25mm f1.4 Leica DG Summilux

Mimirsan

Available at:

http://www.amazon.com/25mm-Leica-Summilux-Aspherical-Micro/dp/B0055N2L22/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338739535&sr=8-1

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Lenses-/3323/i.html?_stpos=&_fcid=168&gbr=1&_localstpos=&_nkw=panasonic+25mm+lens&_clu=2

I sold my 20mm and gots me one of these babies a few days back (first batch in UK) for a really good price (under £400 early display copy no box or pouch but got the hood!).
Also owning a Voigtlander 25mm 0.95 & Voigt 35mm f1.4 Id thought I would share my personal thoughts in comparison.
Well to start...The lens is good....damn good.
Pros
Sharp even at F1.4 Detail and rendition of colour is beautiful.
AF is very fast and accurate on my GH2 not so fast on my GF1...but still faster than the 20mm f1.7
Very controlled image...by this I mean it has very little CA and no flares

But heres the Cons
Price...I was lucky to get this cheap but general UK retail is near £560!...that im sorry is ludicrous...It has astounding optics and yeah okay f1.4 with fast accurate AF is probably why but no!
Why? Build...Plastic! (albeit harder plastic than other Panny lenses)
The voigts FEELS expensive (heck even my Super Tak 50mm f1.4 feels more expensive) you know its crafted...but the Leica? Just off the mass produced factory line...for that price we deserve SOLID BUILD!

Lacks the ability for creativity because of its very controlled image...by this I mean its lacking character...much like the 20mm f1.7.
You can have more creative image with the Voigt.
Focus ring for MF...I just dont like it...theres no give...its just silly smooth so hard to be pinpoint accurate. The Voigt has very nice dampened focus ring and can be accurate even at f0.95

I would say if it was cheaper then get one as it is really superb...but as the price is very close to the voigt 25mm f0.95 I would say get that if you can live without the AF as it gives more stops of light and feels like you bought something that justifies the cost.
Is it better than the 20mm?....absolutely without question BUT if you have the 20mm and cant afford the Leica...dont lose sleep over it.

Anyway I leave this with a quick snapshot of my little girl taken with the Leica & GF1 (both at f1.4 in jpg right out of camera no post)...I was amazed by the detail even on a ye olde GF1 so can give you a idea of the quality.

Hallvalla

wow, nice images. I saw a sample video when they announced it and the images looked very organic, filmic.

Any thoughts on video images with the lens? Does it do AFC?

Mimirsan

It does do AFC...as a video lens its great although the focus does tend to do that forward back (breathing?) when focusing on subjectslike the 20mm... it is quiet and faster than the 20mm however.
I could probably up a test later on on vimeo.

Butt

thanks - lens is also on my list

Hazna

The performance of the leica is unmatched.
The Voigtländer starts behaving like a good lens when its stopped at F2.8.
It kind of defeats the purpose of having F0.95.
Not to mention that in cinema nobody shoots under F2.
Good lighting can not be substituted with a wide aperture.

MY MAIN COMPLAIN with the leica is the focus on wire. I wish they followed Olympus lead and designed the focus on wire with a hard stop like the 12mm F2

Vitaliy_Kiselev

I am personally tend to wait for Samyang 24mm.
Could also serve Pentax bodies.
And I still hope that Pentax Ricoh will make something decent this year.

Mimirsan

Vitaiy I thnk thats the best option for low price shooting Samyang make darn great lenses and im tempted by just getting their range (if I move from M4/3), I got the Leice a few days before the samyang announcement :-(

Hazna
I respectfully disagree in some aspects...The voigt is very usable at f0.95 and at faster apertures your not going to have everything razor sharp. If you want that extra stops theres little else out there that compares.
As for cinema shooting...howabout Kubrick and Barry lyndon?
Fake lighting cant substitute natural lighting...and for some photographers & filmakers you'd rather just go and shoot on the fly ;-)
But saying that the Leica is sharper than the voigt at f1.4 and the Leica is a phenomenal lens...but for a little more you can have better build nicer Mf and the extra stops.
I wish Panny would stop with the plastic and add a ittle luxury...or if they must use plastic...use the same material as the samyangs.

AmandaNL

So its a plastic lens.... the 8mm, 45mm are also plastic lenses and I love them!

The only downside for video is the focus by wire, besides that they are very nice and sharp lenses.

Would be nice if the focus by wire could have an hard stop like the Oly, maybe with an firmware update or hack?

lnd

@Mimirsan
So if you had to go again and choose between voigt and DG you would def go Voigt?, Im trying to choose between the two and the AF on the DG is enticing however the voigt does have that 'thing' about it... just cannot decide... wish I could afford both

Butt

I prefer the Leica -
because I like the AF off and to use
the Voigtländer happens to have no AF - unfortunately

Therefore I buy the Leica and the Samyang 24mm f1.4

Mimirsan

@Ind
I owned the voigt before getting the Leica (with the intention of trying it and selling it on but ended up loving and keeping it!) and its a hard one to answer..it really boils down to how much you want AF and if you do photography the Leica is just faultless with AF.

The voigt I prefer for build quality (the classic way but new) and the "thing" it gives...it FEELS like its worth the cost and beautifully made...but is a heavy beast that can occasionally cause frustration....especially at f0.95
Its great to use on a GF1 as you cant really use high iso...so its down to the optics...and there are very few f0.95s in that price range that give great images. Plus the hard stops are good to have.

The Leica doesnt FEEL like a expensive lens but when you see the results from the optics (is there software correction going on?) I havent seen results like it before...f1.4 is a lot better than the voigt at f1.4...colour lack of serious CA. Its very hard to get a "bad" image from the lens....but sometimes its nice to have the ability. Its also very light and compact.

Im glad I have both even though both 25mm...its like having two flavours ;-)
Sorry Im not much help.
They are probably the two current greatest primes on M4/3
2nd & 3rd place goes to 20mm f1.7 & Oly 12mm f2 (my next target)

lenuisible

>with the intention of trying it and selling it on but ended up loving and keeping it!
same for me !
>the "thing" it gives...
agree to, I don't have the Leica 25, but I really prefer the image of the Voigt compare to the 20mm
>if you do photography the Leica is just faultless with AF
I do mostly stills, and I prefer manual focusing, maybe it's just to feel more like an old style photographer, but I really enjoy it. And fore manual rack focusing on video (without FF), I think it's really better than Fuckus-by-wire...

Maybe the Samyang will be a good cheaper alternative when it will be available, but I don't regret the good time I spent with the Voigt

bwhitz

Wow. Those look great!

The GH2 is actually quite a good stills camera when you have the right glass on it. I think it just gets a bad reputation because Lumix lenses are the most disgusting excuses for optics ever to be called lenses and used on a camera... :)

Hazna

I respectfully disagree.
Lumix lenses are very good. My friend got the 45-200mm and it is a very good lens as well.
Apart from the 14-42 every lumix lens is very good...

stonebat

Many people have been taking good pictures using Lumix G lenses.

bwhitz

Well, it may just be personal taste then. I just don't like the image. In terms of build quality and features, I really liked the Vario 14-140mm, but the image just wasn't that filmic. They just don't seem like they have enough contrast to really take advantage of the DR of the GH2 sensor.

Ian_T

@Mimirsan Your baby girl is adorable. Love the way her blue eyes pop in these images. Looks like some pro shots.

Anyways my wife and I are having our 3rd (girl) in about a month.

Mimirsan

@ Ian T
Thanks!
Three girls? Oh boy are you outnumbered! I remember seeing a video of yours (with super takumar?) of your girls and thought they must be a handful! Congrats though! ;-)
Thats the thing with the Leica..these are on a GF1 and quick snapshots and it brings out the details especially in colour...dont really get this from my other lenses.

As for lumix lenses optically theyre all great ...cant see how anyone could dismiss them.
Just a shame about the plastic...but thats how lenses are these days.

stonebat

Nokton 25mm 0.95 price is about $1K. Leica 25mm 1.4 DG is about half the price.

I didn't wanna get heartburn, either. So I ordered the Leica :)

johnnym

It's such a great lens. But priced wildly. We need more competition.

stonebat

This is kinda fuked up. Initially the resellers soaked up all preorders. They jacked up the price of the Nokton to $1299 at one point. Now they seem rushing to exit. Frankly I wish they make sharper 1.4 lens at lower price.

BTW there seems 1:2 in price ratio between the Leica and the Nokton.

lenuisible

Here in France the Nokton is at 720€ (960USD) and the Leica is at 550€ (740USD), the price ratio is clearly not 1:2. We almost never had problems finding the Nokton in Europe. Japanese are not silly, they can sell their products in Europe for almost the same price in Euro than in Dollars in US ...

Mimirsan

Agreed the Nokton 0.95 is very easy to find in UK plus the Leica's been available for ages.
General price
£625 Nokton (worth every penny)
£475 Leica (worth every penny)
Japan is MEAN to retailers in the US of A ;-)

stonebat

Hi european friends. In USA, the Leica is just little over $500. This will be my first Leica lens. Exciting!!!

kazuo

Get the Nokton. I love my copy (which was purchased in japan) and I recently acquired the Revuenon 55mm /1.2
When fully opened, the Rev behaves like the 0.95, lots of soft glow on the edges of the image.
Many different views out there about the Revuenon, some say it's a remake of the Tomioka, some say it's
a rebranded Cosina. I am convinced it is most likely a Cosina, who most probably honed their craft of making fast lenses on this lens before they progressed onto something like the 0.95

feha

I got 25mm f1.4 Leica DG Summilux today,
very happy :-)

will be selling pancacke 20/1.7 ...
also own Nikon 50mm 1.4 that somehow has better shallow DOF than leica, it might be that it is a 100mm on GH2 ...

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