If you're looking at reviews for this lens, chances are you're still somewhat on the fence about it. And you're probably torn between this, the
Panasonic Lumix G H-H020AK 20mm F/1.7 II ASPH Lens for Panasonic/Olympus Micro Four Thirds Cameras (Black)
and the
Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f1.8 (Silver) for Olympus and Panasonic Micro 4/3 Cameras
.
Before we go any further, I'll just give you a little background on my photography needs / experience. I've been doing hobby photography for the better part of 6 years now. I avoid external flash like the plague. I'm not a studio photographer. I'm not a professional photographer. I just really love taking photos and being a historian. I almost always have my
Olympus OM-D E-M5 16MP Live MOS Interchangeable Lens Camera with 3.0-Inch Tilting OLED Touchscreen and 12-50mm Lens (Silver)
on me, thanks to the compactness of the M4/3 camera system and my handy-dandy
Black Rapid RS-7 Camera Strap (Black)
camera strap.
Now for the review of the actual lens. To make things easy, I'll make a bullet list of features worth mentioning and factors with considering.
Build quality / esthetics: The first thing I noticed about this lens was the smoothness of the focusing ring. When I used this lens, I was stepping up from the panasonic 20mm, which while a M4/3 legend, had a gritty feel to the focusing ring. Not so with the DG summilux. It's smooth as butter. If you're ever used a fluid-head tripod mount, you'll know what I mean. The ring is dampened ever-so-smoothly. Although 99% of the time, I'm using a UV filter (
B+W 46mm Clear UV Haze with Multi-Resistant Coating (010M)
) to protect it, the front element is gorgeous. Of course, it's nowhere near as huge as the
Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 75mm f1.8 (Silver) Lens for Olympus and Panasonic Micro 4/3 Cameras
, it's still pleasing to look at, for what it's worth. There's no getting around the size of this lens. It's a weird analogy, but the lens kind of reminds me of the Nolan-era batmobile. It's unapologetically big, both in length and width, especially when you're using the included plastic lens hood. If compactness of your camera setup is your #1 priority, stick with the panasonic 20mm. The lens feels solid though. It's not so heavy that you'e sacrificing the lightness of the M4/3 camera system, but it's not so light that it feels cheap. It strikes a fine balance between feeling solid and still being light enough to not weigh you down. Although it's made of black plastic, it still looks great on my silver E-M5 as it blends in well with the black leatherette texturing. My one gripe about this lens is that it's not made of metal, like the M. Zuiko 12,17 and 75mm. Although it ultimately makes no difference in the final image, there's just no denying the charm of all-metal construction.
Autofocus: Excellent. When I purchased this lens, I was stepping up from my panasonic 20mm primarily because I was frustrated with the relative slowness of the 20mm's external focusing motor- especially when focus-hunting with that annoying AF-assist lamp in low-light situations (think karaoke bars). The difference between the two lenses is dramatic. Paired with the E-M5, quickly acquiring accurate focus is almost an afterthought. For the most part, focusing with this lens feels nearly instantaneous. It feels just a hair slower than the 12mm and 17mm M. Zuiko lenses, but only by a hair. I'd consider it extremely unlikely that the difference in focusing speeds between the premium M. Zuiko lenses and this lens would result in a missed moment.
Image quality: in a word, outstanding. When I started taking pictures with this lens, it felt like it was reading my mind. This is likely due to the 50mm equivalent focal length. It's the focal length that most accurately simulates how the human eye sees. I've noticed that with this lens, I spend significantly less time recomposing than I would with lenses of differing focal lengths. To put it simply, it feels like the lens gets me. It sees the world as I do, which has resulted in two effects: One, I'm able to capture more spur-of-the-moment shots than I had before, and two- I'm taking more pictures because I know that my camera is more likely to show me what I want to see right away. For the most part, I don't concern myself with sharpness. What I do concern myself with is contrast, which this lens rocks- especially macrocontrast. It's not overblown and melodramatic- it's just what you see, how you see it. Neither do I particularly care about things like chromatic aberration. I've never had anyone look at a picture of mine and tell me that the image would be great if it weren't for the edge-fringing of a telephone pole. One warning though: Shooting at f/1.4 can be a bit challenging. F/1.4 at 50mm can result in a very shallow depth of field which could be confused for image softness- particularly if your subject is close and moving around.
Video: The lens does terrific at video. The focusing motor is fast as it needs to be, with minimal-yet-occasionally noticeable focus searching.
If you're looking at reviews for this lens, chances are you're still somewhat on the fence about it. And you're probably torn between this, the
Panasonic Lumix G H-H020AK 20mm F/1.7 II ASPH Lens for Panasonic/Olympus Micro Four Thirds Cameras (Black)
and the
Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f1.8 (Silver) for Olympus and Panasonic Micro 4/3 Cameras
.
Before we go any further, I'll just give you a little background on my photography needs / experience. I've been doing hobby photography for the better part of 6 years now. I avoid external flash like the plague. I'm not a studio photographer. I'm not a professional photographer. I just really love taking photos and being a historian. I almost always have my
Olympus OM-D E-M5 16MP Live MOS Interchangeable Lens Camera with 3.0-Inch Tilting OLED Touchscreen and 12-50mm Lens (Silver)
on me, thanks to the compactness of the M4/3 camera system and my handy-dandy
Black Rapid RS-7 Camera Strap (Black)
camera strap.
Now for the review of the actual lens. To make things easy, I'll make a bullet list of features worth mentioning and factors with considering.
Build quality / esthetics: The first thing I noticed about this lens was the smoothness of the focusing ring. When I used this lens, I was stepping up from the panasonic 20mm, which while a M4/3 legend, had a gritty feel to the focusing ring. Not so with the DG summilux. It's smooth as butter. If you're ever used a fluid-head tripod mount, you'll know what I mean. The ring is dampened ever-so-smoothly. Although 99% of the time, I'm using a UV filter (B+W 46mm Clear UV Haze with Multi-Resistant Coating (010M)) to protect it, the front element is gorgeous. Of course, it's nowhere near as huge as the Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 75mm f1.8 (Silver) Lens for Olympus and Panasonic Micro 4/3 Cameras, it's still pleasing to look at, for what it's worth. There's no getting around the size of this lens. It's a weird analogy, but the lens kind of reminds me of the Nolan-era batmobile. It's unapologetically big, both in length and width, especially when you're using the included plastic lens hood. If compactness of your camera setup is your #1 priority, stick with the panasonic 20mm. The lens feels solid though. It's not so heavy that you'e sacrificing the lightness of the M4/3 camera system, but it's not so light that it feels cheap. It strikes a fine balance between feeling solid and still being light enough to not weigh you down. Although it's made of black plastic, it still looks great on my silver E-M5 as it blends in well with the black leatherette texturing. My one gripe about this lens is that it's not made of metal, like the M. Zuiko 12,17 and 75mm. Although it ultimately makes no difference in the final image, there's just no denying the charm of all-metal construction.
Autofocus: Excellent. When I purchased this lens, I was stepping up from my panasonic 20mm primarily because I was frustrated with the relative slowness of the 20mm's external focusing motor- especially when focus-hunting with that annoying AF-assist lamp in low-light situations (think karaoke bars). The difference between the two lenses is dramatic. Paired with the E-M5, quickly acquiring accurate focus is almost an afterthought. For the most part, focusing with this lens feels nearly instantaneous. It feels just a hair slower than the 12mm and 17mm M. Zuiko lenses, but only by a hair. I'd consider it extremely unlikely that the difference in focusing speeds between the premium M. Zuiko lenses and this lens would result in a missed moment.
Image quality: in a word, outstanding. When I started taking pictures with this lens, it felt like it was reading my mind. This is likely due to the 50mm equivalent focal length. It's the focal length that most accurately simulates how the human eye sees. I've noticed that with this lens, I spend significantly less time recomposing than I would with lenses of differing focal lengths. To put it simply, it feels like the lens gets me. It sees the world as I do, which has resulted in two effects: One, I'm able to capture more spur-of-the-moment shots than I had before, and two- I'm taking more pictures because I know that my camera is more likely to show me what I want to see right away. For the most part, I don't concern myself with sharpness. What I do concern myself with is contrast, which this lens rocks- especially macrocontrast. It's not overblown and melodramatic- it's just what you see, how you see it. Neither do I particularly care about things like chromatic aberration. I've never had anyone look at a picture of mine and tell me that the image would be great if it weren't for the edge-fringing of a telephone pole. One warning though: Shooting at f/1.4 can be a bit challenging. F/1.4 at 50mm can result in a very shallow depth of field which could be confused for image softness- particularly if your subject is close and moving around. On the subject of blur, the bokeh of this lens is something else. It's creamy and transitions gracefully from areas of sharpness. You're going to love it.
Video: The lens does terrific at video. The focusing motor is fast as it needs to be, with minimal-yet-occasionally noticeable focus searching.
On building your "holy trinity". I initially purchased this lens to upgrade the normal lens in my 3-prime setup. I went up buying this lens because the Olympus 17mm was sold out. I was happy as a clam with it. But then I got wind that the Olympus 17mm was back in stock. So I sold my 25mm and used it to pay for the 17mm. Yes, the 17mm was sleek and looked great on my silver E-M5. I eventually realized that the 17mm focal length was just a bit too close to the 12mm focal length, and so now I've sold the 17mm to pay for the 25mm. I've experimented around, and the Oly 12, Panasonic/Leica 25, and Oly 45mm complement each other magnificently. The wider angle of the 17 is useful, but as I already own the 12mm, I found the 17mm to be redundant. If I'm going for a wide shot, I'm going all-in with the 12mm. If I'm going for a normal shot, I'm using the focal length that most closely simulates what the human eye sees. If I'm going for a tight portrait, I'm using the 45mm portrait. Lens. With this 12/25/45 setup, I've got 3 distinct lenses with loads of character that can handle virtually any situation life throws at me.
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There is a newer model of this item:
Panasonic Leica DG SUMMILUX 25mm/F1.4 II ASPH. H-XA025
$428.00
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$428.00
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This Item  Panasonic Lumix G Leica DG Summilux Lens |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $613.80 | -10% $267.99 List: $297.99 | $497.99 | $597.99 | -17% $247.99 Typical: $297.99 | -11% $797.99 List: $899.99 |
| Delivery | Get it Feb 21 - Mar 6 | Get it as soon as Saturday, Feb 10 | Get it as soon as Saturday, Feb 10 | Get it as soon as Saturday, Feb 10 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Feb 7 | Get it as soon as Monday, Feb 12 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Picture quality | ||||||
| Quality of material | ||||||
| Auto focus | ||||||
| Sold By | 2reasons | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Focus Camera LLC | Amazon.com |
| lens type | Standard | Fisheye | Fisheye | Standard | Telephoto | Wide Angle |
| compatible mountings | Micro Four Thirds | Micro Four Thirds | Micro Four Thirds | Micro Four Thirds | Micro Four Thirds | Four Thirds |
| lens design | Prime | Prime | Prime | Zoom | Zoom | Zoom |
| focus type | Micromotor | Micromotor | Stepper motor | Auto Focus | Stepper motor | automatic |
| minimum focal length | 25 millimeters | 20 millimeters | 15 millimeters | 25 millimeters | 43 millimeters | 12 millimeters |
| max focal length | 25 millimeters | 20 millimeters | 15 millimeters | 35 millimeters | 43 millimeters | 35 millimeters |
| fixed focal length | 24 millimeters | 20 millimeters | 15 millimeters | 35 millimeters | 42.5 millimeters | 35 millimeters |
| model name | H-X025 | PNHH020AKOB | H-X015K | H-XA025 | PANASONIC LUMIX G LENS, 42.5MM, F1.7 ASPH., MIRRORLESS MICRO FOUR THIRDS, POWER OPTICAL I.S., H-HS043K (USA BLACK) | H-ES12035 |
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PANASONIC LUMIX G Leica DG SUMMILUX Lens, 25mm, H-X025
Panasonic CE
Reviews with images
A gem ... sharp, sharp
I use the lens on a G9..... Sharp 50mm .....even at f1.4 but a little less contrast .... blazing sharp with great contrast f2.8-f5.6 ... rain proof is why I bought it..... no complaits!
Top reviews from the United States
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Top reviews from other countries
Randomroyalty
Good sharpness and color
Reviewed in Canada on August 27, 2023Style: H-X025Verified Purchase
Miguel Ángel Intlacque
De los mejores objetivos que conozco
Reviewed in Mexico on August 11, 2018Style: H-X025Verified Purchase
Laurence Chong
Fast and secure delivery
Reviewed in Singapore on July 7, 2022Style: H-XA025Verified Purchase
