Lumix G 42,5mm f/1.7 -the best tiny portrait lens

In this video I'm going to take a look at the panasonic Lumix G 42,5mm f/1.7 ASPH. telephoto lens. This tiny lens is an awesome performer and focuses almost macro close.
My name is Matti Sulanto, I'm a Lumix photographer based in Helsinki Finland. I'll publish a new video every Tuesday and Friday.
My Instagram: / sulantoblog

[@stefancotlet6368]

"The only color for photo equipment is black." Subscribed :D

[@AmyiReport]

Matti, I decided to buy this lens after watch your review. Thanks so much! You are the best. I can always trust your review.

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks! I hope you'll like the lens.

[@user-gu2dc2dx6g]

Thank you so much. I like your comment about the micro 4/3 lens. Personnaly I have bought a 25mm f1.7 lumix and I use it since last year. I like this compact lens and it has a wide aperture 1,7. It' s a sharp lens. 👍

[@LonStar3000]

Your portraits look like mine. No bokeh necessary on that type of portrait! I want the face and hair all in focus. It is a great little lens, one of my favorites. I am going to try my Leica 25 on the next set of portraits that I do just for S&G. The G9 is greatness! Best camera I have ever owned!

[@tobiasmoeckel]

I really like this lens. Paired with my GX9, it is a great performer in a very small package. The one thing that I dislike is the fact that dust can enter the lens very easily!

[@mattisulanto]

I haven't noticed dust entering, but maybe your experience proves that it's not for extreme conditions.

[@MartinBlasick]

Great info. Thank you

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks!

[@Polygon_Parrot]

Love your videos. Very descriptive. Just bought this lens and was curious what I was getting.

[@mattisulanto]

Thank you so much.

[@pregart001]

Thanks for your reviews. There are a lot of photo equipment reviews on KZbin. But most of them are very unprofessional. It even annoys me. On the contrary, I just love your reviews. They are very professional. Your video is very high quality. Your photographs also show a high level of professionalism. I have LUMIX DMS-GC 80, but I am looking for a better one. I hope the new Panasonic cameras will convince me to buy one of them. Then I'll probably buy five or six different Panasonic lenses. Thanks again.

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks for your kind words.

[@dokugohikken8769]

Thank you soooo much for your informative video. One of the things is the filter size. If your wide angle lens, standard lens and mid telephoto lens have the same filter diameters, that would be convenient.... So, when you have 15mm and 25mm lenses, it is nice to have 42,5mm f/1.7 since the three lenses share the same filter sizes.

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks. Sure, the same filter size is very practical.

[@dokugohikken8769]

@@mattisulanto Thank you for your response.

[@soundknight]

I own this and seriously I wouldn't use it in any kind of rain, it's a nifty fifty type glass at 85equiv. It paired really well with my old GX1 and sits my GX8 in size and weight too.

[@artistjoh]

Your point about photography gear being only black is spot on, but many younger people don’t seem to know why. I started photography in 1962 so have the longer view. Cameras had started being black in the late 19th century, but in the 40’s to the 1970’s there was a fashion for the aluminum look. It was part of marketing to emphasize the difference with plastic bodied cameras, but mostly fashion. The problem with it that in reflections, especially in glass, but also water, silvery cameras drew too much attention to themselves in reflections. When Canon introduced their chrome nose lens range they got a lot of criticism because of the distracting reflections from the lens in glass. As a result, manufacturers responded to user complaints by making the change to mostly black gear in the 1980’s. Now we have a new generation that has no knowledge of the old reflections problems, and who often want attention drawn to their gear in a “look at me, I have a cool camera/lens” type of way. I have no room in my mind for such immaturity. I want my gear to be as discreet as possible. I don’t want people looking at my camera. I want it to melt into the background so that people behave more naturally. This is the huge advantage of MFT - smaller equipment that doesn’t draw attention to itself. Being black only helps that.

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks! So many things have changed and photography today to young people doesn't mean the same it meant to you and me, when we started.

[@artistjoh]

@@mattisulanto :) They are fortunate to have not experienced the time when I was spending $200 a week on film, back when that was a lot of money. They don’t know the brown stains from darkroom chemicals over the front of shirts. The hours in the darkroom instead of having dinner because the day’s shoot needs to be processed, printed, and dried before breakfast time the next day. They don’t know the heat from working with tungsten lights. They are very fortunate :)

[@mattisulanto]

@@artistjoh Everything is so much easier today for sure😀

[@fatoumfatoumeh]

Oh, that’s why the silver version of this lens is about $50 cheaper than the black. Thanks for the information. I ofcourse, got the cheaper one though, every penny counts since I’m on a budget.

[@vicibox]

I have the Olympus 45mm f1.8 which is very similar and also very good. I dont take portraits but I use this lens for the Zoo where it is ideal. If I do take a portraint I am more likely to use my 25mm f1.7 which gives less flattening which I find offputting. I have put the x2 digital zoom on the lower back function button of my Panasonic GX9 as this lens will easily take a x2 crop meaning I never have to use a zoom when taking animals. The fast aperture is a huge benefit over a zoom inside dark animal houses ;-)

[@datapro007]

Hi, Matti, Great review. The Lumix 42.5mm f1.7 or the Sigma 56mm f1.4 - which would you get for portraits? No, I'm not getting both - lol.

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks! Hard to say which, because they are a bit different after all. I like the Lumix G, because it's so tiny and the focal length feels better, but Sigma is a very good lens too. Remember also, what works for me may not work for you and vice versa.

[@joeytide3298]

Thanks for the review, but I can do w/o the blasting music. :). Do you think I should get this lens and maybe others or get the 35-100mm 2.8?

[@mattisulanto]

I can't know which lens you should buy, only you know that😀

[@Weider63]

Hi Matti! What do you think about gx8 (not gx80)? I am looking to buy one, to replace my GH1 and G7, and found that this cam is also weather sealed, but body alone costs about $600 on ebay, on the other hand there is a good deal on amazon with the gx85 that comes with 12-32mm & 45-150mm just for $525, and it has kinda more advanced ibis technology. So, the question is... gx8 body or gx85 + two lenses?

[@mattisulanto]

It's really hard for me to say what works for you. You have to ask yourself what you really need, what features are the most important for you.

[@Serenoj69]

Great lens, nice size and weight and IQ and one of those lenses that examplify the mFT system. However since there is a Sigma 56 mm F1.4 that is about the same in price but I think offers even better performance and weathersealing that might be a better choice. it is bigger and heavier though. and the FL is not for everyone of course.

[@patrickbenn3968]

Thanks for a great video. You said that you have also tested the lens on a 16mp camera. How does it perform at 16mp? I have just bought a G85 and am considering the purchase of this lens. PS I like your videos very much. They are short, informative and unbiased.

[@mattisulanto]

Generally lenses perform better on cameras with less pixels, because it's less demanding.

Did you buy this lens? How do you find with the g85? Considering to buy both for video :)

[@s11loop]

FYI my silver version comes in metal build housing, very certainly it’s not plastic, you might wanna double check it out. Great video nonetheless:)

[@mattisulanto]

You are right, it's metal. It's sometimes hard to tell, especially with black finish. Thanks for you comment.

[@08561686592]

Hello Mr. Sulanto. I want to ask you a question about choosing lenses. I want to learn more about making close up portrait. Which one is better for portrait between Lumix 42,5 f17, Lumix 25 f17, or Leica 25 f14. For more info, I use Lumix G7. The reason I ask you because I think you are the most qualified enough to ask about Lumix lenses so far in YT. Thanks.

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks for your comment and the compliment, but I'm sure there are many very qualified photographers who can also answer your question. For traditional portraits the 42,5mm focal length is the best and if you go very close it'll distort your model's face less than the other two lenses you mentioned.

[@08561686592]

@@mattisulanto thank you very much for your fast answer. 42.5 will be my first choice. Good luck and thanks once again.

[@Varillah]

Is the 42.5 1.2f variant worth all the extra money? Or did u ever do a comparison video between this and the f1.2 version

[@mattisulanto]

I have a video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b52xp6arZ99-kLM and by the way there is search field on every channel's page. That can be very useful if you want to find a specific video.

[@harryhole4427]

Going for the "classic three prime tool kit"

[@mattisulanto]

The way to go!

[@JefeBoss]

This lens was the first prime I bought for my GX8, it is amazing for the price. I did buy the Olympus 12-40 Pro f2.8 a bit later on, so I am covered for bad weather, because I wouldn't take this one out even in the faintest drizzle. Still, every time I feel tempted by the Nocticron, I take the Lumix for a spin and it never disappoints me. BTW, two cheap extension tubes bring this up to 0.8 magnification (10+16mm), which is almost true macro.

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks for your comment. The Nocticron makes sense only at apertures wider that f/1.7, I think, but it's a sweet lens, though.

[@BagusWibisono]

how do you think about olympus 12-40 pro dude?

[@steventhomas231]

I wonder how this performs on an Olympus body as i fancy this for my em10 for the close focusing distance.

[@mattisulanto]

Long time ago, when this lens was a new product, I tried it on the E-M1 and it worked just fine.

[@steventhomas231]

@@mattisulanto i often hear things about panasonic lenses flaring worse on the Olympus bodies particularly purple flare.

[@mattisulanto]

@@steventhomas231 That can happen with some lenses, but as far as I can remember, this did really well on the E-M1.

[@Pestex-wj3nr]

Like the review but find the music distracting.

[@deslink856]

Do you think is a good bet? Make a budget for this one if I bought a Micro 4/3 :)

[@mattisulanto]

I think I said that in the video already, it's a good lens.

[@Began2011]

I have two. One for my gh5 and the other one for my g85.

[@mattisulanto]

Wow, two! You really like that lens😅

[@soundknight]

Have you tired the sigma 56mm? It looks extremely sharp, bright, flat, color balanced which neither of the Panasonic portrait lenses are. It's not perfect though, blacks a very dark and the image looks quite flat.

[@mattisulanto]

I have a video about the Sigma, please take a look: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXu8noSEqc6dg9E

[@soundknight]

@@mattisulanto thanks.

[@angelisone]

Why not just say a 85mm/1.8, just a little faster than Canon EF85/1.8?

[@TonySkraba]

Because DoF renders as f/3.6

[@glennsak]

I don’t know, the Oly 45 1.8 is pretty good, too

[@AnandaSim]

Black is also the colour of your gloves which look Huuuuuge! Must be perspective exaggeration.....

[@mattisulanto]

It's the wide angle lens 😀