Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 Review

Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 ASPH. Handling and Features

Weighing only 115g, this lens is incredibly lightweight and reasonably compact. The lens sports a high quality finish, with a good balance of lightweight metals and high quality plastics in combination with a metal lens mount that adds to the overall impression of quality. The lens balances well with the Panasonic Lumix GX7 used for testing as a result, and would also make a perfect match for the compact Panasonic Lumix GM1.

Focusing is performed internally, so the 46mm filter thread does not rotate, making this lens ideal for use with graduated and polarising filters. Autofocus is very quick in good light and the fast maximum aperture helps to maintain focusing speeds when light levels drop. The manual focus ring is smooth to operate and well damped, which makes applying fine adjustments pleasurable. Closest focus distance is 20cm, which makes this lens ideal for shooting in claustrophobic environments, or even for the occasional close up image.



A manual aperture ring provides quick, direct control over the aperture setting. For automatic aperture operation, the ring needs to be placed on the 'A' setting, located just before the f/1.7 setting. Some kind of system to prevent the user straying onto the auto setting when attempting to set maximum aperture may have been a good idea, as it is very easy to whizz straight past f/1.7 when changing settings quickly. Even so, it is a pleasure to use, with click stops placed at 1/3 stop intervals. The aperture ring may not function with some Olympus MFT bodies, although this feature could be added via a firmware update. The lens can be used, controlling the aperture from the camera body, instead of the lens. The switch for changing between manual and auto focus is a welcome addition, as it saves having to search through camera menus if you require manual focus quickly.

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