Panasonic 20mm 1.7 vs Panasonic 14-42 ii

Prairie Pal wrote:

mh2000 wrote:

It's a really good lens, not saying it isn't, but it isn't as out-of-this-world-spectacular as some like to claim.

Yes, at 100% it's better than my 17/2.8, but on a print it's not that much better. Can't say in a general sense that it's *better* than my Oly 25 or 45... don't even know whether it's even that much better than the Sigma 30.

My girlfreind loves the FL and it's her most used lens. I much much much prefer a 25mm FL.

Buy a prime because it has a really great FL for *you*.

I bought the Oly 17/2.8 over the 20 and for me it was a way better choice.

In terms of FL the 20 is too wide for my preferred al'rounder walking lens/ landscape lens.  I often find myself resorting to panoramics using 3 or 4 images to achieve what a 14 or 17mm lens would otherwise see.  On paper (review sites with measurements), I see the 20 dominating the 17 f2.8 in measurements and conclusions rating IQ, price, and mechanical.  I guess I just found my joy spot with the 20, and I keep marveling about it.  Give me the same or better IQ in a 30mm equivalent focal length pancake and I might consider trading my 20.

When a 17/2.8 costs half the price of the 20, I think it's more difficult to put one above the other when you include price... the little 17/2.8 is a "cheap" lens while the 20 isn't. I also like the smaller size etc. as well as the wider FL (I have the 14 as well, but it ends up being too wide for most of what I shoot... and not that "superb" either... maybe it's just my training with traditional 35mm lenses, but 17 is a perfect FL for "moderately wide" and my shooting).

When I said the 20 is "over-rated," I didn't mean to say anything bad about the lens, just that I don't see it as the "better than anything ever made" type of lens.

My girlfriend shoots a 20 almost exclusively so I have lots of direct experience with the images it produces. Yes, it's better than the 17/2.8 (and faster!), but I still ove my little 17 to keep in my pocket. On the other hand, it's hard to say which is better, her 20 or my 25/1.8 (though I love my 25!).

I guess my real point was not to get a 20 just because it's the "best thing ever," but get it because it's a good lens in a FL that you love.