Fantastic review. I particularly liked the way you showed the differences in focus speed and in focus shifting (excellent idea to use a sheet of paper with the word "focus" printed in multiple rows).
Having had both, I sold the 20. It's not that it's slow to focus, the real trouble is it's unpredictable. It can start to hunt for no reason while your image is gone. The 25 is not only a bit faster, but it nails the shot every single time. And the 20 cost about thrice as much...
I couldn’t live with the slow and noisy focus on the 20mm even though I wanted to like it. The 25mm is much snappier and I prefer using it. It’s also useful with extension tubes as a macro option. It’s worth pointing out that although bigger than the 20mm it is still small and light. Thanks for the review.
I wish i read your comment last week when i bought one, the reviewers don't make it sound so bad like it really is, and none talks about the noise it makes.
What a great review, man! I wish I had discovered your channel before: great work! (it’s truly refreshing to watch a straightforward review) PERFECT! Congrats!
Great video! I love my Panasonic 20mm lens! It's lives on my Em10 camera and it's so versatile. Plus it's sharp! I've shot everything from landscapes, cityscapes, flowers, and portraits. Anything that's stationary, this lens is perfect 👌
I had a front focus problem with my first copy of 25 1.7 and changed it and the second copy is perfect so its a lens copy variation and not a model problem
If you look at my 20mm review and see the quality you can achieve from it. I love the 20mm as it's close to 35mm full frame amazing for environmental portraits and narrative head shots. No focus by wire either or focus shift. The focus is only slower that's it.
Making a choice... I chose the 20 1.7 plus Sigma 30mm f1.4. I have owned the 20 1.7 since it was first introduced. Sharpness plus smallness makes it a no-brainer.
Good review: the 20mm is sadly quite slow to focus, but otherwise is a tremendous lens with a fantastic all around focal lenght. The 25mm is cheap, but IMO Olympus makes overall a better lens, with slightly better build quality, no chromatic aberration (Olympus camera don't CA automatically) no focus shift and no focus breath in video. It costs a bit more through.
Excellent review! Straight to the point, comprehensive and the examples are easy to follow. Had the 20mm coupled with a small GM5 trying to keep everything compact and was quite happy with it. It got stolen and now I can get both used for a decent price and was wondering witch was a better investment. I think I'll get the 20mm again first and the 25mm in the future. Thanks for the review.
What kind of lenses you will suggest , for shooting in low light (for exaple restaurants.) Focal Length ? Angle of View ? Max Aperture f/ ?? Min Aperture f/?? Stabilised I use body panasonic G6
Just bought the 25mm and 42.5mm 1.7 as a second-hand for 370€ :) Is it possible to save a profile (aply it to one of the FN-buttons) into G9 for the 25mm focus shift adjustment?
Hi, can you compare the 12mm 1.4 (Summilux), 17mm and/or the 25mm on MFT cam with a 24mm f1.4, 35mm f1.4 and a 50mm f1.4 on a fullframe cam, please? Many greatings from germany.
Regarding minimum focusing distance.. was there a mistake? The info online indicate 20mm is 0.2m vs 25mm’s 0.25m. So, isn’t the 20mm supposed to be closer?!
A very nice review! I have used my 20mm for close to 9 years (mkI). Love the quality - sometimes (seldom) hate the focusing speed! Keep up the good work - Regards Ulf (do have Olympus and Fuji 25mm lenses).
Absolutely. It's wide enough to vlog with or get a lot in frame in close spaces. I've had the Panasonic 25mm and sold it because it was just too much range for me. I could barely get myself in frame in my room. I got the Panasonic 14mm 2.5 and that was okay but too wide and I missed the compressed cinematic/portait shots from my 25mm. To If you can only have 1 prime lens. This would be it. Especially at 1.7 it is ridiculous.
excellent comparison video im happy with my 25mm lot of work went in to this review do you have any video on settings with g85 for video and photo i have seen a lot of video but yours is very clear great work
Look for stabilized lenses if you are going to move arround handmade and search that speciffic lenses for video works. For example i recorded a lot of zoom in sceens in my 14-140 with very good results by hand holding it! Anyway, for static videos or close ones, this kind of lenses look great too. At the end it depends on the point of view you are going to prefeere
I think the 20mm f1.7ii is not made of all plastic, I dropped mine once and noticed that it's made some sort of metal. And I used to have the silver one, so I definitely think it's metal combined with the plastic focus ring.
Hello, I have the 42.5 1.7 and I am looking for a wider lens for video from panasonic. Size kinda matters also as I want to carry it everyday with me. Any suggestion? Thank you
Hallo, thankyou so much for this review! It is simple but covering what i need to know :) I want to ask something, between the 25mm and 12-32mm kit (on the same aperture), how about the image quality and focusing speed? Thankyou in advance Sorry for my bad english
Focusing speed is far better on the kit lens. Image quality in good light is comparable between the the two (except for bokeh, which doesn't exist on the 12-32mm). At night or indoors the 20mm f1.7 is an amazing lens. You just need to deal with the slow and unreliable autofocus.
The 20mm IS speed sensitive on my Olympus body and it is annoying. You can notice it when you turn it slowly. The difference is that it does not jump very fast when you turn it quickly.
Good review, thank you... Did you notice any loss of definition on the 20mm when stopping down to f8 - f22? I've only had mine for a few weeks and was really disappointed in the image quality when trying to get a large depth of field on some landscape images. I did some tests afterwards and found that the optimum aperture for me was f5.6 - it was a very noticeable difference...
That is due to diffraction (too small of an aperture) and happens on all lenses ever made. I rarely use more than f/11 on micro 43 cameras. F/16 can be really soft while f/22 becomes a pudding.
I've watched and asked other reviewers of these lenses, and none of them has had or even seen this issue on the 25mm, maybe a case of a bad example maybe??... confused.
I wish i did my research before buying the 20mm, the focus is very slow and noisy, slower than kit lenses. I bought it for street where you need speed but can't think of any subject that will not benefit extra speed
What kind of lenses should i use for video shooting in low light, for example video in restaurant. Automatic lenses or with manual exposure/focus (prime lens) What mm focal lenght should be ? I use panasonic G6 body
Really nice review, and reaaallly accurate... =) i own the 20mm and.. Yay. Its wonderfull ans you describe. Really good results and sharpness, with de boundaries os Panasonic systms. I'm usint it on a GM1 and i guess it will work good on a bigger camera like ghe g9 in a few years
I think what he means is that as you change the aperture settings, the focus point changes which ideally shouldn't happen. If you ask me it's subtle in this case, though.
Great review as usual Ivan. You talk about a possible 25mm Mark II but don't you think shift focus issues could be fixed via lens/camera firmware updates?
It probably could be solved that way, but Panasonic most likely won't bother updating older cameras or this lens. Many users might not even know there is an update. It is probably easier for them to make Mark II with better optical design.
Judging by his accent, he appears to be a native Russian speaker. They definitely have a problem with using articles when speaking English. I have quite a few Russian/Ukrainian friends who drop "a" and "the" very often. I almost don't even notice it when around them.
We, Russian speaking people, do not have articles in our language and just forget about them when we speak English )) Just more practice in EN environment and this issue disappears itself ))
I bought the 20mm for my gx9 and I hate it. Image quality is excellent but it's so annoying to use and is completely worthless for street photography. Even when set to manual focus there is significant shutter lag.
I wanted to see what happens ... but for me it is not valid, since you must equate the focal distance, to be able to make a real comparison of images ... ex. you can not put a bigger tree in one and in the other smaller image. You must move your ass and balance those shots.
Nice review!! I loooove both of these lenses, especially the 20mm. It’s so small and easy to use, even though its focus is slow and loud.
I thought this was the version 2 20mm
@Benicio Victor Hope your girlfriend finds out your true character quickly and dumps you with no mercy.
Fantastic review.
I particularly liked the way you showed the differences in focus speed and in focus shifting (excellent idea to use a sheet of paper with the word "focus" printed in multiple rows).
Having had both, I sold the 20. It's not that it's slow to focus, the real trouble is it's unpredictable. It can start to hunt for no reason while your image is gone. The 25 is not only a bit faster, but it nails the shot every single time. And the 20 cost about thrice as much...
I couldn’t live with the slow and noisy focus on the 20mm even though I wanted to like it. The 25mm is much snappier and I prefer using it. It’s also useful with extension tubes as a macro option. It’s worth pointing out that although bigger than the 20mm it is still small and light. Thanks for the review.
Where can I find those extension tubes for macro?
@@joseespadin274 Amazon
I wish i read your comment last week when i bought one, the reviewers don't make it sound so bad like it really is, and none talks about the noise it makes.
I had both for a year and would almost never used the 25mm since the 20mm produced better pictures and it's small and light.
What a great review, man! I wish I had discovered your channel before: great work! (it’s truly refreshing to watch a straightforward review) PERFECT! Congrats!
Thanks! :)
I've been waiting for this kind of video for a long time, thank you!
I've never really had focus shift problems with the 25. But then again, I usually use it more or less wide open most of the time..
Great video! I love my Panasonic 20mm lens! It's lives on my Em10 camera and it's so versatile. Plus it's sharp! I've shot everything from landscapes, cityscapes, flowers, and portraits. Anything that's stationary, this lens is perfect 👌
I had a front focus problem with my first copy of 25 1.7
and changed it and the second copy is perfect
so its a lens copy variation and not a model problem
Nicely done comparison. Your camera gear reviews are among the most informative and witty on RUclips. Keep them coming please!
Dude, your reviews are EXCELLENT. Your English is incredible - "take one for the team"!! Keep it up.
LOL. I fuckin LOVE the accent. I want to learn it...
Seriously best review on these lenses. Keep up the good work.
If you look at my 20mm review and see the quality you can achieve from it. I love the 20mm as it's close to 35mm full frame amazing for environmental portraits and narrative head shots. No focus by wire either or focus shift. The focus is only slower that's it.
Making a choice... I chose the 20 1.7 plus Sigma 30mm f1.4. I have owned the 20 1.7 since it was first introduced. Sharpness plus smallness makes it a no-brainer.
Good review: the 20mm is sadly quite slow to focus, but otherwise is a tremendous lens with a fantastic all around focal lenght. The 25mm is cheap, but IMO Olympus makes overall a better lens, with slightly better build quality, no chromatic aberration (Olympus camera don't CA automatically) no focus shift and no focus breath in video.
It costs a bit more through.
Very thorough but not long, straight to the point and complete. Amazing, thanks!
Excellent review! Straight to the point, comprehensive and the examples are easy to follow. Had the 20mm coupled with a small GM5 trying to keep everything compact and was quite happy with it. It got stolen and now I can get both used for a decent price and was wondering witch was a better investment. I think I'll get the 20mm again first and the 25mm in the future. Thanks for the review.
What kind of lenses you will suggest , for shooting in low light (for exaple restaurants.)
Focal Length ?
Angle of View ?
Max Aperture f/ ??
Min Aperture f/??
Stabilised
I use body panasonic G6
Best review i have seen so far. Thanks for making my decision easy.
Just bought the 25mm and 42.5mm 1.7 as a second-hand for 370€ :) Is it possible to save a profile (aply it to one of the FN-buttons) into G9 for the 25mm focus shift adjustment?
I like pancake, but I seem to waffle between the two. ; -)
This is an under-celebrated youtube comment. Just perfect.
@@datalaforge Lol
LOL
They're both good, I wouldn't say either one is a piece of crepe
@@evocati6523 😂
Great video and commentary as always. Just got my g85 with the kit lens. Should one of these lens be part of my gear?
20mm for photo, 25mm for video
Hi, can you compare the 12mm 1.4 (Summilux), 17mm and/or the 25mm on MFT cam with a 24mm f1.4, 35mm f1.4 and a 50mm f1.4 on a fullframe cam, please? Many greatings from germany.
Autofocus on 25 mm lens is better handled if tracking focus is applied so it doesn't focus back and forth every time you or subject move
Thanks for the review! Love the sense of humor in the end :)
Regarding minimum focusing distance.. was there a mistake? The info online indicate 20mm is 0.2m vs 25mm’s 0.25m. So, isn’t the 20mm supposed to be closer?!
You an also get the zuiko 17mm 1.8, which is probably better than both.
Very good video. Thank you. I have the 20mm and my brother has the 25mm. This review is very accurate. Great pacing and attention to detail.
A very nice review! I have used my 20mm for close to 9 years (mkI).
Love the quality - sometimes (seldom) hate the focusing speed!
Keep up the good work - Regards Ulf (do have Olympus and Fuji 25mm lenses).
I have a GH5 and the 25mm F1.7. i'm looking for a little more width. is it worth getting the 20mm for the little more width i need for shots?
Absolutely. It's wide enough to vlog with or get a lot in frame in close spaces. I've had the Panasonic 25mm and sold it because it was just too much range for me. I could barely get myself in frame in my room. I got the Panasonic 14mm 2.5 and that was okay but too wide and I missed the compressed cinematic/portait shots from my 25mm. To
If you can only have 1 prime lens. This would be it. Especially at 1.7 it is ridiculous.
excellent comparison video im happy with my 25mm lot of work went in to this review do you have any video on settings with g85 for video and photo i have seen a lot of video but yours is very clear great work
Had both. Sold the 25mm. Colours are better on the 20mm
Me too
What was the camera?
@@MrArchieTech Panasonic G6 & G7
Which will be better for video or maybe another inexpensive lens? Camera: GX85, Subject: Indoor food videos.
25mm focuses better in video mode - no sudden jumps and is quieter.
Look for stabilized lenses if you are going to move arround handmade and search that speciffic lenses for video works. For example i recorded a lot of zoom in sceens in my 14-140 with very good results by hand holding it! Anyway, for static videos or close ones, this kind of lenses look great too. At the end it depends on the point of view you are going to prefeere
I love my 20mm. I have it always on my GX80. I know it's most likely the slowest focussing mft lens, but I'm not shooting sports with it. ;)
Is the image quality inferior ?
noorur image quality is better on the 20mm by a very small margin
Very useful! Thank you for posting! So if I will use the lens mainly for portraits, you would recommend the 25mm, correct?
Yes.
I think the 20mm f1.7ii is not made of all plastic, I dropped mine once and noticed that it's made some sort of metal. And I used to have the silver one, so I definitely think it's metal combined with the plastic focus ring.
Might be.. I am still not entirely sure. Metal is usually significantly colder to the touch than plastic and pancake doesn't feel particularly cold.
Hi guys. If I'm not wrong, there is two versions of the pana 20 mm pancake. Version i is plastic. Version ii is metal.
Excellent test. Do you recommend using 20mm on Olympus camera body? I have GX7, and friend uses OMD5 Mk111.
Hello, I have the 42.5 1.7 and I am looking for a wider lens for video from panasonic. Size kinda matters also as I want to carry it everyday with me. Any suggestion? Thank you
Thank you very much! I have the 25mm but get strange results. I will check your other video on this. Fantastic review!
Hallo, thankyou so much for this review! It is simple but covering what i need to know :)
I want to ask something, between the 25mm and 12-32mm kit (on the same aperture), how about the image quality and focusing speed?
Thankyou in advance
Sorry for my bad english
Focusing speed is far better on the kit lens. Image quality in good light is comparable between the the two (except for bokeh, which doesn't exist on the 12-32mm). At night or indoors the 20mm f1.7 is an amazing lens. You just need to deal with the slow and unreliable autofocus.
The 20mm IS speed sensitive on my Olympus body and it is annoying. You can notice it when you turn it slowly. The difference is that it does not jump very fast when you turn it quickly.
Ivan, did you try to put lens hood from 25mm to 20mm?
No, I don't think so...
Exemplary video comparison! Amazing work!
Good review, thank you...
Did you notice any loss of definition on the 20mm when stopping down to f8 - f22?
I've only had mine for a few weeks and was really disappointed in the image quality when trying to get a large depth of field on some landscape images. I did some tests afterwards and found that the optimum aperture for me was f5.6 - it was a very noticeable difference...
That is due to diffraction (too small of an aperture) and happens on all lenses ever made. I rarely use more than f/11 on micro 43 cameras. F/16 can be really soft while f/22 becomes a pudding.
lolll playing darts on your face in Panasonic's office
Great comparison well done!
Thank you so much for this great review! I search long time review like this.
I am planning to buy a normal prime lens so this video is heaven sent:) I
wish they made a pancake size 25mm just for sake of compactness.
I've watched and asked other reviewers of these lenses, and none of them has had or even seen this issue on the 25mm, maybe a case of a bad example maybe??... confused.
You can check it for yourself.
25 seems to have a touch more contrast which is the most important quality to me .. but a pancake is a pancake ie so portable
I wish i did my research before buying the 20mm, the focus is very slow and noisy, slower than kit lenses. I bought it for street where you need speed but can't think of any subject that will not benefit extra speed
Hi, are these lenses capable of shooting the northern lights? Which one is better for it?
Auroras usually look best shot with ultra wides like Laowa 7.5mm. ruclips.net/video/CJuIofTrnOI/видео.html
thank you for this, exactly what I was looking for.
Very thorough. Thank you. I have the 25mm. It's a nice lens!
Is there any distortion effect on the 25mm lens?
Very thorough comparison, beautifully presented, thank you.
i idint get that problem with the focus shift can someone explain?
a thoughtful analysis, as always. thank you for the effort and the sharing. thumbs up. i am now a subscriber.
Hi! I am new to photography and I am wondering if the panasonic lens works on Canon Sl2?
No, you need Canon lens. These will be great: ths: ruclips.net/video/mj5S8hxuAL8/видео.html
Another very thorough review. Thanks .
great comparison video, nice and thorough!
Thanks for your great video. Concise and useful information organization
Can someone tell me what is a good lens for product photos on a Panasonic G7?
Would the 25mm be ok for shooting a party in a dark home?
Hi man, I do not understand English well, I apologize.
For video is 25mm better?
Greetings from Italy
yes, you can hear focus motor of 20mm in video, many threads about this
Excellent review! I have both lenses, and I thought the 20mm was sharper, but I may be running into the focus shift issue!
which one do u recommend for doing overhead unbox videos?
Doesn't matter, you'll have fixed scene and focus at fixed distance. Get the one you can find for less money.
great Video! Thank you so much!
Be a owner of the 20mm and love it on my GX80
Good
I Hope WE have a compare, 20 mm and 12/30 f 2,8 .
Very detail comparison!!! Good job!!!!Thank you.
Thank you for a very thorough review!
Hey guys which one of these are the best? I just got my g7 a few day’s ago & im ready to buy my first lens. Goodbye t3i & hello g7😁🎥
I have the gx7....25 mm is very good.
I already have the 25mm is it worth buying the 20mm lens too?
lol no, way too similar. Like five foot steps away similar
@@ch3ckm8 lol thx thought so
Which one would you recommend?
What kind of lenses should i use for video shooting in low light, for example video in restaurant.
Automatic lenses or with manual exposure/focus (prime lens)
What mm focal lenght should be ?
I use panasonic G6 body
Really really nice review. Thanks alot 🙂👍🏻
The 20mm caught my eye since it will make my GH2 almost as portable as a LX100
skip the 20mm and even the 25mm, buy the 14mm pancake 2.5
the 14mm is WAY faster and sharper, only thing is you'll not have 1.7 rather 2.5
On a Olympus body purple fringing is excessive on the 20mm!
Waiting for this video! Thank you!
Really nice review, and reaaallly accurate... =) i own the 20mm and.. Yay. Its wonderfull ans you describe. Really good results and sharpness, with de boundaries os Panasonic systms. I'm usint it on a GM1 and i guess it will work good on a bigger camera like ghe g9 in a few years
Focal shift? Is that chromatic abberation?
I think what he means is that as you change the aperture settings, the focus point changes which ideally shouldn't happen. If you ask me it's subtle in this case, though.
Great review as usual Ivan. You talk about a possible 25mm Mark II but don't you think shift focus issues could be fixed via lens/camera firmware updates?
It probably could be solved that way, but Panasonic most likely won't bother updating older cameras or this lens. Many users might not even know there is an update. It is probably easier for them to make Mark II with better optical design.
filters can be screwed to 25mm?
Yes, 43mm
Can someone explain to me why he drops articles? His English is basically perfect besides that. Just include “the” before nouns!
Judging by his accent, he appears to be a native Russian speaker. They definitely have a problem with using articles when speaking English. I have quite a few Russian/Ukrainian friends who drop "a" and "the" very often. I almost don't even notice it when around them.
We, Russian speaking people, do not have articles in our language and just forget about them when we speak English )) Just more practice in EN environment and this issue disappears itself ))
Good video , first class . Great accent.
Hi, very good video very detailed and lined out. Thank you
Ok sir
4:22 heh...pancake batter. Seriously though. Nice review.
Excellent review! thanks.
Ahh... bummer. That 20mm looks way too slow for street photography. And I wanted to get it alongside a GX9. That sucks. 🙁
Maybe think about the 17mm options or the pancake 25mm oly 1.8
I bought the 20mm for my gx9 and I hate it. Image quality is excellent but it's so annoying to use and is completely worthless for street photography. Even when set to manual focus there is significant shutter lag.
Thanks for this review! Very helpful for deciding which one to choose.
I wanted to see what happens ... but for me it is not valid, since you must equate the focal distance, to be able to make a real comparison of images ... ex. you can not put a bigger tree in one and in the other smaller image. You must move your ass and balance those shots.
Great video, very helpful, thanks.
Nice review!
Thank you, great review. Cheers
Hello. Wich one would you prefer for taking photos of children in action?
I'm wondering the same thing. I think the 25mm is the better choice because of the faster autofocus.
Thanks for the review!
Pozdrav super review :)