Lumix 14mm pancake lens, good or bad?

Andrew Higgins · Jun 14, 2011

A 28mm wide would be very handy on my GF1, but I'm puzzled by some of the mixed reports on the Panasonic 14mm f2.5 lens.

I can't believe Panasonic would produce a 'bad' lens, as they stand for quality products.

So what are users thoughts on this lens, now it has been out for a while...?

Thanks
A
--

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajh400
http://www.blipfoto.com/ah2010

Doug Pitts · Jun 14, 2011

--
...I use an Olympus 17 on mine and love it.

G1Houston · Jun 14, 2011

Andrew Higgins said:
A 28mm wide would be very handy on my GF1, but I'm puzzled by some of the mixed reports on the Panasonic 14mm f2.5 lens.

I can't believe Panasonic would produce a 'bad' lens, as they stand for quality products.

So what are users thoughts on this lens, now it has been out for a while...?

Strictly speaking in terms of optical performance, 14/2.5 is not as sharp as the 20/1.7, but it is still a very good lens, considering the fact that the 20/1.7 is an outstanding lens. Buy it IF you need a wide AND fast lens, like I do. If not, your kit lens is 14mm at f3.5. This lens is designed for low light photography so corner performance is not important. A 12/2 may be coming but it will be much larger and more expensive than the 14/2.5.

Jake Rubicon · Jun 14, 2011

I just received mine from Amazon this afternoon and did a comparison test of it with the 20/1.7 and Olympus MZ 9-18 (set at 14mm). As was already stated, it's not as sharp as the 20/1.7 wide open but when stopped down to F3.5 it is still quite sharp even out to the edges. It is noticeably sharper than the 9-18, and has far less distortion, but that's to be expected when comparing a prime with a zoom. I too had thought about holding out for the Olympus 12mm and may get it someday but for now this lens is more than adequate. And its size and weight alone almost make it worth buying. It is tiny! It feels like a short stack of 52mm lens caps and filters rather than an actual lens, but I can't argue with the results. This lens plus the 20/1.7 and a GF1 make an excellent lightweight and compact kit.

amtberg · Jun 14, 2011

IMO the only reason to get it is if you want a very small (and I mean TINY) lens. Otherwise it's not that much better or faster than the 14 - zooms at 14mm. I got it because it's tiny.

kermitG9 · Jun 14, 2011

Andrew Higgins said:
A 28mm wide would be very handy on my GF1, but I'm puzzled by some of the mixed reports on the Panasonic 14mm f2.5 lens.

I can't believe Panasonic would produce a 'bad' lens, as they stand for quality products.

There's no such thing in photography..

Andrew Higgins said:
So what are users thoughts on this lens, now it has been out for a while...?

The lens is perfectly sharp from center to corner (even compared to the 20mm which I also own) as long as you step down a little bit (f4).

While everybody seems to be focused on sharpness.. it doesn't surprise me that they haven't noticed .. what I call a major flaw with this lens:

Chromatic aberration !! Among all the lenses I've seen, this one is particularly bad in that area. Shoot in RAW and you'll spend most of your time fixing blue/red/cyan and yellow color aberrations.

I've rarely seen it so pronouned that I decided to sell it.

Janine4d · Jun 14, 2011

I love it, I've used it a lot more than the 20mm since I've had it. It's fun to use it at f2.5 as well which you can't do with a kit lens. Plus I have a thing for small lenses... I took these photos with it:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/janine4d/sets/72157626703770339

Janine4d · Jun 14, 2011

kermitG9 said:
Chromatic aberration !! Among all the lenses I've seen, this one is particularly bad in that area. Shoot in RAW and you'll spend most of your time fixing blue/red/cyan and yellow color aberrations.

I've rarely seen it so pronouned that I decided to sell it.

Can't say I've noticed... What software do you use for your raws, does it load them uncorrected?

rkhndjr · Jun 14, 2011

Janine4d said:
I love it, I've used it a lot more than the 20mm since I've had it. It's fun to use it at f2.5 as well which you can't do with a kit lens. Plus I have a thing for small lenses... I took these photos with it:

I have one coming tomorrow. A friend told me he used his much more than the 20mm now. Your pictures are marvelous and sure have me excited. I would love to have the settings you used.

Janine4d said:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/janine4d/sets/72157626703770339

--

Time, that aged nurse,
rocked me to patience.

G1Houston · Jun 14, 2011

Some lovely shots there. I do notice that the bokeh from the 14/2.5, surprisingly is softer than that from 20/1.7. This may be why we pay a small price in sharpness.
What color setting do you use to get that warm color, if you don't mind sharing?

Janine4d said:
I love it, I've used it a lot more than the 20mm since I've had it. It's fun to use it at f2.5 as well which you can't do with a kit lens. Plus I have a thing for small lenses... I took these photos with it:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/janine4d/sets/72157626703770339

Kopend05 · Jun 14, 2011

I read somewhere the 14mm vignettes badly even at f5.6 ? maybe they made it to small.

amtberg · Jun 14, 2011

Can we assume you're using an Olympups camera? Panasonic cameras fix most of this automatically.

kermitG9 · Jun 14, 2011

amtberg said:
Can we assume you're using an Olympups camera? Panasonic cameras fix most of this automatically.

You're absolutely right.

I'm using the E-P2 which doesn't auto-correct CA when a Panasonic lens is connected to it. Hence, you could argue that it's a better body to test the 14mm lens than any other Panasonic camera.. However, no complaints with the 20mm lens in that specific area.

Janine4d · Jun 14, 2011

rkhndjr said:
I have one coming tomorrow. A friend told me he used his much more than the 20mm now. Your pictures are marvelous and sure have me excited. I would love to have the settings you used.

Thanks! My settings are all default, I do all the processing in photoshop or adobe camera raw.

Janine4d · Jun 14, 2011

Kopend05 said:
I read somewhere the 14mm vignettes badly even at f5.6 ? maybe they made it to small.

It has some vignetting, but it's really not that bad. Just don't use it to take pictures of white walls.

Janine4d · Jun 14, 2011

G1Houston said:
Some lovely shots there. I do notice that the bokeh from the 14/2.5, surprisingly is softer than that from 20/1.7. This may be why we pay a small price in sharpness.
What color setting do you use to get that warm color, if you don't mind sharing?

It produces very nice bokeh indeed, probably not something many people actually pay much attention to. But it's one of its strong points. Camera settings are all default, all processing is with photoshop/adobe camera raw only - some tweaking of the white balance, colour balance and a few other adjustments usually.

Andrew Higgins · Jun 16, 2011

Thanks for all your replies everyone...food for thought!

I've got the 20mm, which is a very small lens, but also tried the 14mm, which is so light and tiny, it's practically non-existent!

And it was stumbling across Janine4d flickr pics that made me think again about buying a 14mm. Great pics!

A
--

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajh400
http://www.blipfoto.com/ah2010

Fredrik Glckner · Jun 16, 2011

When I first got it, I though it was so-so. After some use, it has grown on me, and I use it more and more.

Optically, it is very good. It has very fast autofocus, compact size.

http://m43photo.blogspot.com/2010/11/panasonic-lumix-g-14mm-f25.html

rkhndjr · Jun 16, 2011

Janine4d said:
rkhndjr said:

I have one coming tomorrow. A friend told me he used his much more than the 20mm now. Your pictures are marvelous and sure have me excited. I would love to have the settings you used.

Click to expand...

Thanks! My settings are all default, I do all the processing in photoshop or adobe camera raw.

Sorry for my late thanks, but..Thanks a lot.I use CS5 but with some settings I have worked out it is hardly needed.

--

Time, that aged nurse,
rocked me to patience.

rkhndjr · Jun 16, 2011

G1Houston said:
Some lovely shots there. I do notice that the bokeh from the 14/2.5, surprisingly is softer than that from 20/1.7. This may be why we pay a small price in sharpness.
What color setting do you use to get that warm color, if you don't mind sharing?

She told me she used default and Photoshopped them.

G1Houston said:
Janine4d said:

I love it, I've used it a lot more than the 20mm since I've had it. It's fun to use it at f2.5 as well which you can't do with a kit lens. Plus I have a thing for small lenses... I took these photos with it:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/janine4d/sets/72157626703770339

Click to expand...

--

Time, that aged nurse,
rocked me to patience.

Lumix 14mm pancake lens, good or bad?

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