Nokton 42,5mm: Interview with Panasonic developer team and new review.

In less than one month the new Nocticron 42,mm f/1.2 lens will ship at Amazon (March 20) and BHphoto (mid March). And if you want to learn more about the lens DC.watch (google translation here) interviewed the team who designed the Panasonic Leica Nocticron lens. Focus is definitely on blur characteristics but there are also other interesting tidbits:

– Panasonic designed the lens and Leica approved it.
– If there is a demand Panasonic will do a Leica branded zoom lens too.
– During the development Panasonic also considered to make it faster (f/1.0) but the size was too big.
– Curiosity: When asked about a f/0.7 aperture Panasonic said that would be possible but very difficult to make
– If there is a demand for it Panasonic will make more lenses with aperture ring.

And Photoreview (Click here) tested the lens and writes:

For photographers who really need this performance level from a very fast lens that provides excellent depth-of-field control the asking price would probably justify the investment.
It is also among the most solidly built lenses available for the M4/3 system and comes with effective stabilisation, a pleasant-to-use aperture ring and a deep cylindrical lens hood made of sturdy metal. All contribute to making it decent value for your dollars.