How Good Are Panasonic L Mount Lenses?

[aspherical]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Wondering when I'm going to be able to afford another Leica lens. 

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[hepcat]

I have the Panasonic 24-105 f/4 and the 85 f/1.8. Both are excellent performers.  The rest of the time I either use R mount Leica lenses from the 1970s or Konica Hexanons from the '60s and '70s.   I'm planning on doing a Halloween-themed hearse shoot later today, and I'll be using the 24-105 and Hexanons as I can use a 52mm ND filter on all of them.  Leitz made a terrible design decision in their early R lenses about filter sizes; no two lenses use the same filters.   In case you weren't aware, the Hexanon lenses were the standard by which JCII judged the performance of every other manufacturer's lenses.

The plain truth is that it's impossible to look at any given photograph and determine what camera/sensor/lens/film combination were used simply by looking, so buy what you can afford, adapt the manual lenses to your body and shoot away.   Don't get too hung up on MTF charts and all the minutiae that gets discussed ad nauseam in forums like this.  Unless you're shooting test charts under lab conditions, most of that stuff is pretty much irrelevant, especially shooting hand-held at higher ISOs. 

I'm actually using a 1952 Canon LTM f/1.5 Sonnar design lens on my M10-P as my primary lens, and it's amazing.  The 1950s brass and chrome Canon Serenars are the best lens buy on the market today. 

[aspherical]

Thank you, very helpful.

[kimvilar]

I can only speak about the Lumix S PRO 50mm F1.4 which I own. It's an amazing lens that delivers extraordinary results. I also have the SL 35 and 90 APOs and even though the APOs are a class on it's own, the Panasonic S Pro 50 is a joy to use. The only problem being that it's big and heavy.  

Plus, you can probably find a good deal with second hand copies.

If you need more infos or even images taken with the S Pro 50mm, let me know. 

Edited October 9, 2023 by kimvilar

[Camaro5]

I don't do much telephoto work but have a Lumix S 70-300 for when I need it.  It's a good lens for the price and the images are fine coming out of an SL2-S.  

Recently I was looking for a 24mm prime, and at that focal length there are only a few options, the Lumix S, the Sigma Art lenses, and the older Leica Elmarit-R and M which are, of course, all manual and require adapters.  I found a practically brand new Elmarit-R and while it renders nicely, I question if it was the right choice and wonder if I would've been better off with a Lumix or Sigma.  

[Almizilero]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb kimvilar:

I can only speak about the Lumix S PRO 50mm F1.4 which I own. It's an amazing lens that delivers extraordinary results. I also have the SL 35 and 90 APOs and even though the APOs are a class on it's own, the Panasonic S Pro 50 is a joy to use. The only problem being that it's big and heavy.  

When I switched over to the L-Mount, I tested a several Pana/Sigma lenses against the according APOs. The S Pro 50/1.4 was the only one that actually beat the APO 50. Excellent at F/1.4 and very much on par with the APO at F/2. I couldn't see any difference between the shots from the two lenses, which I mostly could with the 35 and 85/90mm lenses. Maybe I had a very good Panasonic and/or a very bad APO, but I was very impressed. Didn't keep it because I went with a 35/90 combo, but if I was going to buy an L-Mount 50, it would surely be the S Pro 50/1.4.

[kimvilar]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

26 minutes ago, Almizilero said:

When I switched over to the L-Mount, I tested a several Pana/Sigma lenses against the according APOs. The S Pro 50/1.4 was the only one that actually beat the APO 50. Excellent at F/1.4 and very much on par with the APO at F/2. I couldn't see any difference between the shots from the two lenses, which I mostly could with the 35 and 85/90mm lenses. Maybe I had a very good Panasonic and/or a very bad APO, but I was very impressed. Didn't keep it because I went with a 35/90 combo, but if I was going to buy an L-Mount 50, it would surely be the S Pro 50/1.4.

Agree! I mainly use the 35/90 APO combo but when I need a 50 and reach for the S Pro 50 1.4, the results always leave me quite speechless!  

[Guest]

The Panasonic Lumix S PRO 70-200mm f/2.8 lens is pretty spectacular. I used it on an SL2 for a specific occasion, and liked the results a lot. It's weathersealed, has 11 rounded blades (great for smooth bokeh/portraits), and very fast AF. Drawback is size and weight, although it balances ok on the SL bodies. Surprisingly sharp wide open, too, i had to fudge skin tones in post to override some unwanted details.

[Olaf_ZG]

I have the 70-200/4 and am very happy with it. Bought it second hand with the 1.4 converter. Will not change it for the new to come Sigma 2.8.

[Simone_DF]

17 hours ago, aspherical said:

Wondering when I'm going to be able to afford another Leica lens. 

Leica is currently rebadging the 35 and 50mm Panasonics. If they are good enough for Leica, they should be good enough for you too.

[Ivar B]

10 hours ago, Simone_DF said:

Leica is currently rebadging the 35 and 50mm Panasonics. If they are good enough for Leica, they should be good enough for you too.

Exactly. I have tried several of the S lenses, and they are all good. The S-Pro lenses so called certified by Leica are much better built and are as good as anything on the market. I had the S Pro 1.4/50 which performs at least as well as the Leica SL 1.4/50 (I owned both at a time) but the APO SL 2/50 is unbeatable and much more compact as well. I own the S Pro 16-35mm now - and it is also a super performer. 

[aspherical]

Thank you.

[aspherical]

Thanks, this is encouraging. Unless I win the lottery this is how I'll manage.

[Photoworks]

I have the Leica zooms and the summicrons. I went true a round of testing with Panasonic and Sigma before setting on a set.

Panasonic Pro lenses are quite good, and some of them perform ak good as the leica version. Comes to mind the 50mm 1.4

Leica Panasonic and Sigma lense 24-70-90mm range are close, the 5% difference you are not always going to see.
Panasonic makes a 24-105 which is lighter, but it has optical weakness in almost the full range. Especially wide open

The new set of 1.8 lenses is ok until you compare it to others. They were made not for maximal optical performance, but for video in mind, good breathing correction, same weight, same size, all in all good performers. When you start to compare them with Apo lenses it is hard to say they are the same. 

I think Sigma has a range of lenses that compare in quality to some of leicas options.

 

The Panasonic are still better than M lenses on a SL camera. Just keep an open mind, and enjoy the process.

 

[Malabito]

I had the 50mm f1.4 and the 2470mm f2.8, they were as good as the leicas, and focused a bit faster. I ended selling them cause the 50mm was huge and i rarely used it and the 2470mm had the clutch mechanism, which for video is loved by many, but when used with a leica you are not able to use back focus button, (leica limitation, not really the lens).

Now i have a 24mm pana f1.8 which i use with the sl2s, the lens is very light, focuses faster than the apo leica ones, but image quality is not as good as the apos, perhaps as good as the newer smaller leica primes, (they are supposed to be the same lenses).

Given the weight, size and focal, is the lens i end using the most, I rarely take out the 35mm sl apo   Some samples below:

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[huwm]

I'm a Panasonic user with no complaints either 14-28,20-60,24-105(mine seems sharp enough and is a great range for size/wt)70-300 and 50 and 85 1.8s

I got the Leica non APO 35 as 'kit' but I'm fairly certain the Panny version would pass muster.

For my photography I felt unable to justify the APOs and moved my one and only one on.

The Leica Zooms apart from the 24-70 which I have are too big and heavy for me in comparison.

 

[jjesp]

I got the Lumix 50mm f/1.8. Cheap and light. But to compare it to the Leica APO is just strange, since the price difference is insane.... But it is sharp and renders so nice on the SL2-S. And the AF is actually better/faster than the Sigma 35mm f/2 DG I just got. That surprises me. And hey, if it can make a front cover on LFI, what's not to like??

LFI Issue 2023-05

[aspherical]

On 10/9/2023 at 12:04 PM, kimvilar said:

I can only speak about the Lumix S PRO 50mm F1.4 which I own. It's an amazing lens that delivers extraordinary results. I also have the SL 35 and 90 APOs and even though the APOs are a class on it's own, the Panasonic S Pro 50 is a joy to use. The only problem being that it's big and heavy.  

Plus, you can probably find a good deal with second hand copies.

If you need more infos or even images taken with the S Pro 50mm, let me know. 

Would love to see some images.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[52K]

For what it's worth, I traded my Leica 24-70 f.2.8 for the Panasonic S-Pro 24-70 f2.8. Simply put, the 24-70 Leica has a known issue of sucking dust in behind the front element and I've no idea how Leica let this passed quality control. Both lenses have stellar optical performance. The Panasonic prime lenses are great too as are some of the Sigma ones but the SL APO primes are in a class of their own. 

[Ivar B]

5 hours ago, 52K said:

For what it's worth, I traded my Leica 24-70 f.2.8 for the Panasonic S-Pro 24-70 f2.8. Simply put, the 24-70 Leica has a known issue of sucking dust in behind the front element and I've no idea how Leica let this passed quality control. Both lenses have stellar optical performance. The Panasonic prime lenses are great too as are some of the Sigma ones but the SL APO primes are in a class of their own. 

I have neve heard of the problem you mention with 24-70 and dust, but that does not mean it may not be there. But then the Sigma 24-70 ought to have the same problems? The Leica version is made by Sigma and is more or less equal to its Sigma sibling.