A classic and fast Panasonic lens at a very good price.
Micro Four Thirds System Lens
50mm (35mm Equivalent)
Aperture Range: f/1.7 to f/22
One Ultra-High Refractive Index Element
Two Aspherical Elements
Stepping AF Motor
Rounded 7-Blade Diaphragm
Whats the picture mode focus like?
it's great! the AF chooses some question targets sometimes but if you manual focus it's great. Amazing in low light as well. love using it for streetlight photography
I have this lens and both em10ii and em5iii. Feels very snappy on the em5, but I'm also comparing it to my Panasonic 20mm which is slow as all hell.
Still it's an amazing lens at a great price!
@chartparker: I agree. Would have loved the f.18 Oly trio but Amazon had this pany for $149 earlier in the year and hard to say no at this price!
@chartparker: Are you happy with the em5iii? I have the mk2, thinking of upgrading if the price drops a bit :)
@Shane34: It's a decent camera but not worth the launch price. If you can get it for $1400 or less then I reckon it's good value.
It's annoying how Olympus purposely gimped what could have been an amazing tiny camera and removed features for fear of cannibalizing their em1. Still good, just not great
@tlai: Prefer using this lens for portraits of my child as I like the focal length a bit better. I prefer just walking around with the 20mm pancake though
What's the benefits of this kind of lens?
Also can get shallow depth of field you can't get on the kit lens
Relatively compact and versatile prime. Good for photo and video. Value for money is right up there.
comes with a hood as well
Thats a bonus
Larger aperture than zoom lenses allows for shallower depth of field which makes for better isolation of the subject.
It’s fast (wide aperture).
Once you start using fast lenses with “available light“, rather than a slow lens with a flash, you’ll find it hard to go back.
Stellar price. I already own the Olympus version of this lens, otherwise I'd get it.
Damn good price.
Ripper price. Sony users will keep dreaming to see something for this price. ;/
True that. Their recent price hike (of already high prices) is unreasonable.
The thing putting me off switching to sony wasnt the body cost but the lens cost. Ridiculous even for 3rd party lenses.
Sony has the Sigma trio which I am very happy with both in price and performance.
If you have a M43 camera, get it. It's brilliant.
Lol, I just spent $720 on the Panasonic Leica 25mm F/1.4. Crazy what you have to spend to get a weather sealed prime
And the lower f-stop. That 1.4 is great, and is a noticeably sharper lens. But yeah and weather sealing haha.
Thanks for making me feel better about my purchase haha
Used to have this lens when I had a Panasonic, very good lens. My favourite was my 42.5mm F1.7 though (I didn't just use it for portraits).
This is offtopic, but I just got a second hand Lumix TZ55. When using the zoom the interface gives the focal length in metres. Its helped a lot with framing shots https://i.imgur.com/JbiAb6A.jpg . I'm think about micro 4/3.
Thanks OP, ordered one.
Already got a Panny 20mm F1.7 pancake lens. But this price is tempting.
Don't think you need it, just move a bit closer to the subject
True. I am saving up for 12-40 F2.8 Pro.
hoping it drops back to $749 at digidirect and further 15-20% off! Annoyed I didn't get it during Xmas! Went for the 60mm macro instead
@pippohippo: The 12-40mm is worth it my friends. It's like having a bag of primes in one lens assuming you're OK with f/2.8.
@pippohippo: Yikes! Didn't realise the lens' price has shot up so much. I got it for ~$640 back in mid 2018. 2yrs later and the cheapest I can see if for is $800 at Dirt Cheap Cameras:
https://www.dccameras.com.au/olympus-m-zuiko-digital-12-40mm…
@Mugsy: I'm holding off to 600-700. I don't really need it since it was intended for my holiday trip (and claim TRS). Got 17,25,45 and the kit so quite covered apart from the 12mm low light
Ordered! Thanks op!
Tempting at this price indeed.
I have the Oly 12-40 f/2.8 and Panny Leica 17mm f/1.7 already. Portraits aren't my fave type of shots and the 12-40 was bought to minimise lens changes anyway so I might forgo this time. Hope those of you who bought it enjoy your new lens!
12-40 f2.8 is a fantastic lens. Too bad its out of my budget.
its also huge and heavy haha..
The old need/want conundrum
Same. Already have Olympus 17/1.8 and 45/1.8. And just bought a new car. Haven't gelled with 50mm equivalent focal length in the past. Prefer the 35mm equivalent for general duties.
I got the same setup. The 25mm fits in nicely imo for portrait - the ratio of background and subject is much nicer compared to the 17 and 45mm. Each to their own use.
Thanks, bought for my BMPCC4K
Would this work well with a Lumix G7? I want to buy this lens but need a Camera body. I’m coming from Nikon Camera.
Can someone recommend a good camera to use with this lens?
Yes it would. Depends on your budget and what features you want in the body.
Depends on your budget - get a secondhand EM5 Mark 2? I got my 2nd hand EM5 mark 2 for just $500 on gumtree.
Yes, this lens is suitable for a Lumix G7, and is an excellent choice at this price.
I will mention that I myself have the Olympus f1.8 at this focal length, but I really like the Panasonic 42.5 mm f1.7 and the Panasonic 12-32 mm pancake. (I use an ancient Panasonic GH1, a Panasonic GM5 and Olympus EP-5).
My father uses a Panasonic G85, which is similar to the G7, and it is a very good camera. Many newer model micro four-third cameras have in-camera sensor stabilization, but not the G7. But having said that, coming from Nikon you won't be missing the lack of stabilization…
The point on IBIS is a good one though. I came from Canon APS-C and Nikon 1 which had no IBIS and the ability to handhold in the night with limited street lighting using my EM-10 mk2 and a Pany Leica 15mm f/1.7 is simply amazing.
If they're going to spend money, they may as well get a bit of an upgrade.
I personally think IBIS is fantastic too! Particularly when using telephoto lenses. On the other hand, I have hand-held shots during the night, with a film 35mm SLR and ISO 400 film. Getting that 'night shot' cost me a few dollars in film processing fees in those days…
One 'nice' result of two companies (Panasonic and Olympus) producing micro-4/3 cameras, both producing several lines of cameras (GH/Gxx/Gx/Gxxx/GX/GF and EM10/EM5/EM1/EPL) is that, other than 'technical spec sheet' differences, the consumer also has a choice in user-ergonomic design styles.
Sometimes I think the 'technical spec sheet' and even online user experience of the differences between cameras and manufacturers does not actually carry over into an individual's experience. For example, people all over the Internet criticize Panasonic video focus performance, often quoting the lack of a particular type of focusing system. But for stills shooting, I often find my Panasonics, even old Panasonics, out-performing new Olympus cameras, sometimes even using (old) Olympus lenses! Having said that, I have generally been very happy with focus performance for stills and, increasingly, video.
So I can only encourage a micro-4/3 buyer to actually pick up a camera or two and see which ones suits your hands and shooting style!
These often go for very cheap on the second hand market because they were given away free in bundles.
I see the price at $229 not $179
Ordered yesterday at 1:30pm. Got an email today saying item out of stock with full refund or credit offered. Anyone else get the same?
Same here
They emailed me saying they needed to confirm my shipping address which i thought was a bit odd but no issue. Then I got an email saying its been shipped via startrack express. Overall pretty smooth going.
Very good Lens for this price level.
Just be aware if you want to use this on a Olympus em10 body, the video focus is very slow compare to my other two Olympus lens, no issue on the picture side, only poor video focus speed.