Camera and Lenses Review

Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2

Added by on December 16, 2014

Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2

Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2

I had a chance to spend a couple of days with the Panasonic 42.5mm f1.2 and my GH4 and I tested it fully open, most the time to have an idea of its possibilities.

By Franc Peret

In China, this lens is less expensive than in the rest of the world.

A new official (1 year guarantee) copy is sold 7800 RMB, which is about 1250 USD.

GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2

This price is still very expensive for a M4/3 lens, but all depends on what it had to offer.Here are some of my shots for you to get an idea.

GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2

I worked on the raw file to create the jpg with a slight sharpening of 80/2/2 as the GH4 file are easy to get noise if they are pushed too much in that department.

With every full shot, there is a crop around the focus area mentioning the camera and lens datas.

All those picture were shot on 3:2 instead of 4:3 picture proportion so the maximum number of pixel is 12 millions instead of the 16 I would get on 4:3 (but I don’t like it much as I am use to 24×36)

I shot a lot with the lens fully open even it was not always the best option for the subject I was shooting (and the lighting condition) but I wanted to see what this lens offered at f1.2.

So far, I am not completely seduced and I do need to do more test may be with another camera, such as an Olympus Em-1 which render sharper images ( I know as I got both for a while).

Compare to my Nikon 85mm f1.4, used on a D800, I can notice different positive things:

– The Panasonic lens can be trully used wide open in any lighting situation (no chromatic aberration so far) mounted on the GH4.

– Focus is very fast and more accurate than on the Nikon combination. Autofocus system is different and the 42.5mm f1.2 still deliver much more depth of field than the Full frame 85mm f1.4 mounted on the D800.

– Weight and size are absolutely not a problem and the lens balance very well with the GH4. The Noctiron is lighter than the Nikon AIS 50mm f1.2, which is a classic manual focus lens without any stabilization system.

GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2

– It seems that this lens is rendering sharper result in lower light (indoor) than in a bright environment (diffusion?).

I still didn’t get a “wow” result with this lens, but I had just few hours to try it, and my series of pictures is not interesting enough yet to deliver a valuable conclusion.

I am going to shoot more and to post more pictures and comments here, so keep in touch

Franc Peret is teaching Essential Photography Classes, Advanced Photography Workshop and Film Making Classes in Shanghai

GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2
GH4 and Panasonic Leica Noctiron 42.5mm f1.2