Relatively hot off the heels of the comeback Random Lens Generator, I was randomly picking and off walking less than two weeks after walking the Hills and Hollows with the DJI 15mm f/1.7. It’s just chance I’m sure but the selected camera was again the venerable Lumix G9 which meant a micro 4/3s lens would be chosen. The wheel spun and landed on one of my most recent purchases – the Panasonic Lumix G 25mm f/1.7.
I purchased this lens back at the end of September because having built up a reasonable collection of zoom lenses over the past ten months having invested in the micro 4/3s ecosystem last November and hugely enjoying my two primes, the aforementioned DJI lens and the fantastic Olympus 45mm f/1.8, I am keen to fill the fairly large focal length gaps – especially when considering the full frame equivalents.
I looked at the affordable 25mm micro 4/3s lenses on the market and determined that the best bang for buck and in keeping with the nifty fifty philosophy was this Lumix 25mm f/1.7. I scoured the second hand market for not very long actually, as Wex were selling a copy rated at 9/10 and fully featured with accessories (front and rear lens caps, hood plus a UV filter – which in my eyes is the sign that its previous owner wanted to take good care of the lens) for £98, a fair bit under what rival resellers were selling theirs for and matching Ebay private seller prices.
The lens arrived some days later and I’m pretty sure that other than a few test images around the house to make sure all was in good order, that was about as much use as it had had, until my mid-October walk.
I didn’t plan on walking too far, but was keen to test the sharpness of the lens and its performance at f/1.7. Therefore many of the pictures were taken with the aperture wide open or nearly so and I was keen to focus on the autumnal colours that are now in full swing. I got lucky with the weather – blue skies and unseasonably warm – I went out in full autumnal garb and was regretting not being in shorts and t-shirt by the end! The shoulder is improving but still struggling with a few angles, especially when I was trying to perch the camera above the fencing on the developing Manthorpe housing estate.
The focusing was fast and as accurate as you are going to get on the G9, which was throwing a hissy fit for the first part of the walk rejecting the only genuine Panasonic battery I own and shutting down before I could take any pictures. An on the fly Google search suggested using genuine batteries, which was ironic, before someone else suggested giving the battery contacts a clean, which after a quick rub on my hoody, thankfully did the job.
An hour and a half later and I was back home and that afternoon I went through the pictures, coming to life having shot them in monochrome and now seeing the colours for the first time. First off I was impressed with the sharpness – perfectly acceptable wide open and better still once stopped down. The out of focus bokeh is pleasant – not meltingly stunning like some lenses I have – but neither intrusive nor harsh. One or two shots even appeared to inhibit some pleasing swirl, although that may have been the tree branches moving in a fairly stiff breeze. There’s no real 3D Pop though, my Zeiss 55mm is the undisputed king in that regard.
Talking of bokeh and background this lens is another example of why I enjoy using micro 4/3s primes increasingly more than full frame. Wide open the background is separated and blurred but not to the point of it being impossible to make out what is going on . I think this makes outdoor photography all the more interesting. I know I could do the same by taking my Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 and shooting at something around f/3.5 but psychologically there is something more appealing to shoot wide open and practically it is beneficial too when available light is a consideration. As it was, to shoot wide open I was taking full use of the electronic shutter being able to shoot at least 1/20000 of a second, which I think is the best of all the cameras I own. I was able to shoot at more sensible shutter speeds when I remembered to turn auto-iso off halfway around my walk and shoot at the base 200ISO, something that I seemingly always forget to do whenever I leave the house.
I liked the colours – perhaps not the most vibrant – but nothing that a slider or two in Photoshop couldn’t help with if required. They worked particularly well with the dying sunflowers I came across – slightly muted, but the yellows rich in tone. It was only when I got home did I realise that a few of the sunflowers appeared to have smiling faces on them. Coincidence or human intervention?!
For a lens coming in under £100 I was very pleased with the Lumix 50mm f/1.7. It’s a simple, unassuming lens that doesn’t portend to be the best but didn’t disappoint with a single frame I took and produced one or two shots that I was quite happy with. Whether it will see extensive use, only time will tell. The 15mm is more compact and premium feeling and a focal length arguably better suited to street photography, and my 45mm is a better portrait lens. But this lens sits somewhere in the middle and could be a jack of all trades, which is exactly what the nifty fifty should be.
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