The Panasonic 20mm f1.7 is another great offering from the Micro 4/3rds camp. This lens may be small and light but it’s a heavy weight amongst lenses. It offers excellent optical performance and is sharp from f1.7. The 20mm focal length on Micro 4/3rds offers a similar field of view as our eyes, which makes this a perfect everyday lens for applications such as street photography, reportage and environmental portraits.
The optical construction has 7 elements in 5 groups including 2 aspherical elements. The aperture has 7 circular blades for smooth rendition of out of focus areas.
The 20mm pancake lens is on my camera most of the time and it puts in a very good overall performance producing images with good detail and contrast. The AF speed may not be as fast as the newest generation of Panasonic lenses but it’s adequate for most applications unless you're a sports shooter. The maximum aperture of f1.7 is great for hand held low light photography and this is improved if you have an Olympus camera due to the in-body image stabilisation system.
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| 20mm f1.7 on the E-P2 |
This is not intended to be a technical review of this lens but just an informative guide to create awareness of what lenses are worth consideration.
Here are some shots I took with the 20mm f1.7.
Click on the images for larger view
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| 20mm f1.7 at f2.2 |
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| 20mm f1.7 at f2.8 |
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| 20mm f1.7 at f1.7 |
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| 20mm f1.7 at f2.8 |
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| 20mm f1.7 at f1.7 |
So there we have it. Another great little lens for your kit bag.
