The Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 has horrific flare characteristics

texinwien wrote:

It happens at 1600 ISO without raising shadows, as well: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/51951109

You forgot to mention that this shot was post-processed +1 EV.

Can I point out that the shot that headed that thread was at 6400 ISO, exposure +1, contrast +100? That's just an existence proof for me, which I don't need. Useless for calibration in MY world of photography.

I've seen claims of ISO 800 banding, but I haven't seen any actual images--though I certainly believe it could happen (though under conditions I don't expect ever to encounter). In addition, entries on that thread imply that banding is worse with longer exposures. (I think I recall that your posted banding at 1600 ISO was slightly long, too.)

Altogether, my take-away is that ISO 1600 is probably OK, as long as you don't do long exposures or expect somewhat-serious post-processing of contrast or exposure boosting (I bet shadow boosting also would make things worse). So, for photographers like me (evidently not you), I know what I'm dealing with and can manage that.

I don't have a feeling for example-to-example variation. And, posted examples of nice, non-banded 6400 ISO shots are a total mystery to me.

On the other hand, FOR MY PURPOSES, I desperately hoped they'd fixed the slow focusing in the new version as it absolutely kills video in low light for me, in the situations I want to use it. Again, the point is for readers wishing to calibrate THEIR needs against the particular deficiencies of this lens to know how to think about it.

I think the negative vibes are coming from people who, like me, have had images unnecessarily ruined by this banding. It rubs me the wrong way to hear people try to minimize a problem that's very real for me, a photographer who also has max ISO set to 1600 on his E-M5.

I do think people took my comment as a denial of problems when, if it was read even reasonably carefully, it was intended to mark the boundary on personal expectations and use where banding is not that much an issue.