LUMIX was an original part of the Micro Four Thirds alliance that gave us some of the first mirrorless-autofocus cameras. And since then, they’ve been churning out a bunch that continue to satisfy photographers even today. Their latest, the LUMIX G9II, is a special entry into this world that has photographers in mind. So if you’re considering getting one, pair it with a lens that’s going to impress people too. We dove into our Reviews Index to find the best lenses for the LUMIX G9II if you’re into small primes.
The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear we’ve fully reviewed. If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
This blog post is presented in partnership with LUMIX.
How We Test and Choose the Best Lenses for the Lumix G9II if You Like Small Primes
- The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear we’ve fully reviewed in these roundups.
- If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
- When we test lenses, we’ve got various things in mind. First off, we consider who might want to buy the lens and what they might do with it. With that in mind, we try to tackle at least three genres of photography with that lens in a variety of situations. If the lens has weather resistance, then we’ll test it accordingly with a weather-resistant camera. We also test the autofocus of the lens in continuous mode, single mode, with exposure preview effects, without those effects, and then with all the major image quality parameters. These days, no one really makes a bad lens — but some are far better than others.
- In this specific roundup, we’re basing our findings on the reviews that we’ve done. We’re choosing a favorite, but we’re also giving photographers a bunch of others that they might like, depending on how they shoot.
Our Choice for the Best Prime Lens for the LUMIX G9II: LUMIX 42.5mm f1.7
We called this little gem a small but spectacular lens when we reviewed it. The LUMIX 42.5mm f1.7 is one of our favorites here for a slew of reasons. First off, LUMIX’s colors are great for portraits, and you can all REAL TIME LUTs to the camera to make them look like film if you want. It’s also pretty affordable, which is a big plus for most conumers, including us. And perhaps most of all, it’s small. That means that you’ll want to carry it everywhere with you.
Our only qualm: there’s no weather resistance. But you can work around that considering the price point.
- This lens is so tiny that it’s cute.
- Weighs less than a third of a pound.
- Simple controls, plus stabilization.
- Autofocus is good in most scenarios.
- Lots of bokeh for the Micro Four Thirds format
- Images are sharp
- The streaky flare is really fun to play with.
- The lens sells for less than $400.
In our review, we state:
The Panasonic 42.5mm f1.7 delivers solid image quality for a sub-$400 wide aperture lens. Despite the smaller Micro Four Thirds sensor, there’s still plenty of bokeh. Panasonic also didn’t murder the flare with too many lens coatings, so there are some creative effects to be had here. However, there is some chromatic aberration and occasional color issues to contend with.
TECH SPECS
LensRentals lists the following tech specs for the Panasonic 42.5mm f1.7:
- Angle of View: 29°
- Aperture: f/1.7-22
- Autofocus: Autofocus
- Brand: Panasonic
- Diameter: 2.17”
- Dimensions, Length: 1.97″
- Filter Size: 37.0mm (non-rotating front element)
- Filter Style: non-rotating front element
- Flare Resistance: Unknown
- Focal Length: 42.5-42.5
- Focusing System: Internal, stepping motor, non-rotating
- Groups/Elements: 8/10
- Hood Included: Yes
- Image Stabilization: Yes
- Item Type: Lens
- Lens Type: Normal Range and Telephoto
- Low Dispersion Elements: 0
- Max Aperture: 1.7
- Maximum Magnification: 0.2x
- Minimum Aperture: 22.0
- Minimum Focusing Distance: 1.02feet
- Mount: Micro 4/3rds
- Weather Resistant: No
- Weight: 0.29 lbs
- Zoom Method: NA
Three Other Great Options for the Best Prime Lens for the LUMIX G9II
Lots of photographers buy a real camera for the zoom capabilities. But some of us really only want very good prime lenses. And for that reason, we’re recommending a few other lenses that we also think could be considered the best small lens for the LUMIX G9II. Here are three others that are pretty great.
LUMIX 20mm f1.7 II
- Pretty darn sharp when stopped down
- Fast to focus
- Very film-like color rendition
- Distortion is low
- Nice build, coupled with a low-profile design
In our review, we state:
Yes, this is a pancake lens. Panasonic and Micro Four Thirds in general have always been great at creating smaller lenses that perform admirably. When you first look at the front of the lens, you’ll see the Lumix branding as well as other details pertinent to what the lens is.
LUMIX 12mm f1.4
- Stellar image quality
- Great autofocus
- Beautiful colors
- Smallish size
- Weather sealing
In our review, we state:
Obviously, the best bokeh you’re going to get is when you shoot wide open and get close to a subject. But the bokeh overall is very creamy, beautiful, and makes working with the lens worth its weight in gold. For food photographers, this is great.
LUMIX 15mm f1.7
- Super sharp
- Beautiful bokeh when you get it
- Build quality that puts many other lenses to shame
- Super small
- Aperture ring is so pleasant
- Super fast focusing
Best For: Try it for street photography!
In our review, we state:
The build quality of this lens makes it feel very much like a Leica M mount offering. However, this lens has autofocus and doesn’t have the buttery smooth focusing Leica lenses have. It isn’t weather sealed either, but the metal exterior makes it feel so much better in your hand.
Using This Guide to the Best Prime Lens for the LUMIX G9II
If you’re considering purchasing anything from this list of the best prime lenses for the LUMIX G9II, know the following:
- All the product images and sample photos in these roundups are shot by our staff. In fact, we don’t talk about products at length in roundups like this unless we’ve done full reviews of them. But you can surely know that we’ve done all the research ourselves.
- This list of the best LUMIX lenses for travel photography includes a lot of options for a variety of photographers. We didn’t necessarily feel the need for a longer portrait focal length because a few of the lenses are more than good enough for most needs when it comes to shooting that subject matter. But otherwise, we were focusing on small, lightweight, rugged, and high-performance.
- If you shoot portraits, consider the 42.5mm.
- If you shoot landscapes, try out the 12mm or 15mm.
- Truly, you could create a whole kit for your LUMIX Micro Four Thirds camera by buying all these lenses and therefore being all set.
- We chose these lenses because they’re small, affordable, lightweight, and deliver image quality that lots of photographers will enjoy.
- All of these lenses work well with any Micro Four Thirds camera.
- This guide contains products we’ve reviewed. Luckily,, we’ve reviewed the vast majority of Panasonic lenses and modern lenses in general. Our Ethical Practices don’t allow us to feature products we haven’t fully reviewed. So when we say these are the best small primes for the Panasonic G9II, we mean it.
- This guide is sponsored by LUMIX, who trusts us and understands that we have a set of ethics when it comes to reviewing products. All the product images and sample images in this roundup were shot by Phoblographer staff. There are also links to our fuller reviews.
- These are the best small lenses for the LUMIX G9II if you’re looking for something really small overall. Who really wants to travel heavy anyway?
- Generally speaking, LUMIX lenses work better on LUMIX bodies than they do with others within the Micro Four Thirds market. Part of this has to do with the motors being used.
- Some of these lenses have an aperture ring around them. That means you can control the F-Stop from the camera itself or from the lens, depending on how you have it configured.
Picking the Right One For You
If you’re still a bit confused as to the right lens for you, here are some questions to ask yourself
- What’s your budget?
- How will you use the product?
- What lighting situations are you in, and how will that affect what you’re doing? Our reviews hyperlinked in this article can help with that.
- Are you traveling a lot with it?
- Will you be using it in a situation that’s a bit rougher?
- Who else uses this product? How are they using it?
- What’s so appealing about this product that I can’t get from what I have already or something else?
- When will I really have time to use this product?
- Where will I bring this product?
- How will this product help bring me joy and joy in my photography?
These are just a few of the questions that we ask ourselves, but we think that you should ask yourself these for sure.