(FT5) Panasonic confirms the 25mm f/1.4 is coming this summer!
In an interview with Amateur Photographer Panasonic UK product manager John Mitchell confirmed that the 25mm lens is coming this summer: “We are sure it’s going to be a great hit because it’s 50mm [35mm viewing angle] equivalent – really fast, really bright”
What we don’t know yet is if the 25mm lens is going to be announced along the Panasonic G3 on late March/early April and be available in summer or if the announcement itself will be in made this summer.
What we know about that lens:
- It has double the size of the 20mm f/1.7 pancake
- Unlike the Four Thirds Panasonic/Leica 25mm f/1.4 lens it is not Leica branded
- It has no OIS.
- It should cost around $700.
Links:
- 25mm f/1.4 Four Thirds lens at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
- 20mm f/1.7 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
- 8mm fisheye at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
- 45mm f/2.8 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
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Recent comments
Comment from gnosisdog: Would anyone in their right mind choose ...
Comment from Jules: f2.8/45 on a 43 provides enough shallow ...
Comment from Miroslav: +4...
Comment from Gabi: +1...
WT21
2 years ago |So, do we try to sell our 20/1.7s now, or wait?
Jim Ramsey Khoury
2 years ago |Definitely wait. Though if you decide to sell, I’m ready to buy :p
mpgxsvcd
2 years ago |This lens would be a nice replacement for my 20mm F1.7. I definitely would like the extra focal length and the wider aperture lens. However, what I really need is a brighter zoom with IS for video.
Jim Ramsey Khoury
2 years ago |If the rumors are true, it’s delayed but on its way.
Jadakiss
2 years ago |FT 5 means it is true.
Alex
2 years ago |So many normal lens and no portrait lens. I’m moving to Pentax K5. too tired of waiting. And the weather sealing + better dynamic range + better high iso performance are big pluses. Oh and it’s not that much bigger either.
Mr. Reeee
2 years ago |The PL45 doubles as a portrait lens.
This lens doesn’t do it for me, I’ll still get a Voightländer 25mm.
x
2 years ago |PL45? No way!
The Other Chris
2 years ago |Why not? Because it isn’t an f/0.75?
Ulli
2 years ago |2.8 is too slow for a real portrait lens, unless you shoot alot in studio, or don’t need shallow depth (for which f/1.4 would be fine)
(edit as reaction to Jules below) Why shouldn’t i choose M3/4 if i find shallow dof important? It’s still possible but takes more effort. Especially in model full figure photography. amount of blur which is needed is the moment the model subject gets isolated from the background. And in halfbody or close portrait shots its pleasant if the subject itself already shows a transition from focus to blur area, so even in a studio setup with background you mentioned, this can be demanded, depending on the photographer’s style. if it were a full figure studio shot, then yes; stopping down would not change the impression.
Jules
2 years ago |f2.8/45 on a 43 provides enough shallow DoF to separate the subject from the background, although without blurring it into a soupy mass of nothing. This begs the question : do we always want to completely blur out the background? Maybe not always. Those that do, why did they commit to m43 in the first place, one has to wonder. Compactness? Get a Leica M9 and a summilux.
That said, shallow DoF is a often overrated in portraiture. It may be desirable, but certainly not mandatory. Placing the subject in front of a nondescript contrasting colored background allows very fine and sharp portraiture with infinite DoF.
Now, the 2.8/45 is far from the perfect tool for portraiture and in some contexts, it does forces the photograph to work around limitations. But it is fast enough, small enough, sharp enough and versatile enough to consider the compromises.
Eric
2 years ago |The 25mm/1.4 will work quite well for waist-up portraits. If you don’t need super shallow DOF the Olympus 50-150mm will take care of head and shoulders duty. On occasions when you need shallow DOF simply adapt any one of the manual focus $150 50mm/1.4 full frame lenses that are readily available.
A native autofocus 45mm f/1.4 lens would be most welcome, but if you’re like me and all you care about is the end result then an AF 45mm portrait prime isn’t much of a concern since there are so many work-arounds that accomplish the same thing.
Ulli
2 years ago |Why not consider one of the many ,many legacy lenses, or more recent mf primes.
At first sight,one would think a dslr is not much bigger, but the moment you want to configure it as compact as possible, it’s no match for a mirrorless.
But you can’t have all in one system (yet), try to work with the limitations you are facing now
Joel
2 years ago |I use legacy lenses for that purpose..
P.S. Good luck with Pentax AF, I have owned almost every one of their cameras, AF is slow/unrealiable and almost useless under tungsten lighting. It seems to cause BF but then under sunlight the focus moves back to normal, so you can’t even use micro adjust to fix it (since it changes depending on the temperature of the light)..
x
2 years ago |+1
Eric
2 years ago |Man I hope they bundle that with the G3. I really have no desire to ever own the 14-42mm lens, but buying body-only is usually a rip off. I’d also be content with them bundling it with the 20mm. But then again, I also think they should bundle the GH2 with the 20mm instead of the 14-42mm.
Mr. Reeee
2 years ago |Instead of selling “kits”, Panasonic should have an ala carte deal, where you buy a body and a lens at the same time and get a $100 or $200 rebate, depending on the lens.
I’d like to make my own bundle with the PL45mm, the 7-14mm, the 14-45, or the 20mm.
I have no interest in the 14-42mm or the 14mm.
Jules
2 years ago |+1
hazna.com
2 years ago |Well I got the GH2 and 14-140mm pana for $1350.
That is more then 20% discount.
Luke
2 years ago |+2
Fishfishfish
2 years ago |+3
I currently have Oly 9-18 mm, 14-150 mm and the Panny 20 mm with GF1~!
ZDP-189
2 years ago |+1
Miroslav
2 years ago |+4
Brod1er
2 years ago |This lens is nice but does not make me want to leave the 20mm. A reasonably compact 35-70mm f2-2.8 OIS would be stunningly good for me. It would cover the telephoto and portrait duties with usefully shallow DOF. This plus 20mm, 7-14mm and 100-300mm would offer a great high quality / low weight lens set at ~2kg Inc body. Try travelling with that range in full frame!
jojo
2 years ago |compact 35-70mm f2-2.8 OIS …. sounds so so awsom sweet… lets also add good macro. G spot orgasm.. Panasonic dudes, you can do it!
cL
2 years ago |Now, let’s just wait for the review.
Jacques
2 years ago |The rumor says “coming this summer.”
It Panasonic is true to form, that means it will be in some stores, somewhere in the world, by Christmas.
Perhaps.
Keep your 20mm for now, you will have plenty of time to use them.
Ethan Cheng
2 years ago |$700? Jeez. I’ll stay away from it for that reason alone. I was hoping it would be more like half that, competitive with the Canon and Nikon 50/1.4′s.
Shouldn’t this lens be fairly easy to engineer, optics-wise? Why would it cost that much?
Dan
2 years ago |Zero interest here! Where is the fast zoom!?!
Gabi
2 years ago |+1
duncan
2 years ago |$700 for a 25mm lens without IOS and not so small in size? No thanks.
hazna.com
2 years ago |I agree. No IOS is a downside. But the main strength of lens will be the amazing quality wide open “judging by the four thirds lens”
ZDP-189
2 years ago |It’s the only M4/3 25mm AF fast prime I know of. Maybe it’s a reasonable choice of you are starting out with a 14mm F/2.5 kit lens and want to add a fast normal. Personally, I’d rather keep my 20mm F/1.7.
gnosisdog
2 years ago |Would anyone in their right mind choose this lens over the Voigtlander at around the same price. Trade in a truly sharp .95 f stop for autofocus? Why is Panny concentrating on the one lens size another company has just hit out of the park and not on what everyone really wants- a fast zoom with OIS.