Panasonic 42,5mm f/1.7 OIS review

At the beginning of 2015, the Panasonic 42.5mm f/1.7 OIS was introduced. This lens was designed to compete with the Olympus 45mm f/1.8. Some people wondered why Panasonic released this lens when Olympus offers almost the same features for less. But they forgot that sales of Olympus lenses go to Olympus and not to Panasonic, haha, when Micro 4/3 is a mount shared by both brands. Especially since, at the time, almost all Olympus cameras had sensor stabilisation. Panasonic cameras did not. One of the advantages of this 42.5mm compared to the 45mm Olympus is that it is stabilised. Like the 15mm f/1.7, this lens has a Micro 4/3 mount. This makes it compatible with all Panasonic and Olympus bodies in this format, although there are some limitations that I’ll mention below.

We’ve published a comprehensive guide to all the Micro 4/3 cameras currently available if you want to know more about the format.

Here is an equivalent 85mm FF lens, more suitable for portraits, after a full review of the Panasonic 15mm f/1.7, which is more suitable for reportage and street photography. I also did a test on my Panasonic G90 with a 20MP micro 4/3 sensor. The goal here is not to show brick walls or graphics, although you’ll have to do a bit of work to show the flaws, but mainly to show the lens in action in the field.

The images shown were taken in RAW format and developed in DxO Photolab 5, in standard colour rendition with corrections enabled, except for those used to show optical faults and those used to illustrate the gallery.

Here is the full review of the PANASONIC 42.5mm f/1.7 OIS. We have also done a full review of the Panasonic G90.

At 400€, Panasonic’s 42.5mm f/1.7 is more expensive than Olympus’ 45mm f/1.8. That’s a relatively high price considering it’s only an 85mm f/3.5 full-frame equivalent. (But it’s definitely an f/1.7 in terms of exposure.) There hasn’t been much of a drop in price since then. So it’s mainly up against the Olympus. The Olympus is also lighter.

The 42.5mm focal length in Micro 4/3 is equivalent to 85mm in full format, a focal length that is very popular for portraits, although there’s nothing to stop it being used for landscapes and others subjects. Its small size and stabilisation also make it ideal for street photography, as you can stay discreet with a very compact lens and use relatively long shutter speeds. This is even more the case with a Panasonic body. The sensor is stabilised and works in conjunction with the lens sensor to reduce the risk of camera shake when shooting in the evening or at night.

The build quality is very plastic, but of good quality. Of course, it lacks the metallic quality of the 15mm developed in collaboration with Leica. The body is very streamlined, with no switches to switch from AF to MF or to activate/deactivate stabilisation. These settings can be selected from the camera body. This principle is similar to that of many of Tamron’s latest full-frame E-mount lenses for Sony, which are also lacking in convenience features. The aim is to keep the number of functions to a minimum to create a lens that is as easy to use as the 15 mm f/1.7 mentioned above. The lens hood has a traditional design that allows it to be flipped up, reducing the amount of space it takes up in your bag.

The lens has 1 aspherical element. This limits chromatic aberrations and ensures good quality throughout the image. Bokeh is nicely rounded at wide apertures, but the 7-blade aperture quickly becomes apparent at medium apertures. There is also an optical Image Stabilizer. This allows you to reduce the shutter speed for handheld shots of static subjects and, at the same time, to reduce the ISO sensitivity for a better image quality. However, this will only be of interest if the lens is on a Panasonic body, as it will have no effect on Olympus bodies. The focusing ring is quite large for such a compact lens, but it’s not very smooth, so it’s better to use two fingers to turn it efficiently.

For portrait photography, an AF system that can follow the subject is very important, especially in ‘sports’ situations. Fortunately, Panasonic does a good job with the AF on its lenses; as far as I know, the only fixed focal length for which I have seen some negative reviews on this point is the 20mm f/1.7 Pancake. Focusing is very fast and accurate in AF-S mode, which is not the most interesting for portraits but can be adapted to other areas.

With AF-C, the ‘problem’ with Panasonic’s AF is limited to contrast detection. Although the camera is able to focus and follow the subject very quickly, we unfortunately have to deal with pumping in the viewfinder. If you’re not trying to follow a long action, this isn’t so annoying. But as soon as you want to keep the subject in focus until it has an interesting reaction to capture, the dance you get while aiming can quickly make you dizzy, haha.

Again, it’s best to combine the lens with an Olympus body with phase-detection AF if you want to use the lens’ excellent AF for sports. However, if you don’t lose the ability to use a physical aperture ring like the 15mm f/1.7 (among others), you lose the ability to combine lens stabilisation with that of the body. In this case, it would be wiser to go straight for the Olympus 45 mm f/1.8.

Many Panasonic cameras lacked sensor stabilisation at the time of release. Panasonic chose to include optical stabilisation in the 42.5mm f/1.7, whereas 85mm and equivalent cameras in other formats rarely had it. That’s not a bad choice when you’re dealing with a sensor which, at the same resolution, tends to be more prone to shaking.

Panasonic’s stabilisation in the 42.5 mm f/1.7 is very effective. You can gain almost 4EV on a non-stabilised camera, which means that if you take a 1/100th exposure time as a reference to avoid motion blur (which would be more or less logical with a 20MP Micro 4/3 in a camera without stabilisation), you can gain up to 1/6th of a second (let’s say 1/10th to leave some margin). Combined with a Panasonic camera with sensor stabilisation, the gain can be up to 6 or even 7EV, or almost 1 second of exposure time! Ultimately, it depends on what you want to shoot. Trying to capture a sprinting child with a 1-second exposure will result in blur (not to mention that children rarely sit still).

The large apertures maintain a high level of sharpness, even at the edges. The lens achieves exceptional homogeneity at f/2.8 and beyond. Diffraction becomes noticeable at f/8, which significantly reduces sharpness at f/11 and f/16, so the prime range on my Panasonic G90 and other 20MP cameras is limited to f/2.8 to f/5.6.

Below is a snapshot taken from my set of tests.

To show how the sharpness changes from wide open to f/8, here’s a close-up of the centre of my test shot. To see the progression of sharpness, you can move your mouse over the different apertures below the image.

The bokeh in the background is a little soft, but not the finest, and still a little intense. Nevertheless, it shows that it is possible to have excellent bokeh on a Micro 4/3 without the need for an expensive f/1.2 lens.

The distortion is slight, but it is there. It’s best to do an image correction on the camera body or in your image editing software.

The vignette is strong at full aperture and reduces at f/2 and even more so at f/2.8. You have to wait until f/5.6 to reduce it as much as possible. Then it doesn’t change any more, but remains present whatever the aperture.

There are very few chromatic aberrations. However, a purple fringing can be seen on some of the contours. This is nothing to worry about, as it can be corrected in post-production. To illustrate this, here are two 100% cropped images.

There is a fair amount of flare. There is a noticeable loss of contrast when light sources are in the frame or on the edge.

In astrophotography, the coma is quite visible at full aperture. Stars are stretched out and a few herons are visible. There is little improvement at f/2. It would be better to go to f/2.8 to see a serious improvement.

Sunstars are very diffuse, even at f/11 and f/16 where branches appear, but very purple.

Focus breathing is quite noticeable and can easily become annoying, especially when shooting video.

I’ve already mentioned the 42.5mm’s main rival in this article, the 45mm f/1.8. However, there are other options, although not many. As with the 15mm, I don’t really know much about the alternatives, but I’ll trust the reviews that can be found.

• The Olympus 45mm f/1.8 is a little lighter (10g) and cheaper than the Panasonic. It has similar image quality despite a shorter minimum focusing distance, but better bokeh. If you have an Olympus body, the 45mm f/1.8 is the obvious choice, as the Panasonic’s stabilisation doesn’t work.
• The 42.5 and 45mm f/1.2 from Panasonic and Olympus are much more upmarket and much more expensive in bigger, heavier barrels, making them less attractive on these points than what you can find in higher formats. Both offer excellent image quality. The Olympus has a slight edge, but again the Panasonic offers optical stabilisation.

• The 35-100 mm f/2.8 from Panasonic and the 40-150 f/2.8 and f/4-5.6 from Olympus, which are obviously more versatile. All three offer very good image quality. They are more expensive and obviously heavier and bulkier. However, if you’re looking for a quality all-round zoom that covers the 42.5/45mm focal length, these are great options. Their build quality is also impressive. The Panasonic 35-100mm is more plastic. It is also very light. The Olympus 40-150 f/4 has a similar weight. However, it has a smaller maximum aperture.
• The Panasonic 25-50mm f/1.7 is exceptional in more ways than one. It has a very wide aperture and excellent image quality. Also exceptional in weight, size and price, but this time in the wrong way. The 42.5mm f/1.7 and this 25-50mm are clearly not options to hesitate between. They are not aimed at the same target group of photographers or videographers.

To sum up, this Panasonic 42.5mm f/1.7 offers very good image quality in a lightweight, compact body, with high-performance AF and an interesting optical in-body image stabiliser for stills (especially if you have an older Panasonic camera without sensor stabilisation). It’s currently priced at around €350, which means it’s still a little more expensive than the Olympus 45mm f/1.8, which can be found for under €300.

In short, it will be more relevant with a Panasonic body, but it won’t really offer better performance than the Olympus. However, it remains pleasant to use and a good option.

As always, if you liked our review, don’t hesitate to use the links in the article (or below) when buying. That way you’ll be supporting our work. And you’ll be helping us to produce more articles like this one. Of course, it’ll be at no extra cost to you.

If you’re on the lookout for more lenses, have a look at our full guide to the best micro 4/3 lenses.

We’ve also published a full review of the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 75mm f/1.8. This is a very interesting lens for portraits.

We hope to see you soon,

(I’d like to thank Alex once again for taking the time to test this!)

Written by Sylvain PONS

I've been passionate about photography since 2010, learning as I went along. Today, I dedicate myself to guiding others in their choice of camera gear and sharing a variety of tips to improve their photography skills.

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