An E-P5 + lens question

I'm wondering if the hardcore E-P5 (EP5) users would weigh in on a small question.

I'm on the verge of acquiring my first (relatively lightly used) E-P5 camera body.

The one lens I always had in mind to use with it, is the smallish Panasonic 20mm f/1.7. In previous lifetimes, I have owned, and used - and seriously appreciated - both version of this lens, the original one, and the second V II (all-black) version. I honestly never noticed any differences at all in the output or functioning of the two lenses (except, weirdly, it seemed that my v.II autofocused more slowly than my v.I had).

For those who have used their P5 with either (and preferably, with both) versions of the 20mm - do or did you have a preference for one or the other?  And if so, why?

Lotus Cat wrote:

MiguelATF wrote:

I'm wondering if the hardcore E-P5 (EP5) users would weigh in on a small question.

I'm on the verge of acquiring my first (relatively lightly used) E-P5 camera body.

The one lens I always had in mind to use with it, is the smallish Panasonic 20mm f/1.7. In previous lifetimes, I have owned, and used - and seriously appreciated - both version of this lens, the original one, and the second V II (all-black) version. I honestly never noticed any differences at all in the output or functioning of the two lenses (except, weirdly, it seemed that my v.II autofocused more slowly than my v.I had).

For those who have used their P5 with either (and preferably, with both) versions of the 20mm - do or did you have a preference for one or the other? And if so, why?

The E-P5 is a fabulous but seriously flawed Pen camera; I owned four of them. Three of them exhibited the dreaded front/rear dial failure. The only reason the fourth one did not fail on me is that I got smart and sold it while everything was still working OK. I moved on to Pen F and E-M1. That was a very smart move.

Put your 20mm f/1.7 on any other body. It’s a great lens with no appreciable differences between v1 and v2; too bad Panasonic didn’t upgrade AF performance between versions. I would recommend any E-M10, especially the current Mk IV.

James

I appreciate your opinions, James, and I'm quite aware of the E-P5's many flaws. What I am really wondering about, however, is not the merits of camera bodies - but rather, feedback on the two versions of the 20mm lens. (Whose fast AF deficiencies are well known to most of us, though with the kinds of photography I do, AF speed is not an issue.)

But my serious thanks to you for your 'take' (that there are no appreciable differences between v1 and v2) - it's helpful!

Weirdly, in my previous experiences with both v1 and v2, they seemed to perform as well or even better on Olympus bodies than on Panasonic ones.

Let me revise my previous post, Guy - and strike out the word 'many'. The E-P5's most documented 'flaw' was its issues with dials; additionally, for many Olympus fans who were hungering for a built-in EVF before the EP5's introduction, its lack thereof constituted another 'flaw'. Along the same lines, for addicts of EVF viewing, adding an external VF2 or VF4 made the camera a bit unwieldy compared to its competitors with built-in EVF's, aka the E-M5 and the GX7, etc. (Although, arguably, the superior quality of the VF-4 makes the viewing experience of an EP5 equipped VF4 superior to many if not most of those self-same competitors.)

And just to be clear by the way: if I didn't appreciate the E-P5 and think it was a fairly remarkable camera, I wouldn't be going out of my way to get one in the first place

Sorry for going off on a tangent, let me come back to my original question (and the reason I created this thread): as an E-P5 owner and user, do you have experience with - or opinions regarding - either v1 or v2 of the Lumix 20mm lens with the P5?  Would you recommend or favor one or the other on an EP5 body?

MiguelATF wrote:

I'm wondering if the hardcore E-P5 (EP5) users would weigh in on a small question.

I'm on the verge of acquiring my first (relatively lightly used) E-P5 camera body.

The one lens I always had in mind to use with it, is the smallish Panasonic 20mm f/1.7. In previous lifetimes, I have owned, and used - and seriously appreciated - both version of this lens, the original one, and the second V II (all-black) version. I honestly never noticed any differences at all in the output or functioning of the two lenses (except, weirdly, it seemed that my v.II autofocused more slowly than my v.I had).

For those who have used their P5 with either (and preferably, with both) versions of the 20mm - do or did you have a preference for one or the other? And if so, why?

Regular EP5 user here.  No issues with this wonderful camera but I did get the dials done by Olympus.  And sorry I cant help with the lens but would add that you should also seriously consider the oly 17.5 on this camera.  They were often sold together.

aw614 wrote:

Hey Miguel,

I used the E-P5 i am sending you with the MK1 Panasonic 20mm. I didnt experience any problems with it, but I also didn't experience the banding issue as I only shot with it in daylight outdoor situations.

I do recall reading in another older thread the Olympus bodies don't correct for CA, like how they do on Panasonic bodies, but I don't recall experiencing it.

Interesting.  I read about the banding too, by the way, but in the past, when I used v1 of the 20mm for years, and then later had v2 for a few months, I never experienced any banding issues at all.  And actually most of the pictures I took with both lenses were indoors, in a variety of different lighting situations.

In my own (limited) experience, v1 was one of the nicest lenses I have ever used, period. But most of the shooting I did with it was done on a Lumix camera that I used to have, so I was and am a little curious about how the lens might perform on a digital Pen.

Thanxxx for letting me know.

I've only used the mk I version of the 20mm, so can't speak to the difference. On my E-P5, it was great: nice size, no banding. I DO think that CA was uncorrected but I don't remember it every being a huge issue, except maybe only for landscapes in very specific conditions.

If I'm shooting street scenes I shoot with the PL 15/1.7 as I found the AF a bit too slow on the 20. I'm often not that deliberate in this environment, and sometimes I'm not looking through an evf or lcd so the laggy AF wasn't a great fit.

MiguelATF wrote:

I'm wondering if the hardcore E-P5 (EP5) users would weigh in on a small question.

I'm on the verge of acquiring my first (relatively lightly used) E-P5 camera body.

The one lens I always had in mind to use with it, is the smallish Panasonic 20mm f/1.7. In previous lifetimes, I have owned, and used - and seriously appreciated - both version of this lens, the original one, and the second V II (all-black) version. I honestly never noticed any differences at all in the output or functioning of the two lenses (except, weirdly, it seemed that my v.II autofocused more slowly than my v.I had).

For those who have used their P5 with either (and preferably, with both) versions of the 20mm - do or did you have a preference for one or the other? And if so, why?

This morning I grabbed my Oly PL-2, a 2011 era 10mp camera, and it delivered the same spectacular Norman Rockwell type cheesy small town Missouri photos I love taking. Any Olympus loves a fast Panny 20, this one a first version.

The fast Panny 20 also is good, after dark.

It does video, but it’s a bit noisy.

The Panny 20 is what MFT is all about, tiny, fast, sharp, twice the depth of field, and cheap.

Humansvillian wrote:

MiguelATF wrote:

I'm wondering if the hardcore E-P5 (EP5) users would weigh in on a small question.

I'm on the verge of acquiring my first (relatively lightly used) E-P5 camera body.

The one lens I always had in mind to use with it, is the smallish Panasonic 20mm f/1.7. In previous lifetimes, I have owned, and used - and seriously appreciated - both version of this lens, the original one, and the second V II (all-black) version. I honestly never noticed any differences at all in the output or functioning of the two lenses (except, weirdly, it seemed that my v.II autofocused more slowly than my v.I had).

For those who have used their P5 with either (and preferably, with both) versions of the 20mm - do or did you have a preference for one or the other? And if so, why?

This morning I grabbed my Oly PL-2, a 2011 era 10mp camera, and it delivered the same spectacular Norman Rockwell type cheesy small town Missouri photos I love taking. Any Olympus loves a fast Panny 20, this one a first version.

The fast Panny 20 also is good, after dark.

It does video, but it’s a bit noisy.

The Panny 20 is what MFT is all about, tiny, fast, sharp, twice the depth of field, and cheap.

Thanks for the feedback, Humansvillain.

Nice shots, too.  I'm especially pleased to see that your PL2 is going strong. I shot with a PL2 for several years and have fond memories of it - one of the nicer bodies Olympus produced in - and a great little camera to shoot with.  If I'm not mistaken, it actually had a 12mp sensor - which was more than capable of producing stunning photographs.

But I have to agree with you: the Panny 20 is really what MFT is all about. Something which one doesn't really realize....until one has used it and lived with it for awhile.

In ISO 200 light the first 6mp Canon Digital Rebel took wonderful, National Geographic level photos.

A 12 mp Olympus PL-1 did that in JPEG, and still does.

The last train stopped at the Latham Farmer’s Exchange in 1935.

The mill stayed open another fifty years, maybe?

Is that a Citizen’s Band radio arial from the seventies or a radio dispatch arial from the old Frisco line?

An Olympus with a Panny 20 is the finest documentary tool ever devised.

My thanks to everyone who answered this thread; your responses have all been helpful. Ultimately, I'm pretty sure I would have been quite pleased with either v1 or V2 of the 20mm lens - but I found a copy of v2 for a reasonable (affordable) price.

One of those rare cases where a Panasonic lens looks like it was 'made for' an Olympus body

I hope to put the camera + lens to good use in the near future.

Yeah, the 20 looks reeaally good on an E-P5, especially the black one!

As a follow-up to this thread which I originally started 2 months ago, I have been keeping my (relatively recently acquired) 20mm Lumix (v.II) semi-permanently attached to my E-P5, and the results have been everything I hoped for (and more).  So I'm posting this photo - taken the day before Halloween, a day which was overcast, rainy and blusterous (typical weather here in Oregon) - the kind of day where everything can look washed out and gray - but the camera and lens captured scene in a way that I liked.

If you've got a friendly pet bird, sometimes the best perch is on your shoulder

MiguelATF wrote:

I'm wondering if the hardcore E-P5 (EP5) users would weigh in on a small question.

I'm on the verge of acquiring my first (relatively lightly used) E-P5 camera body.

The one lens I always had in mind to use with it, is the smallish Panasonic 20mm f/1.7. In previous lifetimes, I have owned, and used - and seriously appreciated - both version of this lens, the original one, and the second V II (all-black) version. I honestly never noticed any differences at all in the output or functioning of the two lenses (except, weirdly, it seemed that my v.II autofocused more slowly than my v.I had).

For those who have used their P5 with either (and preferably, with both) versions of the 20mm - do or did you have a preference for one or the other? And if so, why?

I know I'm late to this thread, and what I'm about to post is moot, but I wanted to get this out there for the record. The E-P5 is one of my favorite m4/3 bodies. Sure it has its flaws, but I've taken a lot of great images with it.

I've used both versions of the Panasonic 20mm with the camera, and I've never noticed any differences in terms of autofocus speed--both versions were about the same. One thing I have noticed is that the mk. II version handles flair a lot better than mk. I. My experience is similar to what Tyler Robichaud documents here in his test of both lenses:

https://tysonrobichaudphotography.blog/2013/12/19/panasonic-lumix-2020-vision-v-1-vs-v-2/

My wife and I visited a friend who’s had a stroke and is in a nursing home this evening. We visited about his folks and how a certain Zeiss Ikon Contaflex  camera was one of his father’s prized possessions. I’m storing it for him, and it’s like new, in a case, and probably worth about fifty bucks.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-ZEISS-IKON-Contaflex-35mm-Camera-Pantar-45mm-f2-8-Lens-UNTESTED-/265385794035?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

My Olympus P-5 and 20mm LUMIX lens is one of my prized possessions. What else can we own that costs so little, worth so much?

I have other cameras but this is the only one I need.

After my photo taking days are over I’ll remember this outfit the most fondly.

Appreciate your toys, because we only have so many days to play with them.