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Sure, it’s been a minute since the Panasonic 15mm F1.7 was introduced. But three years later it’s still a solid option for a Micro Four Thirds shooter looking for a fast, compact, wide-angle prime. And what better time to travel light than the longest days of the year? We spent some of our long hours of sunlight with the 15mm F1.7 in hand – by land, and by sea.
See our Panasonic Leica Summilux
15mm F1.7 sample gallery
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Panasonic is introducing a new prime lens to the Micro Four Thirds family: the Lumix G Leica DG Summilux 12mm F1.4 ASPH. It will be the widest prime that company offers (not counting its 8mm fisheye) and provides an equivalent 24mm view on Micro Four Thirds bodies. Designed to withstand a little wear-and-tear in the form of splashes and dust, the 12mm F1.4 offers a dedicated ring to control its nine-bladed aperture.
Its rugged build includes a metal mount, body and included lens hood. The lens uses inner focus drive and a stepping motor for quiet operation, and is made up of 15 elements in 12 groups. Pricing and availability information has yet to be announced.
Press release:
The H-X012 Micro Four Thirds Professional Wide Angle Mirrorless Lens
NEWARK, NJ (July 1, 2016) – Panasonic unveiled a new LEICA DG SUMMILUX 12mm/F1.4 ASPH. (35 mm camera equivalent: 24 mm) digital interchangeable lens for Digital Single Lens Mirrorless camera based on the Micro Four Thirds standard. The new 12mm wide-angle lens enables photographers to capture beautiful group, event, and nature photography. It also allows indoor shooting in low lighting and produces an impressive, natural defocusing effect with its F1.4 aperture. In addition, the LEICA DG SUMMILUX 12mm/F1.4 ASPH. boasts a rugged, splash/dust-proof design (when combined with splash and dustproof LUMIX G Mirrorless camera models) to meet the needs of a wide-range of photographic situations.
Integrating two aspherical lenses, two UED (Ultra Extra-Low Dispersion) lenses and an ED (Extra-Low Dispersion) lens, the lens system is comprised of 15 elements in 12 groups. The adoption of five special lenses makes it possible to meet the stringent LEICA standard for exceptional image quality with high resolution and minimum distortion. In general, flare is commonly seen around the periphery of a point source with many high-speed lenses when a large aperture is employed. However, the new LEICA DG SUMMILUX 12mm/F1.4 ASPH. achieves high resolution from the center of the image to the corners by suppressing this flare. Users can take advantage of this lens to shoot a brilliant night skies or night scenes containing illumination to capture true-to-life images with minimal blurring and distortion at the edges. The multi-coated lens elements also minimize ghosting and flaring.
Incorporating an inner focus drive system and a stepping motor, the new LEICA DG SUMMILUX 12mm/F1.4 ASPH. is capable of smooth, silent operation together with the camera’s high-speed, high-precision contrast AF system for both photo and video recording. It is also compatible with the sensor drive at a maximum of 240 fps to take full advantage of cameras with high-speed AF. This stunning AF performance is excellent for recording 4K videos, where precise focusing is essential.
The LEICA DG SUMMILUX 12mm/F1.4 ASPH. comes with an aperture ring for direct, intuitive aperture control. Nine blades give the aperture a rounded shape that produces an attractively smooth effect in out-of-focus areas when shooting at larger aperture settings. A highly reliable metal mount assures durability for repeated use. The lens mount, the barrel and the hood are all made of metal to provide a sleek, sophisticated design that matches the entire line-up of LUMIX G Digital Single Lens Mirrorless (DSLM) cameras.
| Principal specifications | |
|---|---|
| Lens type | Prime lens |
| Max Format size | FourThirds |
| Focal length | 12 mm |
| Lens mount | Micro Four Thirds |
| Aperture | |
| Maximum aperture | F1.4 |
| Minimum aperture | F16 |
| Aperture ring | Yes |
| Number of diaphragm blades | 9 |
| Optics | |
| Elements | 15 |
| Groups | 12 |
| Special elements / coatings | 2 aspherical lenses, 1 ED lens, 2 UED lenses |
| Focus | |
| Minimum focus | 0.20 m (7.87″) |
| Maximum magnification | 0.1× |
| Autofocus | Yes |
| Motor type | Stepper motor |
| Full time manual | Unknown |
| Physical | |
| Weight | 335 g (0.74 lb) |
| Diameter | 70 mm (2.76″) |
| Length | 70 mm (2.76″) |
| Sealing | Yes |
| Filter thread | 62.0 mm |
| Hood supplied | Yes |
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Panasonic has just announced a new prime lens for Micro Four Thirds. The Lumix G Leica DG Summilux 12mm F1.4 ASPH is a metal-bodied prime that provides an equivalent focal length of 24mm in full-frame terms. We’ve got one in our hands, and we’ve got pictures to prove it!
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As you can see, the new 12mm prime is a fairly substantial lens, and at 335g it’s relatively heavy, too. Panasonic is touting its all-metal construction (which even extends to the detachable hood) and 15 glass elements also contribute substantially to the weight. A nine-bladed aperture should ensure both attractive bokeh and sunstars at smaller apertures.
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Of those 15 elements, two are ‘ultra’ extra-low dispersion glass, and one is regular extra-low dispersion. According to Panasonic, they should combine to provide very good edge-to-edge sharpness even at wide apertures, making this an ideal lens for astrophotography (among other things). The front filter ring has a diameter of 62mm.
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A manual aperture ring and wide, well-damped focus ring give a feeling of real quality to the new 12mm, and although it’s not a lightweight lens, handling is very nice on the Lumix DMC-GH4. Autofocus is handled by a stepping motor, which Panasonic claims is capable of keeping up with the 240 fps refresh rate of modern Panasonic M43 cameras’ sensor-based autofocus.
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When paired with a weather-sealed camera like the GH4, the 12mm F1.4 becomes relatively weather-resistant. Panasonic claims that this combination should be ‘splash and dust’ proof.
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It’s hard to make out in this image, but around the lens mount you’ll find the slimmest of rubber seals, to prevent moisture and dust from getting into the camera when the 12mm F1.4 is attached.
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Here’s the included lenshood in all its glory. The Panasonic Leica Summilux 12mm F1.4 ASPH is the sixth Leica lens in Panasonic’s current M43 lineup – pricing and availability have yet to be announced, but we’ll keep you posted.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
It’s a crazy time in the camera industry. Here we are in a Photokina year and major announcements are being made every week. One has to wonder what the camera makers are holding back to show at Photokina. Well, Leica a few days ago decided to make a special announcement to celebrate their “100 Years of Leica Photography” with the “Leica M Edition 100”. Sean Reid a regular contributor on Luminous-Landscape gives us a peek at this “Limited Edition 100”. Some might say when you read about this special kit, that Leica has lost its way, but so far that hasn’t been the case. Sean’s take on the NEW 24mm 1.4 lens is of special interest. Will Leica eventually mass produce this lens? Read on to find out.
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The Luminous Landscape – What’s New
Panasonic has officially announced the Leica DG Summilux 15mm F1.7 ASPH, a premium fast wideangle prime for Micro Four Thirds cameras. It offers an angle of view equivalent to 30mm on full frame, and features an aperture ring at the front of the barrel. It’s also very small in diameter to match the tiny DMC-GM1 camera, with which it will be offered as a kit. It’ll be available in black or silver from mid-June for £549.99, with the GM1 kit costing £999.99.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Just Posted: Our samples gallery from the Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm F1.4 ASPH. We’ve had the chance to borrow a production example of this fast 50mm-equivalent lens and have prepared a samples gallery to show some of what it can do. We’ve also shot a couple of comparisons against the popular Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH to see how the two lenses compare when used wide open, and give some idea of what the slightly longer focal length and wider aperture mean in terms of background defocus and subject isolation.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)