Panasonic LUMIX G 14mm F2.5 ASPH Review

February 9, 2011 | Mark Goldstein |

Buy a Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 ASPH. Wide Angle Lens

Conclusion

The LUMIX G 14mm F2.5 ASPH is a tiny yet perfectly formed wide-angle lens that delivers excellent results, making it a great lens for landscapes and unobtrusive street photography, although at £357.99 / $399.95 it's pretty expensive for a prime lens. Its nearest competitor is the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 17mm f/2.8 from Olympus, but that lens isn't as wide-angle or as small and light, and it also has a slightly slower maximum aperture, although it is quite a lot cheaper than the Panasonic option.

Optically the LUMIX G 14mm F2.5 ASPH's is an excellent performer. You can safely use it wide open or for optimum results stopped down to f/3.5, with even the edges of the frame looking quite sharp. Chromatic aberrations are present but are very well controlled, while the few distortions are automatically corrected on both Olympus and Panasonic bodies. As with most other Panasonic Micro Four Thirds lenses, it's extremely fast to focus on the latest Panasonic G-series cameras and also virtually silent too, making it well-suited to creative video work.

As with most other Panasonic lenses that we've reviewed, the only real drawback of the LUMIX G 14mm F2.5 ASPH lens it its price. £357.99 / $399.95 is a lot to ask for a prime lens, although we feel that both landscape and street photographers will use it a lot of the time and quickly forget about the cost. Unless you need the versatility of a zoom, in which case the Panasonic 7-14mm, 14-45mm or Olympus 9-18mm are worth considering, then the LUMIX G 14mm F2.5 ASPH comes highly recommended.