Panasonic LUMIX G LEICA DG NOCTICRON LENS, 42.5MM, F1.2 ASPH., PROFESSIONAL MIRRORLESS MICRO FOUR THIRDS, POWER OPTICAL I.S., H-NS043 (USA BLACK)

I have been shooting with this lens to review it for the last 2 weeks (my full review is online and can be googled) and I will state right off the bat, that YES it is expensive. I am not going to say "expensive for a Micro 4/3 lens" as I am one who feels Micro 4/3 can compete with ANY format, even full frame. I use and own a Leica M 240 with a couple of Leica's best lenses yet my #1 goto camera is the Olympus E-M1. I have also owned for a long term the Leica $11,000 Noctilux f/0.95 and no, there is nothing like that lens on the planet for 35mm but you can get a taste of the real deal for a fraction of that cost in this Panasonic Nocticron. Yes, seriously. But remember, I said a "taste" :)This Panasonic/Leica Nocticron is large, heavy and expensive but not nearly as large, heavy or expensive as the real deal, the Leica Noctilux. In fact, this lens is over $9000 less than the Leica Noctilux! Think about that.So how does this lens perform? My full review has loads of sample images and comparisons but I will state right now that this is the best performing, best built and most exotic lens (in AF) for the Micro 4/3 system. Hands down.Sure there is the Olympus 45 1.8 that comes in at around $350, and yes, that is a fantastic lens. IN reality, it is the lens most should buy in this focal length. It is small, light, fast, sharp and cheap. Then there is the amazingly good Voigtlander 42.5 f/0.95 that is built even better but is manual focus only and around $1000.This Nocticron is for those who want "the best" with AF. By that I mean, the best sharpness (even wide open at 1.2 this is a SHARP lens), the best contrast (this lens has superb contrast for major POP), 3 Dimensional feel (this lens beats the Olympus 45 in this area) and BOKEH quality (the Bokeh is just as smooth as the Noctilux from Leica).This lens performs in ALL areas from AF speed to IQ to 3D pop. In fact, I was showing an image to a friend and he thought I shot it with the Leica and Noct! The lens has a way of giving that subject separation that the 45 does not quite achieve in the same way though IMO it does not reach Leica Noct levels. It has a little bit of Leica Magic and not because Leica made this lens (because they do not make it) but because Panasonic used quality glass and build and direction from Leica in the design.The question for most will be "is it worth $1000 more than the 45 1.8"? For most the answer is NO! Buy the 45 and be happy. But as I said..if you crave that special look, that extra bit of bite, 3D pop and performance then the Nocticron may be just what you crave. For portraits it is sublime. For night shooting it is a light sucking lens which gives your images light when there is none to be seen. It is a masterpiece of design though I wish it did NOT have built in IS (as it would have been smaller).The lens works great on the Olympus E-M1 and Panasonic GX7 (tested on both) but the aperture dial only works on Panasonic bodies. On Olympus you will use the thumb dial.Every now and again in the camera world a special product comes along..items like the real Leica Noctilux..the Sony RX1...the Olympus E-M1...and now the Panasonic Nocticron.If you adore fast glass, this is as good as it gets for M 4/3. Is it good enough to warrant the price tag? Only you can be the judge of that but as for me, my review sample went back and I immediately came to Amazon to buy my own, and yes, I have the 45 1.8 as well. I would not have spent the extra if it did not give me that extra bit over the 45 yet it did from sharpness, bokeh quality, color, contrast, CA, etc.Fantastic lens, a statement piece from Panasonic. Can't wait to test the 15 1.7 that arrives this summer. I shoot ALL cameras and have for the past 5 years. ALL. I review them, test them, use them and occasionally I buy the ones I truly love. I can easily state that Micro 4/3 has THE BEST lenses for any mirrorless system next to Leica M (yes, I prefer them by far to the Fuji offerings). So many amazing choices with quality build, speed and performance.Anyone who dismisses Micro 4/3 is missing out ;) I recently tested the Nikon 58 1.4 that comes in at $1700 and is MUCH larger and heavier than this lens and guess what? I prefer this lens over the Nikon in every way, even IQ. Yet no one moans and groans about the cost of the Nikon. Odd.So if you go for this lens know that it is a gem, one of the very best for M 4/3. But do not discount the much much cheaper 45 1.8 as that is also a gem even though it will not get you the color, contrast, bite and 3D separation of the Nocticron, it gets close.

The Panasonic Nocticron is probably the jewel of the MFT lenses, or at least the ones that I have tried. I am a huge fan of the Panasonic Leica 25mm F/1.4, but I really do think the Nocticron has it beat. At minimum it features a manual aperture ring plus image stabilization (which alone is not worth the extra $ in price). However, the Nocticron is just really.... good. I won't bore you with the technical details... they are available everywhere. The claim is that at wide open the corners are a bit soft... which is probably true... but not really noticeable.There is one thing that is noticeable with the Nocticron... and that is the limitations of my GH4 camera. The knock on the Panasonic GH4 is that it cannot match the color rendition of either Nikon/Canon DSLR's and with this lens that may might be a debatable. The Nocticron and my GH4 is fully capable of producing rich and vibrant colors.However.... at ISO 400 at F/1.4 I can start seeing some noise in the images. Admittedly, you have to zoom in at least 8x to see, but it is there. The reason why the Nocticron *exposes* this flaw is that it has such a large aperture and it is super sharp (especially at the center). Suddenly, the noise becomes rather obvious. I had never really noticed it until I began using the Nocticron. This can be handled in post-process, but it was a bit of an eye opener for me!Also, I am not exactly a Panasonic fan boy. The Panasonic "Video Optimized" 45-140mm F/4.0-5.8 nearly caused me to sell my GH4. That lens was bad as this one is good.Notes-- Great build quality - reminds me of Zeiss 100mm F/2 Macro lens for my Nikon (and that is a huge compliment).- Comes with a lens hood.- The image stabilization is a plus. The large aperture and slower shutter speeds that are allowed with the image stabilization helps me overcome some of the issues with the GH4 low light capabilities.- The autofocus is both fast and quiet - it is roughly equivalent of the Panasonic Leica 25mm F/1.4- Obviously the lens is very sharp. That is really just part of the equation.... the lens produces images with a vibrant look. What does that mean? Well it is hard to explain, but it is the overall image quality with sharpness, resolution, and color quality that really helps the image pop.- While the build quality is awesome... this is a heavy lens. It weighs about the same as the camera! It starts to get to the point where you are beginning to lose some of the portability you get by shooting with a mirroless camera!- Video- I probably still prefer the Panasonic Leica 25mm F/1.4 of the Nocticron for video footage, but that is more of a preference on focal length.Final Verdict - A great lens - if you are sold on MFT cameras the Nocticron is the lens you can buy knowing that it will remain the perfect lens in this focal length.5 Stars

If you really want to get the absolute most out of your MFT camera, this lens will help you do just that. Its so pleasing and fun to use. The 3D like renderings are matched by very few and far more expensive lenses out there. Very fast AF for a lens of this quality. It is a "go to" lens. Size does not bother me one bit as the pictures speak for themselves. Wonderful that the aperture control registers for Panasonic bodies. Im hoping Olympus will provide the same for this lens soon. Balances very well with the EM1. A little big on the GX7 but its nice to be able to put this big IQ monster in a small bag with a small camera body for some great exploratory work.If I was to complain about anything, and mind you its a small complaint, would be the close focus distance. If it was a tad shorter I think it would be perfect. Its not bad, but not great. Weatherproofing doesn't bother me as I rarely shoot in adverse weather and if I do, I have other lenses for that.

This is a wonderful, amazing lens. Since it's a prime, it's not as versatile as the Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm, but the colors, contrast, and overall look are so amazing that I love having opportunities to use it. This is one of those lenses that transcends its specs to produce images that are magical.The wide aperture works incredibly well for low-light situations or shallow depth-of-field effects. The manual aperture ring is really nice and the overall build quality is very high. The only downside is the substantial weight, particularly on a lightweight mirrorless camera.If you find the cost acceptable, you will not be disappointed with the results.