Super non-detailed 20mm f1.7 lens review

[cerealjoe]

Meet the first shots made with the 20mm f1.7 lens. I mainly got it because it can go down to 1.7 and therefore all the tests shots were made in 1.7 which, yes, makes some stuff look weird. But hey, I love the softness it provides! Short review of the lens: it's the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 micro four thirds (I believe for the moment there are only some Olympus and Panasonic mini-SLR cameras that can be fitted directly with those). Get it for the price, that's the main good part along with the fact that it takes pretty sharp shots in low light. The main drawback is the fact that the forever moving diaphragm makes a lot of noise and it can get quite irritating if you're in a quiet place. The other drawback is that you have to get used to the fact that you have to turn the focusing ring forever and ever to get where you want to be (and like with the other micro four thirds lenses it can infinitely turn which apparently bothers some people but after two times I was used to it and you have to be a doofus not to see when you can't focus forward/back anymore). But really, the quality is good and it's still way smaller than lenses in other formats and weighs very little and isn't that the main reason for buying the micro four thirds type of cameras? If you read other reviews you'll see most people agree with the quality you get, it's possibly not Leica standard but heck it's not a 3K lens either, it's definitely much better than what you'd expect out of that price for a miniaturised thing!

As said above, I forced the f1.7 on every shot, even where perhaps it wasn't so appropriate.

That little guy on the fridge was one of the first things I tested the Diana Mini and the E-P1 on, countries change, some other things don't.

Comments

[pnolan.livejournal.com]

I don't know much about photography, Gali, but your pictures are always good. So are all these!

Question: why do you always take the "split frames?" Is that a stylistic thing? Or just saving money. Just wondering.

[cerealjoe.livejournal.com]

The double frame/half frame thing is purely a personal preference. It started out because I found that photos 600x450px too large and the 500x375px too awkward... and then I discovered half-frames on film which I have adapted to all my shots. Plus it forces me to be more selective in my photos.