lumix leica summilux 9mm f1.7 full review
At long last! We have an official wide-angle prime from Lumix for the micro four thirds system! The Lumix Leixa 9mm f1.7 is finally here! I know it’s been a lens that a lot of people have been waiting for — myself included! — so let’s jump into my review. I’ve had the lens for a while now and I’ve tested it in some tricky situations. Here are my thoughts, and plenty of sample images!
Lumix 9mm — at last! a wide angle prime for micro four thirds
The Lumix Leica is very light, weighing only 130 grams, and small. It’s a plastic build, but much like the Lumix Leica 25mm f1.4, it feels premium while still managing to be light.
The Lumix 9mm f1.7 lens also boasts a “half macro” function as well, with an INCREDIBLY close focusing distance! You can almost have your subject touching the lens and still have it in focus. Pairing this with the wide angle and the f1.7 aperture and you can get some very interesting results, as well as some nice bokeh.
Leica Summilux 9mm f1.7 - sharp from edge to centre?
Another feature of this rectilinear lens is that it is sharp from edge to centre, even wide open at f1.7. I have a good pixel peep in the full video review at the bottom of this blog post, and I’ll put some unedited images in a gallery at the end for you to see as well. In my experience I would say this claim is definitely true — I’ve found it sharp throughout even in very challenging situations.
Lumix Leica 9mm f1.7 for vlogging and video
Another great use case for the 9mm focal length is for vlogging. At a 18mm full frame equivalent it’s the perfect sweet spot between showing the background as you talk to camera and not being too close or far away. There is always a bit of warp in the corners for wider lenses, but I’ve found this to be minimal and manageable. You can see vlogging examples in the video at the end of this post.
Lumix 9mm for interior photos and architecture
The 9mm focal length is ideal for real estate photography and cityscape and architecture. The lines are faithful to reality with very minimal barrel distortion. I found chromatic aberrations to be minimal, and flares are also well under control. This lens really is a feat of engineering!
Conclusion
I’ve been blown away by this lens performance! It’s great for every wide-angle application you can think of. I can’t wait to try it out with some astrophotography, because — coma performance permitting — I think the Lumix Leica 9mm f1.7 would be ideal for astrophotography too!
Check it out on Amazon here
