Lumix 25mm 1.4 lens review
I'm not going to beat around the bush, here. I think the Lumix 25mm 1.4 might be my favourite lens of all time.
Yes, it has its flaws, but... wow. This lens has such a magic ability to capture my ideas.
Is isn’t weather-sealed, and it isn’t stabilised. And it’s a little bit more plastic-y than I would like. And you’re not going to get any additional macro capabilities for your money with the minimum focus distance being a bit naff.
But still. Still. I love this lens.
What to read next: The Best Lenses for Micro Four Thirds Master List (which this lens is totally a part of!)
Worth the (hefty) price point?
The Lumix 25mm 1.4 — or the super fancy and hard-to-remember full title: Panasonic LEICA DG SUMMILUX 25mm — is quite pricy, but I think the image quality it can achieve makes it more than worth it.
I took this lens to Sicily, where I tried some street photography as well as some astrophotography. It worked a treat. I think traditionally, the 25mm focal length is probably a bit long for both of these activities, but it got me some interesting results. And at f1.4, the astrophotography was crisp and free from noise.
I was so torn between the 1.4 and the 1.8 Lumix version for ages, but in the end, I decided to put the extra money towards it and go for the slightly faster one. It'll save lives during this wedding season, as we have quite a few darker venues to tackle.
While I think the image quality is just sublime, there are a few little niggles which I wish would have been improved. Particualarly, I'm never NOT going to be mad that this lens isn't weather sealed!! I mean, come on, it’s a Leica collab lens — it’s supposed to be the best of the best.
But at the end of the day, image quality matters most to me. I can overlook all that other stuff, so long as it does its primary job well.
And it does. Oh, yes, it does indeed.
Check the video for some more examples. Watch me rave like a complete weirdo about this lens.
Here are some of my favourite images that I've taken with this lens. It's such a beaut.
