Panasonic LUMIX G II Lens, 20MM, F1.7 ASPH, MIRRORLESS Micro Four Thirds, H-H020AS (USA Silver)

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We really rated this as a landscape lens when we came to review it, especially given that robustly weatherproof construction that keeps the rain out. It’s also a solid do-it-all documentary lens, with fast and silent autofocus that can be relied upon to nail the shot in varying conditions. We weren’t huge fans of either the manual focusing ring or the aperture ring, the former being too slippery, the latter being incompatible with Olympus. A pity that the high price tag of this lens probably precludes it for MFT shooters who aren’t using Panasonic. Pros I’ve shot more pictures with both the G1 & GF1 in the last 3 months than i did with the D300 in a year. In comparison to other lenses, we have to admit fully and outright that we’ve seen sharper offerings from Olympus at close focal lengths like the company’s 25mm f1.8 that we reviewed. However, that isn’t a pancake lens and if that’s what you’re looking for then the Panasonic offering really can’t be beat. Sharpness However, when shooting wide open, bokeh near the edge of the frame looks lopsided, displaying the classic 'cat eye' effect. While this can lead to a slightly less shallow DOF effect at edges, it's perfectly acceptable for a lens of this type, and wasn't severe enough to yield swirly bokeh in our shots. More importantly, the discs near the corners aren't truncated in an odd or distracting manner. A five-star superzoom? You’d better believe it – the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f/4 IS Pro is a belter of a lens. With an equivalent range of 24-200mm, it truly covers the gamut between wide and telephoto focal lengths, and manages to do so without the compromise in image quality that normally comes with such a broad zoom range. What really sets it apart though is the image stabilisation – we managed to use it with shutter speeds as slow as four seconds and we still got usable results.

With an adapter, the Olympus 25mm ƒ/2.8 should mount on micro-four thirds bodies. While a slower and longer lens (ƒ/2.8 vs ƒ/1.7, and 25mm vs 20mm) the lens is slightly less expensive. At ƒ/2.8, the Panasonic is easily sharper, but stopped down to ƒ/4 and beyond the two lenses are comparably sharp. The Panasonic is also more resistant to chromatic aberration and produces less distortion, though the Olympus shows less corner shading. And no doudt as the Sensors, AF ect improve as they will over time, there will be little point for most owning a DSLR, all expect the pro’s. The focus isn't all that brisk, and it's not exactly silent. The focus-by-wire system (common to all mFT lenses) makes manual focus less pleasant than it might be.We can expect to see more Micro Four Thirds cameras and lenses in the future, including likely an OM-System OM-10. It’s safe to say the format has a future for now. FAQ: Will Olympus Micro Four Thirds lenses fit Panasonic? If you want to get extreme close-up images, this is a hell of a lens to do it with. The equivalent focal length of 180mm and the 2x macro magnification make it exceptionally powerful for filling the frame with tiny subjects. To get something anywhere approaching that in a full-frame system, you’d require a much heavier, and significantly more expensive lens.

For the professional sports or wildlife photographer, this lens offers a 300-800mm equivalent range, which can be extended to 375-1000mm (at f/5.6) using the built-in 1.25x teleconverter! When used with the Olympus OM-D E-M1X it’s also said to be able to give up to 8 stops of image stabilisation! It’s also considerably lighter than full-frame equivalents. For even more reach, it’s compatible with the Olympus MC-14 (1.4x) and MC-20 (2.0x) teleconverters. This entry in the feather-weight category of Micro Four Thirds lenses has been around a good while, but we re-tested it recently to see how it holds up and found ourselves summarily impressed. The Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f1.7 II, which somehow weighs about the same as a couple of boxes of matches, is a crisp, fast and punchy lens that makes for an excellent day-to-day shooter. Its equivalent focal length of 40mm makes it a natural choice for general, all-purpose photography, providing a similarly naturalistic perspective to a nifty-fifty but getting that little bit more of the scene in the frame. I’m also an obsessive street photographer. http://paultreacy.com/nyc1 (for example) My current favorite workhorse camera / lens combo is my Nikon D200 with 24mm 2.8 AI prime. It’s a sweet combo yielding very sweet images. Here’s what you should know about using this guide to the best lenses for street photography for Micro Four Thirds: According to DxOMark, this lens isn’t as sharp as its predecessor, and we sort of feel the same way. However, when stopped down to f4, you’ll reach the lens’s sweet spot that you’ll really appreciate. In full frame terms, you’ll hit the equivalent of around f8 and that means that you’ll have perfectly sharp images. There is really no need to stop down beyond this. BokehOlympus also makes a 'nifty fifty' similar to this one. It's a little more expensive, but it's also a bit more compact. Other options in this segment include the faster, though longer Sigma 30mm F1.4 and the higher-end Panasonic/Leica 25mm F1.4 II.