I've just bought the Panasonic LEICA DG 10-25mm F1.7 ASPH Vario-Summilux Wide Angle Zoom Lens. And my first reaction is WOW!!! This is a serious lens in terms of quality, size, weight and price. But when you consider you are getting a set of fast primes all in one lens, it's easy to understand why. In terms of 35mm / "full frame equivalence" this is a 20mm f/1.7, a 28mm f/1.7, a 35mm f/1.7 and a 50mm f/1.7 and all the other focal lengths in between. It is super sharp wide open at all lengths and I'm very impressed as to how it feels on my cameras, particularly my Lumix G9.
It's just a superb lens for my landscape, architecture, interiors, location and travel stock work and it handles the majority of those situations. It's fast when I need it, the AF is excellent and it's built like a tank. But what really impresses me above all is it feels wonderful in the hand. It just exudes quality in all aspects and makes me want to go out and use it. I've got the Olympus 12-100mm f/4 and that is a great lens as well with a longer reach and the lens IS combined with the in body stabilisation on my E-M1X gives rock solid performance when hand holding. But the 10-25mm is a take anywhere lens, indoors or out. It has no lens IS but the IBIS in my Olympus and the G9 means that isn't really necessary. Anyway that would make the lens bulkier than it is.
For my super wide needs I have the Laowa 7.5mm f/2, but this zoom is so much more versatile. Here's a few samples.
A lens like this really shows the benefits of m4/3. There is no lens like it it any sensor format and that added depth of field is an advantage, not the disadvantage that "full frame" advocates go on about. And it's exactly why I've gone completely over to m4/3 as my workhorse AF interchangeable lens system. It is to be hoped that Panasonic don't ignore this format in favour of their overweight and overpriced FF system, because there are many of us who see the benefits of the smaller sensor. This is just one more superb lens that the m4/3 format makes available to us and extends our capability to produce high quality images without breaking the bank or our backs. This is my SOUNDIMAGEPLUS LENS OF THE YEAR and it wins by a mile. I'm going to have a lot of enjoyment for the next few years using this, as well as producing some high quality images. Keep it up Panasonic and please don't ignore m4/3. It is after all what you will be known for.
