Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

It took me a while to buy this lens, even though I shoot macro quiet a bit. I had had comparable macros from Nikon, Canon and Tamron in the past and thought they were all pretty good glass. The price of the Panasonic seemed a little high for this focal length and lens speed. On the the other hand, it didn't seem so bad since it had some form of image stabilization. Well, I finally bought it thinking I would probably return it-thinking it wouldn't live up to the price. After several weeks I still have it and have really enjoyed it. I feel it is as good as anyone's macro lenses; the build quality is really good, the OIS works great, and I think it focuses plenty fast enough (it does have a focus-limiter switch if needed). No complaints on the image quality either-sharp, contrasty and a pleasing background blur when shooting wide open. Compared to other macros I have used, this one does everything as well, and sometimes better. It would be nice if it was cheaper, but wouldn't everything? It is one lens I know I can count on to deliver excellent image quality. As a side note; after using it, the possibility of adding the Panasonic 25 1.4 seems quiet likely.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

Excelent image quality and very nice construction.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

Nice prime lens. Sharp enough, but not as sharp as the price should give. Rattles, but that does' seem to bother performance.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

This lens just oozes awesomeness. Some quick points:
This lens works well as a general purpose lens, not just for macro. However, you are stuck at 45mm, a mild telephoto; shooting my nephew's first birthday party with it was tricky.
Autofocus is sloooow. I use this on my GH2 and shooting video at said birthday party had laggy focus response.
All that said, the photos are amazing. I have not gathered scientific evidence of it, but I feel the photos are even higher quality than my 14-140mm that I usually have on for general purpose.
As another user said, this lens sounds like a rattle toy if you shake it. I thought it was broken until I read that comment on here and it made sense.
You never realize what shots you are missing until you have this lens on your camera. While I'll still be bringing my 14-140mm along; this lens will likely see more camera time.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

This is a great complement to my DMC-g3 and DMC-GH2. I took it to the local arboretum and got many great flower macros(hand-held). The focus is slow for macros, but when it does focus, it is right-on. The focus switch which allows a faster auto focus when not shooting macros, is a valuable feature.
My 6 year old granddaughter wanted to take a photo,so I put the wrist strap around her arm and nervously let her take a pic of me. To my amazement, it was the best photo of me taken in the last 10 years. I give the lens the credit.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

Originally I had a Olympus 50mm 2.0f 4/3 macro adapted to a Olympus EPL-1 camera. The pictures it took were fantastic (this is also echoed by reviewers), but the auto focus was so bloody slow that it was frustrating to use. Initally I figured that I'd keep using manual focus on the olympus lens since everyone online says macro work requires a lot of manual focusing. But boy was it frustrating; I eventually stopped using the Olympus lens despite the awesome pictures I got from it.

I saw this lens, but the price turned me off completely. I figured that since it was branded a Leica lens, that it would always be expensive. Then the regular price dropped, I'm assuming courtesy of panasonic. I took a chance and bought it, being totally frustrated with such useless autofocus.

It was TOTALLY worth the price. Pictures look just as good as the Olympus, focus speed was MUCH better, and although the F stop was higher on this lens, for macro work, having more depth of field is usually a asset rather than a hindrance anyway. I gave my girlfriend the Olympus, but after she tried out this lens, she is now seriously considering it as well.

The only downside to this lens that I can find is that if you shake it, you can hear 2 of the lenses moving around. I understand this happens with lens based stabilized lenses, but I still can't help but wonder if this lens is more prone than most to shattering if dropped. The plastic body certainly feels solid.

on a personal note: I don't believe the Leica hype one bit - In this case the Leica branding means no software correction is done with the lens to make the picture you see, but the trade-offs of software correction in the camera are so minimal as to be a non-issue in my opinion unless you are VERY picky about your picture quality.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

I purchased this lens to take pictures of small items in a photo tent.
It is a good lens. I love to focus using manual and it gives me plenty of light to see what I am doing. I have been taking pictures for over 50 years. From a box Brownie to Nikon to medium formatt. I am just comfortable with prime lenses. I am sort of new to Panasonic. I have a Lumix GF1 and a Lumix DMC-G2. I am just learning to use them. I have been shooting in manual settings mode using studio lights pointed to a light box. So far I am very happy with the look and feel of this lens. It is a quality item. If I had a complaint it would be the 45mm filter instead of 52mm. What were they thinking?

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

I am a novice photographer looking to expand into the macro world. Even though I havn't had time to play with it enough, it appears to be exactly what I need, without the need for an upgrade.

Thanks again for a fantastic lense Leica.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

For a 1:1 macro, this is a small lens, which makes it ideal for travelling and hiking. Though it is tiny, the results are highly pleasing. The focus ring is extremely smooth, and the short telephoto focal length (equivalent to 90mm on full frame) is also excellent for shooting portraits and scenery.

The IOS is nice to have, though it's not something I would use for macro shots. Also, I turn of MF assist for macro shots.

Autofocus is very fast and accurate, if not completely silent. Unlike other macro lenses I've used, it also actually works well for macro shots. When the camera is turned off, the the OIS unit noticeably rattles around inside the barrel, which always makes me think it's broken. Panny says this is normal behaviour for this lens, however. It stays locked in place when the camera is turned on.

The lens allows aperatures from f2.8 to f22, with nice bokeh. I haven't noticed any distortion on any of my shots, and I do a lot of macro work.

In summary, it's on the expensive side, but probably worth the investment for those who are keen on macro photography using Panny/Leica equipment.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

Ya, this the only one Macro lens in M4/3 system (of course you can convert other macro lens). Note, it is LEICA designed lens, how much to get a Leica lens? This one is cheapest one so what I am still thinking about? Just buy it!!

The lens comes with hood and pouch. You got O.I.S & focus limit switches. AF speed is quite fast if you don't compare to other new Panasonic lenses. Sometimes you may heart some motor sound. What's about the pictures quality? em...you know it.
That's it :-)

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

I'm using this lens with both a GH1 and an AF100. This lens is built for stills capabilities—but on the AF100, the focus is quick, reliable and sharp just as well! AND the OIS is a great asset to hand-held video.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

As a working pro I'm looking for good glass. The fast stuff that is very sharp and produces nice bokeh. This lens fits the bill nicely on my M4/3 gear. I switched to M4/3 and shoot Oly and Panny both with fast primes. The bokeh is creamy and rich, the macro feature is great and it's fast & sharp. A good price for a prime of this caliber.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

This is my first micro lens after departing from the Nikon world and how have I missed them. I still use my Nikkors with an adapter but the cropped focal length doubles, leaving a gap between my native 7-14/4, 20/1.7 and 100-300/4-5.6. The mentioned zooms are more special purpose/travel/fun than fine photography and prefer fast prime lenses for the majority of the time. This lens fits the bill very well. Focusing auto tends to hunt a lot, especially under lower lighting conditions. I don't fine this to be much of an issue as I have the tendency to manual focus. Else, I find the optics superior, especially so at f/4. The focal length falls close to my most preferred and often used (based on the Nikon 85 I used to have always mounted on my old FM2) as I find it extremely versatile. Great for portraits and walking around (even more so than the 20/1.7!).But, to each his own. The macro capability greatly increases the working distance. The construction is more "pro" than the rest of the other Panasonic lenses in the lineup, as most of them feel more plastic. This has become my favorite of the bunch.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

my only complaint about this lens is its a a bit too slow for low light work. however the macro is excellent, though it can be a little frustrating when it tries to focus, and its a great lens for everyday photography. have yet to try it for portrait work.

one little thing about the lens that caused some concern is it rattles when not connected or the camera is turned off. i almost returned it for that until i read that the rattle is normal.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

This is a very high quality lens -- the main downside being the price. Great for macro/portraits -- however, would be better at 2.0 instead of 2.8.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

Fast, precise, crisp - just the right lens for a portable macro to be used on 3/4 systems.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

great for outdoors

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

I use this with my Panasonic GH2 and love the fact that I can slip an extra lens into a small bag and be ready to catch those unexpected macro shots. I always used to avoid doing macro because of all the extra equipment necessary to carry along with it. I have taken some beautiful macro images hand held with this amazing lens. Love it for portraiture as well.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

This lens really transforms this little camera. It provides nice shallow depth of field on a usable focal length. Makes for a superb portrait lens. Also I have used it for sporting events to get faster shutter speeds as the other lenses available for this camera as so slow other than the 1.7 20mm (which does not work for these subjects). Also it's super lightweight and surprising small.

Comments about Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens:

The overall image quality is sharp and impressive. The lens renders colors nicely and produces some very pleasing contrast. Of the m4/3 lenses I own, this is the main one that really competes with the 20mm pancake for time on the camera.

Although expensive, this lens is worth the price. The macro capabilities are fairly impressive, both in terms of image output and a surprisingly usable auto-focus in the majority of close-up situations. The lens also does a good job of fulfilling its obvious secondary purpose, that of a portrait lens. The quick auto-focus (when set to "Limit") also makes this lens a good tool for street photography.

Due to the f/2.8 wide end, the lens works better for outdoor shooting than indoor. It also does not provide sufficient bokeh to separate the subject from the background in many portrait shooting situations. I wish it were an f/2 lens, but alas such is not the case. Maybe Panasonic will grace us with a fast portrait length lens in the near future.

Bottom line: I don't regret purchasing this lens and even wish I had purchased it sooner.