Panasonic 14mm pancake...yay or nay?

[T N Args]

Its RRP in USA is $399 USD. That reflects its specs: 6 elements in 5 groups; 3 aspherical elements; 7 rounded aperture blades; internal focusing; stepper motor; multi coated elements; metal mount.

It's a high grade lens. Show me a better WA pancake lens. What does it cost?

Just to clarify, I was writing about the 14mm not the 20mm. In response to post #9. I think someone might have thought I was referring to the 20mm. cheers

 

[LowriderS10]

Darosk: You make a very compelling argument for the lens, my friend.

I could pick this little guy up for $170 USD brand new...Considering it's nearly twice that in North America ($322 on B&H), I could pick it up, use it and if I don't like it, sell it as a mint used lens back home for what I pay for it here. In the meantime, I could wait and see if either the P20 II or the O25 drop in price (since they're both fairly new). I think the P14 and the O45 would be a killer walkaround setup...cheap, light, small and yet still provide both wide and tight, sharp and blurry (bokeh)...

 

[LowriderS10]

Just to clarify, I was writing about the 14mm not the 20mm. In response to post #9. I think someone might have thought I was referring to the 20mm. cheers

I agree...the US price for the P14 is ridiculous. It's more than twice as much as the superior-in-every-way Canon 40 2.8 STM....or THREE times as much as the Canon 22mm f2 pancake. Ridiculous. However...I can get it for about half price here, which makes it a very attractive option...28 f2.5 (in FF terms) that weighs nothing and is as thin as they come...

 

[Iconindustries]

I love the 14mm. Picked up a new black one for like AU $160. Great walk around lens, especially on the GM1

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Most of the photos on my trip here were taken with the 14mm https://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=30396

 

[LowriderS10]

Thanks for your input, Icon...also, great set of pics on that thread of yours...excellent, in fact! I'm sure you considered the P20 when you bought the P14...what made you go with the smaller one?

 

[Luckypenguin]

It's a high grade lens. Show me a better WA pancake lens. What does it cost?

It's a moot point if someone is only shooting Micro 4/3 cameras, but the answer is the Samsung NX 20mm f2.8.

 

[Iconindustries]

Thanks for your input, Icon...also, great set of pics on that thread of yours...excellent, in fact! I'm sure you considered the P20 when you bought the P14...what made you go with the smaller one?

When I first embarked on the m43 journey way back in 2009 my first purchase was a GF1 and 20mm kit. That is all I had for quite some time and I took that combo to Europe. I tell ya those were the days when I had one lens! Now I have a bunch and the options make life harder than easier. So travelling around Europe with a prime is a no brainer but one thing I noted was that a slightly wider field of view would be helpful in European cities because everything is quite jammed together. I remember I had a thread https://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=17693&highlight=icon+europe You'll have to forgive the photos as I have improved over the years. As you may note from the pictures something wider would be the bees knees.

In summary, I have owned both the 20 and the 14mm. I sold the 20 to my brother and I still use the 14 to this date. The 20mm I owned was the old one and it was slower to focus than all the lenses I have now. It was a beaut lens but the $160 dollar 14mm is just right for me.

 

[Iconindustries]

For me the 14 and 45 are a feel good focal length. The other lenses are great but the 14 and 45 seem natural.


14mm

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Kicking front street! by iconindustries, on Flickr


20mm

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Workshop Series by iconindustries, on Flickr


25mm

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* by iconindustries, on Flickr


45mm

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Dolly by iconindustries, on Flickr


75mm

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*Stealth by iconindustries, on Flickr

 

[DynaSport]

To me the answer comes down to focal length. For a long time I used had the P14, O45 and O40-150. For walk around I used the P14 and O45. I didn't like the 14 for people shots the way I shoot, so used the 45 for people and the 14 for things like landscapes. I am perfectly satisfied with the results from the P14, but I admit I may not be as picky as those who complain about the IQ of the lens. I haven't noticed bad corners, but maybe I'm not looking close enough.

I have since added the PL25 and it gets almost all the inside use now. Outside the O45 gets most of the love. The P14 is my least used lens. But as I said, not because I am not satisfied with it, I just don't use wide angles very much, except when I am in a town shooting buildings or somewhere shooting landscapes. But since it was inexpensive and is so small, I have it with me most all the time in case I need it and I don't see any reason to sell it.

In your situation, however, I'd try to find a used P20 for a good price. If you weren't set on getting a pancake, I'd recommend one of the 25s instead, as I love mine. And while the PL25 is large compared to the P20 and O25, I love mine so much the size doesn't bother me at all. But we all have to set our priorities.

 

[T N Args]

I agree...the US price for the P14 is ridiculous. It's more than twice as much as the superior-in-every-way Canon 40 2.8 STM....or THREE times as much as the Canon 22mm f2 pancake. Ridiculous. However...I can get it for about half price here, which makes it a very attractive option...28 f2.5 (in FF terms) that weighs nothing and is as thin as they come...

I disagree. The Canon 40mm is $200 RRP and the 22mm is $250 RRP in USA. The 40mm is not wide enough to discuss cf the P14, it actually equates to the P20. And the Canon 22mm is equivalent to 35mm, still not 28mm wide, and if the P14 cost 3x as much it would be $750 RRP.

Neither of the Canons can match the P14 for edge sharpness wide open, and the 40mm is also less sharp in the centre. That is not superior-in-every-way, IMHO.

P.S. I have the Canon 40mm pancake and like it a lot. I'm just saying, people do rush to knock the little Pana 14 pancake, and it all seems a bit unfair when looking at how very good it seems to be.

 

[LowriderS10]

Thank you all for your awesome responses...Icon: Great pics!!

I think I'm set on a pancake and here's why: I don't have one yet. I have plenty of awesome bokeh-licious fast lenses (O45, O75), but nothing that's truly tiny.

However...I think I'm going to go with the P20, and here's why:

1: I'm buying it out of "free money." I just moved into a new apartment and sold an oven the previous tenant was too lazy to move and I bought/sold a camera for a profit over the past weekend...between the two of them, I made just enough to pay for either lens. May as well make the most of it.

2: I've been doing a ton of comparisons, including mocking up things around my house to match the size of the lenses, as well as scaling pictures (thanks to camerasize.com on this one) on my screen to be exactly life size...and, really, that 5mm thickness difference between the pancakes really isn't that big (and I'm not concerned about the diameter difference or the negligible weight difference).

3: 1.7 vs. 2.5.'nuff said! I've been dreaming of having an arsenal of fast lenses...2.5 is nice...1.7 is incredible!

4: I have owned a 40mm pancake on full frame before and absolutely loved it as a walkaround.

5: I have two lenses already that cover 14mm, but only one that covers 20mm, and it's a big lens (12-50), whereas a small lens (9-18) already has the 14 covered. Furthermore, the fastest 14mm I have is f3.8 right now, about a stop slower than 2.5. But the fastest 20mm I have is f4.6...two stops slower than f1.7.

6: Neither is a bokeh monster, but in a pinch, the 20 does it better than the 14. In fact, while both lenses sound excellent, as far as image quality goes, the 20 seems to do everything just a little better.

What do you guys think? Am I crazy, or does this all make sense?

 

[Geoff3DMN]

What do you guys think? Am I crazy, or does this all make sense?

I doin't know what the others think but to me your reasoning seems err... reasonable

 

[LowriderS10]

I disagree. The Canon 40mm is $200 RRP and the 22mm is $250 RRP in USA. The 40mm is not wide enough to discuss cf the P14, it actually equates to the P20. And the Canon 22mm is equivalent to 35mm, still not 28mm wide, and if the P14 cost 3x as much it would be $750 RRP.

Neither of the Canons can match the P14 for edge sharpness wide open, and the 40mm is also less sharp in the centre. That is not superior-in-every-way, IMHO.

P.S. I have the Canon 40mm pancake and like it a lot. I'm just saying, people do rush to knock the little Pana 14 pancake, and it all seems a bit unfair when looking at how very good it seems to be.

RRPs are one thing...I'm talking REAL prices in the USA, by the same retailer, one of the most reputable in the country. I think that's a valid benchmark.

Either way...I feel the Panasonic 14 is way overpriced at $320+. It's certainly sharp, but has a lot of distortion, doesn't have the best contrast and is of an average speed for a prime. It's by no means a bad lens, in fact, it's a very nice lens...at the $170 I'd have to pay for it. At nearly twice that much...that's a bit of a stretch.

Interesting...either the 14 is stunning, or you have a subpar copy of the 40 or I had an excellent one. On my copy, EVERYTHING was just beautiful. Sharpness, contrast, colour rendition, etc. I only bought that lens because I had never had a pancake before, but I ended up really loving the thing.

Either way...I'm certainly not knocking the 14, by all accounts it's a splendid little gem. I'm just saying that I, personally, would not be able to justify $322 for it, and given the competition, (might as well add the $276 Samsung 20, which seems to be highly regarded to that list) I think it's a tough sell...but that's just me.

 

[LowriderS10]

I doin't know what the others think but to me your reasoning seems err... reasonable

Haha thanks...I just saw your signature...holy smokes you've got a lot of gear! Care to chime in (since you've got both the P14 and the P20)? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts!

 

[Kilauea]

Its a lens I loved for the size of it, but I did not liked the focal length enough to keep it on the camera often enough to justify keeping it. I often found myself removing the lens to put another one which was more suitable for what I meant to do. I would probably consider more a 17, 20 or 25mm lens for my own use. However, in the time that I've had it, I thought it was a very nice lens and wondered a lot about selling it or not granted how cheap it was and how tiny it is.

 

[fransglans]

Oh how I missed these kinds of discussions. 6 pages of hum and uhms. The geeks paradise (100% ironic free comment

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Mu-43 mobile app

 

[sammykhalifa]

What do you guys think? Am I crazy, or does this all make sense?

Total sense. Not that I'm an expert but it's great as far as I am concerned, and I think the points about slow focusing are a tad overblown (but real). My first lens after the kit and a long zoom was the 14, and I liked it a lot (and still do). If I had to choose between that and the 20, though, I'd pick the 20 pretty much every time time. I have thought now and then with replacing the 20 with the new Oly 25, but when push came to shove I don't know if I could make myself pull the trigger.

That said . . . when I bought the 14 I found it online for 150 bucks, so I'm not regretting that purchase at all.

 

[Jonathan F/2]

The 20 is a great lens, enjoy!

Thank you all for your awesome responses...Icon: Great pics!!

I think I'm set on a pancake and here's why: I don't have one yet. I have plenty of awesome bokeh-licious fast lenses (O45, O75), but nothing that's truly tiny.

However...I think I'm going to go with the P20, and here's why:

1: I'm buying it out of "free money." I just moved into a new apartment and sold an oven the previous tenant was too lazy to move and I bought/sold a camera for a profit over the past weekend...between the two of them, I made just enough to pay for either lens. May as well make the most of it.

2: I've been doing a ton of comparisons, including mocking up things around my house to match the size of the lenses, as well as scaling pictures (thanks to camerasize.com on this one) on my screen to be exactly life size...and, really, that 5mm thickness difference between the pancakes really isn't that big (and I'm not concerned about the diameter difference or the negligible weight difference).

3: 1.7 vs. 2.5.'nuff said! I've been dreaming of having an arsenal of fast lenses...2.5 is nice...1.7 is incredible!

4: I have owned a 40mm pancake on full frame before and absolutely loved it as a walkaround.

5: I have two lenses already that cover 14mm, but only one that covers 20mm, and it's a big lens (12-50), whereas a small lens (9-18) already has the 14 covered. Furthermore, the fastest 14mm I have is f3.8 right now, about a stop slower than 2.5. But the fastest 20mm I have is f4.6...two stops slower than f1.7.

6: Neither is a bokeh monster, but in a pinch, the 20 does it better than the 14. In fact, while both lenses sound excellent, as far as image quality goes, the 20 seems to do everything just a little better.

What do you guys think? Am I crazy, or does this all make sense?

 

[agentlossing]

The worst part of my (generally favorable) experience with the 14mm was the lack of contrast in many situations. The results I have seen with the 20mm have been consistently impressive. Of course, I'm talking without firsthand knowledge, so I'm probably worthless, but anyway, enjoy the 20mm

 

[Geoff3DMN]

Care to chime in (since you've got both the P14 and the P20)?

I definitely prefer the 20 to the 14, there is no question that for me I get better photos with it.

The 20 definitely has better contrast and subtly better colour (at least my examples do).