{"id":3255,"date":"2014-03-20T12:08:56","date_gmt":"2014-03-20T17:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/?p=3255"},"modified":"2014-03-20T22:19:29","modified_gmt":"2014-03-21T03:19:29","slug":"review-panasonic-leica-42-5mm-f1-2-dg-nocticron-ois","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/review-panasonic-leica-42-5mm-f1-2-dg-nocticron-ois\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Panasonic Leica 42.5mm f\/1.2 DG Nocticron OIS"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Micro 4\/3 lens lineup becomes more mature, there are fewer and fewer gaps left. \u00a0While there are several good Micro 4\/3 lens options in the short telephoto range, one thing that has been missing a bit is a high-speed 85mm equivalent lens with autofocus. \u00a0Voigtl\u00e4nder released the excellent 42.5mm f\/0.95 last year, satisfying the super shallow depth of field niche, though it’s a fully manual lens, and therefore more difficult to use for certain types of photography. \u00a0Panasonic has responded by creating the Leica-branded 42.5mm f\/1.2 DG Nocticron OIS. This super-fast lens has a premium build and premium optics, but can it rise to legendary status, or is it all bluster?<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Panasonic Leica 42.5mm f\/1.2 Nocticron on the Olympus OM-D E-M5, with the included metal hood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with my reviews, I review from a real world shooting perspective. \u00a0You won\u2019t find lens charts or resolution numbers here. \u00a0There are plenty of other sites that cover those. \u00a0I review products on how they act for me as a photographic tool in real-world shooting.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Build Quality and Handling<\/h3>\n

When you see the Leica name inscribed on a lens, you think premium, and unlike the other plastic bodied Panasoinc Leica lenses for Micro 4\/3 (the excellent 25mm f\/1.4 and 45mm f\/2.8 Macro), this lens truly feels Leica-like. \u00a0The lens body is solid metal with a gorgeous matte black paint finish. \u00a0It truly looks and feels premium.<\/p>\n

The aperture ring has nice ribbed grips along the side and very positive clicks. \u00a0Given the position of the ring and the firmness of it, it is difficult to accidentally dislodge. \u00a0The detent at f\/1.2 is very solid, making it nearly impossible to accidentally switch the aperture to the ‘A’ setting. \u00a0Unfortunately, the aperture ring is only functional on Panasonic bodies. \u00a0Olympus bodies do not have firmware that enables use of the ring at all, so using this lens on an Olympus camera makes the aperture ring simply a decoration. \u00a0While I love aperture rings on lenses, I really don’t see a need for one on this lens, since it only works on half of Micro 4\/3 cameras and it changes how you typically operate your camera.<\/p>\n

\"Panasonic<\/a>
Panasonic Leica 42.5mm f\/1.2 DG Nocticron OIS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The focus ring is beautifully smooth and reasonably well damped. \u00a0It feels excellent to use. \u00a0The switches for AF\/MF mode and toggling the optical image stabilizer on or off are minimalist and easy to operate but hard to move inadvertently. \u00a0Overall, there is absolutely nothing in the construction of the lens I would change.<\/p>\n

Panasonic includes a very well made and quite attractive solid metal hood with the same black finish as the lens.\u00a0 The hood attaches with a screw clamp and reverses for storage.\u00a0 While the hood is gorgeous and works very well, you need to be really careful with a metal hood on a metal body when reversing it for storage, as metal on metal can scrape the finish off the lens.<\/p>\n

However, the sheer size of the lens does pose some problems. \u00a0It is quite large for a Micro 4\/3 prime, and moderately heavy, though I found the balance was just fine to handle. \u00a0The reason the size poses a problem is simply because of the girth of the lens. \u00a0At 74mm in diameter, it’s currently the fattest Micro 4\/3 lens in the system. \u00a0This normally wouldn’t cause that big of a problem, except for the fact that many Micro 4\/3 camera bodies weren’t really designed for lenses this large in diameter. \u00a0As such, the lens actually causes some handling issues with certain cameras – in my case, the OM-D E-M5. \u00a0With the Nocticron mounted, I can’t use the horizontal accessory grip that essentially lives on that camera. With the grip mounted, there is not enough room between the grip and the lens body to fit my fingers, unless I painfully wedge them into the small gap. \u00a0As such, I had to use the lens with my horizontal grip off the entire time, which affected handling a bit given the larger size and weight of the lens.<\/p>\n

Focus and Stabilizer Performance<\/h3>\n

The hangup with a lot of fast lenses is in autofocus performance, but the Nocticron is an exception to the rule. \u00a0Focus is extremely fast and exceedingly accurate. \u00a0In most lighting conditions, focus locked on nearly instantly, and I can’t say I ever had the lens misfocus during the testing period, unless it was due to fault of my own. \u00a0A truly outstanding performance here. \u00a0The 42.5mm f\/1.2 also focuses as close as 0.5m, which is very close for an 85mm equivalent lens. \u00a0The result is the ability to capture extremely tight portraits and allows the lens to be useful for capturing shallow depth of field close-ups of things like flowers.<\/p>\n

The Nocticron is also unique in that it is an f\/1.2 lens with a built-in image stabilizer. \u00a0To my knowledge, it is the fastest stabilized lens in the world. \u00a0The optical image stabilization works relatively well. \u00a0I was able to consistently get sharp shots at around 1\/20 second, and a reasonable number at 1\/15 second. \u00a0This equates to approximately an extra 2 to 3 stops of handholdability. \u00a0Having recently acquired a Fuji 56mm f\/1.2, I’ve been shooting a lot of shallow depth of field portraits in natural light over the past few weeks, and I have to say, the stabilization came in very handy for quick shots, keeping camera shake out of the images.<\/p>\n

Continue: Image Quality<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

\"LeVeque<\/a>
LeVeque Tower – Panasonic Leica 42.5mm f\/1.2 @ f\/1.2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Image Quality<\/h3>\n

Sharpness<\/h4>\n

To be blunt, the Panasonic Leica 42.5mm f\/1.2 is simply brilliant when it comes to sharpness. \u00a0Images are very sharp right from f\/1.2 over the majority of the frame, with just a little corner softening at wide apertures. \u00a0When stopped down, the lens becomes simply blisteringly sharp, with center resolution that almost certainly outresolves the sensor. \u00a0The edges and corners aren’t quite as sharp as the center, especially at closer focus distances, but they are more than good enough for any purpose.\u00a0 Once you start focusing out at further focus distances, even the corners sharpen up nicely.<\/p>\n

Quite simply, you won’t be disappointed, whether shooting at f\/1.2 or f\/8. \u00a0The image on the right is taken at f\/1.2. \u00a0Click for the full size image and press the green arrow at the bottom of the screen to view at 100%.<\/p>\n

Bokeh<\/h4>\n

With a large f\/1.2 aperture and the short telephoto length, the Nocticron is a natural fit for portraiture, as well as other applications where shallow depth of field are desirable.\u00a0\u00a0 In what is actually rather unusual for a lens that is this sharp wide open, the Leica 42.5mm f\/1.2 maintains very smooth pleasing bokeh.\u00a0 Specular highlights are evenly illuminated, with no bright edges or onion ring artifacts.\u00a0 Overall, even at a distance, bokeh remains relatively neutral.\u00a0\u00a0 There are some cases where the green fringing that can occur behind a subject can introduce some color artifacts in the bokeh, most notably in busy backgrounds such as sticks or shrubs.\u00a0 All in all, the bokeh out of the Nocticron is excellent.<\/p>\n

\"CoGo<\/a>
CoGo – Panasonic Leica 42.5mm f\/1.2 @ f\/1.2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Color, Contrast and Chromatic Aberration<\/h4>\n

While the Panasonic Leica 42.5mm f\/1.2 is certainly sharp and has very nice bokeh, perhaps the most remarkable thing about the lens is the very high level of contrast and rich color saturation the lens maintains even at maximum aperture.\u00a0 Even the very best ultra-fast lenses generally have lowered contrast at the widest apertures, but the Leica here maintains high contrast and vibrant color even at f\/1.2.\u00a0 Images have a definite pop to them and this gives the 42.5mm a unique look among fast lenses.<\/p>\n

One area where the Nocticron does stumble slightly with chromatic aberrations. While still relatively well controlled for a fast lens, the 42.5mm shows some minor lateral chromatic aberrations, but more noticeable longitudinal chromatic aberrations.\u00a0 This can result in magenta and green fringing in front of and behind the point of focus.\u00a0 Some purple fringing can also occur in certain circumstances.\u00a0 It’s not a perfect performance here by any measure, but overall, these levels are still relatively low for a lens of this type.<\/p>\n

Distortion, Flare, Vignetting and other Aberrations<\/h4>\n

The 42.5mm Nocticron has just a hint of barrel distortion, but nothing that will generally be visible in typical light.\u00a0 I did not notice any issues with flare during my time shooting with the lens.\u00a0 No real loss of contrast is evident in backlit situations and complex flare is kept under control<\/p>\n

The lens does show notable corner shading at maximum aperture.\u00a0 When used for portraits, I actually like a little bit of vignetting in a lens like this, so for me personally, I don’t mind vignetting at f\/1.2. Stopping down to f\/2 cuts down vignetting significantly.\u00a0 Most fast telephoto lenses have some residual spherical aberration that shows as a light glow at wide apertures.\u00a0 The Panasonic Leica 42.5mm, however, shows extremely low levels of spherical aberration even wide open.\u00a0 This is a rather remarkable performance, especially considering how smooth the bokeh is.<\/p>\n

Continue: Conclusion and Image Samples<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

\"nocticron_close\"<\/a>Pros<\/h4>\n