Leica 15mm f/1.7 Panasonic Micro Four Thirds Lens ▶︎ Thoughts & Samples After Years of Use
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- The Panasonic Leica 15mm f/1.7 lens is one of the first high-end micro four thirds lenses I started using, and I've been in love with it since day one. Let's see some sample photos and hear my thoughts after years of use.
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The Panasonic Leica 15mm f/1.7 lens is one of the first high-end micro four thirds lenses I started using, and I've been in love with it since day one. Let's see some sample photos and hear my thoughts after years of use. Get yours here! geni.us/3KtyCz
Love to know what you were shooting with here. The first thing I noticed about this video is how sharp it is.
The gx 85 and the 15mm f1.7 is my favourite camera-lens combo. I took it to Vietnam last winter and got some fantastic shots with it.
My combo as well. I sold other MFT lenses so I only use 15mm Leica permanently lol
My favorite combo for travel photography is the Panasonic GX9 with the Leica/Lumix 15mm f1.7 lens. Just returned from 3 weeks in Bangkok, Vietnam and Cambodia where I took over 2000 shots, mainly with this combo. I am amazed at the quality of the results. I exchanged my GX85 for the GX9 to benefit from the additional pixels (20mb instead of 16).
That is a great combo for sure! Haha I thought this comment was on my newest video… did you come here from there?
What a great video, even its 4 years ago but I might wanna get this Leica 15mm f/1.7 for my G9. Thanks Joseph!
It’s still a great lens! And thank you 😊
Had mine for years too. It does colours so well and micro contrast. A great travel and street photography lens. Nice review thanks.
Yeah, underrated lens! This is just about the pinnacle of what the MFT system is all about. A quality lens that's very compact. Put it on the GX85, set it next to the premium compact LX100 and you'll have a hard time telling which is which as they have the almost exact same footprint. That's why... despite of what a few people are saying, MFT has a future amongst the APS-C and Fullframe systems. There's so much choice in camera bodies and lenses that come in various shapes, sizes & weight, for all sorts of budgets, quality needs and skill levels. With lenses like the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5, this 15mm f/1.7, the 20mm f/1.7, 25mm f/1.7, 30mm f/2.8 Macro, 42.5mm f/1.7 OIS, Olympus 12mm f/2, 17mm f/1.7, 25mm f/1.8, 45mm f/1.8 and even third parties with the likes of the Laowa 7.5mm f/2 MFT and ZY Optics/Zhongyi/Mitakon Speedmaster 25mm f/0.95... there's just a line-up of unheard of snacksize quality lenses that are such tremendous value. Which is an important note to make, btw, that it's really the lenses that make a system small.
Shaving a few mm off a camera body might hurt the capability of said camera body, but it won't do much to make the system compact, that's really all down to the lenses you throw in front of it. That's why Sony APS-C mirrorless doesn't interest me in the slightest. The A6500 has been kept tiny to appeal to potential customers. What that however results in is a camera that has poor ergonomics, lack of ports (e.g. no headphone jack, no dual cardslots) and can't get rid of heat (the A6500 introduced 'tripod mode' where it raises the threshold temperature where overheat protection kicks in, but rendering the camera so hot that you can no longer shoot with it handheld, hence need to use a tripod). But body aside (which is only 1 per generation, so... very little to choose from) they've been neglecting to develop compact APS-C lenses for years and years now. So... if you want a new and exciting lens from Sony, you'll be adapting a Sony FF E-mount lens. And doesn't that kinda defeat the purpose of having an APS-C system? And because I find that camera body inadequate... it even makes more sense to just buy the sharply priced and well-rounded A7III of theirs already which makes for a package that makes a whole lot more sense. But... then suddenly you find yourself in the fullframe zone... which is surrounded by big, heavy and expensive lenses. Nah. Not for me, sorry.
The GX85 is lovely in its small size and takes full benefit from the tiny but very capable lenses. But I actually find the MFT flagships amongst the best cameras out there. Olympus of course with their E-M1 Mark II and Panasonic is really killing it with the GH5(S) and G9. The G9 is arguably the most ideal camera out there. Nice 'n grippy, weathersealed, dual cardslots, full audio interface, fullsized HDMI-port even, awesome battery life, superb implementation of a frontfacing vari-angle touchscreen, epic EVF, nice top LCD, joystick, bunch of dials and buttons with lots of customization options. Honestly, does it get much better than that? Well, yeah, when inside of it there's sensor-shift stabilization and interal 4K60p recording. That's why you gotta love mirrorless. That's what mirrorless should be all about! Getting all the innovation and features you can dream of. This seems to have gone unnoticed with some of the competition out there... and why Panasonic has a real shot at taking over the FF mirrorless space as well (again betting on depth from de-focus rather than on-sensor phase detection is... well, questionable, but might have its merits in the future with deep learning AI lending a hand. But I do feel it's a massive fail not to incorporate a vari-angle screen... which has become a staple feature since the release of the first Lumix G camera, the G1 and there has even been a petition to get Panasonic to change their mind about the 3-axis Fujifilm non-forward facing screen and incorporate a vari-angle screen once more (when not on the stills focused S1R, then atleast on the hybrid/video focused S1).
But like I said. That there's a lot going on in the FF space doesn't mean MFT is dead just quite yet. Just like smartphones aren't dead because people went and bought a tablet. That's what I always keep on saying time and time again. Use the right tool for the job. There's a time and place for a fullframe camera, sure. But there's many benefits to a crop sensor camera that shouldn't so easily be overlooked. My 20 cts. ;P
Nice discourse! I agree with everything you’ve said. And I didn’t know about “tripod mode”. That’s hysterical!!!
Great comment, Shiznuts! The G7 was my first dabbling into the mirrorless camera world. At the price, it's just value town. I didn't want to commit a lot of money to a new hobby if I wasn't going to enjoy it, but I didn't want to buy something so cheap that I felt like I wasted my money. The G7 has a ton of features, is lightweight, and is easy to approach. The last part was of particular importance to me. Now, I'm using it to stream 1080/60p, record 4k30 videos, and take lots of pictures (most of which I end up trashing, but that's part of learning). I plan to use it to shoot equipment teardown and repair videos at work as well.
Well put there as well! They've always been tremendous value. For me it was back in the day when I got introduced to (optically stabilized) 1080p video with the bridgecamera that is the Canon PowerShot SX1 IS. It also had a hack going for it by means of CHDK (Canon Hack Development Kit, predecessor to Magic Lantern if you will) allowing you to run scripts like an intervalometer. Really learned a lot with that camera. Just the thing with that was... the tiny sensor combined with a zoomlens that lacked sensitivity meant it was rubbish as soon as it wasn't broad daylight outside anymore. Plus, with the SX1 IS you would be able to use manual focus (in my opinion, focus is a creative choice, one that I like to be in control of), but it was controlled by the scrollable navigational menu control ring on the back... not the most ideal way to go about that. So, I really wanted a: bigger sensor, interchangeable lens system (so I could switch between convenience of a zoom and zoomless but therefor more sensitive lenses) and a better way to manual focus (proper focus rings).
Another important factor was: size. I travel around quite a bit and I just can't have a bunch of gear with me that would take up a considerable amount of space and would literally weigh me down. So... luckily I put two and two together and figured fullframe would just give me a system that's bulky and expensive. There weren't really any DSLRs out there with an articulated screen either (I had come to appreciate the flexibility of the vari-angle screen on the SX1 IS). So... narrowing it down to crop sensored cameras with a vari-angle screen I basically came down to the GH2 and 600D/T3i. Both were hackable at the time. The GH2 had a bitrate hack from Personal-View curator Vitaliy and exploration thereof by Nick Driftwood. The 600D/T3i had just gotten Magic Lantern support. It all came together when I saw 2 specials. Philip Bloom posted a Christmas shootout special putting the GH2 up against some professional grade cameras... and wow, the little camera was punching well above its weight... yet it was giving the crowd something to behold! Zacuto at the time did a similar thing and there as well the GH2 just blew everyone's mind. At that point... what other choice did I have other than going with the GH2? :P
And it was happily ever after, we're still married. lol I did kinda skip the GH3 generation. And... then I went with the Olympus OM-D E-M1. A brilliant camera for it was a camera to use its sensor stabilization during video recording. See, that wasn't a common thing back then and I really got to appreciate that (it's mind-boggling to me that Canon refuses to incorporate this feature on their mirrorless EOS-M and EOS-R/RF systems). Then the GH4 introduced the world to 4K and it was bloody marvelous! And they kept pushing to see what the camera was capable of with unheard of firmware updates (including the introduction of an anamorphic mode and the addition of the paid optional upgrade of V-LOG L). Around that time the BMPCC (Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera) started to gain some traction. 1080p only... huge crop and very impractical camera to use (terrible screen, cringy audio quality, awful battery life), but it shot ProRes flavors and RAW DNG. Footage out of it had a film-like quality with heaps of dynamic range, pushability in post and lovely motion. But it wasn't until they dropped prices during one summer to 475 bucks that I actually picked up one. People speculated that a successor would soon follow and that they were clearing stock. But prices went back up and we didn't see a proper successor until the BMPCC4K started shipping just right about now. Another insane value was the G7, your first camera of choice. Panasonic ambassador Andy Lee even went as far as giving it the edge over the GH4, because it was a newer camera and actually had better sensor performance. Picked one up myself on one of my trips to Stockholm, Sweden. Although Scandinavia is one of the most expensive regions to be in (the price of a coffee or a cocktail for instance is insane), for some reason electronics are mighty cheap there, especially if a little older (guess they have so much money that they're always buying the latest and greatest and then camera stores are left with stock to clear).
Now, I think it was up to that time that I was really enjoying the perks of MFT, but I did wish it would've been able to squeeze more performance out of the sensor. Especially regarding dynamic range and high ISO noise performance... maybe it could've used a bit of color tweaking as well. So... I did dabble a bit in another crop factor camera system and went ahead and bought a Nikon D5300 that was on sale and saw good things about. Just... the thing is... yes, the sensor performance was trully great. But it was a traditional DSLR, meaning it was the worst to work with in liveview (which I had gotten used to)... and it just didn't have any of the other mirrorless ease of use and innovation. It's probably still laying around here somewhere, but obviously hasn't seen much use. But it kinda re-affirmed that MFT still was the way forward. And following Canon for years, I knew they seemingly crippled cameras to protect higher-end camera sales or something... or just because 'hey, people still buy our cameras if we put in less effort'. At one point they followed up the 650D/T4i with the 700D/T5i... what innovation happened you ask? Well, they changed a dial so you could turn it not in one direction, but in two! You were now able to apply creative filters in liveview to see the effects. And... there was a new rubber coating! Woahhh! Mind blown. Changing the game. Yeah... maybe not so much, eh?
Then the era of sensor stabilization came along. The GX7 before was capable of sensor stabilization, however, this was unavailable for video recording. But, then they introduced the brilliant GX80/85 that did and boy, that was exciting! Panasonic video... with sensor stabilization. Especially for me, as I've been on a never ending quest to find the ultimate character lens and had built up quite the insane collection of vintage lenses (including modern lenses, my collection is probably a little over 100), that of course were all manual, no optical stabilization. Great to use for say Veydra T2.2 Mini Cinema Primes, Contax Yashica mount Zeiss f/1.4, f/2 or f/2.8 primes or Leica Summicron-R f/2 E55 ones. Of course, there were a couple of quirks with the GX80... screen only tilts, it doesn't face forwards. It has no mic-input and the cardslot is co-located at the battery compartment. Then... the G80/85 got released! Man... that is one of the best value cameras I did ever dang see. Got in almost exactly 2 years ago. Just days before embarking on my first trip to America... New York of course (where it was a wonderful and even hot Indian summer). Super handling characteristics, awesome quality and Dual I.S. with the weathersealed Lumix kit lens!
Things have gotten a little untypically Panasonic after that. The GX9 came out... but it wasn't received very well by the people that were shooting a GX8. It was more like a different take on the GX80/85. The GH5 had gotten a pre-announcement. Then final specs and pricing got revealed. They blasted the price through the roof! Wowzahs. But okay, it is a very capable camera. The Olympus E-M1 Mark II was doing the same thing. And boy these two camera bodies were just the most perfect things. Then it gotten a little weird. A 2nd flagship was announced. And if you wanted to benefit from the improved stills focus as well as the now 6.5 stops of stabilization, top LCD, EVF upgrade and USB charging... then suddenly that would be the one to buy. But... it of course lacked the more interesting video features of the GH5, incl. something basic like unlimited recording. Hum... and then another wild flagship camera appeared. Starting to feel like walking around playing PokemonGo. This time with sensor performance I didn't imagine possible in this stage of 4/3" sensor technology. Impressive stuff on that GH5S. But of course the elephant in the room: no sensor stabilization (be it on request of the professional scene; like productions handling shows like Top Gear or not) and the price has seen a great departure from what the GH-range used to be about. Ugh. So... now you needed the G9 for stills. The GH5 for video with sensor stabilization and run-n-gun character and the GH5S for ultimate quality professional productions. I'm almost able to call 'BINGO!' because I have 2 out of 3 (G9 and GH5). But it's kind of a shame you can't have it all in just one single camera and that prices have shot through the roof like that... seems a new path paved. I'm doubtful MFT will ever have the value of say a G80/85 again, which is a shame.
Performance and the views from people with other systems... yeah, crop sensor inherently has a bit of a struggle with performance. But if you see what the post-GH4 generation is capable of and especially now the GH5S, we've come a long way in a short time... which makes for nice propects for future cameras in this segment. Still, crop sensor... means tougher time finding really wide lenses and harder to get that shallow depth of field look people seek after so much (although... a bit overplayed. I personally love some context with my shots, rather than just blurring everything). But of course... another elephant in the room. C-AF with depth from de-focus... is, well, not quite up to snuff, especially compared to the benchmark DualPixel AF from Canon (I'm not likely to ever get a Canon, because they seem to cripple cameras in terms of features and fail to embrace the true mirrorless innovation, but they do do the basics right: colors, C-AF and offering a vari-angle screen). But I'm hopeful for the future.
So... to me Micro Four Thirds still is after all these years the most attractive system out there. Looking forward to what is more to come. ;)
I love Canon's dual pixel AF. When I've used it, it just works without putting any special attention to it. I still like Canon glass, but I don't want to put some huge, heavy lens on my lightweight m43 system. Seems like it runs counter to the point of getting into a lightweight system. Panasonic is going to have to either break the formula for contrast AF and come up with a revolutionary take on it or abandon it in favor of something else, because they risk falling further behind in that area.
I like the G9, but I think my next camera will likely be the GH5. The thing is that I don't intend to use it for video work outside of the tripod, so IBIS isn't much of a concern. I don't do much vlogging. I've also been taking a long look at the Fuji X-H1 and X-T3. The X-T3 in particular looks really impressive. The only downside that I can see about Fuji is committing to a second ecosystem.
Yeah, I feel you. Fujifilm caught up big time and make a very exciting system. I always thought APS-C/S35 was the perfect concession between quality and portability and they do it better than the competition right now. But there's hardly any stabilized lenses and not all the bodies offer that sensor stabilization... as well as some other slight 'almost, but not quite' features or lack thereof. And yeah, it's a bit of an oddball system and mount... and yet anóther system to get into. So... MFT for me still comes out on top. ;)
For size, and quality, it's one of the best. I've JUST sold mine after 4 years of owning to change to the Olympus 17mm 1.2. It's much larger, but feels great on a G9.
Curious: I exchanged mine for an Olympus 17mm f:1.8 a couple of years ago after having the 15mm for about a year: after a trip to japan with that I came to the conclusion I cannot stand that 30mm equivalent fow and I much prefer a regular 35mm: it was like I was always in the middle and was unable to properly frame what I was looking at. The oly is less sharp but is similarly sized and I fell much more comfortable with that focal lenght
@@Leptospirosi yeah exactly that, I felt like I spent most of my time in post cropping images haha.
Totally agree, that thing is such a big upgrade to any panasonic kit!! For those who are a little bit on a budget a tip is to look for a used DJI 15mm D-L015. It's the exact same lens just branded by DJI and used usually sells much cheaper than the Leica. Recently pick up my copy for 200€ while a this Leica one used would have been 300-350€ here in Europe.
Very interesting. And you're sure it has the Leica glass?
@@photojoseph I heard it's basically the same lens
I found a video comparison… in Russian. One definite obvious difference is the coatings. Which means the glass is probably different. Which means it’s not Leica glass. That’s my deduction at least.
@@photojoseph there are indeed huge discussions going one whether it's the same one or not. Built-quality wise it definitely appears to be the exact same. Glass or coating can infact be different, remains untold. For someone with a very limited budget however that should be a fairly easy pill to swallow, since for my eye the difference between two different kinds of glass won't be visible. However the difference of having a 15mm 1.7 or not having one will very much be visible :P for a pro, who needs absolute best quality that might of course look differently.
@@FlorianLand You can buy it new for about 350€ at eglobalcentral.com... So, why would you buy it second hand for 300€?
I've got my 2nd hand used without lens hood. But was able to use screw-in JJC LN-46S .46mm lens hood and it look very nice. BTW, you can't lose this one, since it is screw-in.
Probably the best, most informative video on this lens. Thank you
Thank you!
I just got the lens for my system, as I wanted a wide-ish lens with fast aperture and quick focus to be able to capture my two years old son playing. So far, I love it. Your samples taken with the lens are fantastic! I really love your style. I subscribe to see more content 😊
Awesome thank you, and enjoy the lens! It’s a beauty.
I was looking for videos on CZcams about this lens,....saw your video in the list,...20 minutes long,...I thought I won't have the patience for this,...but I clicked on it anyway,....and man, am I glad I did. This is just the type of lens I am looking for,...low light capabilities and great for street photos. The sample pictures you showed were absolutely great,...very professional. And your presentation and comments were first class. Thanks.
Thank you, I appreciate that!
Thanks PhotoJoseph. This video uncovered a unique feature I was trying to use. With the AF switch, I can switch to manual, have focus peaking, and use back button AF for instant AF. And.... when switched to AF, I can have AFC or AF tracking on demand without going into the menus. Just a switch can get these to features. This will change the way I shoot photo and video. Thanks.
Awesome! Which body are you using?
Thanks for your video.I ordered a few days ago that lens and I was going into the endless spiral of second thought. The pictures you showed are exactly what I want to do with it. Low lights, street photography etc... The only thing that bother me is that it's not weather sealed. When travelling (especially in Asia in summer) rain can happen. I also love to take pictures of street at night with rain, with all the reflections. I guess I must find a way to protect my gear.
Awesome! It’s been easy enough for me to keep dry. It’s so small that, especially when in a small body like the GX85, it’s easily slipped under a coat. Good luck with it, I hope you love it as much as I do!
I sold this lens 2 years ago and bought another copy last year. I use this on a Panasonic GM1. I get as much pleasure from this combo as from my Leica M240 with a Leica 28mm f2. Still use my Nikon D3s and various zoom lenses for generating cash flow to finance my photography journey. Definitely horses for courses. Don't let fan boys/girls of other makes or systems tell you that MFT is dead. I shoot many different formats and systems and they are good and fun for different reasons.
Amen! Yeah this really is a wonderful lens and I totally hear you on the “enjoyment” factor. While I’ve never owned a Leica I can totally appreciate the enjoyment and absolutely love a small system combo!
Just got mine today, it fits so well on my Pen 7 that i don't think i'll ever take it off, i'm used with the focal length from the phones so i think i'll like that too. It is sad that the aperture ring does not work on olympus, the camera dials are a terrible idea, they are not marked so you have to guess which one what it is for, then you most certainly turn it in the wrong direction.
Nice! And bummer about the ring not working. Have you checked for firmware updates on both the lens and the camera? The aperture ring is definitely nice to have.
Perfect walk around lens. I like how it’s small and comes with a metal lens hood.
Even I have this lens for more than 5 years and loved to use it almost at every situation... I still love to watch review about it :) best lens ever.
I am also very disappointed, why panasonic did not applied 15mm's controls to 25mm F 1.4 MarkII ? Iwish to see aperture and focus ring on 25mm 1.4 mark II.
I’ve tried the Panny 14mm f2.5, 20mm f1.7 and Oly 17mm f1.8 and the Leica 15mm f1.7 is better than them all - sharper, better micro contrast, and minimal chromatic aberrations or fringing.
It’s still an amazing lens!
For the last 6 months I’ve been shooting with it almost exclusively and the sharpness, color and contrast are all great. Perfect for small bodies and really well made. Only thing that bothers me that lens hood comes off too easily and has fallen off while taking it out of the bag few times. Just got a fast zoom so I won’t use it all the time, but for low light and candid shots it’s hard to beat.
Agreed on all counts. Try a little tape in the grooves to add friction for the hood. Just a tiny bit to make the grooves smaller.
I own this lense in the silver version and i love it very much. It is soo sharp it has a special look other lenses dont have
Sweet!
Fantastic video! Well done. It answered so many questions for me. Nice to see someone else who has been to Tbilisi Georgia. I've been there 4 times. I love that country.
Thank you! And yeah, Georgia is great.
Also about aperture ring: If you have an excellent handling of camera controls (Pana GX GH series, Olympus OM and PEN series) then ring does not make a difference.
But if you have a Panasonic GM (1, 5, 7 or processors), which doesn't have so many controls, one more control, the ring, makes a great improvement.
That’s fair. I still prefer lenses that have a mechanical ring though, especially on a lens like the 10-25/1.7 where it’s stepless, so you have totally smooth aperture control.
Baker image an all time classic!!! Love it every time I see it.
Thank you!
Best value Leica branded lens for MFT
This is an excellent image collection from 15/1.7, one of the best I have seen.
Thank you! I still love this lens.
I love this lens, perfect for street or video. The manual focus is super smooth
going to buy this lens for the GX9 body i have just bought
I still use and love this lens!
You have beautiful photos sir. Nice work. Want to buy this lens soon to pair it with my Olympus gear!
Thank you!
I just got this lens 2 days ago. Perfect timing!
I was debating to get this or sigma 16mm. But I think 16 would be better for the gh5. Just feels more premium looking and I like to hold the lens not just the camera
Never used the sigma. Is it much larger?
@@photojoseph yeah it's like 3 times the size of the 15mm
@@davidvictory9764 ahh… this 15 is delightfully small
@@photojoseph yeah I saw both in person, the 15mm looked so tempting, but then I thought I much rather have the look of the 16mm on a gh5. It would just look more cool looking and easier to hold as you can hold the lens with 1 hand when recording. But it definitely is much heavier
Thanks! I was on the fence about this lens but your review was very helpful!
Sweet! It’s a beauty
Great video and fab photos, really show off what a good photographer can do with the lens. Do you have any comments on its use with OMD? - I appreciate the aperture ring is redundant. Thanks
Thank you, that’s kind. I haven’t used it on an OMD body before I it’ll work, shouldn’t have any issues at all. My first MFT bodies were Olympus and I used them with some Panasonic lenses; never had a problem.
i have one for over 4 yrs, like it very much, only 2 things i don't like. One is the ring in the front is easy to loose, and second is corners are a obviously softer than center.
I just picked this lens up yesterday and this video is a great overview of things to come! I previously had my 20mm 1.7 on my gx85 but was looking to get my first really “nice” lens as well as something with faster AF. I do love the 20mm for many reasons (form factor, the unique 40mm equivalent) but man was the autofocus slow and not terribly useful in situations where I was popping off shots quickly. Excited to have this little fellow (and its slick metal lens hood!) on my camera.
It's a fabulous lens. Still one of my favorites and most used!
How does the image quality of the Leica 15mm f/1.7 Panasonic lens on a micro 4/3 camera compare to the image quality of the 28mm f/1.7 lens on a Leica G camera?
Never had the opportunity to compare, sorry
now that is one beautiful lens!
thanks for sharing this with us! loved watching this!
Thanks!
Looks like a pretty nice lens Joe.
It is indeed Peter… thanks for watching!
I have this lens and love it too.
I use with GX80 and look forward to using it with the GX9. 🙂
Hehe. I shoot this lens on GX80 and wait for Amazon to deliver the GX9 on 02-Sep. Coincidence :)
I'm thinking about getting the Gx9 or the Gx80; how you liking the Gx9 compared to the Gx80?
Still wondering about this lens and the Sigma 16mm 1.4 loved by lot of people. Knowing the huge difference in measure and weight but how differs about video autofocus performance? native PanaLeica vs non DFD lens. Also this focus ring on PL lens is sooo tiny, also aperture ring to me is uselss, or well, useless when used the lens manually on adapters.
I have G7 and G80 to use with. Sigma is also 100€ cheaper for me, what's your opinion? thanks :)
I haven't used the Sigma so can't speak to it but the size and weight of this tiny 15mm is going to be hard to beat
You should get a commission Joseph. As well as buying the lens, I grabbed all of Little Freddie King's albums too!
haha that's awesome… he makes some great music!!
I thought it was amusing that you referred to it as your Brother in Law's wedding. Wouldn't that make it your sister's wedding? Great lens. Great on the GH5S with a Ronin-S for video.
No… my wife’s brother is my brother in law. His wedding. If it was my sister’s wedding (and I don’t have a sister), that’d be AWKWARD!! 😂 And yeah this lens is still a favorite! Amazing tiny thing.
So someone mentioned it in another comment down below somewhere about the images from a lx100 vs this setup (and probably not being able to tell the difference). I have a Leica D-lux 109 and was wondering if this would be worth buying a setup like this or not really? Besides the effective megapixs difference which I know the gx85 uses the full 16mp as the lux uses only 12.8 of it. I'd appreciate your opinion, thanks!
Hello Joseph - I have this lens and yes it's great however - What are your thoughts on the 42.5mm F/1.2 for both Video and stills on the GH5 M2?
Gorgeous lens. Great for video if manual focusing. It has a very long focus throw, designed for slow and accurate focus for portraits, so it’s too slow to use for video. But it’s gorgeous. It’s actually the main wide shot on all my current youtube videos (the white and blue gear wall set).
Great video, as I'm just going to buy the 15mm.
I'm just confused as to why the word "bokeh" has been used to describe the wrong thing yet again ... Why??
please @John Taylor, tell me… how have I misused "bokeh"? If you're going to leave a comment telling someone they're wrong, please include what's right.
Bokeh is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image, and it isn't the amount of depth of field, and that is how it has been throughout my 50 years in photography.
My comment isn't a criticism as such, and your video is of great help in making the decision to buy this lens much easier. I have purchased this lens after watching a few of the videos on this lens, and your long term review is more useful than one where somebody uses it for a week or so.
It's June 2023, may I ask if you still use your GX85 and 15mm f1.7? Or have you sold these already, and migrated to full frame sensors?
I do still use the lens. Not the camera; more the GH6. I also use the full frame gear.
@@photojoseph thanks
Hi Joseph, can you please cover in a video the flash options in the G9 and which settings can be used with Panasonic flashes and which are not available in third party flashes like Godox or Nissin. Thank you!
I can’t compare to the third parties yet (I will eventually I hope) but I’ve covered flash quite a bit. Check here: photojoseph.com/all?type=1&type=1&app_id=All&hardware_id=978#.W7lHFRZlDDs
I have no idea what model Panasonic camera you are using - you say it many times but so badly I’m left in the dark. “GX shifty five” - what’s that?
GX85
@@photojoseph Thank you.
very nice images.. May I ask what picture profiles and setting you used in Lumix?
Would this work for real estate wide shot vids, weddings and such? recommend one if not please! Good vid, very informative.
Weddings, yes. Street photography, yes. Real Estate… I prefer something wider. I use the 8-18mm for almost all real estate work geni.us/iVNa
Hmmm This is a Summicron really. I can why see they did it to deliver a compact lens but I think there is room for both. 15mm F1.4 would be smaller than the 12mm F1.4 and bigger than the 25mm F1.4. I'm hoping they come out with a Lumix Leica Summilux 17.5mm F1.4...I have an OM-D M10 mk 1 and love the 25mm F1.4...
That’d be a nice lens too!
Wonderful photos Joseph. This lens has such contrast I am thinking of swaping it for my Oly 17 & teaming it up with a GX9. Are these images SOOC JPEG or from raw? Rich
RAW, processed in Lightroom
Great review. Makes me want want one. Will it go just as well on an Olympus?
yes, but the dedicated aperture ring wont work
@@timopomer Bummer. Ok. Thanks!
Hi Joseph, great review again!! One question re the Pana Leica 15mm: does your lens shade also sit very loosely? I an constantly worried that it might go off and I lose it (although it might make a lot of noise when it drops to the ground).. I have already lost the rubber lens cab..... BR Erwin.
Oh yeah - for sure. It's a problem with any metal-on-metal lens shade. It flexes with the temp; I've had a metal lens shade clang the the cobblestone streets in Venice in the middle of the night. Oops!!!!! Anyway I have a very narrow strip of gaff tape jammed in the grooves on mine. Works perfectly.
Awesome video!! Do you Recommend this lens for fashion photography?. I am using G85 🤔🤔
If the 30mm equivalent focal length is what you're looking for, then sure.
Would you prefer this over the 12mm 1.4? Is it worth it or that much of difference to get the 12mm?
Oooh… that's tough. I am using the 12/1.4 add a vlogging lens now. The field of view it's just right, and at that distance (arm length) you get nice bokeh. The field of view difference is pretty significant though; 24mm vs 30mm full frame equivalent. For Street photography having very shallow depth of field can work against you, so personally I'd still prefer the 15 as a street photo lens. Plus it's size and weight are hard to beat.
This should be great for MilkyWay photos too.
Lovely review and images. Regards Ulf
Excellent pics. I was wondering about the amount of processing involved in these pics... was there a lot of processing involved? The colours are amazing...
Thanks! The New Orleans shots are all jpeg straight out of camera, because at the time I shot those on the GX85, there was no RAW support available. They are mostly shot in Vivid profile. Everything else (Tbilisi, wedding, etc.) were processed in Lightroom. I start most of my editing with presets from Mastin Labs or VSCO to get a “film” look, and then evolve from there.
@@photojoseph That Freddie King photo is fantastic. The composition and colours hit you right between the eyes. 👌
Thank you so much, I appreciate that.
@@photojoseph l hear but haven't tried myself that Raw Therapee can handle new RAW formats from newly released cameras. This may be of help to you in the future. For more info refer to the link below.
rawpedia.rawtherapee.com/Adding_Support_for_New_Raw_Formats
@@photojoseph We have to capture and document those old bluesmen while they're still around. For music lovers that's important.
loved the video! whats your opinion when comparing it to the fov of olympus 17mm lenses for the type of photography you presented us ?
that's a 30mm vs 35mm full frame difference. Pretty minor. I would happily shoot at either focal lenght.
@@photojoseph good! comparing the optics and qualitywise , do you have any comment?!
I haven't shot the Olympus for street photography. All I can say is that I *love* the Panasonic Leica one. It's an amazing lens; one of the favorites in my collection. geni.us/3KtyCz
@@photojoseph thanx for the feedback !! keep on !
This lens is amazing
You are a really great photographer been using the GX85 as well. Have put it a way but used it in a museum and wanted to travel light. Used it with the kit lens glad I brought it with me. This lens looks good. Very rarely pick up my GH4 any more.
on MFT is it still a f/1.7 or is it f/3.5 ? i'm new o MFT so sorry if that's a dumb questions
Not a dumb question at all, and totally confusing. The general calculation is that you double both, so a 15/1.7 becomes a 20/3.4 But it's not that cut and dry. It depends on if you're talking exposure, or depth of field, and what you're really comparing it to. Remember the f/number is a calculation of size of the aperture vs the focal length. Anyway, I recommend this article for further reading that may actually help, unlike my comment ;-) www.discoverdigitalphotography.com/2013/what-does-equivalent-aperture-mean/
No, it’s 9:30 on a Friday here.
Swenden shots ! Great !
I have olympus omd em10 mii body. I want to buy a prime lens is it for olympus body? I need to hear your advice. Thanks
This one will work great
Great video and great lens!
Thanks, and I agree! ;-)
very very nice image
Gx85 or GX9?
That was the GX85. Still one of my favorites!
And then the 10-25 1.7 comes along...
Probably a little more expensive though :-)
Will be great for video and expensive - but bang for buck the 15mm is fantastic
But that lense is HUGE!!! IMO it defeats the advantage of going MFT unless you are a professional video shooter and always have a tripod at hand. As a wlak around lens the 10-25 is not that great, again IMO
Yes but .. not when compared to equivalent FF lenses - its the equivalent to having 4 lenses Leica 8-18, 12mm, 15mm, and 25mm - You will lighten your gear when carrying around- all you'll need will be 2 lenses the 10-25 and 42.5 Noctricron - pretty cool
If the 10-25 can reasonably replace my favorite, the 25 1.4, then I may well end up getting it. The 8-18 is not bright enough for what I end up doing so I didn't end up getting it.
I rented that lens and I was disappointed. IT's great inside, compared to the 14-42mm lens. But outside on a bright sunny day, save your money. I compared the kit lens and the Leica for landscape photography and frankly there's no reason to buy the Leica if all you're going to do is shoot outside. Now sure, as soon as you step inside a building the kit lenss is gone and the Leica is better, but I'd say marginally better as f/1.7 on a Micro Four Third is actually very different than a f/1.7 on a full frame.
The dof of a MFT camera is shallower only because the lenses have a shorter focal distance.
Does this lens have that "Leica" look?
Honestly I’ve never owned an original Leica so I can’t say… but I can say that this lens is one of my favorites.
30mm f/3.4 ... doesn't sound so good when you go full frame equivilent
Double focal length not aperture....
actually yes, when the sensor is 2 times smaller = 2x less light the sensor receive
@@dafo446 so a compact with a 1/2.3 sensor have a F/30 aperture ? F/45 ? 😂
@Antoine Richer lol?
a single pixel size in 12mp with 1/2.3 sensor is ~1.55 microns
a single pixel size in 12mp with full frame sensor is ~8.4 microns which ~5.4x bigger = more light receive
and if a 1/2.3 inch with f1.7 equivalent is not F30 but F/~9.18
@@dafo446 aperture didn't depend of your sensor... A mft sensor is 1/4 if the surface of ff.. and 1/2.3 surface sensor is only about near 25 mm2 surface ( compare to a ff with more than 900mm2)...
Don't confuse everything in sensor aperture, focale equivalent.