Performance of Panny 25mm 1.7 vs Sigma 30mm 2.8 (mk1) on GX85

I'll be getting a Panasonic GX85 with the 12-32mm kit lens soon (I hope.. on pre-order). I have the Olympus 45mm 1.8 and the Sigma 30mm 2.8 (Mk I). As I shoot a lot of photos of the kids indoors, I'm considering getting the Panasonic 25mm 1.7 lens to replace the Sigma.

Is it worth it? Will I see a huge performance difference with the Panny 25mm using DFD? I have 20 month old twins and a 5.5 year old that move pretty quick.

tjmckay4 wrote:

I'll be getting a Panasonic GX85 with the 12-32mm kit lens soon (I hope.. on pre-order). I have the Olympus 45mm 1.8 and the Sigma 30mm 2.8 (Mk I). As I shoot a lot of photos of the kids indoors, I'm considering getting the Panasonic 25mm 1.7 lens to replace the Sigma.

Is it worth it? Will I see a huge performance difference with the Panny 25mm using DFD? I have 20 month old twins and a 5.5 year old that move pretty quick.

The Panasonic seems to be a very good performer at a great price , the AF speed looks to be excellent given your intended use , I think the F1.7 vs F/2.8 makes the Panasonic the best choice it is also a shorter effective focal length which will help with indoor spaces, unless you bare living in a mansion

http://www.imaging-resource.com/lenses/panasonic/25mm-f1.7-asph-lumix-g/review/

https://www.ephotozine.com/article/panasonic-lumix-g-25mm-f-1-7-asph-lens-review-28432

I had a Sigma 19mm (mk1) and now a Panasonic 25/1.7. The AF speed is apparent.  Most telling is the startup speed. Sigma 19mm and 30mm on m43 has an annoying 1-2 sec startup delay, where as Panasonic lens doesn't have that annoying delay. Also, Panasonic lens focus even faster on a Panasonic camera compare to Olympus lens on Panasonic camera.

Now a question for you.  Why bother buying Sigma 30mm F2.8 when you already have an Olympus 45mm F1.8? Under what shooting situations would you choose Sigma over Olympus??

I have the Pany and enjoy it. It's a standard grade lens so I usually stop down to f2 but the sharpness and contrast is excellent. I got mine during the $99 sale which made it an even better deal.  Even at $200, I'd call it a good deal. Very fast to focus as well, so for interior shots of children it works nicely.