasonably priced m43 lenses are too few and far between. I mean, Oly 14-42 II, 40-150, kind of 45/1.8, Pana 14/2.5 (used at $130; new at $270 is overpriced despite not being expensive) and that is about it. Oh, Sigma 19 and 30/2.8 when they were $99 each were OK (but overpriced at $200).
Same for me. I have the 20mm, but couldn’t resist that bargain! Autofocus speed was the main incentive. As for FOV, 20mm was fine. I would have even preferred something wider now but all prime offerings (12, 14, 15, 17mm) are either too expensive to my liking or useless (f2.5-f2.8).
“Unparalleled optical quality to price ratio.”
How do you know? Any tests? MTF on B&H does not look excellent.
” I can’t imagine anything that comes close.”
Canon 50/1.8 on FF stopped down to 3.5 to match. 😉 Canon 40/2.8 on FF again. Canon 22/2 on EOS M ($130 new on ebay, sometimes $100).
So why did you buy one then?
Price is right. For portraits wide open, corner performance does not matter. For landscapes, it will be stopped down and corners will probably get much sharper.
Tell us about the ugly bokeh on the 50mm f1.8
Oh yeah, those full-frame bodies are super affordable. Just $1400 for an unsealed consumer-grade 4-year old body with a whopping 11 autofocus points to choose from? Count me in!
Also: none of those lenses sell new for $100. They’re $110-150, except for the gray market EOS-M which is sold for that price because it’s an essentially dead system.
The old 50mm/1.8 II is often $90. The new 50/1.8 STM has $125 MSRP, but less than that on sales. Yangnuo 50/1.8 is $50.
And it is about value, not price. Do you wish to have 25/0.9 for m43 which is not sharp wide open for $125, but which gets sharp enough by f/1.7? Would you buy that 25/0.9, or this 25/1.7 instead?
Honestly though, when I made the original value comment I was referring to within the M4/3 system, since that’s what most of the people on this site are here for.
And really, if I wanted to, I could put this 25/1.7 on a GM1 and the whole package weighs 329g. The lightest combination you can make with that 50/1.8 STM is 932g with a Canon 6D. And it’s the size of…well, a full-frame DSLR. While the 25/1.7 clearly isn’t the same thing, it gets you almost all the way there and is a small fraction of the size, weight, and cost.
I just don’t see why someone always needs to bring up a different system. Do you spam Canon forums and talk about how Sony and Nikon do it better?
As far as value goes, I bought a Koni Omega 6×7 rangefinder with a 90mm/3.5 lens a few months ago for $85 USD. Even wide open, it gives me sharp, contrasty images with resolution and bokeh to rival any “full frame” camera with a 50mm/1.8. But it’s clearly not the same thing, it weighs 2kg, and is the size of…well, a full-frame DSLR. So despite being astonishingly good value and optically excellent…why would I bring it up?
(it’s a bit front-focussed here, I had to adjust the rangefinder last weekend…)
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/578/22251669039_e1bb8af58d_h.jpg
Well, ePhotozine has MTF measurements, but this appears to one of the first lenses they’ve reviewed with their new measurement / display system, which makes the numbers completely useless, unfortunately.
As far as MTF charts go, I’m not sure you know what you’re reading in comparison to the ones published by Canon (for instance).
With Canon, the thick lines are MTF10 (Panasonic’s are MTF20, so it already takes into account the difference in format size). However, with Canon the blue lines are at f8, whereas the black lines are wide open. Panasonic’s are both wide open.
Unfortunately they are not directly comparable, since the thin lines that Canon has for resolution are MTF30, while Panasonics are MTF40 (would theoretically need to be MTF60 to be directly comparable, but then there’s differences in pixel density, too, so it’s trickier).
Anyway, as you can see, the contrast figure for the Canon 50/1.8 wide open starts at 0.84 or so and drops from there across the frame. The Panasonic starts at 0.93 and is almost flat across the frame until the very corners.
With the resolution MTF, the Canon starts at 0.6 and drops from there. The Panasonic is 0.8 and drops from there, but nowhere near as steeply. But again, not directly comparable (MTF30 vs MTF40)
So reality, that MTF chart looks very, very good if you know what you’re looking at.
http://static.bhphoto.com/images/multiple_images/images500x500/1441112447000_IMG_529375.jpg
http://downloads.canon.com/nw/camera/products/lenses/sample/ef50_f18_stm_mtf.gif
You are comparing 50 at f/1.8, which is like f/0.9 on the Panasonic – IF IT WERE AVAILABLE. I really wish it would be available, even with that level of corner blur, but it is not. Now, by f/3.4 the Canon is about the same as the Pana wide open. And 40 lpm is just beginning to be reasonable on m43, only 520 per picture height – and corners are already bad. The line for 20 is useless and given here for marketing reasons only.
So Canon posts MTF10 for marketing reasons only?
No, it measures something different – that’s for contrast, not resolution. That’s why Canon posts MTF30 for resolution, just like Panasonic posts MTF40, and Olympus posts MTF60. I do wish Panasonic followed Olympus’ lead and posted MTF60 as well as it’s a more useful number.
If MTF40 is already showing bad results in the corner, MTF60 would be a marketing disaster to show. 🙂
sorry, but there is no 99$ offer at amazon.com or Panasonic store!?!
add the lens to the cart on panasonic’s site.
yes it is I just got one from panasonic, add it to your cart and then go to checkout
Wow, really could not pass this one up… such an amazing price!
Does anyone know what happened to the GX8 bundle discounts that were mentioned in this post: http://www.43rumors.com/200-off-on-the-panasonic-gx8/ ?
Curious if they were a mistake or if they were put online too early and will return later this week.
Now that’s a good price!
Is there much point in getting the 25mm if you already have the 20mm f/1.7? I like the angle of view of the 20mm for most purposes.
You buy it for autofocus performance, or to avoid the banding issue if you have an Olympus body (I don’t). Or you keep the 20mm, which is still a great compact lens.
Now, THAT is the right price for the lens. I was planning to buy 25/1.4 used, prices for them fall to $300 from time to time, but that is just too good of a deal to pass (rare m43 AF lens is priced properly). Also compared to 1.4 it has quiet aperture and faster AF from what I have read, and of course smaller and lighter.
ORDERED.
On B&H it is 99 cents more than on Adorama, and Adorama provides 5% rewards, but B&H promises 1-3 days shipping vs 7-10 days on Adorama, and I really wish to get it before my mid-December vacation… 99 cents seems reasonable for faster shipping.
Now, Panasonic, make your 15/1.7 reasonably priced and I will buy it too. The current price of $528 is crazy. $149 will do. After all it has just 1 extra element, in the same 7 groups, and actually less glass (10g lighter).
If you’re looking for a bargain in the 15mm focal range you will have to settle for the for the 14/2.5. The PL15 is a premium lens in IQ, features and build. Most lens companies would charge $149 for the hood that comes with it.
Why would I waste money on 14/2.5? Too small a difference with kit zooms in both aperture and sharpness wide open.
“Most lens companies would charge $149 for the hood that comes with it.”
BS.
It’s not a matter of what you want, it’s a matter of what you can afford – the 14/2.5
As sakaphoto states, the lens hood for the 15 is $80. My bad. Still out of your price range though.
I can afford anything. Really. But I refuse to be taken advantage of (maybe that is why I can afford anything).
Of course you can.
Panasonic charges US$75 for the metal lens hood. The 15mm f/1.7 lens is quite good, even for video.
The PL15 can be found for $400 new pretty often now, which I agree is still to expensive. Regardless, the PL15 is most assuredly NOT a $150 either.
But it should be.
Being a man of independent wealth, you sure have no clue about the value of things.
Who said my wealth is independent? You don’t have to be even particularly wealthy to be able to buy every m43 thing out there. And having the money earned, I know a ripoff when I see one, and German branding (like “Leica”) sadly have become a synonym for ripoff.
we disagree. You want premium optics that result in sharp contrast rich photos, metal construction, aperture dial adjustment, flawless smooth focus ring, metal lens hood, durable rubber lens cap for $149. You’ve either never used this lens or you are insane.
None of that you mentioned costs more than a few cents to make. Metal this, metal that – how much a beer can costs? Well, it has more metal than a lens hood.
“flawless smooth focus ring”
Come on, it is electronic, just like on any other lens, including that $99 25/1.7.
A beer can is not a precision device.
If you have held a 15/1.7 in your hands you’d understand the difference with the focus ring.
The more you write the dumber you appear.
“A beer can is not a precision device.”
Neither is a lens body. But stamping a can of beer produces the same thing over and over again, it is not like they are made manually.
Take a caliper to a dozen beer cans and get back to me. Keep running your keyboard, genius.
Too bad, the 15/1.7 has the Leica branding. So expect to pay ripoff prices.
(It’s amusing to see people who actually want said Leica branding)
Already own the PL f1.4, better save 99 bucks.. 🙂
Or you could buy this, sell your PL f1.4, and earn $250. 🙂
I think my PL is slightly better, and I’m too lazy to look for a buyer. 😉
That’s absolutely insane. Seriously.
What is insane? Given that Canon STM 50/1.8 is $125 and Yangnuo 50/1.8 is $50, how much a plastic 50/3.4 should cost?
A plastic 50mm/3.4 with 8 elements in 7 groups, 2 aspherical elements, and 1 ultra-high refractive index element. Right.
So?
The aspherics are probably pressed plastic, at this size to weight ratio.
Wondering how long this basic misunderstanding is going to perpetuate? It is only depth of field that is equivalent to 3.4 on a FF. Light transmission and exposure value when used on a camera with a M43 sensor is still a nice fast f1.7.
OK, read something. Intensity of illumination (per unit of area) is the same with the same f-number, not total amount of light because the area is different (specifically, almost 4 times bigger on FF compared to m43).
That additional blur you see on FF (creating shallower DoF) is created by additional light coming from out of focus areas of the scene through the outer areas of the front lens element. While additional light coming from the plane of focus is all focused on the sensor, where it is supposed to be. Just stretched over bigger area.
If you would somehow concentrate all the light captured by 50/1.8 on the image circle half of the diameter (with 4 times smaller area accordingly), you will get 25/0.9, but covering only m43 mage circle. Same exact light. Precisely the same, not a photon more or less. Intensity per area will be 4 times higher. But it will produce the same exact picture if blown up to the same media, and digitized the same way if every pixel of the FF sensor would also be reduced in area by the factor of 4 (where are they, the 50mpix m43 sensors though?)
And the Canon 50mm f1.8 is softer wide open than my belly after a few IPA’s. I’ve owned both the Canon 50mm f1.8 and the 50mm f1.4. Loved the f1.4, but neither lens was particularly sharp wide open (unlike the PL25 I own), and I was never wowed by the f1.8’s contrast wide open either.
That is what I said. And it would be great to have 25/0.9 even when it is soft wide open but gets decent by f/3.4. For some applications (portraits when you don’t need a lot of details especially in the corners, or very low light when noise and noise reduction kills resolution anyway) it is better to have faster lens even if it is not sharp wide open.
A DSLR prime lens is different from a mirrorless prime lens. Apples and oranges. Please tell me when you have seen a Mirrorless nifty fifty equiv for less than $99 brand new? Pro Tip: You can’t.
The Canon 50mm 1.8 at 1.8 is crap. It doesn’t work with AF on a M43 camera either correct? It’s just not a worthwhile comparison because this lens is designed for a completely different system. For 99 dollars you get good to very good optics in a very small package you can mount on a very small camera. Canon is out of the game on that one.
The notion that a lens cannot somehow be compared because it is for a different system is BS. And as I already wrote, I’d take 25/0.9 which is crap wide open but gets decent at f/1.7 vs a lens which starts decent from f/1.7 – the extra light will still be useful from time to time making the lens more useful too.
While I’ve got the Four-Thirds Leica/Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 lens, this seems a good use of US$99.00 and I already bought one last night.
The deal was available yesterday already, too bad 43rumors is a little slow this time – I guess the preorder queue is ten miles long now. 🙁
Lets be optimistic and think that the stores ordered enough pallets filled with a lot of little boxes 😉 If it already was available yesterday, then even better. One more day for them to order another truck load full 🙂
If they order now and it ships from Asia even this week in a container, no way it is going to be here by mid December. 🙁 The only hope that Pana US has enough stock for everybody.
43rumors always slow in these type deals. I saw it on slickdeals yesterday.
Yep they are slow. Maybe 43rumors doesnt want people to know about this deal because they have other referral deals they want to profit off on.
From reading this to confirming the order at BH it took me 2 whole minutes 🙂
This is a no brainer. I don’t even know if I need it and my wife said no more camera stuff.
Good job posting this and thanks to the stores to offer at that price! 🙂
It is obviously Pana US promotion. Finally.
Ordered mine from Adorama this morning, and was told ship date would be second week in December . . . fine by me – Great deal..
Please do this with more lenses. I already have olympus version and love it.
Youre a few days slow with this news.
Panasonic.com already dropped the promotion, back to $300 again. I guess B&H and Adorama will follow soon.
It still works on panasonic website, just add the lens on your cart and the promotion will show up. just did it and completed my order