Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 ASPH. Lens

Panasonic's partnership with Leica continues to bear excellent fruit. The 12mm ƒ/1.4 Summilux provides an excellent shooting experience for Micro Four Thirds users, especially at the wide ƒ/1.4 aperture where it will probably spend most of its time being used.

Specification A Panasonic lens for the Micro Four-Thirds system, marked with the Leica Summilux name, immediately evokes the great Summilux lenses of the past. This suggests something a bit special, something raising its head above the norm and our expectations increasing in a likewise manner.

Panasonic’s new 12mm prime is fast and finely crafted and we’re seeing more top-quality, pro-grade lenses being launched for mirrorless cameras, with price tags to match. The initial cost of Panasonic’s new 12mm lens runs well into four figures, but it’s beautifully built.

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  Solid, metal casing,, Very good image quality in the frame centre,, Sensible image quality on the edge of the frame (meaning values averaged out),, Negligible lateral chromatic aberration,, Quick decrease of vignetting on stopping down the aperture,, Silent, quick, and efficient autofocus.

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  Distinct difference in sharpness between left and right sides of the frame,, Problems with longitudinal chromatic aberration,, Bothersome coma in the right part of the frame,, High distortion for RAW files,, Performance against bright light could have been better.

With its fine optics and robust metal construction, there’s a lot to like about the Summilux 12mm f/1.4 Asph. Its fast maximum aperture should please Micro Four Thirds users who like to shoot in low light, while its robust dust and splash-proof construction will appeal to landscape photographers who...

Andy Westlake gets his hands on a premium fast wideangle prime for Micro Four Thirds

DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 ASPH. lens is an excellent performer, although a bit on the pricey side, particularly when compared with the Lumix G 25mm f/1.7 ASPH. lens. But when build quality is taken into account, it represents decent value.

Regardless of the technical results, this is a lens that produces images that look fantastic. Some might argue that's actually what a lens is for and we need look no further than that.

The Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 ASPH is an outstanding ultra-wide-angle prime lens. It's exceptionally well-built, weather-proof and delivers fantastic image quality at both the centre and edges of the frame, even when shooting wide-open at f/1.4, and the very welcome aperture ring makes...

This lens is a pleasure to use, incredibly sharp, great contrast, no distortion that I can perceive. It feels solidly built, operates smoothly and quietly and is beautifully finished as one would expect from a Leica labeled lens.

I always shot photos separately with a Canon because the mft cameras have always not cut it when it came to low light performance, shallow DOF, and color. But somehow, this lens addresses all of that in a big way.

I have recently been able to use this lens while filming in the midwest and it did not let me down. The stills were as sharp as I have seen with my GH4, even out to the edges while shooting wide open, and the video was clean as could be (it cleaned up the VFR 96fps a lot).

I already had a 20mm and 45mm for my micro four thirds camera. This high quality wide angle lens makes this collection more complete. It has already come in handy for its first job. Great optics with very little distortion.

Just purchased the GH5 with the 12-35mm, 12mm and 20mm to start my kit. This lens stands out among the three to me in hybrid shooting situations. Super fast, sharp and very pleased with build quality. Looking forward to exploring the pro lens lineup from Panasonic.

I've been using m43 on and off for 2 years, and have been impressed at how good the best m43 lenses are, and how poor some of the other m43 lenses are. Not suprisingly, the more expensive lenses tend to be the better ones, except for the simple lenses like the pancakes.

Great lens for indoor low light. Crisp and Clear.Great response under low light conditions.Lightweight. Manual aperature.