Panasonic 12-32mm vs Small Primes

pixelTwister wrote:

How does Panasonic 12-32mm lens compare to primes in 14-17mm range in terms of sharpness?

I have read a lot of quite negative reviews about Panasonic 14mm and Olympus 17mm (Panasonic 15mm seems to be better). I myself have Olympus 17mm and not happy with resolution, especially in the corners (maybe I have a bad copy?)

Quality control seems to have gone to sleep at the Olympus factory when they were producing the 17mm f/1.8 and it seems from user comments, a lot of poor copies escaped from the factory. Since 35mm was always my favorite focal length, the 17mm f/1.8, a silver one, was one of the first lenses I bought for my E-M10 along with the 12mm f/2.0. The image quality was terrible and I returned it. Several months later I bought another 17mm, a black one this time, from a different retailer and it has proved to be excellent. I also recently acquired the 15mm f/1.7 after I got my GM5. Of the three, I feel, the 12mm is the best overall.

Since I shoot mainly street photography I value small and light lens. I use f/4 frequently so don’t need bright lens either (and can keep my 17mm for night shooting).

I prefer either the 12mm f/2.0 or the 17mm f/1.8 for street or event shooting. Because of the snapshot feature, I can use zone focusing which is a lot faster than autofocus. If I put the distance scale at 3 meters and at f4 on the 12mm, everything from 1.34 meters to infinity will be in focus. The 17mm has a smaller DOF, but still very acceptable. If it's a sunny day, I usually stop down to f/5.6 or even f/6.3 which provides even more DOF. I also use the 5 foot mark on the distance scale with similar results. Zone focusing makes shooting from the hip and 12mm usually means you won't miss your target. Using the 15mm for street is much more difficult to use with zone focusing. I've been using mine for landscape, which is a new interest for me.

I don't like zooms and the 12-32mm that came with my GM5 is on the shelf. One problem is that if you are set to shot at any moment, the lens is extended to about three times it's stored length. The minute you point it in someone's direction, it's almost like putting a sign on you chest that says hey, look at me, I'm a photographer and I'm taking your picture. You either wind up with a lot of canned poses or a lot of mean looks.