Love to know what you were shooting with here. The first thing I noticed about this video is how sharp it is.

My combo as well. I sold other MFT lenses so I only use 15mm Leica permanently lol

Thanks!

Sweet! It’s a beauty

Awesome thank you, and enjoy the lens! It’s a beauty.

It’s still a great lens! And thank you 😊

Thank you! And yeah, Georgia is great.

Thank you!

Thank you, I appreciate that!

Thank you!

Thank you! I still love this lens.

Awesome! Which body are you using?

Sweet!

It's a fabulous lens. Still one of my favorites and most used!

Thank you!

That is a great combo for sure! Haha I thought this comment was on my newest video… did you come here from there?

Awesome! It’s been easy enough for me to keep dry. It’s so small that, especially when in a small body like the GX85, it’s easily slipped under a coat. Good luck with it, I hope you love it as much as I do!

Curious: I exchanged mine for an Olympus 17mm f:1.8 a couple of years ago after having the 15mm for about a year: after a trip to japan with that I came to the conclusion I cannot stand that 30mm equivalent fow and I much prefer a regular 35mm: it was like I was always in the middle and was unable to properly frame what I was looking at. The oly is less sharp but is similarly sized and I fell much more comfortable with that focal lenght

@@Leptospirosi yeah exactly that, I felt like I spent most of my time in post cropping images haha.

Thanks, and I agree! ;-)

Agreed on all counts. Try a little tape in the grooves to add friction for the hood. Just a tiny bit to make the grooves smaller.

Very interesting. And you're sure it has the Leica glass?

@@photojoseph I heard it's basically the same lens

I found a video comparison… in Russian. One definite obvious difference is the coatings. Which means the glass is probably different. Which means it’s not Leica glass. That’s my deduction at least.

@@photojoseph there are indeed huge discussions going one whether it's the same one or not. Built-quality wise it definitely appears to be the exact same. Glass or coating can infact be different, remains untold. For someone with a very limited budget however that should be a fairly easy pill to swallow, since for my eye the difference between two different kinds of glass won't be visible. However the difference of having a 15mm 1.7 or not having one will very much be visible :P for a pro, who needs absolute best quality that might of course look differently.

@@FlorianLand You can buy it new for about 350€ at eglobalcentral.com... So, why would you buy it second hand for 300€?

Nice discourse! I agree with everything you’ve said. And I didn’t know about “tripod mode”. That’s hysterical!!!

Great comment, Shiznuts! The G7 was my first dabbling into the mirrorless camera world. At the price, it's just value town. I didn't want to commit a lot of money to a new hobby if I wasn't going to enjoy it, but I didn't want to buy something so cheap that I felt like I wasted my money. The G7 has a ton of features, is lightweight, and is easy to approach. The last part was of particular importance to me. Now, I'm using it to stream 1080/60p, record 4k30 videos, and take lots of pictures (most of which I end up trashing, but that's part of learning). I plan to use it to shoot equipment teardown and repair videos at work as well.

Well put there as well! They've always been tremendous value. For me it was back in the day when I got introduced to (optically stabilized) 1080p video with the bridgecamera that is the Canon PowerShot SX1 IS. It also had a hack going for it by means of CHDK (Canon Hack Development Kit, predecessor to Magic Lantern if you will) allowing you to run scripts like an intervalometer. Really learned a lot with that camera. Just the thing with that was... the tiny sensor combined with a zoomlens that lacked sensitivity meant it was rubbish as soon as it wasn't broad daylight outside anymore. Plus, with the SX1 IS you would be able to use manual focus (in my opinion, focus is a creative choice, one that I like to be in control of), but it was controlled by the scrollable navigational menu control ring on the back... not the most ideal way to go about that. So, I really wanted a: bigger sensor, interchangeable lens system (so I could switch between convenience of a zoom and zoomless but therefor more sensitive lenses) and a better way to manual focus (proper focus rings). Another important factor was: size. I travel around quite a bit and I just can't have a bunch of gear with me that would take up a considerable amount of space and would literally weigh me down. So... luckily I put two and two together and figured fullframe would just give me a system that's bulky and expensive. There weren't really any DSLRs out there with an articulated screen either (I had come to appreciate the flexibility of the vari-angle screen on the SX1 IS). So... narrowing it down to crop sensored cameras with a vari-angle screen I basically came down to the GH2 and 600D/T3i. Both were hackable at the time. The GH2 had a bitrate hack from Personal-View curator Vitaliy and exploration thereof by Nick Driftwood. The 600D/T3i had just gotten Magic Lantern support. It all came together when I saw 2 specials. Philip Bloom posted a Christmas shootout special putting the GH2 up against some professional grade cameras... and wow, the little camera was punching well above its weight... yet it was giving the crowd something to behold! Zacuto at the time did a similar thing and there as well the GH2 just blew everyone's mind. At that point... what other choice did I have other than going with the GH2? :P And it was happily ever after, we're still married. lol I did kinda skip the GH3 generation. And... then I went with the Olympus OM-D E-M1. A brilliant camera for it was a camera to use its sensor stabilization during video recording. See, that wasn't a common thing back then and I really got to appreciate that (it's mind-boggling to me that Canon refuses to incorporate this feature on their mirrorless EOS-M and EOS-R/RF systems). Then the GH4 introduced the world to 4K and it was bloody marvelous! And they kept pushing to see what the camera was capable of with unheard of firmware updates (including the introduction of an anamorphic mode and the addition of the paid optional upgrade of V-LOG L). Around that time the BMPCC (Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera) started to gain some traction. 1080p only... huge crop and very impractical camera to use (terrible screen, cringy audio quality, awful battery life), but it shot ProRes flavors and RAW DNG. Footage out of it had a film-like quality with heaps of dynamic range, pushability in post and lovely motion. But it wasn't until they dropped prices during one summer to 475 bucks that I actually picked up one. People speculated that a successor would soon follow and that they were clearing stock. But prices went back up and we didn't see a proper successor until the BMPCC4K started shipping just right about now. Another insane value was the G7, your first camera of choice. Panasonic ambassador Andy Lee even went as far as giving it the edge over the GH4, because it was a newer camera and actually had better sensor performance. Picked one up myself on one of my trips to Stockholm, Sweden. Although Scandinavia is one of the most expensive regions to be in (the price of a coffee or a cocktail for instance is insane), for some reason electronics are mighty cheap there, especially if a little older (guess they have so much money that they're always buying the latest and greatest and then camera stores are left with stock to clear). Now, I think it was up to that time that I was really enjoying the perks of MFT, but I did wish it would've been able to squeeze more performance out of the sensor. Especially regarding dynamic range and high ISO noise performance... maybe it could've used a bit of color tweaking as well. So... I did dabble a bit in another crop factor camera system and went ahead and bought a Nikon D5300 that was on sale and saw good things about. Just... the thing is... yes, the sensor performance was trully great. But it was a traditional DSLR, meaning it was the worst to work with in liveview (which I had gotten used to)... and it just didn't have any of the other mirrorless ease of use and innovation. It's probably still laying around here somewhere, but obviously hasn't seen much use. But it kinda re-affirmed that MFT still was the way forward. And following Canon for years, I knew they seemingly crippled cameras to protect higher-end camera sales or something... or just because 'hey, people still buy our cameras if we put in less effort'. At one point they followed up the 650D/T4i with the 700D/T5i... what innovation happened you ask? Well, they changed a dial so you could turn it not in one direction, but in two! You were now able to apply creative filters in liveview to see the effects. And... there was a new rubber coating! Woahhh! Mind blown. Changing the game. Yeah... maybe not so much, eh? Then the era of sensor stabilization came along. The GX7 before was capable of sensor stabilization, however, this was unavailable for video recording. But, then they introduced the brilliant GX80/85 that did and boy, that was exciting! Panasonic video... with sensor stabilization. Especially for me, as I've been on a never ending quest to find the ultimate character lens and had built up quite the insane collection of vintage lenses (including modern lenses, my collection is probably a little over 100), that of course were all manual, no optical stabilization. Great to use for say Veydra T2.2 Mini Cinema Primes, Contax Yashica mount Zeiss f/1.4, f/2 or f/2.8 primes or Leica Summicron-R f/2 E55 ones. Of course, there were a couple of quirks with the GX80... screen only tilts, it doesn't face forwards. It has no mic-input and the cardslot is co-located at the battery compartment. Then... the G80/85 got released! Man... that is one of the best value cameras I did ever dang see. Got in almost exactly 2 years ago. Just days before embarking on my first trip to America... New York of course (where it was a wonderful and even hot Indian summer). Super handling characteristics, awesome quality and Dual I.S. with the weathersealed Lumix kit lens! Things have gotten a little untypically Panasonic after that. The GX9 came out... but it wasn't received very well by the people that were shooting a GX8. It was more like a different take on the GX80/85. The GH5 had gotten a pre-announcement. Then final specs and pricing got revealed. They blasted the price through the roof! Wowzahs. But okay, it is a very capable camera. The Olympus E-M1 Mark II was doing the same thing. And boy these two camera bodies were just the most perfect things. Then it gotten a little weird. A 2nd flagship was announced. And if you wanted to benefit from the improved stills focus as well as the now 6.5 stops of stabilization, top LCD, EVF upgrade and USB charging... then suddenly that would be the one to buy. But... it of course lacked the more interesting video features of the GH5, incl. something basic like unlimited recording. Hum... and then another wild flagship camera appeared. Starting to feel like walking around playing PokemonGo. This time with sensor performance I didn't imagine possible in this stage of 4/3" sensor technology. Impressive stuff on that GH5S. But of course the elephant in the room: no sensor stabilization (be it on request of the professional scene; like productions handling shows like Top Gear or not) and the price has seen a great departure from what the GH-range used to be about. Ugh. So... now you needed the G9 for stills. The GH5 for video with sensor stabilization and run-n-gun character and the GH5S for ultimate quality professional productions. I'm almost able to call 'BINGO!' because I have 2 out of 3 (G9 and GH5). But it's kind of a shame you can't have it all in just one single camera and that prices have shot through the roof like that... seems a new path paved. I'm doubtful MFT will ever have the value of say a G80/85 again, which is a shame. Performance and the views from people with other systems... yeah, crop sensor inherently has a bit of a struggle with performance. But if you see what the post-GH4 generation is capable of and especially now the GH5S, we've come a long way in a short time... which makes for nice propects for future cameras in this segment. Still, crop sensor... means tougher time finding really wide lenses and harder to get that shallow depth of field look people seek after so much (although... a bit overplayed. I personally love some context with my shots, rather than just blurring everything). But of course... another elephant in the room. C-AF with depth from de-focus... is, well, not quite up to snuff, especially compared to the benchmark DualPixel AF from Canon (I'm not likely to ever get a Canon, because they seem to cripple cameras in terms of features and fail to embrace the true mirrorless innovation, but they do do the basics right: colors, C-AF and offering a vari-angle screen). But I'm hopeful for the future. So... to me Micro Four Thirds still is after all these years the most attractive system out there. Looking forward to what is more to come. ;)

I love Canon's dual pixel AF. When I've used it, it just works without putting any special attention to it. I still like Canon glass, but I don't want to put some huge, heavy lens on my lightweight m43 system. Seems like it runs counter to the point of getting into a lightweight system. Panasonic is going to have to either break the formula for contrast AF and come up with a revolutionary take on it or abandon it in favor of something else, because they risk falling further behind in that area. I like the G9, but I think my next camera will likely be the GH5. The thing is that I don't intend to use it for video work outside of the tripod, so IBIS isn't much of a concern. I don't do much vlogging. I've also been taking a long look at the Fuji X-H1 and X-T3. The X-T3 in particular looks really impressive. The only downside that I can see about Fuji is committing to a second ecosystem.

Yeah, I feel you. Fujifilm caught up big time and make a very exciting system. I always thought APS-C/S35 was the perfect concession between quality and portability and they do it better than the competition right now. But there's hardly any stabilized lenses and not all the bodies offer that sensor stabilization... as well as some other slight 'almost, but not quite' features or lack thereof. And yeah, it's a bit of an oddball system and mount... and yet anóther system to get into. So... MFT for me still comes out on top. ;)

It is indeed Peter… thanks for watching!

Amen! Yeah this really is a wonderful lens and I totally hear you on the “enjoyment” factor. While I’ve never owned a Leica I can totally appreciate the enjoyment and absolutely love a small system combo!

Thank you, that’s kind. I haven’t used it on an OMD body before I it’ll work, shouldn’t have any issues at all. My first MFT bodies were Olympus and I used them with some Panasonic lenses; never had a problem.

I still use and love this lens!

Hehe. I shoot this lens on GX80 and wait for Amazon to deliver the GX9 on 02-Sep. Coincidence :)

I'm thinking about getting the Gx9 or the Gx80; how you liking the Gx9 compared to the Gx80?

I can’t compare to the third parties yet (I will eventually I hope) but I’ve covered flash quite a bit. Check here: photojoseph.com/all?type=1&type=1&app_id=All&hardware_id=978#.W7lHFRZlDDs

That’s fair. I still prefer lenses that have a mechanical ring though, especially on a lens like the 10-25/1.7 where it’s stepless, so you have totally smooth aperture control.

Nice! And bummer about the ring not working. Have you checked for firmware updates on both the lens and the camera? The aperture ring is definitely nice to have.

Weddings, yes. Street photography, yes. Real Estate… I prefer something wider. I use the 8-18mm for almost all real estate work geni.us/iVNa

Oh yeah - for sure. It's a problem with any metal-on-metal lens shade. It flexes with the temp; I've had a metal lens shade clang the the cobblestone streets in Venice in the middle of the night. Oops!!!!! Anyway I have a very narrow strip of gaff tape jammed in the grooves on mine. Works perfectly.

RAW, processed in Lightroom

yes, but the dedicated aperture ring wont work

@@timopomer Bummer. Ok. Thanks!

If the 30mm equivalent focal length is what you're looking for, then sure.

Gorgeous lens. Great for video if manual focusing. It has a very long focus throw, designed for slow and accurate focus for portraits, so it’s too slow to use for video. But it’s gorgeous. It’s actually the main wide shot on all my current youtube videos (the white and blue gear wall set).

that's a 30mm vs 35mm full frame difference. Pretty minor. I would happily shoot at either focal lenght.

@@photojoseph good! comparing the optics and qualitywise , do you have any comment?!

I haven't shot the Olympus for street photography. All I can say is that I *love* the Panasonic Leica one. It's an amazing lens; one of the favorites in my collection. geni.us/3KtyCz

@@photojoseph thanx for the feedback !! keep on !

Thanks! The New Orleans shots are all jpeg straight out of camera, because at the time I shot those on the GX85, there was no RAW support available. They are mostly shot in Vivid profile. Everything else (Tbilisi, wedding, etc.) were processed in Lightroom. I start most of my editing with presets from Mastin Labs or VSCO to get a “film” look, and then evolve from there.

@@photojoseph That Freddie King photo is fantastic. The composition and colours hit you right between the eyes. 👌

Thank you so much, I appreciate that.

@@photojoseph l hear but haven't tried myself that Raw Therapee can handle new RAW formats from newly released cameras. This may be of help to you in the future. For more info refer to the link below. rawpedia.rawtherapee.com/Adding_Support_for_New_Raw_Formats

@@photojoseph We have to capture and document those old bluesmen while they're still around. For music lovers that's important.

I haven't used the Sigma so can't speak to it but the size and weight of this tiny 15mm is going to be hard to beat

It’s still an amazing lens!

Oooh… that's tough. I am using the 12/1.4 add a vlogging lens now. The field of view it's just right, and at that distance (arm length) you get nice bokeh. The field of view difference is pretty significant though; 24mm vs 30mm full frame equivalent. For Street photography having very shallow depth of field can work against you, so personally I'd still prefer the 15 as a street photo lens. Plus it's size and weight are hard to beat.

haha that's awesome… he makes some great music!!

Never used the sigma. Is it much larger?

@@photojoseph yeah it's like 3 times the size of the 15mm

@@davidvictory9764 ahh… this 15 is delightfully small

@@photojoseph yeah I saw both in person, the 15mm looked so tempting, but then I thought I much rather have the look of the 16mm on a gh5. It would just look more cool looking and easier to hold as you can hold the lens with 1 hand when recording. But it definitely is much heavier

I do still use the lens. Not the camera; more the GH6. I also use the full frame gear.

@@photojoseph thanks

Never had the opportunity to compare, sorry

No… my wife’s brother is my brother in law. His wedding. If it was my sister’s wedding (and I don’t have a sister), that’d be AWKWARD!! 😂 And yeah this lens is still a favorite! Amazing tiny thing.

Not a dumb question at all, and totally confusing. The general calculation is that you double both, so a 15/1.7 becomes a 20/3.4 But it's not that cut and dry. It depends on if you're talking exposure, or depth of field, and what you're really comparing it to. Remember the f/number is a calculation of size of the aperture vs the focal length. Anyway, I recommend this article for further reading that may actually help, unlike my comment ;-) www.discoverdigitalphotography.com/2013/what-does-equivalent-aperture-mean/

please @John Taylor, tell me… how have I misused "bokeh"? If you're going to leave a comment telling someone they're wrong, please include what's right.

Bokeh is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image, and it isn't the amount of depth of field, and that is how it has been throughout my 50 years in photography. My comment isn't a criticism as such, and your video is of great help in making the decision to buy this lens much easier. I have purchased this lens after watching a few of the videos on this lens, and your long term review is more useful than one where somebody uses it for a week or so.

GX85

@@photojoseph Thank you.

That’d be a nice lens too!

That was the GX85. Still one of my favorites!

This one will work great

Honestly I’ve never owned an original Leica so I can’t say… but I can say that this lens is one of my favorites.

Probably a little more expensive though :-)

Will be great for video and expensive - but bang for buck the 15mm is fantastic

But that lense is HUGE!!! IMO it defeats the advantage of going MFT unless you are a professional video shooter and always have a tripod at hand. As a wlak around lens the 10-25 is not that great, again IMO

Yes but .. not when compared to equivalent FF lenses - its the equivalent to having 4 lenses Leica 8-18, 12mm, 15mm, and 25mm - You will lighten your gear when carrying around- all you'll need will be 2 lenses the 10-25 and 42.5 Noctricron - pretty cool

If the 10-25 can reasonably replace my favorite, the 25 1.4, then I may well end up getting it. The 8-18 is not bright enough for what I end up doing so I didn't end up getting it.

Double focal length not aperture....

actually yes, when the sensor is 2 times smaller = 2x less light the sensor receive

@@dafo446 so a compact with a 1/2.3 sensor have a F/30 aperture ? F/45 ? 😂

@Antoine Richer lol? a single pixel size in 12mp with 1/2.3 sensor is ~1.55 microns a single pixel size in 12mp with full frame sensor is ~8.4 microns which ~5.4x bigger = more light receive and if a 1/2.3 inch with f1.7 equivalent is not F30 but F/~9.18

@@dafo446 aperture didn't depend of your sensor... A mft sensor is 1/4 if the surface of ff.. and 1/2.3 surface sensor is only about near 25 mm2 surface ( compare to a ff with more than 900mm2)... Don't confuse everything in sensor aperture, focale equivalent.