Panasonic announces 15mm f/1.7 Leica-branded lens for Micro Four Thirds
posted Wednesday, March 26, 2014 at 9:56 AM EDT
The Micro Four Thirds system has yet another fast prime at its disposal, filling out the “normal” part of the focal range a bit more.
Panasonic announced a new Leica-branded 15mm f/1.7 earlier this week, equivalent to a 30mm field of view in full-frame terms. The body is made of metal, and in a design touch that should make most MFT shooters happy, it also has an aperture ring, in addition to an AF/MF switch and a focus ring, of course. The lenses have Panasonic’s nano surface coating, and are built from 9 elements in 7 groups, including 3 aspherical lenses.
Though this is a fairly wide lens, bokeh is the keyword in Panasonic’s press release for the new 15mm. Another Panasonic-Leica lens, a 25mm f/1.4 optic, is known for the creamy look in the out-of-focus portions of the frame. The most similar lens in the MFT range is the Olympus 17mm f/1.8, another great, sharp, metal model with a slick sliding ring that switches focus modes. The Oly 17mm and PanaLeica 15mm are about the same price.
The Panasonic Lumix G Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 will be available in june for $599, and will come in black and silver finishes. Pre-orders are already up at B&H Photo. According to the press release, the lens will also come bundled in a kit with the Panasonic GM1, though we’ve yet to see that kit appear in pre-orders.
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