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Leica m4/3 Lenses

wjlapier

Member
Just curious what some of you think about the Leica m4/3 lenses. I just received the Leica 15mm f/1.7 lens and I'm very happy with it's sharpness and color. Love the aperture ring! I'm thinking I might want to get either the 25 or 45. Leaning towards the 45. Opinions on either? Shooting with the GX7.
 

biglouis

Well-known member
I've found all the Leica DG lenses to be good. My particular favourite is the 45/2.8 Macro Elmarit.

I used to own the 25 Summilux and it was an outstanding performer. It was actually sharp from edge to edge wide open.

I find all Lumix lenses have a tendency to draw like Leica lenses and I suspect that the Panasonic optical engineers have learned as much as they can from their association with Leica.

LouisB
 

Annna T

Active member
I own the 25mm F1.4 and I like it very much. However it has some drawbacks for me : it comes with an incredibly cumbersome hood that can't be reversed for storing. The paper ring indicating the name if the lens on its barrel is partially unstuck and will soon get lost.

Some are disturbed because if the aperture blades rattling every time the light change and so quite noisily.

But none of these things dissuade me from using that lens, because the rendering is very good (although I won't say it sharp till the corners : Olympus lenses usually offer more uniform performances across the frame). Oh.. And it exhibits quite a lot of vignetting.

That said, if you already have a 35mm equivalent, then getting a 85 or 90mm equivalent makes more sense. The 45mm F2.8 is a macro lens. While the 42.5mm is a portrait lens, but this last has a larger aperture and us really big on MFT bodies.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Just curious what some of you think about the Leica m4/3 lenses. I just received the Leica 15mm f/1.7 lens and I'm very happy with it's sharpness and color. Love the aperture ring! I'm thinking I might want to get either the 25 or 45. Leaning towards the 45. Opinions on either? Shooting with the GX7.
I have the Summilux-DG 25 and Macro-Elmarit-DG 45. Both are outstanding performers—they're my most-used lenses on the Olympus E-M1, the 45mm in particular. (Neither of these two have the aperture ring, btw.)

G
 

zensu

New member
Just curious what some of you think about the Leica m4/3 lenses. I just received the Leica 15mm f/1.7 lens and I'm very happy with it's sharpness and color. Love the aperture ring! I'm thinking I might want to get either the 25 or 45. Leaning towards the 45. Opinions on either? Shooting with the GX7.
I'm lucky to have been given the 15mm F1.7 and the 42.5 F1.2 last year from a very dear friend who passed away shortly after. I'm sorry to get a little off topic but I told my dear friend, Lewie, whenever I mentioned either lens I would also note his generous gift. Thanks again Lewie!
Both of these lenses blew me away when I first saw images from both and I packed up my Oly 17mm and 45mm and sold them. The Nocticron is the best lens I've ever owned, nothing can touch it (I've never shot with a real Leica lens) and the 15mm is superb on my IR converted E-P5 (It's also superb on the E-M1).
I think if you can afford it I highly recommend either lens. :D
Bobby
 

wjlapier

Member
I ended up buying a Lumix 42.5 1.7 lens for a price too good to pass up. Nice small sharp lens. I like the 15 a lot too.

I always seem to come back to the m4/3 cameras ( the GX7 reminds me of the L1 in some ways ) :cool:

I might seek out the Leica 25/1.4 next unless the Lumix 1.7 version is a keeper.
 

Photon42

Well-known member
I do realize I am slightly late with the response but here it goes, however. I have got a fantasic setup with the 1.7/15, the 1.4/25 and the 1.2/42.5. All of these three are by far exceeding my own capabilities as a photographer. Color and bokeh (including transitional areas) are very much to my liking and I use them exlusively on Olympus bodies.

Some remarks from the more practical side of things:
  • The 15 and 25 don't have image stabilization built-in.
  • The aperture ring on the 15 and 42.5 cannot be used with Olympus bodies
  • The hoods are quite large, specifically in addition to that, the hood for the 1.4/25 cannot be reversed. The hood of the Panaleica 2.8/45 (!) however does fit and is smaller (!!)
  • The 25 and the 42.5 are quite a bid larger than comparable lenses. Specifically, the Nocticron is even larger than the Oly 1.8/75, which for some defeats the purpose of a m43 system. I still keep my Pana 1.7/20 and my Oly 1.8/45, which I got at incredibly good deals, so I can go really low profile, if required

If I were to chose, which of the three to buy with a more limited budget, I'd probably go for the 1.4/25. While the Nocticron is amazing, the Oly 45 is excellent as well, and the price difference requires some dedication or ignorance :)

Cheers
Ivo
 
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