Panasonic Lumix G 25mm f/1.7 ASPH Review

November 30, 2015 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star

Conclusion

The Panasonic Lumix G 25mm f/1.7 ASPH is a very good standard lens at a very affordable price, making it a must-have purchase if you don't already have a 50mm equivalent lens in your kit-bag.

Optically the Panasonic Lumix G 25mm f/1.7 ASPH is an excellent performer. You can safely use it wide open for maximum bokeh and still achieve sharp results in the centre of the frame, or for optimum performance stop down to f/4, where even the edges of the frame look sharp. Chromatic aberrations are almost completely absent, barrel distortion is automatically corrected on both Olympus and Panasonic bodies, and the closest focusing distance of 0.25m comes in very handy. Only the noticeable light fall-off in the corners at f/1.7 spoils an otherwise surprisingly good performance.

As you'd perhaps expect given the budget price tag, build quality is merely acceptable rather than great, and the need to remove a plastic ring from the front of the lens in order to fit the lens hood is annoying. It is very fast to focus on the DMC-GX7 camera that we tested it with, though, and almost virtually silent too, making it well-suited to both stills and video. This lens is also very small and lightweight considering the f/1.7 maximum aperture.

It's a shame that Panasonic have taken quite so long to release the Lumix G 25mm f/1.7 ASPH - a fast nifty-fifty that doesn't cost the earth would have been a very welcome offering back at the birth of Micro Four Thirds. If you don't already have a similar lens, though, we can definitely recommend the new Panasonic Lumix G 25mm f/1.7 ASPH.

4 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 3.5
Features 3.5
Ease-of-use 4
Image quality 4.5
Value for money 5