Fastest low-light lens at ~25mm for E-5?

My 14-35 focuses faster in low-light on my E-5 than it does on any of my other bodies, but is still no speedster. The Sigma 30 is probably a little faster. My 14-54 Mk I is quite fast, but at F3 is giving up a couple stops in exposure. How's the Pan-Leica 25? Any other options I'm not thinking of?

It seems to me that a lens can be fast optically, focus fast in low light, and focus reliably in low light - pick two. Your 14-35mm has a lot of glass to move around, and that's part of why it's slow. The 14-54mm is probably the best bet of those you mentioned, although I've heard the 12-60mm is a bit faster. Not sure about the Panaleica 25mm f/1.4.

Sigma 24/1.8 (though it's not faster than 14-54/12-60)
Rokinon 35/1.4 (if you can manual focus ;D)
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I'll have to look into the Sigma. I never was especially good with manual focus, even back when cameras carried film.

Set release priority to ON in S-AF and you will have 2-3x faster low light focusing with the 14-35mm.

This is the most important thing to do if you own this lens.

The downside is that your camera will fire even if focus hasn't been achieved so you need to take a bit of care, but once you get a grip on it you will realize it's so much faster than having to wait for that micro-adjustment dance 14-35mm does in low light.
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Cheers,
Marin

While I don't have any studies or tests to quote to you, I have had good luck with the PL 25mm 1.4 in low-light conditions. Wide open, it seems pretty sharp in the center, and I found the autofocus to be quite usable. Some samples below.

In my experience, the PL 25 1.4 focuses reasonably fast in low light. I've used it in clubs and bars to shoot performers, and also on the street with existing light at night. Sometimes I need to hit the AFL button a couple times just to be safe, but the lens is pretty responsive on the E-5.

A couple things to keep in mind: This lens is notorious for front focusing, so given the narrow DoF at wider apertures, it will pay to take advantage of the E-5's AF Adjust function. Also, I seem to remember that this lens is now out of production, so it may be hard to find new.

John
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12-60mm is really fast even in low light. However, it is f/3.4 at 25mm.

25mm pancake is f/2.8 but is pretty cheerful at focusing.

Sigma 24mm f/1.8 is reasonable on the E-5. However, I would recommend AF sensitivity set to "small" with this lens. I was shooting a mural in ambient light maxed out at f/1.8 and the camera kept picking up a window opening lever nearby even in single point mode. I resorted to live view CDAF to get it right.

Not that I've tried it, but the 25mm is also a CDAF enabled lens (faster focusing in Live view) which might be better than phase detect in certain low light scenarios.

Food for thought....

Maybe I'll buy an E5 this week and let you know.