...is up at DPReview, and they ****ing love it.

from http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/..._o20/page4.asp


Conclusion - Pros

• Extremely small size and light weight - the perfect match for the E-P1 and GF1
• Fast maximum aperture
• Impressive image quality at all apertures
• Good build quality, proper manual focus ring and non-rotating front element

Conclusion - Cons

• Comparatively expensive (at least at launch)

The Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH is a lens that we've been looking forward to seeing for real ever since Panasonic first showed a mock-up back at Photokina 2008. The good news is that it's been well worth the wait - the 20mm is an excellent lens, especially considering its tiny size. It does well in all aspects of our studio tests, and produces fine images in a wide range of situations while also focusing quickly, silently and decisively. On compact Micro Four Thirds bodies such as the E-P1 and GF1, it offers impressive image quality and low-light capability in a package significantly smaller and more discreet than any DSLR system. The last few years have seen Panasonic rapidly improving its cameras; the 20mm F1.7 sees the company flexing its muscles in the field of lens design and showing it means business here too. We're unashamed fans of fast primes, and it's great to see Panasonic providing one relatively early in the development of Micro Four Thirds.

And here's an idea of what it may be replacing on my end with the D50/35G combo, in terms of size:



EDIT: Actually, my setup is bigger since the D50 is closer in size and configuration to the D90.

It's going to be a good year for Panasonic...
























...if they can keep up with the demand.

Oh, and btw... according to DPR, the 20/1.7 is sharper than the 35G across the board. Hard to believe considering how sharp the 35G is to begin with. Ugh, the wait is gonna kill me. Judging from the samples, bokeh looks to be nicer than the 35G as well.

Luminous Landscape has their GF1 review up, this caught my eye:

from http://www.luminous-landscape.com/re...eras/gf1.shtml
It's of the so-called "pancake" design, and it's size is totally in keeping with that of the GF1. In print sizes up to about 11X17" I found that it held up quite nicely against casual shots taken at the same time with a $3,600 Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux. No, not as good as – but very nice, and for $400 it offers excellent value for anyone shooting with a M4/3 camera, either one from Panasonic or Olympus.

Originally Posted by subimatt

Sam are these the ones with the x2 fov compared to 35mm? I.e. that 20mm = 40mm? 1.7

Yep.

Matt was referring to the crop factor. Compared to 35mm, the focal length of lenses used when mounted to Micro 4/3rd cameras needs to be multiplied by 2 to get the effective focal length. So, 20mm in this case has the FoV of a 40mm lens on a 35mm camera.

Originally Posted by Tylersladen

do they make telephotos for these things?!!?

300mm x2 ****tttt

Panasonic currently makes a 14-140mm f/4-5.8 and a 45-200mm f/4-5.6.

Too bad people are losing their ****ing minds trying to simply get their hands on one. Panasonic's pretty ****ed up in terms of supply. They're trying to sell the camera themselves at first, but through a shipping company called Shopatron. No one knows what they have stock where, etc. So people see it's in stock one place then call and get told it's 2-4 weeks, etc. Panasonic apparently got a few to Amazon, but no one else. Samy's in LA apparently just got some and are already out. It's a ****ing feeding frenzy!

4/3rds is a dead format, Micro 4/3rds isn't.

4/3rds hoped to differentiate itself from other SLR systems by being a more compact version. This was accomplished by having a smaller sensor, which allowed the lenses to be smaller, and initially by having some clever side-flipping mirrors. But in practice, the space savings were limited by it's flangeback distance (distance between the lens mount/flange) and the sensor, which is still close to other SLR systems. And of course, 3rd Party lens manufacturers took advantage of this by selling the same lens 6 times, just with different mounts - yielding literally no size advantage since the lenses are virtually identical.

Micro 4/3rds, on the other hand completely does away with the mirror, depending completely on Live View focusing. This allows the format to have the shortest flangeback distance of any interchangeable lens sytem (to my knowledge). This allows the bodies to be less than half the depth of even the smallest SLRs, while allowing "compatibility" with virtually any lens systems through the use of adapters - including highly desirable Rangefinder lenses, which are desperate for a low cost body option.

Using 4/3rds lenses on m43 completely defeats the point in terms of size, since you have to use an adapter to make up the flangeback distance.

Originally Posted by blcknspo0ln

Wow, so to own the GF1/20 combo, it's going to cost an upwards of $1300!?

That's a lot better than the Leica M9 ($7k, body only, I think) and the Leica X1 ($2k, body only)...

so yes, but that's actually pretty good, all things considered. If you need a DSLR, you need a DSLR, but these present a pretty compelling package.

Originally Posted by blcknspo0ln

Wow, so to own the GF1/20 combo, it's going to cost an upwards of $1300!?

No. Panasonic is selling a GF1/20mm f/1.7 kit, which is $899.

Originally Posted by thomps6s

How can you tell if this is legit?

...and if he actually has stock that he can ship?

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

it's just like Wiis and every other hot electronic when they first come out...

Not really. This is a particularly frustrating situation since Panasonic seems dead-set on selling the cameras through their crappy-assed direct sell model, which is hardly direct and leads to no one in the organization knowing what stock they have on hand, etc. At least in the Wii situation retailers were actually able to get them. Panasonic has their thumbs firmly wedged up their asses on this one, and the whole thing makes me wonder if I really want to get invested in such a clearly inept company.

EDIT: Actually, looks like Ben was making a different point - so NM.

Mmmmm... I know, it's pretty close so this is sort of best-case-scenario, but lovely bokeh...

20mm f/1.7 wide-open on GF1

Originally Posted by tbert

You should be confident. That tells me the company is actually run by engineers and not sales/marketing people.

As a Product Manager who came from Engineering, I have to partially disagree with that sentiment. Engineers on their own won't give you good products.

Originally Posted by tbert

And sales and marketing will?

Not by themselves, but they all have valuable inputs into product. Product Management becomes the tie that binds Engineering, Sales and Marketing. Different organizations work different ways and I'm definitely more of a Technical Product Manager, but I do consider myself as part of the larger Product Marketing organization. If you don't have a market, you don't have a product.

Now in stock at Samy's (attention Monster):

Panasonic | 20mm f/1.7 Lumix G Aspherical Pancake Lens | HH20

In stock at B&H and Adorama...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search...tialSearch=yes