Thanks for having me Jimmy! It was good fun hanging out and playing with the lenses. The Olympus was certainly impressive, but I did love the colours of the Leica!

i like Panasonic Leica DG Nocticron 42.5mm 1.2

I think the color contrast is what makes the Leica Panasonic 'pop.' I like the color contrast for the Leica, but definitely the bokeh is much nicer on the Olympus. Tough decision. Great comparison video. Thanks

I remember looking these up ages ago, and that the Olympus was the even higher performing, but looking lately (prompted by various sales) the rendering of the Nocticron is very distinctive and nicer. The highlights in this video are handled far better by the Nocticron - perhaps that's due to the camera, but it seems consistent with images elsewhere, as well. The colour is also spicy and distinctive. I feel like I've underestimated the Nocticron based on more metric reviews. Though, the Zuiko is clearly superior for feather-bokeh and perhaps absolute acuity - it does seem crunchy, though.

I love images from both. I love how subjects popping up when shooting with the Nocticron, and at the same time I love the creamy looking out-of-focus area rendered by the Olympus Pro. I'm using A7M3, but I so much want to invest in the MFT system as well since these glasses are so good.

Great video, never boring. I enjoyed watching the lenses being put through street photography tests. I need to get one for my E-M II next, once they hit the shops.

Thanks for great review. In my opinion I think Leica is always the Leica, Even Nocticron is made in Japan but it gets certification from Leica. Leica Nocticron has still unique style of Leica lens which is more 3D-Pop. It's in the same leauge as Noctilux or Summilux ( In term of 3D-Pop, not depth of field). For Zuiko 45/1.2 the transition of background and bokeh are very smooth and creamy. Something like APD in Fuji 56/1.2 APD and Sony STF 100/2.8. So choose what you want ;)

I like olympus lens is more clear and sharper, In term of colour that leica looking good.

Nice work guys! Watched this and your "pure" Oly 45mm review and both are great. Down to the point, real world reviews and both are very interesting and easy to listen to. Really well done. You seriously both need more viewers on your channels as they are some of the best I have seen. Thanks for taking the time to film it. Subscribed :) The 45mm and 17mm F1.2 are on my list... just need the 300 first :D

The color rendition of leica lens never disappoint!

2018 - The Noctricon is still the boss - Colour and Bokeh ( 2:30 )

Might be your best video yet. Tom seemed to be spot on. A lot to love about both lenses, but they aren't worlds apart. We want them to be, and in micro worlds, they are, but you guys summed it up quite nice. Now the Pany on the G9 might be different....

Great review,very interesting and informative thanks 👏🏻👏🏻

Very entertaining and informative at the same time. Well done.

I was hoping the Pana Leica would win. Love the exterior design of the Leica branded lens but the Olympus is definitely more pro built as it's weather sealed. Fantastic video and I really enjoyed it.

Nice comparison! The new Olympus 45mm is pretty high on my "to buy" list now :D A apples vs oranges comparison with the stunning Olympus 75mm f1.8 would be great too.

Thanks for your response regarding phase detection of EM1ii compatability with Panasonic lenses. I was thinking of getting the Panasonic 42.5 1.2 and then using it on a future Olympus body.

Very informative and interesting tests ...great thanks

Great review. Fun and casual, a couple pals going around shooting, but I got more insight into the comparative strengths and weaknesses than from the at least eight or nine other reviews I've watched. (I've also got the equivalent Voigtlander in the mix.) I'm sure if I rented all three and shot them like crazy I'd be just as at sea. Anyway thanks for an amusing and informative walk through the city.

I thought that was an outstanding comparison. Thank you both. :-)

Great review and fun dynamics you guys have going on. I’m in the process of choosing one of these 2 lenses so your video is of great help. I noticed that photos of the Olympus is either more saturated or there’s more contrast. Is that the lens or post?

Fun video but the Panasonic on a GH5 or G9 with the Olympus on the EM would have been much better. The fringing is likely corrected in camera. Had the Olympus been on a Panasonic body, I wonder is the results would have been reversed Both are surely superb. I own both Oly and Pany glass and there's not a bad lens in the batch.

Excellent video guys - now I know what to buy

immaculately done guys

I have Olympus and Panasonic equipment. The Panasonic / Leica Nocticron when used with the G9 gives amazing results. Extremely sharp. As for the focal length - well like all prime lenses you have to do the “zoom” by stepping backwards and forwards.

Hopefully I will have the budget for one of these lenses in the future, I'm currently using an EM5 III and portraits are my favourite subject so it would be great to have one of the best portrait primes for the m43 system. Tbh it would be a difficult choice between the two for me. I prefer the look of the Pana-Leica...I wouldn't say it's objectively better than the Olympus, just preferable to my eyes. I've seen a number of images shot with the Nocticron, that show some swirly bokeh in the background (one of the other types of bokeh you could've added to your list!). I find a lot of swirly bokeh gets distracting but just a touch adds some really nice character to the images. What would make it a difficult choice for me is the fact that the Olympus offers better value for money - especially for an Olympus body user. The lenses are usually about the same price, but sometimes offers come onto the 1.2 Pro lenses in the UK that make the 45mm a little cheaper. Then you get weather sealing on the 45mm, not on the Nocticron. The aperture ring would be useless on an EM5, but the focus clutch and function button of the 45mm would work on either an Olympus or Panasonic body. And finally, the lens hood is more compact on the 45mm. So a number of things that make the 45mm a better deal overall - would have to weigh those up over the slightly preferable rendering of the Nocticron. Would be interesting to see if Pana perhaps do a version II of the Nocticron, with the same optics but just updating it to their latest build with weather sealing, a focus clutch (like the f1.7 zooms) and less bulky hood with a button release rather than the more vintage screw. As the 1.2s are indeed out of my budget atm, I recently got an Olympus 45mm f1.8. Incredible value for money, as Olympus had a UK-wide discount for a while that even applied to Amazon, that was already cheaper anyway. IIRC I got it for about £140, from Amazon UK themselves not a 3rd party seller. That's ridiculously good value! Seems like a lovely little lens, so compact. The Sigma 56mm also seems like gem for m43, giving a bit more focal length with 112mm equivalent. I seem to really like the ~105mm look, with the Sigma 105mm f1.4 being one of my dream lenses if I had a full frame system. So it seems like the 56mm is like a baby version of their 105mm 'Bokeh master' beast when used on m43. And seen as the 56mm is also incredible value for the level of performance it offers whilst still remaining compact - I think I will be going for that a lot sooner than the £1000+ f1.2s.

Wonder if the Nocticron might show less fringing wide open on a Panasonic camera. I know the two systems are compatible but not sure if all image corrections (distortions, fringing) are applied to Panasonic lenses on Olympus cameras or vice versa.

Nice comparison, thx!

The new digitalrev TV great vid

I definetely prefer Leica colour wise. Also videos shot by Leica are stunning. My choice is Leica :)

Good polished review guys

This "snappy" sharpness is characteristic of some older Leica lenses too. Interesting to see it in a modern incarnation of a Leica lens design (the Summarit-M 2.4/75 for example has a completely different characteristic). Interesting comparison. I would go with the Olympus (had it in hand today, but could take only 4 test shots), because I really like the feel of it and the focussing clutch (or however they name it); very nice even on a Pen F (with additional grip).

The Leica is more suited to Black and white, which has generally true of most Leica lenses, while Olympus is often better for color. In this instance, the differences in bokeh had more to do with focal length than the qualities of the lenses. Whether or not something can be described as fake or real is ridiculous. I am old enough to remember when Leitz moved production to Canada. A lot of Leica users derided Canadian made Leicas as not being real Leicas, despite some of Leica’s best lenses being created there. If Leica designed the lens, then I don’t particularly care which factory made it. The partnership between Leica and Panasonic is very close, and I think both company’s have benefited from sharing IP both ways.

I love leica lens. I've been using it lately and it's really sharp.

Leica's optical is superb, hands down!

Ideally, the Leica would've been mounted on a Lumix body, as that's a more likely combination. If you're going to spend that much on a "special purpose" lens, you're likely to want a "native" pair (beyond the fact that it's optimized, there's also the dual IS thing). Also, why no hood on the Leica? Anyway, it's clear that if you "need" such a lens, that the best choice would be whichever matches your body(ies), as both lenses are extraordinary. You just need to determine if the value equation/affordability works for you. Nothing "fake" about "PanaLeica" as the important thing is the actual design (elements/coatings) and as Jimmy mentions, Leica does that bit. Panny's great at precision manufacturing (which Leica oversees) and things like motors. I'd like to hear Tom compare the Leica to say, the 90mm Summilux (the closest to the Nocticron in M-mount). The thing for me is, the Lumix G X 35-100 f/2.8 is also a phenomenal lens that includes the FLs of both these lenses, so the real question would be "is either worth the extra weight and bulk in my bag (as I already have a 25mm f/0.95 for even thinner DoF on those rare occasions where I actually want that in a slightly longer FL, especially as I rarely do portraits)?"

Very entertaining & informative video boys, looks like you had fun too. Jimmy one question please can you confirm whether Tom is Elvis Costello's love child?

Should have used the lens hood on the Leica! That would have improved microcontrast and reduce flares. The Leica hood is a tank though!

Were these photos straight out of camera JPEGs or were they the RAWs with default settings applied? Or did you edit any of the photos in post? Wondering about the color fringing issue in particular, as if they were SOOC the Olympus would have the advantage because the Nocticron wouldn't be automatically corrected for CA by the EM-1 II

well said, "organic" look. Yes! I once thought it's the MFT sensor "issue", so nop, it's actually the Panasonic Lumix/Leica issue. Olympus lens made MFT looks better now.

I want to order the pana leica, but still curious, does the aperture ring works on creative movie mode?? I'm using gh5 btw, i just dont want it to accidently move the aperture ring and mess everything,, thanks.. 😁

Even though the lighting generally appears a bit flat, I wonder how much the Nocticron's results were affected by the lack of a lens hood.

That's a very interesting result. Although that PanaLecia has been the standard for test charts for MFT it seems. I still would of thought Olympus would of been able to beat it on sharpness. Doesn't look like DXO has given a P-Mpix for the Olympus. I wonder if the 17 1.2 is sharper than the 45 as the 25 didn't do so well in DXO tests (if their results are accurate). Would of been nice if this video shot some test charts but still it was a very good comparison which I enjoyed.

"Mine are more round than yours, but yours look more natural"... lol :D

хороший и интересный обзор, спасибо ребятам! мне Olympus показался более приятным по цветам. где-то Panasonic смотрелся лучше, но в итоге я бы выбрал для себя Olympus. PS: забавно видеть ребят с крутыми и очень дорогими камерами и объективами, но в дырявых джинсах между ног) извините :-) за видео еще раз спасибо!

With regards to chromatic aberration I think what’s going on there is that an Olympus lens on an EM1 II body will enjoy in body CA correction and a Panasonic lens on the Olympus body not. Had you used two identical Panasonic bodies I expect the result would have been more than reversed. Panasonic have been doing in body CA correction on their own lens/body combinations for many years longer than Olympus. CA correction (which can be done in post) would increase the difference between the two in sharpness.

Love the oly stuff! What did you use for filming this? Thx, keep going

Do I see little of purple hue in the oly vs Leica? especially @ 5:58 ? ( right lower corner, building)

Great review ... very organic :)

I have a PanaLeica Nocticron personally, but a lot of that is because I got a lot of PanaLeica glass from a friend used by functionally perfect for the price of a used Nocticron on its own (15mm, 25mm mark ii, 42.5mm, and a 12-60mm). TBH, I think the Pen-F is one of the best-looking cameras made in ages, and I have an E-M5.2 so the menus aren't foreign, it's just a mix of the price, lack of pinpoint focus like Panasonic (I shoot plants and find it's an absolute pain in the ass to focus within/under the petals whereas with my GX85 I can focus on the eye of a frog or something perfect and fast with pinpoint), worse tracking in my experience (again withs tills of plants, when in the wind the Panasonic tracking+af-c does a great job, the Olympus is mostly great but loses target more than the Panasonic, I'll just say that's due to age/technology), and lack of weather sealing on the Pen-F. Despite all that I am moving to an OM-5 having already preordered a black body, I'm just sad it wasn't an upgraded Pen-F with the same specs/weather sealing and the OM-1's updated menu system that took Olympus/OM from last place in menus to first place for a lot of people (stupid the OM-5 didn't get the menu system...maybe in an update but I'm not holding my breath, that'll be the OM-5s or something). I really like the rangefinder style of body, the viewfinder being top left is a lot more comfortable shooting for me. Then again, I don't use the viewfinder a ton, I carry an E-P5 around with a Lumix 20mm or Oly 17mm all the time and never miss anything really despite leaving the EVF at home.

While watching this video, my thoughts were; 1. How can they fairly judge these two lenses while looking at the little screen? Would it not be better to take the pictures, go into your studio, look at the pictures on a calibrated monitor? 2. Would it not have been better using one camera body on a tripod and just switch lenses? 3. What about autofocus during filming? 4. What about really low light situations? (Like indoors or night shots) Reading the comments here gives me a feeling there's a lot of fanboying over brands here 😶 I mean, the comment section might be full of fanboys too Here's my two cents; got Olympus cam, go Olympus lens, got Panasonic, go Panasonic. None of these can go wrong, but I got to say, i really like the colours of the Panasonic. And for me, can a lens ever be too sharp? I think it's better to have sharpness and edit it out than having an "softer" lens and trying to add sharpness in post 🤔 The subjective opinions on the focus ring is a fair point and I sometimes get frustrated by the focus acceleration, but I got used to it on my lenses

When taking a picture or a person Using olympus 42.5mm f1.8 on my pana-gx9, i dont know why but in low light, the person's hair seems washedout (open wide-closed full)Is that normal or not? Not happening if im using panasonic lenskit/zoom lens/panaleica. I like the oly's lens character tough..

4:08 Leica looks sharper but olympus seems to have a smoother bokeh

Bad conclusions!! But interesting, and I guess makes sense, that the Leica lens design is better suited to photojournalism. Also highlighted the importance of matching the lens to the body. Matching optics to circuitry is likely optimised to wavelength levels. So in this sense a Leica / Panasonic lens on an Olympus body was unfair. So insightful video, nonetheless.

Very good review.I am first time can see the color different of the lens. Can you do more comparison video like this? I Hope to see Panasonic 25mm F1.4 vs Olympus 25mm F1.2 / Voigtlander NOKTON 25mm F0.95 Thank you.

17:42 She seems happier to be photographed by the Leica lens!

Things like fringing get digital correction when the lens is matched to the same manufacturer. It's unfortunate that that doesn't work across brands.

Very expensive lenses but the lenses are more important than the cameras so they’re definitely worth the money take care of them and they’ll last a lifetime love my Olympus 45mm 1.2 it was worth the spanking for buying it

helo.. can you recomend me to choose one should I get, sigma 16mm f1.4 or panaleica 25mm f1.4 ? (same budged) help me, I love the shaprest lens and emage quality for filming and concert photography in the night🙏🏻 my main camera is gx9

Mr.jimmy i look this video 3 time, because i need a good lens for portrait. So can you help me with one i should buy.

You tried comparing the Fuji film x h1?

Really enjoyed watching your video. You are both highly entertaining fellows and clearly love photography. However I'd really like to see some actual PRINTS laid out side by side to compare the results of both lenses. I'm sorry but looking at a camera's LCD screen in unknown lighting conditions and describing is highly subjective at best. So come on! Let's see some stuff printed and displayed under controlled gallery lighting conditions guys! I know it's really "20th Century" but some of us do still print and exhibit in galleries. That said thanks for a good fun review of both lenses. I was able to discern some things about bokeh and color correction. I'd definitely use a good lens hood on the Leica Nocticron.

The Olympus camera is autocorrecting for fringing and distortion with it's native lens, I would imagine. The Nocticron on the Olympus body would not have this advantage. This assumes we're being shown JPEGs here.. However, Great Vlog, and Tons of Fun.

WHY have the Pana.Leica NO Lenshood ON ? ? ?

You guys both have got two eyes, right? So why do you use just one of them? (EVF) I hardly ever looked through my EVF. Makes no sense to me when there is a really bright and sharp monitor.

At 12:28 how is it that the DOF is different for same framing and f-stop? Look at the right side of the tree branch and then the metal fence pole. On m.Zuiko it is in focus, on Leica it is out of focus

Interesting video, Thanks Viewing your "KZfaq" images on a 5K 27" mac monitor: 1) The Oly appears slightly more color saturated than the Leica. This to my eye gives the Leica a more natural (what the human eye sees) with possibly a touch more detail because the Oly's more contrasty...caused by the color saturation, easily correctable in post. 2) I agree that it would be interesting to see the Leica on a Panasonic G9 vs Leica on Oly to compare and contrast, not because it would be better but because it's worth seeing how the two companies Olympus and Panasonic sharing a common lens attachment base, perform with each other's lens. 3) I'd like to see the Oly 45mm f1.8 vs, Oly 45mm f1.2 to see if it can truly justify spending 4 x times cost for an Oly 45mm f1.2 Pro. p.s. (Wish List) Sure would like to see you two doing a compare and contrast "Leica vs. Oly" using equivalent or similar lens in B&W as well as color Street Photography.

Alright Jimmy! - You wouldn't happen to know of a lens below 1.2 with autofocus for 4/3? - Have the voigtlander nokton 42.5mm but it's a nightmare being manual focus. The focus peaking in camera doesn't seem to work very well (em1ii) although not sure if I'm doing something incorrectly. Cheers!

Only issue.. you used the Olympus lens hood, didn't use the Leica's? Loving this channel though. Solid content!

Jimmy what was this video shot on?

PLeica is pop and character. Oly is just perfect.

A very good review but I cannot understand why you compare two short tele-lenses where you allow the Olympus to carry a shade and the Panasonic not. With those big front glasses the shade makes a big difference!

Very nice video, what did you film it with if I may ask?

Very nice video, entertaining and amusing. Just one problem: Whats with the 'Full Frame' bags? When I switched, I also (and very happily!) switched to much smaller bags. I kid, I kid!

i like the color from the leica better

I’d lean towards the Olympus because of the creamier bokeh, but without IBS in the GH-4 I’d have to get the Nocticron.

Olympus Photos are better in quality, contrast and also in throwing out the background blurred, really a magnificent pro lens for portraits. Furthermore, the lens could be used as a standard lens exactly Like the Bronica, Rolleiflex and Hasselblad Cameras.

thank you

Excellent video comparison! If the PanaLeica was weather sealed this might be a hard decision.

Chromatic aberrations purple fringing is due to using the Noctricon on an Olympus Body rather than the lens - ie UV filtering being different between Pany and OLY bodies with the Olympus body suffering the most from the problem of chromatic aberration - It doesn’t mean that the Olympus is inferior it’s just how the camera processes the image - One of the advantages of the MFT system is the ability to mix lenses and bodies from Panasonic and Olympus. That said, DPReview forum member Anders W. has identified what appears to be a general problem with purple fringes when using Panasonic MFT lenses on Olympus MFT bodies. - alanwatsonforster.org/writing/mft-purple.html Both fantastic lenses - Love the Oly 25mm f1.2 - very cinematic for video

Looks like I'm getting the Olympus 45 🤗🤗 with my Gh5 body. It will be used along with my Olympus 75 I love Olympus lenses although I use a lumix camera.

Weather sealing or OIS? Which one is more important. That's of course if you have a Panasonic body. It's hard to decide honestly. The Olympus might be the better lens overall, but that Nocticron has its own characteristics, optically and physically, that the Olympus can't match. I'd choose...the...BOTH lol Is the dynamic range better on the Nocticron?

There will come a point where a photographer will want lower ISO and faster shutter speed when choosing a lens like this. I personally don't go crazy about that thick DOF. If I can maintain ISO 800and sharp picture am happy.

After watching your edgy vs soft(smooth) description i think a better description would be sharp (Leica) vs artistic (Olympus)

Hi Jimmy and Tom, great video, well made, both informative and most entertaining! Although I do not agree with your bottomline, (OLY wins) I definitely like your way of comparison, using the lenses in practice, touching all the important features without too much tech-language... (maybe apart from bokeh-balls; sometimes sounds like ballshit to me ;-))) I guess since they are both PRO lenses, neither of them currently fits into my budget! Any chance you could do the same thing with the Pana 42,5mm 1,7 vs OLy 45mm 1,8? BR Erwin

I thought any Panasonic Leica lenses were built and designed by Panasonic and merely have then Leica seal of approval. Does Leica actually design the M43 lenses?

Interessanter Fotowalk durch London !!

Who win leica 42.5mm or omd 45mm please tell me i want to buy 1

Leica colors are just juicy. I'm so tempted to get rid of my full frame sonys and just go M43 now seriously.

What camera did u use to film this video?

excellent :) that 42.5 is on my goal list! at 5:58, I'm seeing better dynamic range on the left. the distant buildings have less detail in the bright highlight areas on the photo on the right and less shadow detail on the basket holding the flowers. excellent video and photos nonetheless! thank you for sharing

Tom reminds me of David Baddiel !

@Jimmy I have constructive criticism about this review. My 1st complaint is it was way too long. My 2nd complaint is where is @Charleen?? I would've rather seen her in the review @ some point. Unlike the cheap 45mm from Olympus I didn't like I definitely want to buy this lens. In addition it was definitely sharper than the Nocticron with better bokeh. I did like that you had a Nikon user comparing both lenses though. ALL the Pro's I know shoot Nikon for a living. Nevertheless it was a good review. I did find it funny when @Tom kept on saying #FakeLeica lol. Its time for Panasonic to update the Nocticron & 25mm f1.4 lenses. Look forward to your future reviews but PLEASE include @Charleen. Maybe you can update this comparison with @Charleen and a Christmas theme & Christmas lights bokeh comparison in future. Nocticron in my opinion though does have warmer colors.

8:40 Just eared a Portuguese passing by🤣🤣🤣🤣

Olly promo video! had the Pana- Leica been on a Lumix G9 would have been different story and no fringing!

I'd like to see that comparison on a Lumix G9 body. Panasonic, for better or worse, uses matching digital manipulation in their bodies and lenses. That Leica lens will look better.

Two little additions for those who watched this video, and are a bit confused about the results. Here it is what is *really* happening in this test: 1. Lack of aberrations in the Olympus lens is due to its intentional design. Olympus lens literally uses aberrations, leads them on a leash so to speak, and then produces with them - feathered bokeh. That is called the optical genius of Olympus: not cancel typical optical issues immediately, but use them to make something even better with them. Not even Leica ever thought of that. 2. If anybody judges that a Leica lens produces the 'cooler' or the 'warmer' look, or if the Olympus lens colours 'this or that way', then you do not have a proper colour workflow. You should calibrate your camera properly, against your light meter and the colour checker, never allow your camera to "think" by itself that is the neutral grey, the right temperature or the right exposure. What camera "thinks" can never be accurate.

Both these are going for around USD950 in my locale. I'll be using it in the G9. Will I see an appreciable difference between dual IS with the nocticron and ibis only with the oly? I do like the rendering of the oly better (more 3D to my eyes) as well as that sexy MF clutch. So if stabilization isn't far off I would jump for the oly. Thoughts?

The Olympus seems 1/2-1/3rd of a stop darker.

But what is video filming like guys?? But if I use a Pansonic GH5 & GH5s, can I better video with Olympus?