Another enjoyable video. Robin, I want to tell you, you're a great person because you speak the truth about gear, the good, the bad and the ugly. Peace always from Manhattan New York City. PS... It is no wonder why you are approaching 7.5 million views on your channel. Your videos have educated us, your subscribers, on the Micro four thirds system and beyond.
I got all three of these lenses. Your comparison across these three options is pretty spot on. Out of the three, I think the 12mm is my personal favorite. I love the 15mm too but sometimes it’s just not wide enough. I use it more as a wider alternative to the 17mm and 20mm lens options.
The 15mm Panny Leica is the pick of them. I never loved the 17mm Olympus. It renders nicely and is quick to focus, but I found it lacking a little in overall sharpness.
A few months back I saw a used Panasonic GF3 with the 14mm 2.5 for $50 AUD and couldn't pass it up. Sold the GF3 body for $50 which essentially made the lens free for me. It now pairs with my GM1 which makes it a truly pocketable combo. I think for it's size, price and image quality it's a no brainer. Great video mate!
I've relied on your insights for the past 2 yrs since buying into the MFT system. Your videos have helped me make purchasing decisions including choosing MFT in the first place. Now you've persuaded me to pick up the Leica 15mm lens to add to my toolkit. 🙏 From India.
Thank you for the review, I would recommend the 20mm over the 14 for every day usage, and I agree the 15mm is the excellent choice for general purposes. But the 12mm is less attractive since the 9mm is coming soon.
When I first got my Olympus I bought the M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 and 45mm f/1.8 as I wanted fast primes, without the expense of the Pro options. I used them all the time and they were great, but I really needed something wider, even though I added the 12-40 f/2.8 which came with my second EM-1. Because I’m shooting in low light most of the time, the zoom is usually a bit slow without pushing the ISO beyond 3200. I recently bought the 12mm f/2 (used) and the 25mm f/1.8 (new in a sale), and they are now my go-to lenses. It seems appropriate because on my film OM-1, the 24mm and 50mm were my two staples. I also have the Panasonic 14mm for my LUMIX GX80, which is my stealthy “tourist” camera, along with the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7. Mind you,, that new Panasonic 9mm f/1.7 sure looks tempting, although the Zuiko 7-14mm f/2.8 does too, not that I can afford either at the moment.
Wonderful comparison video! You found distinct strengths in each lens as well as potential disadvantages, setting up your final suggestion to get what suits you. This is always your style, and it is great that you don't just present your opinion as "should do" guidance. Indeed, I got something special out of this. I have been on the fence about the 12 since about the start of my M43 experience. It is just so darned cute and compelling! I have the 12-40 Pro and struggled with the idea of sacrificing the weather resistance and zoom capability to gain just one stop. And I would undoubtedly carry both lenses so I would not save space or weight. Your insight on this matter does make sense for me. That frees my mind to obsess on something else. 😀
Great video again Robin! Even though I only have Olympus cameras the 15mm f1.7 is one of my top lenses that I've tried in micro four thirds. The 15mm and the Olympus 12-100mm f4 Pro are my top lenses and can probably cover 95% of what I'd shoot between them.
i have yet to try any pro lenses. My sharpest lenses currently the Oly 25mm f1.8 and the 45mm f1.8 but i also have the 30mm&60mm macros. I really am interested in the 17mm f1.8 and the 40-150mm f2.8 pro. Any experience with those 2 lenses? I also want to upgrade out of my EM10 mk ii. would an em5 mk ii be an upgrade?
@@corykphotography The 40-150 f2.8 pro is still on my wishlist too. I would not use that lens on the EM10 thought, it’ll be ridiculously unbalanced. You can get the original E-M1 used in great condition for around $300 or even cheaper and you’ll end up with the same 16MP image quality (or better), weather sealing and the pro features the E-M1 offers over the EM10, plus a decent grip that allows you to properly use the 40-150.
I use the following lenses on my Olympus micro 4/3 cameras: 45mm f/1.8 20mm f/1.7 14mm f/2.5 The 14mm works fine for me. However, I would have purchased the 12mm f/1.4 if it had been around when I purchased the 14mm.
Robin you just read my mind. I got myself the 15mm f1,7 last week for my kit as needed a prime wide angle lens. Really liking the this little lens so far. Great video as always.
Very informative video Robin. The 12mm was the first I has, one year later I acquired the 15mm lumix, and using both about 3 and 2 years respectively; in my opinion the 15mm is best for street photography ( I like it over the Olympus 17mm) while the 12mm is best for interior architecture (In travels I take it with the 12-100mm).
Dear Robin, the pictures you took with the Leica 15mm are lovely, but I really like the one at 7:50. The composition is just perfect, the light is wonderful and it really gives me some McCurry vibes! Have you ever considered selling prints of your photos? I bet you'd find many people interested. Cheers!
I absolutely agree with you. I own/owned all 3 lenses. Of these, the 15mm is my absolute favorite (in addition to the focal lengths of 20mm and 45mm). And so the worthy equivalent to the Pentax triple 31.5mm, 43mm and 77mm. Thanks for another great video. Best regards from Germany
Another nice video Robin. For travel and compactness, the Lumix 14mm F2.5 is great. With 14mm I am a comfortable distance from my walking partners which allows me to take candid shots as we explore a new city. I like that the pancake lens makes my MFT camera (EM-1 MKII) look like a toy. So people are aware that I am a tourist with a camera, but not intimidated by a big camera system snapping photos close to them.
On the subject of 12mm lenses, the Panasonic Lumix 12-32mm Zoom sells for $499AU but I got a Lumix G-850 with that lens new, on special for $500. So essentially the lens cost me $1AU. It's a decent wide to standard lens for MFT.
As a heads up there is a version 2 of the 14mm 2.5 which address the cons mentioned in this video which makes it the sleeper of this bunch as far as price/performance/size goes. I own the new 14mm as well as the 15mm which is my favorite but the 14mm is a great alternative. Cheers from Washington, DC and great video Robin!
I can't find a new version. I've been searching since i read your comment with no luck. I was about to pull the trigger on this lens until I saw this comment. How do you differentiate the two?
Thank you! you're not the first who says such a good comment about the 15mm f1.7. I can't wait to start shooting with a prime lens on my lumix GH5M2 that currently I have a 12-60mm f2.8-5.6 so I can't wait for my results on f1.7 on the prime lances. thanks for the video 👍
I've got the Olympus and it's very nice but as it's all metal with a focusing clutch they should have gone all the way and made it water resistant and part of the Pro range. Also for around £500 (UK price) they should include a lens hood.
Have the 15mm F1.7, great for night street photography. Make sure to upgrade lens firmware if running on GH series of cameras, for improved focus control and stabilisation.
Another good video, Robin. You may have put also the Oly 17mm f1.8 in this video. When I began to take photos in the early 70's the standard wide angle lens was 35mm f2.8 (FF). Now this is more a less the 14 or the 12 (FF 28 or 24) in the m43. When I had to choose a prime for my PEN-F I choose like you the 15mm f1.7. All in all it is not too wide, the pictures look more natural than a 12mm. And I like the 15mm so much. Tiny, sharp, and catch a lot of light. Have you noticed that the typo is different between a Panasonic lens and a Panasonic-Leica lens. The later uses the the typo and orange color as Leica lenses.
Great video Robin, thank you! I only have the 14mm (absolute bargain purchase from eBay), but I'm tempted by the faster glass on the 15mm. I have to curb my GAS though, because really the 14mm does everything I need and is tiny. Keep up the good work!
I have the 15 and I'm not super blown away with it. I think it's good but not like jaw dropping images. I use a Leica typ 109 (fixed lense) and only 12.8mp I get much better color's and looks way better out of Lightroom than my gx85 with the 15mm.
@@jkroemer2685 I also have the 15 and I can't love it as much as I'd want to. IQ wise it's great, not many lenses of that size can be that sharp and that fast at the same time. But I have with it the same problem I had with the Olympus 17/1.8 (which I sold to get the Pana 15): I feel it lacks character. Perhaps it's the DoF, which is not shallow enough to show the characteristics of the lens, perhaps I'm just bad at medium-wide photography, but I feel like I just can't get great photos with it. Maybe I should sell that too and go the other way, to the pana 20mm...
Hi Robin, very useful video, l have a fairly extensive Micro 4/3 collection that covers the Panasonic G9, G95, Olympus OMD 1 MK II & MKIII also the EM5 MKIII along with a selection of wide to telephoto prime and zoom lenses. So some of the prime lenses are also covered in my zoom lenses, this is how I set up all my camera systems that I have. It depends what I am photographing, in doors or outside and the type of travel involved, I use different bodies and glass for events depending upon who I am shooting for and different setup for plane travel. At times if it is later in the day I would carry a small bag of primes during the day maybe one or more zoom lenses.
For my PenF, the 12mm f/2 & Lumix 20mm II f/1.7 are faves. The 12~40mm pro was used very little due to weight & bulk until recently. I acquired a bargain minty EM1Mk2 body and the pro zoom works better on that frame; “problem” solved! Lol! If forced into 1 body & 1 lens only for M43, I’d choose the PenF & 12mm prime ‘cuz it is excellent pairing and a great travel kit. I’m a geezer and the digital technology is amazing, but I still shoot film and appreciate it more these days.
Great video, as always. I used to own two of these lenses, the 12mm and the 15mm. Although the aperture ring on the 15mm seems like a good idea, in practice I found it to be a nuisance, because it was always getting knocked. I ended up replacing it with a 17mm olympus.
Great video! I’ve got the 14mm f2.5. Not the best lens, but I love it. I’ve seen the 12mm f2 secondhand at very reasonable prices, so I’m considering it for the compact size, but I do already own the Panasonic 12-32mm which is also compact. I don’t own the 12-40. There’s so much choice with micro 4/3. I’ve got the Olympus 17mm f1.8, which is great too and probably the only reason I don’t think I’ll get the 15mm f1.7. Also, I’m considering the relatively new Panasonic 9mm f1.7, or an ultra wide zoom lens.
If my memory is correct, the 14mm is a diagonal angle of view of 75 degrees and the 15mm is 72 degrees. So there's not a whole lot of difference for that specification. Cost is a big difference and the widest F Stop.
I tried the Panasonic 14mm F2.5, attracted by the tiny size, but it's really a bad lens, possibly the worst of the whole Panasonic or Olympus m43 line-up, but people who are into Lomography may like it. As for myself, for street photography I use either the Panasonic 20mm 1/7 or my Galaxy S21 Ultra
Thank you for another very good video, Robin. I always enjoy your authentic and pragmatic reviews based on your real-world experience. I own and enjoy the Panasonic 15 mm; it's one of my favorite lenses for all of the reasons that you state. And, after wrestling with getting the Olympus 12 mm and/or the Panasonic 14 mm, I decided against them for similar reasons, too.
Hey Robin, just curious about the Panasonic 15mm F1.7. What are the issues with it as far as using it on my Olympus om-d e-m10 mark iv? I do own the Olympus 12mm F2 and have zero complaints, but the Panasonic 15mm F1.7 would be a nice addition to my lens arsenal. Thanks!
The 12-40 pro 2.8 against the sun, not really good. What about these lens? The Panasonic is not “perfect” when considering chromatic aberration on my experience
The only lens I haven't owned in the trio is the 12/2, for the reasons you describe (too much overlap with the 12-40/2.8 Pro, too little use for the extreme FoV). The 14 and the 15, being only 1mm (and 2s stops) apart are different enough I keep both. I've never found the 14 IQ to be lacking, there are more clinical lenses for sure, but it's perfectly adequate and the only other budget option is the Olympus 15/8 semi fixed focus body cap which has atrocious IQ. In street photography, the 14 is inconspicuous to the point of being practically invisible to your target, as if covered by invisibility paint, that's invaluable. The 15 is of course much better but is also much heavier and somewhat longer, and it points at you being "a photographer" instead of a regular tourist snapping at random. In my humble opinion, the PL 15/1.7 real competition is the Olympus 17/1.8, and as much as it pains me being an Olympus fan through and through, the 15 trounces the 17, no contest. Owned the 17 twice as I really wanted to love it, sold it twice ; the 14/2.5 has better IQ than that poor excuse of a lens.
Nice video Robin. I know you can't cover all the primes but I vaguely remember u saying u would like to own the Pana Leica 12mm f1.4. Did you do so and if so what did you think?
I've been thinking the 15mm f/1.7 would be my next purchase after I get a lumix camera to replace my E-M5ii. I already have the 12mm f/2 by samyang so there's no point for me to get the Olympus version.
What about the old all time "killer" lens... the Sigma 60mm 2.8 Art from Sigma for MFT .....LensTips say the now almost Believe in Santa Claus again after it come out to that small price and the the quality of everything thing with that lens was just so good.
Because there is not much of an accent or „colored“ vovels or syllable contractions that come from people who (individually or as society) also use other languages from different language families. Robin‘s syllables are more separated than in other English variations. which makes it easy also to me as a native German speaker to understand. But more than pronunciation, I love Robin‘s way of simply explaining what is important for him with love for photography itself and a way of friendly enthusiasm that is not selling anything.
Would it make sense to own the 15mm f/1.7 if I already own the Olympus 17mm f/1.8? I really wanna try it out, especially after all the images I’ve seen from various people who own it. It renders colors really nicely. I would also love to own the 12mm f/2 but I know it won’t see much use compared to my 17mm and 25mm.
The field of view is pretty similar, the pana is obviously a little wider but you probably wouldn't notice it if you don't have a side-by-side. IQ-wide they're both equally great, and to my taste they both a bit lack in character... But maybe that's me vs. medium-wide photography 😅