Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 ASPH lenses

see also:

• Micro Four Thirds system
• a catalogue of Micro Four Thirds lenses
• Panasonic 25mm f/1.7 lens
• Olympus mZD 25mm f/1.2 PRO lens
• Olympus m.ZD 25mm f/1.8 standard lens

• a premium quality wide aperture compact “standard” lens for Micro Four Thirds system replacing the brilliant but much larger, heavier and more expensive Four Thirds version, the Panasonic Leica-D Summilux 25mm f/1.4 lens for Four Thirds.
• a veriosn II of this lens was introduced in 2019
• this compact design is courtesy of the shorter lens flange distance of the Micro Four Thirds system.
• an awesome lens for low light work indoors such as in art galleries, and for environmental portraits.
• Micro Four Thirds system users have a number of “standard lens” options as well as this lens, including:
  • Panasonic 25mm f/1.7 lens
    • newer design with faster AF compatible with DFD C-AF and 240fps AF signalling
  • Olympus m.ZD 25mm f/1.8 standard lens
  • Olympus mZD 25mm f/1.2 PRO lens - weathersealed, MF clutch
  • Panasonic Leica-D Summilux 25mm f/1.4 lens for Four Thirds - Olympus Four Thirds dSLR system
    • larger, heavier, more expensive but sharper wide open with less vignetting but more CA
  • Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7 pancake lens
    • half the size and weight, wider field of view but more CA and distortion, and slower, noisier AF
  • Olympus mZD 17mm f/1.8 lens
  • Olympus ZD 25mm f/2.8 pancake lens - Olympus Four Thirds dSLR system
    • only f/2.8 aperture, slower, noisier AF
  • Cosina Voigtlander Nokton 25mm f/0.95 lens
    • manual focus only, much heavier, more expensive, and no where near as sharp in the corners at any aperture but you do get f/0.95

• introduced Oct 2019
• same as version I but adds:
  • dust- and splash-resistant design and new exterior finish
  • improved focus performance:
    • inner focus drive system and stepping motor that promises smooth, silent focus
    • compatibility with 240fps sensor drive to take advantage of cameras with high-speed AF.
  • slightly heavier
  • hopefully they have addressed the quirkiness functionality with Olympus cameras

• 25mm focal length = 50mm field of view on 35mm full frame
• f/1.4-f/16 aperture
• no aperture ring unlike the Panasonic Leica-D Summilux 25mm f/1.4 lens for Four Thirds
• close focus to 0.3m
• filter size 46mm does not rotate
• 9 elements arranged in 7 groups, including 2 aspherical elements and 1 ultra-high-refractive-index lens element
• Nano Surface Coating
• 7 rounded aperture blades
• 63mm x 55mm long
• 205g / 7.23oz
• RRP $US699

• 25mm focal length = 50mm field of view on 35mm full frame
• f/1.4-f/16 aperture
• no aperture ring unlike the Panasonic Leica-D Summilux 25mm f/1.4 lens for Four Thirds
• close focus to 0.3m
• filter size 46mm does not rotate
• 9 elements arranged in 7 groups, including 2 aspherical elements and 1 ultra-high-refractive-index lens element
• Nano Surface Coating
• 7 rounded aperture blades
• 63mm x 55mm long
• 200g / 7.05oz
• RRP $US599

• ephotozine.com review:
  • a little less sharp wide open, especially in the corners
  • sharpest at f/2.8-5.6 (unlike the Panasonic Leica-D Summilux 25mm f/1.4 lens for Four Thirds which is extremely sharp wide open and sharpest at f/2.0)
  • minimal CA - better than the the Panasonic Leica-D Summilux 25mm f/1.4 lens for Four Thirds
  • 1.8EV vignetting wide open - worse than the the Panasonic Leica-D Summilux 25mm f/1.4 lens for Four Thirds
  • minimal barrel distortion (0.5%) - same as the the Panasonic Leica-D Summilux 25mm f/1.4 lens for Four Thirds
• SLRGear review:
  • “exceptionally sharp, especially when stopped down slightly. When used wide open at ƒ/1.4, the vast majority of the frame is incredibly sharp, tapering to very light corner softness in the extreme edges. Stopped down to ƒ/2, this corner softness is dramatically reduced, and disappears completely at ƒ/2.8 where the lens is tack-sharp across the frame. This sharpness continues all the way to ƒ/11”
  • some CA wide open across the frame in high contrast situations but improves as stopped down
• photoblog.com review:
  • “build quality is excellent”
  • “very fast to focus on the new DMC-G3 camera and almost virtually silent too thus suited to videos”
  • “hood does almost doubles the length of the lens”
  • “an excellent performer…you can safely use it wide open for maximum bokeh and still achieve sharp results in the centre of the frame”
  • “optimum performance stop down to f/4, where even the edges of the frame look sharp”
  • “CA is almost completely absent, while distortions are automatically corrected on both Olympus and Panasonic bodies”
  • “creamy bokeh and snappy performance”
  • “highly recommended”
• DxOMark tests
• Kirk Tuck's view - “superb” but on an Olympus body the aperture becomes very noisy in bright light as it continuously opens and closes.