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Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 ASPH Lens

18 Jul 2011

Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds 25mm f/1.4 prime lens produces a beautiful, soft focus for photos and videos with its wide aperture.

Tags: panasonic, micro four thirds, leica, lens, mirrorless system cameras

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			<h2 class="header-green">First Looks: Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 ASPH Lens</h2>
		<span class="byline">Reviewed by Alvin Soon on Wednesday, 03 Aug 2011</span>
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		 		<h2 class="page-title">Introduction, Design &amp; Handling</h2>
		 		<h3 class="page_title">Introduction</h3>
<p>Launching in June/July together with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 and GF3 is the Panasonic&nbsp;Leica DG Summilux 25mm/f1.4 ASPH, a Micro Four Thirds prime lens. The Micro Four Thirds mount has a crop factor of 2x, so in effect the 25mm becomes like a 50mm lens in 35mm equivalent.</p>
<p>Together with the other prime lenses, the Olympus 12mm f/2 (24mm equivalent), the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 (28mm equivalent) pancake, the Olympus 17mm f/2.8 (34mm equivalent) pancake, and the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 (90mm equivalent), the Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 (50mm equivalent) rounds up a nice selection of prime lenses covering from a wide to telephoto range. 50mm is traditionally deemed a portrait lens, as its perspective is close to the human eye's. The lens' fast f/1.4 aperture also produces a beautifully narrow depth of field with a soft background, making the subject an even stronger point of focus.</p>
<p>Its closest competitor today is the Voigtl&auml;nder 25mm f/0.95 (a 50mm lens in 35mm equivalent), which is a faster lens but is manual focus, while the Panasonic 25mm is able to do auto-focus. And while the price for the Panasonic 25mm lens hasn't been revealed, it's likely that it'll be priced more affordably than the&nbsp;Voigtl&auml;nder, which is currently listed at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0046EC1OE/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&amp;redirect=true&amp;qid=1311062826&amp;sr=8-1&amp;condition=all" target="_blank">Amazon</a> for US$1,199.</p>
<p>The Panasonic&nbsp;25mm/f1.4 lens opens up a wealth of possibilities for the Micro Four Thirds shooter looking for a fast and wide lens. Let's take a closer look at how it handles and performs.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img width="500" height="375" src="/files/images/25mm_hero.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<h3 class="page_title">Design &amp; Handling</h3>
<p class="rteleft">Physically, the 25mm is a substantial lens, close in size to the kit 14-42mm zoom lens. Approximately 54.5mm in length and 200g in weight, it's bigger than previous prime lenses and is a lens you'll definitely feel at the end of your camera.</p>
<p class="rteleft">It's worth noting that the lens doesn't come with built-in image stabilization, and neither do any of Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds cameras. So you're going to need that fast aperture or firm hands to get a steady shot with hand-held long exposures. Either that or tack the 25mm onto an Olympus Micro Four Thirds camera, all of which come with in-body image stabilizers.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img width="500" height="335" src="/files/images/25mm_design005.jpg" title="The 25mm (center) in comparison with Panasonic's 14mm (left) pancake lens and 14-42mm kit lens (right)." alt="" /></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img width="500" height="335" src="/files/images/25mm_design001.jpg" alt="" title="The 25mm attached to a Panasonic G3." /></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img width="500" height="335" src="/files/images/25mm_design003.jpg" alt="" title="In comparison, here's the Panasonic 14mm pancake lens with the G3." /></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img width="500" height="335" src="/files/images/25mm_design004.jpg" alt="" title="And a G3 with a 14-42mm kit lens." /></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img width="500" height="335" src="/files/images/25mm_design002.jpg" title="The 25mm lens also comes with its own lens hood. Because of its unique shape, it can't be attached backwards on the lens for easy storage." alt="" /></p>			</div>
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Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 ASPH Lens

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