Panasonic LUMIX G II Lens, 20MM, F1.7 ASPH, MIRRORLESS Micro Four Thirds, H-H020AS (USA Silver)

Product Information

MPB puts photo and video kit into more hands, more sustainably. Every month, visual storytellers sell more than 20,000 cameras and lenses to MPB. Choose used and get affordable access to kit that doesn’t cost the earth.

When shooting bright light sources at stopped-down apertures – like in the F16 shot above – the 'spikes' of the sunstar are soft-edged and not all that well pronounced. Lateral and longitudinal chromatic aberration (fringing) Here’s what you should know about using this guide to the best lenses for street photography for Micro Four Thirds:

With an adapter, the Olympus 25mm ƒ/2.8 should mount on micro-four thirds bodies. While a slower and longer lens (ƒ/2.8 vs ƒ/1.7, and 25mm vs 20mm) the lens is slightly less expensive. At ƒ/2.8, the Panasonic is easily sharper, but stopped down to ƒ/4 and beyond the two lenses are comparably sharp. The Panasonic is also more resistant to chromatic aberration and produces less distortion, though the Olympus shows less corner shading. If you’re looking for a fisheye lens, then the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 8mm f/1.8 PRO is one such, with autofocus (AF) and weather sealing. It’s got a fast maximum aperture, making it suitable for low-light use, and delivers impressive image quality. In our review, we got consistently excellent results. The best were obtained by processing out some lateral chromatic aberration, though this is to be expected from wide-angle lenses of this type. It also served to remove unsightly colour fringing, and improve apparent edge sharpness.

Even when shooting with the included lens hood attached, artifacts from lens flare can be pretty distracting with this lens. You may notice ghosting when shooting directly into the sun, usually manifesting as a multiple-color haze or purple blobs. Image quality is almost flawless. Shoot at f/2.8 for sharpest images and also at f/4 for eliminating the vignetting. I may have said that the lens is sharper at f/2.8 but you'll be surprised at the image quality at f/1.7! The Leica DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 ASPH lens is a premium lens with the Leica branding, and the wide-angle lens gives a 24mm equivalent. You’ll find an aperture ring on the lens, and can also control the aperture with the camera. There’s also a solid build quality, thanks to a metal construction, and you’ll benefit from weather-sealing. Perhaps more importantly, the lens also delivers excellent image quality, with plenty of fine detail, even when shooting wide-open.When considering the best lenses for street photography for Micro Four Thirds, remember that both the focal length and the depth of field equivalence to full-frame is double. This is unlike Panasonic’s Lumix S series, which is full-frame. It means that Panasonic’s 20mm f1.7 will render a 40mm f3.4 field of view when shot wide open. Micro Four Thirds is often readily dismissed in conversations about astrophotography, mainly due to the smaller sensor size of the cameras. However, the system has a lot going for it when it comes to shooting the night sky. Newer Olympus and OM-System cameras, in particular, feature ‘Starry Sky AF’, an innovative system designed to help achieve pin-point focusing accuracy on distant stars. Of course, for a little more money, you can get Sigma's slightly faster 30mm F1.4 DC DN lens, which is also a strong optical performer. But the trade-off is a tighter crop (60mm in Full-frame terms) and a lens construction that's quite a bit longer and about twice as heavy as the Panasonic. Sharpness and optical flaws are comparable in my real world experience. Both have some noticeable purple fringing and LoCa. Both manageable in post.