He brought along with him the Panasonic GH-4 and the Leica Nocticron 42,5mm F1.2, the first F1.2 lens for the Micro Four Thirds system.
Shot at wide open, F1.2
It was a brief encounter, I did not shoot enough to make any meaningful comments. However, I will be seeing Shaun again soon and I will rob the lens off him and shoot for at least a few hours, and you will see a blog entry full of F1.2 photographs soon. I will make sure that happens.
Looking forward to the next shutter therapy session Robin!
ReplyDeleteLikewise, Shaun!
DeleteThis is why i love micro 43s!!! wide open sharpness performance. I wish we could get some really ultra fast af normal or wide lenses soon for micro 43s.
ReplyDeleteSimilar wishes I have, David.
DeleteHey, me too, me too ...
DeleteHi Robin,
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to the next shutter therapy session as well. Based on the wide open results above, I suspect that Shaun's Nocticron will be in high demand :-)
Nice portrait; you seem to have a gift of putting people at ease.
Hey Bjorn,
DeleteThanks for coming along and I do hope you have a great time. We shall be hitting the streets soon.
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DeleteHi Robin,
DeleteYes it was a fun session in Pudu.
In the meantime, I've had a chance to deprive Shaun of his Nocticron.
Given the gear I already have, the 42.5mm doesn't make a lot of sense,
at least not until I saw the gorgeous results it's capable of.
I'm curious to hear your opinion, as you have experience with competing products like the MZ 45/1.8.
I'm very interested to see how this compares to the 45 1.8.
ReplyDeleteI have my thoughts. But somehow I know if I share them the whole world will come to me with axes and chainsaws. I am just not ready for such bloodshed.
DeleteHow bad would a world be without a bit of chaos, especially of the internet variety ;) Jokes aside, from what I've seen there isn't a considerable difference between them. The cost to benefit ratio is diminishing. Saying that, for those who love to use an aperture ring, the built in stabilization (both Panny benefits) and a little better out of focus rendering, then this could be the ticket. Spankingly expensive but hey, every manufacturer needs a hero lens to show off their capabilities. I don't doubt the Panaleica is better in most regards, but enough to justify the price difference? Well..that's all very subjective to the person holding the cash isn't it.
DeleteI'm going to straight on what i think personally, practically this' the most overpriced lens in micro four 3rd to-date. If micro four 3rd going to continue with this kind of price tag and using "red dot" marketing strategy in future lenses, the system may not be worthwhile to me anymore.
ReplyDeleteOverpriced for some, but for some others it may be well within their reach. Considering this has considerable light gathering ability, comparable DoF to a FF equivalent, and it also comes with built in stabilisation (shock, awe - not everyone uses a OMD!) then this is quite a well considered lens. Beautifully built, aperture ring, and beautiful out of focus rendering means this is a viable alternative to the Olympus equivalent for those who have the money, and I'm sure there are a lot of people who do.
DeleteIf i m a lens collector, this may be an exclusive lens to owe. If i m unable to compose or shoot well with a 45mm 1.8, this 42.5mm 1.2 doesn't going to let me make images any more interesting or less mediocre.
DeleteWhat is your point exactly then? I am trying to articulate that for Panasonic users in particular, this lens has many attributes that would warrant (some) of the price increase over Olympus' own 45mm. The aperture ring and in body stabilization are two of them, as is the larger light gathering ability. It may not be enough to justify the increase (to some) but for others this will be a terrific portrait lens with no compromises. Tack sharp wide open, stabilized and aperture changes on the fly with a dedicated aperture ring. I'm sure the image quality benefits vs the price increase over the Olympus may not be ideal, but this is a hero lens for Panasonic and there will be plenty who will snap this up.
DeleteOkay. After looking at this image and then comparing it to the 12-40 2.8, the images seem to be sharper on the 12-40. I think the bokeh may look smoother on the Leica but the DOF actually seems shallower on the 2.8, which should be compared to a 1.2 at wide open. When you get this 42.5 to try out can you compare DOF at wide open apertures? I wouldn't mind getting the 12-40 because of your images. I use the 14-54 2.8-3.5 (i think) and the images don't even seem to compare, sharper yet smoother and better color.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a wedding photographer, this lens would be in my bag immediately. Unfortunately, I can't think of a reason, as a sports photographer, to buy it.
ReplyDeleteI barely use the only fixed focal length lens I have, the Four-Thirds Leica/Panasonic 25mm f/1.4--the big one. None of these are good in the rain.
I'm happy with my Zuiko 1.8 45mm. Will I be happy after your results? Let's wait and see . . . I'm still extremely happy with my only Panasonic lens, the 25mm F1.4.
ReplyDeleteWishing you all the luck and good light so we will see more of your beautiful photo's.
After some serious consideration and savings, I finally bought it! I already had the wonderful Olympus M Zuiko 45, but there was something in the Nocticron that had caught my attention since I started seeing images rendered by it a few months ago, and now that I own it myself I know what that 'something' is: the images have a transparency, a smooth gradation of tones and, above all, a subtle separation of layers of focus that I had not seen ion other m4/3 lenses. yes, it's crazy expensive and it might be overkill for the majority compared to the Olympus, but I believe this lens has a place in the m4/3 ecosystem and, now, definitely in my small collection. It lives in my camera!
ReplyDeleteYou can read my full impressions and see plenty of images in my blog:
http://gonzalobroto.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-friend-nobody-called-review-of.html