Here’s my review of the Panasonic 25mm f/1.7 lens. I LOVE this camera lens and use it most of the time on my Panasonic GX85 camera and Panasonic GH5 when shooting photography and video.
For those not too familiar with photography
There are two types of camera lenses; zoom lenses and prime lenses. Zoom lenses allow you to zoom in and out on your subject and are more familiar to most people. Prime lenses have one fixed piece of glass so no zooming is possible. To zoom in with prime lenses, you must move closer to the subject. The trade off is sharper images with prime lenses.
Zoom lenses come in handy when photographing events such as sports, weddings or wildlife. Since I don’t photograph or film much of those anymore, I started using prime lenses only. Prime lenses have become my favorite lenses for a few years now.
WHY I PREFER PRIME LENSES:
- Prime lenses have a fixed lens (no zooming) and only one piece of glass, which makes them less expensive.
- Prime lenses take razor sharp photos! Sharper than zoom lenses.
- Prime lenses take better photos in darker areas, are lighter and focus quicker.
I used to have the popular Canon 70mm-200mm F2.8 L series lens. I used this zoom lens on my Canon 5D MarkII and loved it very much. I paid $2,000.00 for it new: worth every penny. I sold it when prime lenses were all I needed once I stopped photographing weddings. It was difficult for me to part with this lens. The photos shot with this lens were always perfect. Sharp, nice color and warmth to each image, is what the Canon 70-200 provided.
PANASONIC 25mm F1.7 prime lens
Now that you know the difference between zoom lenses and prime lenses, let’s talk about the Panasonic 25mm F1.7 prime lens. It’s a lightweight very fast lens that takes great photos and video. I highly recommend it.
Check out this video I made reviewing my Panasonic 25mm F1.7 lens.
One of the main things I take into consideration when buying a lens is the focal length, which is that number followed by mm. The smaller the number, the wider the view of the lens. The larger the number, the more zoomed in the lens will be to your subject. If you were taking portraits, you would want a 25mm or 35mm. If you were photographing a lion at the zoo, you would want a longer focal length, so a 200-400mm would be best.
The issue with prime lenses is you need to carry a few if different focal lengths are needed. I chose 2 focal length lenses that suit me best and I’m fine. For anything else, I use a pro camera with zoom such as the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II.
A 50mm lens is said to be the perfect all around lens for photographing or filming video. 50mm has the view of what you see as a person, or, how close you are to a subject. This would be the equivalent of a 25mm lens on a micro four thirds camera, such as my Panasonic gx85. Micro four thirds cameras register at half the mm rating of a DSLR, or, old school 35mm film camera. So, my Panasonic 25mm F1.7 lens is equivalent to a 50mm standard lens.
The next thing I look at is F stop setting. In this case, the F stop is 1.7. The F stop setting is one of the ways you can control light into the camera and also the “blurriness” behind your main subject (depth of field.) The smaller the Fstop number, the better the lens is at taking photos in the dark. Smaller number Fstop – rated lenses are called FAST LENSES because they see well in the dark and are very fast at capturing images without sacrificing quality.
I know it sounds confusing and that’s because it is. Trust me, the more you work with Fstop and focal length and shutter speed, you will find out how it all works together, resulting in great photos.
Some stats on the Panasonic 25mm F1.7 lens
- A versatile 25mm lens with a natural viewing angle suitable for a wide variety of occasions (35mm camera equivalent: 50 mm)
- Beautiful background bokeh effect from its large diameter F1.7 aperture
- Super lightweight and compact at only 125g / 2.05in length, lens construction 8 elements in 7 groups (2 aspherical lenses, 1 UHR lens)
- Hybrid photography enabled for both photo and HD video recording with quiet and smooth fast action stepping motor focusing
- Takes advantage of LUMIX mirrorless camera high-speed, high-precision Contrast AF system
-
Versatile, fast standard 25mm lens (35mm camera equivalent: 50 mm) with a beautiful bokeh background defocus effect for exceptionally creative imaging. Perfect for low-light, high-quality photography with a bright, maximum F1.7 aperture (minimum aperture F22).
I almost went with the Panasonic 20mm F1.7 lens to get a bit more width in my photos. This lens has been dubbed the pancake lens since it’s flatter. Since I already have the Panasonic kit zoom lens that goes from 12mm, I already have a nice wide angle, so the 20mm wasn’t needed but I will be adding it to my collection, as I LOVE PRIME LENSES.
Does this help you in choosing a lens? I hope so. What lenses do you have? Let me know in the comments and check out my YouTube channel Rotter Studios for more photography and video tech stuff and projects.
If you enjoyed this, subscribe to my blog. I write about tech stuff, photography, video editing, music, and anything else I feel like. I have a lot of passions and enjoy teaching.
Thanks for reading!
Steve
You can purchase gear discussed in this article on Amazon:
Panasonic 25mm f/1.7 prime lens
CHECK OUT MORE AT MY BLOG HERE
GEAR I USE:
PANASONIC LUMIX GX85 Camera: https://amzn.to/2wJHNjK
Panasonic 25mm F1.7 prime lens: https://amzn.to/2wwN5ix
Panasonic GX85 Batteries: https://amzn.to/2Ksac00
GoPro suction cup mount for car: https://amzn.to/2Ajbryb
GoPro gooseneck mount: https://amzn.to/2uUECmg
Canon XA11 Pro Camcorder: https://amzn.to/2rNMUK1
iPad Pro 10.5: https://amzn.to/2O1q5gz
Vanguard Alta Pro 263AB Tripod: https://amzn.to/2IxYQq4
Fovitec Green / Blue backdrop screen: https://amzn.to/2IrDcbK
Fovitec Black/ White backdrop screen: https://amzn.to/2rTu18T
Blue Yeti USB Microphone: https://amzn.to/2JWT2vt
Sennheiser HD 380 PRO Headphones: https://amzn.to/2K3hiLT
Professional Grade Lavalier Lapel Microphone?https://amzn.to/2lZhGNB
Y-Connector Audio Splitter for Lavalier Microphone?https://amzn.to/2J1UwPU
Headphone Jack Adapter Lightning Connector?https://amzn.to/2udGjtM
MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL: ROTTER STUDIOS: youtube.com/c/RotterStudios
I’m a GUITAR PLAYER. Check out my music and purchase here:
MIME RIOT?https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/mimeriot
WRAITH?https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/steverotter
ON iTunes:?WRAITH?https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/wraith/139284491
MIME RIOT?https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/fear-ep/793322130
I’m a video editor of 25 years, audio engineer 20 years, photographer 25 years and guitarist 20 years. I post photography and stop motion animation videos, but mainly guitar playing.
My You Tube channels:
German Shepherd Weekly: Weekly short videos of my german shepherd, Leia
LEGO SPEED GUY: Lego speed build videos and entertainment
ROTTER studios: photography, film, movies, rants ROTTER TUBE REEF: saltwater aquarium care The Joker Box: The Joker Impression – Tribute to Heath Ledger
