Panasonic 20mm F1.7 II - Full Size + LR Settings

I originally asked the community not too long ago on deciding between this and the PL-25 or Oly 25. I ended up with the 20 after some extensive cropping and review-reading to find that it is just generally a better lens in terms of IQ and OOF rendering and that the FL is perfect for my use, as well as it fitting in my jeans. I paid $310au second-hand. It retails for $385au. I also chose the Mark II because of its superior lens coatings compared to its predecessor.

Image Quality

By far the sharpest lens in my collection and with minimal CA fringing. Sans hood is fine, as the Mark II version maintains good contrast and has better flare control than the original. There is some residual distortion even after LR6's auto-correction but this is not a problem on the subject when you're tilting the camera towards the sky anyway, as perspective distortion will be the real issue. I only noticed it because of some road lines.

Although I think this lens is the most contrasty that I own... the contrast has been increased to compensate for Panasonic's loveable, neutral colours.

All images processed with Sharpening: Amount: 25; Radius: 1.0; Detail: 25 & Noise Reduction: Luminance: 25; Detail: 50; Colour: 25; Detail: 50; Smoothness: 50. Check out the detail in these F/4 photos. Would have been clearer at F/5.6 but I was on the move; F/4 and go!

Exposure +0.10; Contrast +15; Highlights -100; Shadows +50; Clarity +15; Vibrance +20.

Exposure +0.90; Contrast +5; Highlights -50; Shadows +50; Whites +25; Blacks +19; Clarity +5.

Bokeh

OOF backgrounds are quite smooth and while the Bokeh balls are nice, they can have heavy fringing and their shape is starkly irregular, so it can be quite unforgivable against contrasty objects.

Lower-left half of the frame. F/1.7.

Focus

This lens has a reputation for sluggish focusing and I agree - but it is still capable in all the situations I used it. To give you an idea, I'd say this lens is on the verge of being un-focusable while casually walking. Anything faster than that - forget it. It could just be my sample (doubtful) as it's only 6 months old, hardly used by the previous owner, but the manual focus on this lens is dead weight. It's slower than any vintage manual focus lens (I own 2 Minoltas, 1 of them with a sluggish ring, the other with a buttery smooth one). It could be faster, but the distance to turn from closest to farthest focus is too far, and the resistance on the ring is more than the focus mechanism could actually allow. It's fine for fine-tuning but otherwise, discount it. It does have some trouble in low-light depending on your target's contrast, moreso than other lenses.

Exposure +0.66; Contrast +5; Highlights +10; Shadows +5; Whites +1; Blacks -6.

Rating

Purely for the focus design, I give it 4 stars rather than 5. Lens hoods are a non-issue for this lens as it exhibits strong resistance to flare and loss of contrast. For that reason, I also use the Oly 45mm without a hood. I do have a B+W 010 UV-Haze MRC filter for protection of the front element, however.

If Panasonic by grace was to pen a final Mark 3, then it should have an internal focus mechanism and a hood bayonet (in fact, there's already space for one). I bet my 14mm feels second-handed already.

Nice review thanks for taking the time.  I sold this lens off after my GF1 and acquired a GH1 and PL 25/1.4.  I loved the size of the 20mm and often reminisce about it but I was glad to see your findings, since the new lens offerings have greatly improved the AF and the functionality of the MF.

i would love a new pancake offering from either Oly or Pany that hadthe IQ of the 20mm with the functionality of the newer primes.

lambert4 wrote:

Nice review thanks for taking the time. I sold this lens off after my GF1 and acquired a GH1 and PL 25/1.4. I loved the size of the 20mm and often reminisce about it but I was glad to see your findings, since the new lens offerings have greatly improved the AF and the functionality of the MF.

i would love a new pancake offering from either Oly or Pany that hadthe IQ of the 20mm with the functionality of the newer primes.

I agree. Both the 14mm and 20mm prove the capability of pancake designs against their larger competitors, so I'm surprised that Panasonic at least doesn't explore more options at this size.