GAS GAS: Please Share your Latest Acquisitions Big and Small

This will be another of those situations where I have to remember not to play with someone else's toy too much... Received a used G100 body from a forum member over on Mu-43. This is a really nice little camera! Extremely solid composite build, and a grip that fills out the hand pretty well given its size. The EVF is a good size and is quite clear, although in certain lighting or at certain angles I can see the refresh rate (or sequential frames maybe, not sure yet) which oddly didn't ever happen to me with the GX85 or GX9 EVF. Still, overall a sweet package, and will be a pleasing upgrade for, well, for my wife... not for me!

Not that she'll mind my using it sometimes when I'm jonesing for some L Monochrome D! Still waiting for her replacement Panny 12-32mm to show up, so the 20/1.7 was all I had around for the test shots...

P1010005.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


P1010007.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


P1010008.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


P1010010.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
After selling my last two Olympuses (or is it Olympii?) - a Pen F and a pristine older E-P3 - I mistakenly believed that there would be no other Olympus in my photographic future. But I was mistaken: the universe wanted me to finally have a compact digital Pen I've always admired, the E-P5.

XPro3_Sept15_21_EP5+20mm#1.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


This one was well-treated by another photographer. Although it has nearly identical dimensions to the Pen F, it feels much, much smaller 'in hand'. And very, very solid; it's surprisingly heavy for such a little thing.

XPro3_Sept15_21_EP5+20mm#2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


The lens which is going to live permanently on it is v2 of the Lumix 20mm. I've owned two previous versions of this smallish marvel, I gave one away and sold the other, but it was one of the few lenses I truly and seriously missed. Maybe the 3rd time's the charm. Though the lens is made by Panasonic and the body by Olympus, they seem to be meant for one another.

XPro3_Sept15_21_EP5+20mm#3.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


Guy Parsons, the moderator of the micro-four-thirds Forum on DPReview, has been an E-P5 evangelist since time immemorial, but never having used one before, I'll confess to reading some of his accolades with a grain of salt. But now, holding it in my hand, I have to agree with him: it's one fine little camera. 'Little' is relative, it's not jeans-pocketable but definitely jacket-pocket-pocketable.
 
Last edited:
After selling my last two Olympuses (or is it Olympii?) - a Pen F and a pristine older E-P3 - I mistakenly believed that there would be no other Olympus in my photographic future. But I was mistaken: the universe wanted me to finally have a compact digital Pen I've always admired, the E-P5.

View attachment 270506

This one was well-treated by another photographer. Although it has nearly identical dimensions to the Pen F, it feels much, much smaller 'in hand'. And very, very solid; it's surprisingly heavy for such a little thing.

View attachment 270507

The lens which is going to live permanently on it is v2 of the Lumix 20mm. I've owned two previous versions of this smallish marvel, I gave one away and sold the other, but it's was one of the few lenses I truly and seriously missed. Maybe the 3rd time's the charm. Though the lens is made by Panasonic and the body by Olympus, they seem to be meant for one another.

View attachment 270508

Guy Parsons, the moderator of the micro-four-thirds Forum on DPReview, has been an E-P5 evangelist since time immemorial, but never having used one before, I'll confess to reading some of his accolades with a grain of salt. But now, holding it in my hand, I have to agree with him: it's one fine little camera. 'Little' is relative, it's not jeans-pocketable but definitely jacket-pocket-pocketable.
FYI, the VF-4 EVF for it is brilliant.
 
After selling my last two Olympuses (or is it Olympii?) - a Pen F and a pristine older E-P3 - I mistakenly believed that there would be no other Olympus in my photographic future. But I was mistaken: the universe wanted me to finally have a compact digital Pen I've always admired, the E-P5.

View attachment 270506

This one was well-treated by another photographer. Although it has nearly identical dimensions to the Pen F, it feels much, much smaller 'in hand'. And very, very solid; it's surprisingly heavy for such a little thing.

View attachment 270507

The lens which is going to live permanently on it is v2 of the Lumix 20mm. I've owned two previous versions of this smallish marvel, I gave one away and sold the other, but it was one of the few lenses I truly and seriously missed. Maybe the 3rd time's the charm. Though the lens is made by Panasonic and the body by Olympus, they seem to be meant for one another.

View attachment 270508

Guy Parsons, the moderator of the micro-four-thirds Forum on DPReview, has been an E-P5 evangelist since time immemorial, but never having used one before, I'll confess to reading some of his accolades with a grain of salt. But now, holding it in my hand, I have to agree with him: it's one fine little camera. 'Little' is relative, it's not jeans-pocketable but definitely jacket-pocket-pocketable.
Excellent camera. I bought one and used it until I got PenF. Sold it and immediately regretted it. Bought another and still use it often. I have that same lens. I used that combo for the Single in Oct back in 2018. I think you will really like it.
 
After selling my last two Olympuses (or is it Olympii?) - a Pen F and a pristine older E-P3 - I mistakenly believed that there would be no other Olympus in my photographic future. But I was mistaken: the universe wanted me to finally have a compact digital Pen I've always admired, the E-P5.

View attachment 270506

This one was well-treated by another photographer. Although it has nearly identical dimensions to the Pen F, it feels much, much smaller 'in hand'. And very, very solid; it's surprisingly heavy for such a little thing.

View attachment 270507

The lens which is going to live permanently on it is v2 of the Lumix 20mm. I've owned two previous versions of this smallish marvel, I gave one away and sold the other, but it was one of the few lenses I truly and seriously missed. Maybe the 3rd time's the charm. Though the lens is made by Panasonic and the body by Olympus, they seem to be meant for one another.

View attachment 270508

Guy Parsons, the moderator of the micro-four-thirds Forum on DPReview, has been an E-P5 evangelist since time immemorial, but never having used one before, I'll confess to reading some of his accolades with a grain of salt. But now, holding it in my hand, I have to agree with him: it's one fine little camera. 'Little' is relative, it's not jeans-pocketable but definitely jacket-pocket-pocketable.
Loved mine too.
FYI, the VF-4 EVF for it is brilliant.
Yes.
 

There's an old saying, "you can't judge a book by its cover", and camera lenses certainly are not books (although, conversely, they allow us to 'read' the world around us in unique ways) - but if one were to judge this lens merely by its external appearance (aka its "cover") - it looks like the kind of photographic equivalent of a book that one might read and re-read repeatedly, without ever getting bored.

Short version: what a beautiful lens, Matt.

I suspect you are going to use it to create arresting images and photos with 'character'. Congratulations!
 
When I bought my Pen-F in 2018 the immediate buyer's remorse revolved around the fact that EP5 might have been the better option for my needs, at 1/4 of the cost.
Of course I have an E-P5 (it's a Pen after all) and the first curtain shutter setting really fixed it's only problem, which was some shutter shock. The 16 MP mu43 sensor lasted a long time but it really was a sweet spot for mu43 sensors.
 
I'm still waiting for TTArtisan 50mm f1.2 to be delivered, but managed to snatch 35mm f1.4 locally :)

Wrote down some initial impressions, if someone might be interested:


View attachment 251664

Hey, Milan---

This post of yours - when you reviewed the TTArtisan 35mm lens - is an older one - but I'm curious if you found that the TTArtisan 50mm lens lived up to your expectations of what it could or should do? I suspect it did - judging by the number of times I've seen you post remarkable photographs taken with it - but I wondered if, over the long run, you have found it a satisfying tool?

Confession: I'm thinking of getting one for myself (for my own recently acquired Fuji body), inspired in no small measure by both the ridiculously low price, and the generally positive words some good photographers have written about it.
 
@MiguelATF One might think that I wasn't satisfied as I haven't written my review but it is not the case at all. It's just that I have been very busy so (A) I haven't shot a lot and didn't immediately have as much quality samples for the review and (B) I didn't even had the time, or will, to write at least something with those samples I had :) But during our recent week-long vacation I mostly shot with it and only switched to 35 for wide panoramas.

So, my impressions in brief? Build quality is as great as 35; as this is at least twice as big and heavy lens, it feels more solid and substantial, but still relatively compact and keeping that "bijou" factor of a nicely made object that inspires to be held and operated. Aperture ring clicks subtly and nicely as 35, focusing is smooth and well dampened.

Image quality is great, at least for my undemanding demands. I never shoot test charts or similar critical corner sharpness comparisons; I just use the lens and enjoy the results. When I don't, it's usually my fault :) Bokeh is smooth and pleasant and sharpness wide open is sufficient for me. Of course, it will not beat a better and much more expensive lens, but it can sure give you some nice images.

I think it comes down mostly to focal length; do you think that 75mm FOV might suit you. Outdoors, while walking around on paths and through the forest, it felt OK to me and I wasn't feeling constrained by somewhat longer FL than my usual (I tend to mostly live between 28 and 50mm in FF equivalence, and when I go longer, it's either my 100 or 135 Minoltas). Inside it can get a bit tight.

Before I bought it, I researched a bit all the (modern) manual budget options and decided to go for this one, both because of its rendering as well as its construction. I just love that lens in my hand, to me it is very beautiful object (much more than that somewhat weird shape of 35) and very smooth in operation. And I'm pleased with the results.

I guess you have already seen Jonas Rask's review, that was the one that sold this lens to me :)


And I just love Alik Griffin's site and his reviews, so maybe you will to:

 
Last edited:
@MiguelATF One might think that I wasn't satisfied as I haven't written my review but it is not the case at all. It's just that I have been very busy so (A) I haven't shot a lot and didn't immediately have as much quality samples for the review and (B) I didn't even had the time, or will, to write at least something with those samples I had :) But during our recent week-long vacation I mostly shot with it and only switched to 35 for wide panoramas.

So, my impressions in brief? Build quality is as great as 35; as this is at least twice as big and heavy lens, it feels more solid and substantial, but still relatively compact and keeping that "bijou" factor of a nicely made object that inspires to be held and operated. Aperture ring clicks subtly and nicely as 35, focusing is smooth and well dampened.

Image quality is great, at least for my undemanding demands. I never shoot test charts or similar critical corner sharpness comparisons; I just use the lens and enjoy the results. When I don't, it's usually my fault :) Bokeh is smooth and pleasant and sharpness wide open is sufficient for me. Of course, it will not beat a better and much more expensive lens, but it can sure give you some nice images.

I think it comes down mostly to focal length; do you think that 75mm FOV might suit you. Outdoors, while walking around on paths and through the forest, it felt OK to me and I wasn't feeling constrained by somewhat longer FL than my usual (I tend to mostly live between 28 and 50mm in FF equivalence, and when I go longer, it's either my 100 or 135 Minoltas). Inside it can get a bit tight.

Before I bought it, I researched a bit all the (modern) manual budget options and decided to go for this one, both because of its rendering as well as its construction. I just love that lens in my hand, to me it is very beautiful object (much more than that somewhat weird shape of 35) and very smooth in operation. And I'm pleased with the results.

I guess you have already seen Jonas Rask's review, that was the one that sold this lens to me :)


And I just love Alik Griffin's site and his reviews, so maybe you will to:


Thank you for your impressions. I had already read both of those reviews and the lens strikes me as an interesting piece of kit. I believe the design/architecture/engineering of the lens is inspired by some of Leica's Sonnar designs, simple classic stuff that always seems to work. And though many modern lenses don't include click stops, the fact that this one has them is, for me at least, a huge plus. Merci encore pour tes impressions!
 
Let us know how you like it. I'm quite interested in one of these.
Okay, this was ... well, not unexpected, because the lens' quality is a known quantity, but still much more pleasantly surprising than I dared hope.

A few observations:
  • I was afraid of the size and weight of the lens - compared to other 50mm lenses I own for the M mount, it seemed a bit bulky on paper. The good news: It isn't, period. While it fails the "Benj Haish" test (it's a smidgen too long and heavy to not make the camera tip forward when set down on a flat surface), it balances perfectly well on the M10 - I did a swift walk with it in hand for almost 40 minutes without the tiniest inkling of wrist strain.
  • Mechanically, it's wonderfully smooth, near perfect (better than the very pleasant Summicron-M 50mm f/2, and better than its already impressive Nokton 50mm f/1.2 stablemate. But while the Leica lens' aperture ring feels a bit loose and the Nokton is certainly a hefty piece of kit, the APO-Lanthar strikes a great balance: It's reassuringly solid with positive action, but certainly not massive.
  • Optically, it's all I had hoped for; it's not only very, very sharp (heck, it's an APO-Lanthar), it also renders very smoothly, not over-clinically at all. And of course, it's highly corrected, so it doesn't exhibit any of the idiosynrcrasies of the Nokton f/1.2 - a lens that performs very impressively when stopped down and has character wide open, but never reaches that kind of serene mastery. The Summicron-M, on the other side, is well-behaved, but less well corrected, and especially at close quarters, it simply can't keep up.
  • This means that the APO-Lanthar has, right after my first outing with it, replaced the Summicron-M as my "alternative" 50mm alongside the Nokton f/1.2 - and not only that: This lens *is* (not: may become or will become) my go-to 50mm on the M10 from now on, with the Nokton now riding shotgun. The Summicron-M still has its size and size-performance ratio going for it and has its new place in my travel kit (that's centered on the M 262 - for peace-of-mind reasons mainly, but also because I really like that body as well) where it is the preferred 50mm option (and now lords it over the wonderful, but slightly quirky Nokton f/1.5, first version - a lens I like better as a single-lens solution, but which is certainly not as optically reliable).
To sum up my first impressions: Very, very satisfied with the APO-Lanthar - I mostly knew what I'd be getting in terms of optical performance, but I'm super-stoked that this lens is so very comfortable to carry and work with as well. I'll go out on a limb and say: If you want a high-end 50mm lens for your M mount body, look no further - there's nothing better in this segment of the market, and not for three times the price, either. And I say this while owning another fantastic 50mm from another brand, the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S - a great performer in its own right (clearly better than the Summicron-M, too), and really quite cheap for what it is, but not quite on this level optically. And that is really saying something.

M.
 
Okay, this was ... well, not unexpected, because the lens' quality is a known quantity, but still much more pleasantly surprising than I dared hope.

A few observations:
  • I was afraid of the size and weight of the lens - compared to other 50mm lenses I own for the M mount, it seemed a bit bulky on paper. The good news: It isn't, period. While it fails the "Benj Haish" test (it's a smidgen too long and heavy to not make the camera tip forward when set down on a flat surface), it balances perfectly well on the M10 - I did a swift walk with it in hand for almost 40 minutes without the tiniest inkling of wrist strain.
  • Mechanically, it's wonderfully smooth, near perfect (better than the very pleasant Summicron-M 50mm f/2, and better than its already impressive Nokton 50mm f/1.2 stablemate. But while the Leica lens' aperture ring feels a bit loose and the Nokton is certainly a hefty piece of kit, the APO-Lanthar strikes a great balance: It's reassuringly solid with positive action, but certainly not massive.
  • Optically, it's all I had hoped for; it's not only very, very sharp (heck, it's an APO-Lanthar), it also renders very smoothly, not over-clinically at all. And of course, it's highly corrected, so it doesn't exhibit any of the idiosynrcrasies of the Nokton f/1.2 - a lens that performs very impressively when stopped down and has character wide open, but never reaches that kind of serene mastery. The Summicron-M, on the other side, is well-behaved, but less well corrected, and especially at close quarters, it simply can't keep up.
  • This means that the APO-Lanthar has, right after my first outing with it, replaced the Summicron-M as my "alternative" 50mm alongside the Nokton f/1.2 - and not only that: This lens *is* (not: may become or will become) my go-to 50mm on the M10 from now on, with the Nokton now riding shotgun. The Summicron-M still has its size and size-performance ratio going for it and has its new place in my travel kit (that's centered on the M 262 - for peace-of-mind reasons mainly, but also because I really like that body as well) where it is the preferred 50mm option (and now lords it over the wonderful, but slightly quirky Nokton f/1.5, first version - a lens I like better as a single-lens solution, but which is certainly not as optically reliable).
To sum up my first impressions: Very, very satisfied with the APO-Lanthar - I mostly knew what I'd be getting in terms of optical performance, but I'm super-stoked that this lens is so very comfortable to carry and work with as well. I'll go out on a limb and say: If you want a high-end 50mm lens for your M mount body, look no further - there's nothing better in this segment of the market, and not for three times the price, either. And I say this while owning another fantastic 50mm from another brand, the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S - a great performer in its own right (clearly better than the Summicron-M, too), and really quite cheap for what it is, but not quite on this level optically. And that is really saying something.

M.
Have you used the latest Voigt 35mm F1.2 III Matt? From what I've seen, the rendering from that lens looks stunning, dare I say it better than any native mordern/ current Leica lens at that focal length. Just wondering if that and the Lanthar are one and the same in that respect.
 
Have you used the latest Voigt 35mm F1.2 III Matt? From what I've seen, the rendering from that lens looks stunning, dare I say it better than any native mordern/ current Leica lens at that focal length. Just wondering if that and the Lanthar are one and the same in that respect.
Ray: Unfortunately, I haven't shot the 35mm f/1.2 III, but my best guess is that the Nokton 50mm f/1.2 and 35mm f/1.2 III are in the same league - and the 50mm f/1.2 is an astonishing lens in its own right, considering its ambitious specs at the price it goes for. The APO-Lanthar plays in a different league, though - maybe not rendering-wise, but overall optically. The Nokton is absolutely usable at f/1.2 and sharpens up nicely by f/5.6 - but the APO-Lanthar is there at f/2, and then some ...

Anyway, the 35mm "equivalent" (if that's a thing) of the 50mm APO-Lanthar would be - the 35mm APO-Lanthar; however, the 50mm is said to be a little more even and stronger than its wider sibling across the field. I haven't had an opportunity to try that lens either ... And most peculiarily, I think I don't need a better (small-ish) 35mm lens than my Zeiss C Biogon 35mm f/2.8 - yes, it's not the fastest, but this thing is optically so close to impeccable that I'm simply not in the market for anything else in this class.

So, YMMV. However, like you, I do like what I've seen from the 35mm f/1.2 III - I just can't justify *that* lens as well, what with me hanging on to the Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/1.4 ... which is an absolutely stunning (if bulky) fast 35mm for M mount; no APO, but tack sharp even wide open where it counts, with very impressive rendering (best subject isolation I've seen on a 35mm). But ... it's big, and it feels very dense. And I have to say that the 35mm f/1.2 III, while a tad smaller and lighter than the Distagon (yes, indeed), is still very comparable to the decisively majestic 50mm f/1.2 ... All these lenses do feel nose-heavy on any M, even when used with an additional grip (I prefer ThumbsUps anyway). If you don't mind that, they're very appealing options indeed, and the Voigtländer Nokton 35mm f/1.2 III is much more affordable than the Zeiss Distagon ...

But, you see ... The APO-Lanthar impresses me most by how well balanced it is - sporting the optics it has! I'm sold ... just as well, I guess :)

M.
 
Back
Top