Panasonic Leica 15mm F1.7 Prime Lens Review | M43

Panasonic Leica 15mm F1.7 Prime Lens Review

The Panasonic Leica 15mm f1.7 lens is a premium wide-angle prime lens designed specifically for micro four-thirds cameras.  This lens can be used for video and photography and will appeal to shooters wanting to keep the weight down and the quality high. I’ve used this lens on the Lumix G85, GH5, GH5S, GH5II, and GH6. 

This lens is branded and co-engineered by Panasonic and Leica and will cost more than standard Panasonic prime lenses.  In this review, we’ll look closer at the lens and evaluate its performance for video and photography.  Is the Panasonic Leica 15mm lens perfect?  No, but I’ll cover the pros and cons in this review.  This review is not sponsored in any way, and I have owned this lens twice over the last four years. 

 

Build Quality

The Panasonic Leica 15mm f1.7 lens is constructed from high-quality materials and feels sturdy and well-built.  The lens barrel is made from a mix of metal and plastic, with a metal mount that provides a solid connection to the camera body.  The focus ring is also made from metal and has a smooth, dampened feel, which makes it easy to adjust focus precisely. 

The lens also features a physical aperture ring, a rarity on micro four-thirds lenses.  The ring is located towards the front of the lens barrel and allows you to adjust the aperture in 1/3 EV increments.  It is particularly useful for photographers who prefer to shoot manually or want more control over their exposure settings.

The focus ring is nice and smooth, and the aperture ring clicks nicely.  After a few years of using my original Panasonic Leica 15mm lens, the aperture ring loosened up with constant use. 

 

Size and Weight

The Panasonic Leica 15mm f1.7 lens is compact and lightweight, making it an excellent choice for travel or street photography.  It measures 36mm in length and weighs a mere 115g, making it easy to carry around in your camera bag or even in your pocket.  Vloggers will love the compact form factor and lightweight design.  I primarily used this lens for run-and-gun videography and photography. 

Despite its small size, the lens feels substantial and balances well with micro four-thirds cameras.  It is also compatible with Panasonic’s lens hoods, which can be attached to the front of the lens to reduce flare and protect the front element.  The lens hood is metal and is a nice addition to a lens with a premium price tag. 

Optical Performance

The Panasonic Leica 15mm f1.7 lens features nine elements in 7 groups, including three aspherical elements and one extra-low dispersion element.  This optical design helps reduce distortion, chromatic aberration, and other optical aberrations, resulting in sharp, contrasty images and being free from unwanted artifacts.

The lens has a maximum aperture of f1.7, which allows for excellent low-light performance and beautiful bokeh.  The aperture can be stopped down to f16, which provides a greater depth of field and is useful for landscapes or other scenes requiring maximum sharpness.

The Panasonic Leica 15mm f1.7 lens produces images with excellent sharpness and contrast, even when shooting wide open at f1.7.  In addition, the lens has minimal distortion, which is particularly impressive for a wide-angle lens. 

 

Flaring and Focus Breathing

The only main issue with the Panasonic Leica 15mm prime is lens flaring.  This lens can suffer from quite a lot of blue and green flaring.  In addition, I noticed orb lens flares when shooting toward the sun.  (see video below). Of course, flaring can be avoided by shooting away from a high-intensity light source, but it’s worth noting. 

Lens breathing is minimal.  If you like to pull focus manually, you won’t have an issue with the frame zooming in or out. 

Panasonic Leica 15mm f1.7 Field of View vs. 25mm f1.7 prime

You can see by the example image below how much wider the Panasonic 15mm is over the 25mm f1.7 lens.  This is because the 15mm has the equivalent field of view as 30mm, while the 25mm is the same field of view as 50mm.  My girlfriend is standing in the same position in both photos shown below.  For wide-angle work, 15mm is the way to go.  If you prefer a lens with a tighter focal length, 25mm is a better choice.

 

Bokeh and Background Blur

One of the standout features of this lens is its ability to produce images with beautiful out-of-focus areas, thanks to its 7-blade circular aperture.  This makes it an excellent choice for portrait or street photography, where you want to isolate your subject from the background.  You must be close to your subject to achieve a quality shallow depth-of-field look.  Compared with a kit lens of any description, you’ll notice a great improvement in background blur and subject separation.

Minimum Focusing Distance

The lens also has a minimum focusing distance of just 20cm, which allows you to get close to your subject and capture detailed close-up shots.  In addition, the close focusing distance and wide-angle focal length make it an excellent lens for environmental portraits or street scenes.

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Autofocus Photograhic Performance

The autofocus performance of the Panasonic Leica 15mm f1.7 lens is excellent, thanks to its high-speed stepping motor.  The autofocus is quick, accurate, and virtually silent, making it ideal for both stills and video.  The lens also features a focus clutch mechanism, which allows you to quickly switch between autofocus and manual focus by pulling the focus ring toward the camera body.

Continuous Video Autofocus Performance

Video autofocus is where the lens is showing its age.  While the 15mm lens is small, light, and compact, the Autofocus performance is a mixed bag.  Stopping down to f2.8, the autofocus performance is very good on the GH6 and GH5II.  However, the autofocus can be problematic, slow, and jerky at f1.7 (which is why you buy this lens).

The AF performance should be fine for static or follow shots, but for walking toward the camera, it lost me several times or failed to keep up.  I thought this lens would perform much better on my GH6 than older cameras, but it’s not great unless you’re at 2.8.  If you are happy shooting at 2.8, you should get the 12-35mm f2.8 zoom lens as it’s better valued and has optical image stabilization.  If you can live with this limitation, you’ll enjoy the lens.  

 

Final Thoughts

The Panasonic Leica 15mm f1.7 prime lens is great for Micro Four Thirds.  You get excellent image quality for photography and video work with great contrast and colors.  The only limitations are the Autofocus Performance in video mode at f1.7 and the flaring when shooting toward the sun.  

This is a great choice for street photography, vlogging, or travel, thanks to the wide-angle field of view and fast aperture.  This is a much better lens than the Panasonic Leica 12mm f1.4 prime, which is heavier, more expensive, and has more chromatic aberration issues.  Overall, it’s a fun lens. 

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Panasonic Leica 15mm f1.7 Prime Lens Specifications

• Focal Length: 15mm
• Maximum Aperture: f/1.7
• Minimum Aperture: f/16
• Lens Mount: Micro Four Thirds
• Format Compatibility: Micro Four Thirds
• The angle of View: 72 degrees
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.20m / 7.87in
• Optical Design: 9 elements in 7 groups (3 aspherical lenses, 2 Extra-Low Dispersion lenses)
• Autofocus: Yes
• Image Stabilization: No
• Filter Size: 46mm
• Dimensions: 57mm x 36mm / 2.24in x 1.42in
• Weight: 115g / 4.06oz