nocticron 42.5 f1.2 vs olympus 45mm f1.2 pro (OIS vs MF clutch)

thetrystero · Nov 24, 2021

I'm looking for a portrait lens as an upgrade to my current lumix 45mm f1.7. This will go on a Panasonic G9 body. They are now both going for around USD950 in my locale

All parameters point towards the Olympus (save one, see below). It has lower vignetting, higher decency on lenstip, and I just like the rendering better overall. It has that 3D pop I can't quite see in the Nocticron. And, this is the biggest advantage for me, that sweet sweet Oly pro manual focus clutch. I don't currently have an Oly lens, but boy have I lusted after that hard-stop clutch.

However, I'm using a Panasonic body and I'm wondering how much I'll be losing in terms of the DualIS that comes from the OIS of the Nocticron? Will I see much of a difference in low-light between DualIS (nocticron) and IBIS alone (oly)?

Sadly, the Nocticron(H-NS043) didn't come with the firmware update allowing focus ring control (linear focus) and i'm not sure what the roadmap is for Panasonic to allow this functionality in the lens, otherwise this would've made giving up that oly MF clutch a tad bit easier on me.

glassoholic · Nov 24, 2021

I own the Nocticron and can say it renders beautifully. The vignetting is something I don't correct in RAW processing. The Oly seems to be a technically more corrected lens... but sometimes that can make an image "sterile".

Interceptor121 · Nov 24, 2021

I own the Nocticron and I have not owned the 45mm 1.2 pro, I did have the 17mm 1.2 that I sold

In terms of functionality the Nocticron will give you two things aperture ring and dual IS. None of them are essential

The Olympus will give you focus clutch and weather sealing. None of them essential either though weather sealing is perhaps important to you. I do not like Olympus focus clutch the run is too short for video and the lens motor are anyway noisy for focus pull. I would also say manual focus is not really what you do for a portrait with this unless you do video? Do not be concerned with lack of dual IS I use 56mm and 75mm lenses and not a single problem

I am surprised by your comment on the 3D pop as I and other users find the Olympus lenses very clinical while the nocticron is well known for what some people call microcontrast,

Sharpness is not an issue today with any lens here some simple shots I did for a family do.

Older people are a better opportunity to see what a lens does take into account there is some skin smoothing here but not a great deal

I would say the images pop even too much.

In conclusion if you like how the Olympus images look go for it and do not worry about lack of dual IS. In addition there are good deals on the second hand at least here in UK the lens sells for £584 bs asking price of £724 for the Nocticron on mpb

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epozar · Nov 24, 2021

Consider Sigma 56/1.4 as well

thetrystero · Nov 25, 2021

Interceptor121 said:
In terms of functionality the Nocticron will give you two things aperture ring and dual IS. None of them are essential

is the aperture ring smooth like on the 10-25? that'll be useful for video

Interceptor121 said:
The Olympus will give you focus clutch and weather sealing. None of them essential either though weather sealing is perhaps important to you. I do not like Olympus focus clutch the run is too short for video and the lens motor are anyway noisy for focus pull. I would also say manual focus is not really what you do for a portrait with this unless you do video? Do not be concerned with lack of dual IS I use 56mm and 75mm lenses and not a single problem

Yes, I will be using it for video too. Hopefully Panasonic will come out with a firmware update to allow linear focus

Interceptor121 said:
I am surprised by your comment on the 3D pop as I and other users find the Olympus lenses very clinical while the nocticron is well known for what some people call microcontrast,

yes, i was going off of the AB tests here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/songmatin/sets/72157687569604571/

do you find the bokeh balls on the nocticron to be spherical, or more elliptical?

thetrystero · Nov 25, 2021

epozar said:
Consider Sigma 56/1.4 as well

I did give that a test in store, I really didn't like the handling of it. so it's not under consideration.

Gnine · Nov 25, 2021

epozar said:
Consider Sigma 56/1.4 as well

I'll second that. Especially when you consider you can buy about 3 Sigma 56's for the price of either.

unhappymeal · Nov 25, 2021

Gnine said:
epozar said:

Consider Sigma 56/1.4 as well

Click to expand...

I'll second that. Especially when you consider you can buy about 3 Sigma 56's for the price of either.

You literally cannot go wrong in this focal length range on m4/3:

-Olympus 45 f/1.8: Sharp in the centre, super lightweight, very affordable and with some nice field curvature that helps for portraits

-Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7 OIS: Sharp, lightweight, optically stabilised for older bodies and Dual IS, comes with a lens hood, focuses closely and has less field curvature, which makes it better for landscapes

-Sigma 56 f/1.4: Sharp across the frame, lighter weight than the f/1.2 lenses, very affordable with pleasant rendering, DoF is as shallow as the f/1.2 lenses

-Panasonic 42.5 f/1.2 Nocticron: Rendering is lovely and it oozes quality, OIS For Dual IS and older bodies, aperture ring, sharp in the centre wide open, some vignetting

-Olympus 45 f/1.2 Pro: Sharper than the Nocticron across the frame, 'feathered bokeh' wide open for that dreamy look, weather sealed, focus clutch, function button and same filter size as a lot of the other Olympus Pro lenses

It's just a question of which rendering appeals to you and which features you want. For me, having owned literally every lens on this list, I would buy the Sigma 56 f/1.4 or Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7. I ended up keeping the Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7, but that is because it was (in my opinion of course), the best balanced lens. Having said that, I also bring the Olympus 75 f/1.8 with me for when I want to annihilate the background on a subject. I could easily see someone making the case for the Sigma 56 f/1.4 if they have no desire to buy the Olympus 75 f/1.8.

glassoholic · Nov 25, 2021

unhappymeal said:
Gnine said:

epozar said:

Consider Sigma 56/1.4 as well

Click to expand...

I'll second that. Especially when you consider you can buy about 3 Sigma 56's for the price of either.

Click to expand...

You literally cannot go wrong in this focal length range on m4/3:

-Olympus 45 f/1.8: Sharp in the centre, super lightweight, very affordable and with some nice field curvature that helps for portraits

-Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7 OIS: Sharp, lightweight, optically stabilised for older bodies and Dual IS, comes with a lens hood, focuses closely and has less field curvature, which makes it better for landscapes

-Sigma 56 f/1.4: Sharp across the frame, lighter weight than the f/1.2 lenses, very affordable with pleasant rendering, DoF is as shallow as the f/1.2 lenses

-Panasonic 42.5 f/1.2 Nocticron: Rendering is lovely and it oozes quality, OIS For Dual IS and older bodies, aperture ring, sharp in the centre wide open, some vignetting

-Olympus 45 f/1.2 Pro: Sharper than the Nocticron across the frame, 'feathered bokeh' wide open for that dreamy look, weather sealed, focus clutch, function button and same filter size as a lot of the other Olympus Pro lenses

It's just a question of which rendering appeals to you and which features you want. For me, having owned literally every lens on this list, I would buy the Sigma 56 f/1.4 or Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7. I ended up keeping the Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7, but that is because it was (in my opinion of course), the best balanced lens. Having said that, I also bring the Olympus 75 f/1.8 with me for when I want to annihilate the background on a subject. I could easily see someone making the case for the Sigma 56 f/1.4 if they have no desire to buy the Olympus 75 f/1.8.

^^ Nailed it!!

Gnine · Nov 25, 2021

unhappymeal said:
It's just a question of which rendering appeals to you and which features you want. For me, having owned literally every lens on this list, I would buy the Sigma 56 f/1.4 or Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7. I ended up keeping the Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7, but that is because it was (in my opinion of course), the best balanced lens. Having said that, I also bring the Olympus 75 f/1.8 with me for when I want to annihilate the background on a subject. I could easily see someone making the case for the Sigma 56 f/1.4 if they have no desire to buy the Olympus 75 f/1.8.

Because I'm a bit of a prime whore, I own both. Had the Lumix 42.5 which I really really like, I'd read and seen plenty of good things about the Siggy 56, curiosity got the better of me & I bought it. Zero regrets. Glorious little lens. Sharp as a tack wide open, lovely colour & contrast, I can't see any CA even shot wide open, really really nice bokeh, & if there's a difference in AF speed/accuracy on my G9 from a native Panny lens, I can't pick it. Highly recommended. You just need a little bit more working room over the 42/45

softmarmotte · Nov 25, 2021

unhappymeal said:
Gnine said:

epozar said:

Consider Sigma 56/1.4 as well

Click to expand...

I'll second that. Especially when you consider you can buy about 3 Sigma 56's for the price of either.

Click to expand...

You literally cannot go wrong in this focal length range on m4/3:

-Olympus 45 f/1.8: Sharp in the centre, super lightweight, very affordable and with some nice field curvature that helps for portraits

-Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7 OIS: Sharp, lightweight, optically stabilised for older bodies and Dual IS, comes with a lens hood, focuses closely and has less field curvature, which makes it better for landscapes

-Sigma 56 f/1.4: Sharp across the frame, lighter weight than the f/1.2 lenses, very affordable with pleasant rendering, DoF is as shallow as the f/1.2 lenses

-Panasonic 42.5 f/1.2 Nocticron: Rendering is lovely and it oozes quality, OIS For Dual IS and older bodies, aperture ring, sharp in the centre wide open, some vignetting

-Olympus 45 f/1.2 Pro: Sharper than the Nocticron across the frame, 'feathered bokeh' wide open for that dreamy look, weather sealed, focus clutch, function button and same filter size as a lot of the other Olympus Pro lenses

It's just a question of which rendering appeals to you and which features you want. For me, having owned literally every lens on this list, I would buy the Sigma 56 f/1.4 or Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7. I ended up keeping the Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7, but that is because it was (in my opinion of course), the best balanced lens. Having said that, I also bring the Olympus 75 f/1.8 with me for when I want to annihilate the background on a subject. I could easily see someone making the case for the Sigma 56 f/1.4 if they have no desire to buy the Olympus 75 f/1.8.

Absolutely right. Not a duff lens there. I would also add the Leica 12-60 zoom into the mix. Beautiful rendering. There are plenty of images in my recent pics on my Flickr page if you want to see how the lenses render

Personally I am absolutely blown away by the Sigma. it even seems to reduce noise !!

SonyX · Nov 25, 2021

unhappymeal said:
-Panasonic 42.5 f/1.2 Nocticron: Rendering is lovely and it oozes quality, OIS For Dual IS and older bodies, aperture ring, sharp in the centre wide open, some vignetting

The only thing I like about 42.5/1.2 is AF speed on G9

Rendering is just OK, onion rings, slight CA
aperture ring is useless for me
OIS ok, but I rarely shoot portraits below 1/30
no dust/weather sealing on $1200 lens
relatively heavy

I would probably choose S 56/1.4 instead

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epozar · Nov 25, 2021

If only it's a bit longer.. to match that classic "135mm" perspective

unhappymeal · Nov 25, 2021

SonyX said:
unhappymeal said:

-Panasonic 42.5 f/1.2 Nocticron: Rendering is lovely and it oozes quality, OIS For Dual IS and older bodies, aperture ring, sharp in the centre wide open, some vignetting

Click to expand...

The only thing I like about 42.5/1.2 is AF speed on G9

Rendering is just OK, onion rings, slight CA
aperture ring is useless for me
OIS ok, but I rarely shoot portraits below 1/30
no dust/weather sealing on $1200 lens
relatively heavy
I would probably choose S 56/1.4 instead
--

Alex
http://www.instagram.com/alex_cy

Yes, the Nocticron has by far the worst value proposition of the bunch.

joeletx · Nov 25, 2021

Is my favorite feature for shooting portrait or shooting video. You can pin pinpoint focusing features on face, shooting into the sun, or shooting low contrast scenes when AF may have problems.

Interceptor121 · Nov 25, 2021

I have not seen any onion rings on the Nocticron it was one of the first lenses to have a special polish process to eliminate issues with aspherical elements

on the second hand it fares 15 to 20% more than the olympus for a variety of reasons one is many olympus bundled promotions the other who has it keeps it

Interceptor121 · Nov 25, 2021

thetrystero said:
is the aperture ring smooth like on the 10-25? that'll be useful for video

Yes but is not de-clicked

thetrystero said:
Yes, I will be using it for video too. Hopefully Panasonic will come out with a firmware update to allow linear focus

There seems to be a cut off by release date some lenses like the 12mm don't have I hope it does not have to do with hardware in the lens or it won't ever be fixed

thetrystero said:
yes, i was going off of the AB tests here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/songmatin/sets/72157687569604571/

A portrait lens you test shooting people not boxes or dolls

thetrystero said:
do you find the bokeh balls on the nocticron to be spherical, or more elliptical?

The bokeh ball change shape in the frame due to mechanical vignette that this lens has at 1.2 so they get that shape in the corners

Panasonic Leica DG Nocticron 42.5 mm f/1.2 Asph. P.O.I.S. review - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh - LensTip.com

Best digital cameras and lens reviews. If you are looking for the information about digital cameras and lenses you are in a right place. We have many professional tests of digital photography equipment.

www.lenstip.com

The 45mm 1.2 pro is not immune in fact it show it too

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 45 mm f/1.2 PRO review - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh - LensTip.com

Best digital cameras and lens reviews. If you are looking for the information about digital cameras and lenses you are in a right place. We have many professional tests of digital photography equipment.

www.lenstip.com

Moreover they are not even circular at the edges at f/2.5

Vignetting on this type of lens is a feature as it separates more what is not the subject. When you shoot in a studio like my shots you use f/4 and there isn't any so I don't get too excited about the importance of it

Mait · Nov 25, 2021

I also bought sigma 56 lately, i also own olympus 45 1.8

Oly sometimes misses focus, sigma is spot on almost always, and its the sharpest lens i got now.

Bokeh is similar but Sigmas backround is more blurry and out of focus. I like it a lot.

Skeeterbytes · Nov 25, 2021

Guess the items that stand out for me aside from the "look" each delivers are aperture ring/no aperture ring; DfD/no DfD; snap MF/no snap MF; L-Fn button no L-Fn button; OIS/no OIS; weathersealing/no sealing.

I value the snap MF and miss it on my lenses not so-equipped. I also prefer sealed lenses not only for shooting in the wet but any dusty conditions. Given your ability to get either at the same price I'd pick the 45 Pro, but only after poring over galleries from both to see whether I have an IQ preference. They're not far apart so I'd be surprised if I tilted strongly towards either.

Cheers,

Rick

SonyX · Nov 25, 2021

Interceptor121 said:
I have not seen any onion rings on the Nocticron

no problem, here they are

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nocticron 42.5 f1.2 vs olympus 45mm f1.2 pro (OIS vs MF clutch)

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