(FT5) Leica 25mm f/1.4 size (FT3) will be cheaper than we all thought?
I got small bits of info about the upcoming Leica 25mm f/1.4 Micro Four Thirds lens. The lens has the same diameter as the current 20mm f/1.7 pancake which is 63mm. And the length opf the lens is 54,5mm. On the picture on top you can see a comparison with other lenses. The new Leica is 1cm shorter than the current only Leica m43 lens, the The Panasonic 45mm macrolens. The big lens is the Four Thirds 25mm Leica which uses the 43 to m43 adapter. The camera is the old nice Panasonic GF1.
There is one more info I got that need to be double checked with other sources. One source “heard” that the new Leica will be cheaper than the rumored 700-800 dollar/Euro price range. Let’s hope this is true because if the lens costs around 500-600 dollars/Euro (and the image quality is top notch) I am sure it will sell like hotcakes! Reminder, the “old” Four Thirds 25mm f/1.4 had a price tag of $1100 dollars/Euro. As you know that lens has been discontinued and you can still find some Four Thirds 25mm lenses on eBay (Click here).
P.S.: Someone can send me a picture of the lens? Thanks! 
Reminder -> Rumors classification explained (FT= FourThirds):
FT1=1-20% chance the rumor is correct
FT2=21-40% chance the rumor is correct
FT3=41-60% chance the rumor is correct
FT4=61-80% chance the rumor is correct
FT5=81-99% chance the rumor is correct
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Comment from twinkls: I'm puzzled, if Sony users are so happy ...
Comment from WT21: I believe the rumor is no IS....
Comment from dts: any word on availability date once it's ...
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YouDidntDidYou
12 months ago |I paid £545 for my Leica F1.4 25mm new four years ago, since then I’ve taken over 200,000 photos with it
Fausto
12 months ago |So you have been taking an average of about 130-140 photos per day (=one every 10-15 minutes day & night) for the past four years with that lens… impressive
Ulli
12 months ago |he must be into model photography…one session can result in 200-500 pictures
YouDidntDidYou
12 months ago |a lot of weddings mostly
been using it between four cameras and yes can easily do 800-1200 shots per a week
Phi Warrender
12 months ago |That’s a darn cheap lens when you figure it’s only cost you 1/4p per shot.
Bob B.
12 months ago |It is nice to see some serious glass being produced for MFT….. Now about that dynamic range…:-)
CRB
12 months ago |Thats the main reason i gave up on m4/3
Agent00soul
12 months ago |Remember that we will always be limited by the dynamic range of paper printing (or computer monitors). If you really could capture an ultra-wide dynamic range, you will have to compress it for printing (or viewing). That usually results in a flat-looking image. For some subjects this might be OK but not for all.
Ahem
12 months ago |While you are correct, it’s trivial to compress a wide dynamic range to paper printing. If the DR is not there in the first place, you often have to resort to digital blending or (ewww) HDR.
But you have to remember that printing is a dying art. Monitors have much wider DR than paper.
Jules
12 months ago |You are neither the first nor the last person to give up on m43, but not on m43 forums.
fta
12 months ago |Zing!!!! +1
YouDidntDidYou
12 months ago |you should be able to dial in dynamic range, sometimes you want less dynamic range eg http://www.flickr.com/photos/youdidntdidyou/4875216605/in/photostream
CRB
12 months ago |i understand what you are saying but as example shows, its hard to get the highlights not blown without getting a lot of blocked shadows in circuntances like these…
YouDidntDidYou
12 months ago |I think the blown highlights make the shot, if I they weren’t blown through HDR/under exposing and the post processing/increased dynamic range the shot would of looked ordinary…
If you could dial in dynamic range then you would have the choice, sometimes I deliberately blow highlights via spot metering, exposure compensation etc
CRB
12 months ago |It really depends on personal taste…i, for one, do not like blown highlights, because of the simple fact that roll off in the highlights with digital is very abrupt and unpleasant.
sneye
12 months ago |So size-wise it’s almost a 45-macro clone. Very handy.
admin
12 months ago |Yes, sources do like it a lot!
admin
12 months ago |If you want dynamic range go medium format…film! Like I am doing;)
Micro Four Thirds is perfect for all day use. The E-P1 is always with me. But the new mini PEN sounds amazing and I might will buy it
AndyOz
12 months ago |What rumors do you have about the Mini-Pen?
CRB
12 months ago |APS-C (sony sensors…you do run sonyrumors, dont you?) have excellent performance nowadays….much better than 4/3…the reply was for the admin…dont know why came up for you….sorry
Agrivar
12 months ago |Yeah. with lenses the size of elephants
The Other Chris
12 months ago |Try lugging around an RZ67 kit and then tell me about elephant sized lenses.
Agrivar
12 months ago |lol.. that is a huge elephant.. but we are not really discussing Medium Format..
Archer Sully
12 months ago |Mamiya C33 makes the RZ look like a P&S
.
CRB
12 months ago |Compromises…you cant have it all…
Miroslav
12 months ago |“new mini PEN sounds amazing”
Any specs coming soon
?
admin
12 months ago |Yes, coming soon. But first there will be rumors about the GF3 and the Leica lens.
About the mini PEN…I havn’t seen it yet. I am trying to figure out if it is smaller than the GF3. That would be amazing!
Miroslav
12 months ago |Thanks. I wouldn’t like anything smaller than GF2, let alone smaller than GF3. I think G3/GF2 is the smallest m4/3 can go without being a camera for small primes only. And GF2 needs a better grip.
I wouldn’t mind m4/3 being thinner, but I doubt there’s much to shave from cameras in that direction.
Eric
12 months ago |At this point they might as well make a camera shaped like a cylinder the diameter of the lens mount with only an EVF and no rear LCD. Could just use it like a sighting scope. Seems like that would be more comfortable to use then something even smaller than a GF3.
fta
12 months ago |Hey, thats a good idea. Make the camera a small cylinder with only an EVF, no display screen. So you use it like a refracting telescope.
currirergoh
12 months ago |do it!
MaxElmar
12 months ago |You must be shooting negative film. To the folks who were suggesting that m43 has such a limited dynamic range, I was going to suggest they go shoot a few rolls of Velvia 50 – then the “limited dynamic range” of m43 will seem like a breeze!
In addition to m43 I shoot film from 35mm up to 8×10. Medium format being my favorite.
admin
12 months ago |Yes I shoot B&W. I think the whole discussion about dyanmic range and megapixels is de facto stupid. You can take superb pictures with all digital cameras and the real world difference between them is very small. What matters are usability and size (at least for me).
sneye
12 months ago |You are absolutely right. ISO, DR, megapixels and the other usual suspects have very small practical implications. Functionality is more important and creative input is more important than that. I wish more people chose their equipment by the creativity it inspires rather than by silly technical tests.
Now, lets discuss the crappy E-P3 image quality at ISO6400 (which we use all the time). I’m sure that the new NEX leaves it in the dust
Archer Sully
12 months ago |There are times and situations where the high DR and the concomitant high ISO are the only ways to get the shot, so in that sense a Sony sensor is a better tool. I don’t usually find myself in those situations, so I’m not in a great hurry to jump to the Sony (or Canon, or Nikon) camp. I’m happy where I am.
CRB
12 months ago |To be ohnest i did like the G1 i had, but i do have situations where i need high DR and low noise at high isos…
Ahem
12 months ago |I shoot MF and LF chromes, so I’m not stranger to small DR. But I want wide DR in my digital files. Better yet, I want low shadow noise while being able to capture wide DR.
Different tools for different purposes.
CRB
12 months ago |+1………
CRB
12 months ago |Of course we are talking about negative and the newer aps-c and FF sensors…dxo mark shows better DR for the LX5 (by small margin but still?)than for an EP whatever and Gs also…
Archer Sully
12 months ago |I still wonder just how DxO does there measurements. Sometimes it seems they’re working at the pixel level, sometimes at the image level.
Inge-M.
12 months ago |MaxElmar i to, but i use not only Velvia, to scaning i use more Astia 100F.
Miroslav
12 months ago |Sony has priced its new NEX 30mm macro very low. I know this Leica is not the competitor, although it has similar focal length, but maybe Panasonic has decided to lower its prices as well?
More interesting thing is that those lenses have almost same dimensions, which just shows how much Sony has to sacrifice aperture – F3.5 to Panasonic’s F1.4 – to make the NEX lens as small as m4/3.
Bizzarrini
12 months ago |The 30mm is a macro lens, not really comparable to a normal lens…
Miroslav
12 months ago |I’m aware of that. But it’s nevertheless interesting that 45mm F3.5 APS-C lens is the same size as 50mm F1.4 m4/3 lens.
Eric
12 months ago |I have no idea what Sony is doing. Small size doesn’t seem to be a concern for them. The Samsung NX also uses APS-C sensors and their 30mm f/2.0 is the same size as the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7.
The way I look t the whole lens size thing is the only time lens size really matters to me is for street photography and hiking pics. If a system has a small lens for each of those purposes (such as the Samsung 30mm f/2) then I’m not concerned if other lenses are much larger.
That said, smaller is always appreciated. It will be interesting to see what Pentax can do with an APS-C mirrorless lens. They have a full frame SLR 43mm f/1.9 that is as small as the upcoming Panasonic 25mm f/1.4.
twinkls
11 months ago |I’m puzzled, if Sony users are so happy about their gear, what are they doing milling about a m4/3 rumors forum?
As for macro, you’ll have to pry the Olympus Z. 35mm from my dead hands. Nicest nature macro lens ever, works beautifully on m43 body with adapter. Check the shots on flickr, you’ll see.
dts
12 months ago |46mm filtersize on the 25mm?
admin
12 months ago |Have to ask. But I guess it’s the same!
Nico Foto
12 months ago |I’m dying to get my hands on this lens!!!
frosti7
12 months ago |is it me or the sketch dosnt show a 1 cm difference between the 45 macro and the micro pl25
Agent00soul
12 months ago |I can’t see the entire picture. The frame cuts it off just beyond the text “54,5 mm”. Anything to the right of this is invisible. This problem often appears on 4/3 rumours, both on my computer at work and the one at home.
Miroslav
12 months ago |On my 1024×600 netbook screen as well. The only cure is right click -> View image ( or whatever that command is called in your browser ).
admin
12 months ago |What is the resolutiuon of your screen?
Agent00soul
12 months ago |1280×1024 at work and 1600×1200 at home.
frosti7
12 months ago |Actually it cuts off on my screen as well, and its not the first time, any wide picture on 43rumors would be cut.
to view it fully i have to open the picture in a separate window.
my monitor: 24inch 19200×1200 res with firefox or IE same.
also cuts off on my iPhone (using non-mobile scheme)
Diane B
12 months ago |And on the Ipad. I “save” the photo to the photo app and view it.
frosti7
12 months ago |diane, i use “copy” and open it in a new window (on iphone4)
I use “Atomic Browser” for browsing, i find it much better then safari
Ahem
12 months ago |It’s been like that for months, me and others have pointed it out but it’s still not fixed
Not everyone has a big screen (1024×768 is still the second most popular resolution of visitors to my site, and not everyone with bigger screens browses maximized (me included).
It’s even worse for embedded Youtube videos, which cut off the maximize controls on the right side of the clip.
I believe the issue is that the two columns on the right take too much real estate, and that the minimum width of the main content column has not been set in pixels to ensure there’s not cutting off.
admin
12 months ago |The sketch is not 100% perfect.
AndyOz
12 months ago |Any info on whether the lens has a focus distance scale like the old 43rds one?
mma173
12 months ago |It has to be cheaper than the old one as it doesn’t have an OIS. Something I wish the new lens have.
Agent00soul
12 months ago |The old one didn’t have it either, did it?
mma173
12 months ago |taco man
12 months ago |Neither does the 20mm 1.7, no OIS or orientation sensor.
frosti7
12 months ago |smartass comment coming in 3..2..1..
It will have OIS on Olympus bodies
mma173
12 months ago |taco man, what I meant to say is that the focal length and the aperture of both lenses are close to each other and both don’t have OIS. If the 1.4 has an OIS, this will make it totally different from the 1.7.
Note: I know that numbers aren’t everything.
MaxElmar
12 months ago |I don’t think anyone has made an internally stabilized lens faster f/2.0 (and VERY few of those) if someone knows of others please let me know. One selling point of the Olympus system (for me) was fast lenses + stabilization = awesome. I suspect, as lenses get faster, the elements get too big to accelerate fast enough – that and I’m the tolerances required to make a fast lens perform don’t lend themselves to being shifted around willy-nilly.
mma173
12 months ago |Thanks’ for the info. and agree about stabilization being an advantage for Oly in addition to image quality- the colors to be specific.
Agrivar
12 months ago |Admin, does the 25mm 1.4 have ois? Is it optimized for video?
admin
12 months ago |No OIS
Agrivar
12 months ago |Hoping…..
Jerodequin
12 months ago |Any news on the previously rumoured fast zoom lens and fast portrait length lenses from either Olympus or Panasonic?!
admin
12 months ago |NO news. The only thing I heard is that a couple of news lenses will be announced in August.
Arguros
12 months ago |Why is it so big?
The full frame Nikon 50mm 1.4 is smaller than the pana leica 50mm and still covers full frame.
Agent00soul
12 months ago |And what are the Nikon’s measurements? Does it have AF?
Remember that the shorter register distance of m4/3 adds some length to the lens. So you need to compare it with the Nikon lens plus Nikon to m4/3 adapter.
admin
12 months ago |You mean the manual fcusing Nikon? If you take away AF than you can reduce the size!
D
12 months ago |If it’s cheaper than the Nokton, at least as good as the 20mm pancake and they make it all black like the 45mm macro I’ll be all over it.
arguros
12 months ago |Hi,
The Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-D is around 43mm long, it is 1.4, has AF and cover full frame!!!
Agent00soul
12 months ago |Then you add 27 mm for the Nikon to m4/3 adapter and you’re looking at 70 mm for the Nikon, compared to 54.5 mm for the Panasonic.
Per
12 months ago |Panasonic assortment of prime lenses seems a bit narrow: 14mm, 20mm, 25mm. If we talk about image quality, quality lenses does a lot! I hope that this new one is better than the 20mm. Not that I do not like the quality output from the 20mm – Just that images taken with my Zeiss 50mm and Leica 90mm are so much better! Booth sharrpness, “smoothness” and colors. That lens quality and a fast autofucus as well, is my wet dream! Does more to images than buying slightly better camera! Spend more on lenses and less on cameras is my advics.
Miroslav
12 months ago |You’ve forgotten 8mm and 45mm primes.
Tobias W.
12 months ago |Per, what do the Zeiss and the Leica cost? How big are they? Do they have autofocus?
Now, compare that to Panasonic’s 20mm price, weight and size.
Kind of a silly comparison, huh?
Tobias W.
12 months ago |I would like to know if manual focus is direct or by-wire. Also, a focus distance scale might be nice to know about.
I’m guessing focus will be by-wire as even the Four Thirds one does it that way (a bit disappointing in my opinion).
DonTom
12 months ago |I think focus-by-wire and AF go hand in hand, surely?
Thomas S
12 months ago |Some AF lenses that are usable on MFT bodies have a “real” manual focus ring, like for example the Zuiko 14-35/2.0, but that’s a FT lens. Not sure if the omission of real focus rings on MFT lenses is due to price or because it might effect CDAF speed? Or are their MFT lenses with a real focus ring?
Ulli
12 months ago |the dimensions are perfect, not too big and not too small. sounds like a great “wide” portrait lens.
Tobias W.
12 months ago |Oh damn, I see myself ending up buying it – although I already have the FT 25mm, the 20mm and the 25mm Voigtländer…
Inge-M.
12 months ago |OKY, Tobias W.
testing; FT 25mm, MFT 20mm, Voigtænder 25mm and MFT 25mm.
Wee all is intesting. ;-D
sparedog
12 months ago |tobias, interesting you think you’ll get this when you already own the 25mm voigtlander. was wondering which of the 2 to get, any thoughts why this one would be better for you? is it the af?
thec
12 months ago |i cant wait for this
truman
12 months ago |all i really want is an affordable 25mm 1.4 (all black ^^) and an improved gf1 with new sensor, better lcd, faster af, and better optional viewfinder.
che
12 months ago |Look, i use 28 2.8 FD lens and 50 1.4 FD also with an adapter and both are simillar to this size. Although the quality is not in question the size and weight are. I really dont see the point of making big lens for system that was made for size advantage over DSLRs. Does anybody remember those fine 70′s compacts with a real normal perspective lens wich is 40 to 44 mm 42 to be exact like canonete, oly 35 (excluding SP) series and many others. Although they were fixed lens, they were small enough to fit your jacket or any other bigger pocket. and the lens were amazing. Dont forget that the lens covered the whole full 35 frame. not just 4/3. Iexamined some o that cameras and none of them had any internal lens elements. Exept the later compacts with zoom protruding lens. Ofcourse almost all of them that i know had global shutter equivalent (like on some medium format cameras) which was part of the lens. Advantage of this is that you can flash sync any shutter speed you like. If they really want to make this format succesful they should really make something timeless. Maybe that would be like XZ-1 with 4/3 sensor and same lens equvalent as on the XZ-1 same f/stop and option for real manual focus with evf. That would be a game changer.
Otherwise 25mm is really not normal lens and the only selling point is fstop.
Michael Meissner
12 months ago |Che:
Funny you should mention the pocket folding cameras that took 120 film. I just received a Franka Solida Folding Camera from ebay today, though this camera is parts only (it didn’t have a lens). It looks like a neat little camera.
Jevfp
12 months ago |Image stabilliser is good but I believe it will make the lens bigger and probably cost more money,.. Is it worth? Since my panny 20 1.7 goes more than 1/3200sec and even it cause bright ambience on a day time .. Do we need image stabilliser for such huge shutter speed on a standard lens /50mm – not tele. My biggest concern is. Is it sharp @ wide open 1.4 – same like the old 25 1.4 PL? Consider the old one is very very sharp ” wide open 1.4 probably one of the shaepest lens on the SLR market @ wide open beat my zeiss and nikon @I.4 and slightly sharper than zeiss macro on F 2
frosti7
12 months ago |If adding OIS would increase the length then NO, if it would add Girth, then i would pay alittle extra for the OIS,
It is very iportant for Movies and would be able to take shots at 1/10 or slower
Ageha
12 months ago |I can’t be cheap enough!
But it won’t sell like hotcakes, not even for $400.
mr.gelo
12 months ago |If it’s $400, I will buy 3 of them. 2 will go to ebay
fta
12 months ago |For $400 it WILL sell like hotcakes! Backordered hotcakes! Hotcakes with sprinkles on top. Hotcakes that taste like your moms hotcakes. H-O-T-C-A-K-E-S !!!!!! Yummy, Yummy, gimmie some! Release the damn lens Panasonic!
blastingmill
12 months ago |nice!
i wish people would stop freaking out about the size of this lens. the 20 f1.7 pancake should have already satisfied those concerns, in that focal range.
some of us want high quality lenses, without a compromise for size.
yifei
12 months ago |If it has such a price, it will always keep OUT OF STOCK….
MP Burke
12 months ago |I am expecting it will be at least twice the price of the 20 mm f1.7, £600 or more in UK. I’ll be happy to be proved wrong, though.
Jevfp
12 months ago |I dream about 17mm F2.0 or even faster like 1.4 ,.. Hope Panny and Oly will make a new fast 35 mm FF equi
KL32
12 months ago |This lens will be expensive. When the rep from Panasonic mentioned it way back when he even said as much.
Boooo!
12 months ago |Yes… But will it blend?
The old PL is a truly special lens. There’s something about the quality of the bokeh that is hard to describe. It’s not perfect, however, because it suffers from visible coma wide open and there’s a fair share of longitudinal CA, but overall, it’s one of my favourite lenses. If this one is anything like the existing PL, it’ll make a lot of people very happy
pdc
12 months ago |Leica won’t put their name on it if the quality and performance is not high.
You have to accept the size requirements for AF and IS. Can’t see how they could put this lens out for under $800. I was more than happy to pay $900 for the fully manual Nokton 25, and it is about the same size and weight as a Summilux 50/1.4. This lens is for the G and GH series, not the GF3 and future derivatives. If you want tiny for GF3 you have to go with the 14/2.5 and accept the optical limitations of a design that achieves smallness at the expense of optical performance.
WT21
12 months ago |I believe the rumor is no IS.
Rachnaroch
12 months ago |Too big! It’s almost the same focal length an aperture than the 20mm f/1.7 (20/25 and 1.7/1.4) yet it’s twice the size! Really, I don’t see the point of such a lens when we already have the much appraised 20mm f/1.7. If it were a 45 or 50mm f/1.4, that would be a completely different story…
frosti7
12 months ago |If u put in the numbers in a dof calculator you can see that the pl25 gets almost twice less dof, which is critical to mft format, brides it’s going to be even higher iq and hopefully leica microcontrast
Dan
12 months ago |I think its going to be a tough sale when the 20 1.7 is almost prime perfection and much cheaper.
WT21
12 months ago |I am still very much interested in this lens. Simply can’t afford it at $1,000. $750-800, I have to think about. $600? I think I will pre-order.
tom
12 months ago |I call BS on this one. Leica charges an arm and a leg to use that name. Just look at the 45mm macro: over-priced by what? $500? Does anyone really expect this lens to sell for less than the cost of the name alone on other leica branded lenses? No way will it be less than $800. Even if panasonic wanted to sell this lens for $400, I doubt leica would let them, they are invested entirely on brand name recognition and can’t afford to let that name be associated with inexpensive products no matter how good those inexpensive products are (not to say that Leica doesn’t make great stuff, they do, only that the great stuff comes at an unjustifiably high price). It is almost too bad that panasonic partnered up with leica. Panasonic have shown that they can make great lenses (and my understanding is that panasonic designs the leica branded lenses and leica does nothing but “bless” them). Far as I can tell, leica just adds to the cost.
dts
12 months ago |+1 the panny 20mm is a tasty little non leica branded example
ihateidiots
12 months ago |The only thing I don’t like about the 20mm is that its bokeh is harsh in many respects. If the 25mm/1.4 has superior bokeh, I’d take it over the 20.
dts
12 months ago |any word on availability date once it’s announced? thx