Having had both, I sold the 20. It's not that it's slow to focus, the real trouble is it's unpredictable. It can start to hunt for no reason while your image is gone. The 25 is not only a bit faster, but it nails the shot every single time. And the 20 cost about thrice as much...
Fantastic review. I particularly liked the way you showed the differences in focus speed and in focus shifting (excellent idea to use a sheet of paper with the word "focus" printed in multiple rows).
Great video! I love my Panasonic 20mm lens! It's lives on my Em10 camera and it's so versatile. Plus it's sharp! I've shot everything from landscapes, cityscapes, flowers, and portraits. Anything that's stationary, this lens is perfect 👌
If you look at my 20mm review and see the quality you can achieve from it. I love the 20mm as it's close to 35mm full frame amazing for environmental portraits and narrative head shots. No focus by wire either or focus shift. The focus is only slower that's it.
I couldn’t live with the slow and noisy focus on the 20mm even though I wanted to like it. The 25mm is much snappier and I prefer using it. It’s also useful with extension tubes as a macro option. It’s worth pointing out that although bigger than the 20mm it is still small and light. Thanks for the review.
I wish i read your comment last week when i bought one, the reviewers don't make it sound so bad like it really is, and none talks about the noise it makes.
What a great review, man! I wish I had discovered your channel before: great work! (it’s truly refreshing to watch a straightforward review) PERFECT! Congrats!
Excellent review! Straight to the point, comprehensive and the examples are easy to follow. Had the 20mm coupled with a small GM5 trying to keep everything compact and was quite happy with it. It got stolen and now I can get both used for a decent price and was wondering witch was a better investment. I think I'll get the 20mm again first and the 25mm in the future. Thanks for the review.
Making a choice... I chose the 20 1.7 plus Sigma 30mm f1.4. I have owned the 20 1.7 since it was first introduced. Sharpness plus smallness makes it a no-brainer.
Good review: the 20mm is sadly quite slow to focus, but otherwise is a tremendous lens with a fantastic all around focal lenght. The 25mm is cheap, but IMO Olympus makes overall a better lens, with slightly better build quality, no chromatic aberration (Olympus camera don't CA automatically) no focus shift and no focus breath in video. It costs a bit more through.
I had a front focus problem with my first copy of 25 1.7 and changed it and the second copy is perfect so its a lens copy variation and not a model problem
A very nice review! I have used my 20mm for close to 9 years (mkI). Love the quality - sometimes (seldom) hate the focusing speed! Keep up the good work - Regards Ulf (do have Olympus and Fuji 25mm lenses).
What kind of lenses you will suggest , for shooting in low light (for exaple restaurants.) Focal Length ? Angle of View ? Max Aperture f/ ?? Min Aperture f/?? Stabilised I use body panasonic G6
Just bought the 25mm and 42.5mm 1.7 as a second-hand for 370€ :) Is it possible to save a profile (aply it to one of the FN-buttons) into G9 for the 25mm focus shift adjustment?
Regarding minimum focusing distance.. was there a mistake? The info online indicate 20mm is 0.2m vs 25mm’s 0.25m. So, isn’t the 20mm supposed to be closer?!
The 20mm IS speed sensitive on my Olympus body and it is annoying. You can notice it when you turn it slowly. The difference is that it does not jump very fast when you turn it quickly.
Hi, can you compare the 12mm 1.4 (Summilux), 17mm and/or the 25mm on MFT cam with a 24mm f1.4, 35mm f1.4 and a 50mm f1.4 on a fullframe cam, please? Many greatings from germany.
Look for stabilized lenses if you are going to move arround handmade and search that speciffic lenses for video works. For example i recorded a lot of zoom in sceens in my 14-140 with very good results by hand holding it! Anyway, for static videos or close ones, this kind of lenses look great too. At the end it depends on the point of view you are going to prefeere
excellent comparison video im happy with my 25mm lot of work went in to this review do you have any video on settings with g85 for video and photo i have seen a lot of video but yours is very clear great work
I wish i did my research before buying the 20mm, the focus is very slow and noisy, slower than kit lenses. I bought it for street where you need speed but can't think of any subject that will not benefit extra speed
Really nice review, and reaaallly accurate... =) i own the 20mm and.. Yay. Its wonderfull ans you describe. Really good results and sharpness, with de boundaries os Panasonic systms. I'm usint it on a GM1 and i guess it will work good on a bigger camera like ghe g9 in a few years
Absolutely. It's wide enough to vlog with or get a lot in frame in close spaces. I've had the Panasonic 25mm and sold it because it was just too much range for me. I could barely get myself in frame in my room. I got the Panasonic 14mm 2.5 and that was okay but too wide and I missed the compressed cinematic/portait shots from my 25mm. To If you can only have 1 prime lens. This would be it. Especially at 1.7 it is ridiculous.
Hallo, thankyou so much for this review! It is simple but covering what i need to know :) I want to ask something, between the 25mm and 12-32mm kit (on the same aperture), how about the image quality and focusing speed? Thankyou in advance Sorry for my bad english
Focusing speed is far better on the kit lens. Image quality in good light is comparable between the the two (except for bokeh, which doesn't exist on the 12-32mm). At night or indoors the 20mm f1.7 is an amazing lens. You just need to deal with the slow and unreliable autofocus.
I think the 20mm f1.7ii is not made of all plastic, I dropped mine once and noticed that it's made some sort of metal. And I used to have the silver one, so I definitely think it's metal combined with the plastic focus ring.
Good review, thank you... Did you notice any loss of definition on the 20mm when stopping down to f8 - f22? I've only had mine for a few weeks and was really disappointed in the image quality when trying to get a large depth of field on some landscape images. I did some tests afterwards and found that the optimum aperture for me was f5.6 - it was a very noticeable difference...
That is due to diffraction (too small of an aperture) and happens on all lenses ever made. I rarely use more than f/11 on micro 43 cameras. F/16 can be really soft while f/22 becomes a pudding.
Hello, I have the 42.5 1.7 and I am looking for a wider lens for video from panasonic. Size kinda matters also as I want to carry it everyday with me. Any suggestion? Thank you
Great review as usual Ivan. You talk about a possible 25mm Mark II but don't you think shift focus issues could be fixed via lens/camera firmware updates?
It probably could be solved that way, but Panasonic most likely won't bother updating older cameras or this lens. Many users might not even know there is an update. It is probably easier for them to make Mark II with better optical design.
I haven’t used the 25/1.7, but I know I love the look of my 20/1.7. Close focusing wide open gives really beautiful blur in the background. Maybe the vignetting is part of its magic.
What kind of lenses should i use for video shooting in low light, for example video in restaurant. Automatic lenses or with manual exposure/focus (prime lens) What mm focal lenght should be ? I use panasonic G6 body
I've watched and asked other reviewers of these lenses, and none of them has had or even seen this issue on the 25mm, maybe a case of a bad example maybe??... confused.
in Other Words the Panasonic 15mm F/1.7 Defaults Imagine Quality as a Pile of Crap? Yes if its hit & miss where Your Really having to work at it to get a Keep Worthy SHOT then i Agree with You 100% Well Then 15mm F1.7 I'v Desided Not To BUY & Taking off my List, (( Thanks for the Heads UP Warning, Otherwise Yes About This Little 20mm F/1.7 You Are Exactly Correct IT IS INDEED a Great Little Lens For The Price & KEEPS everything Small & Compact :-) Thank You For Sharing In Your GREAT VIDEO My Friend C,P,
