The crop factor on Micro Four Thirds comes in handy with telephoto lenses — but the opposite is true when it comes to capturing ultra-wide views. Finding an ultra-wide, bright aperture MFT lens that isn’t aspherical is a challenge. The Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7 ASPH DG Summilux is one such lens. Equivalent to an 18mm lens, the lens captures an ultra-wide view without encroaching on fisheye territory. What’s even more impressive is that the Panasonic Leica 9mm does it all in a tiny body and for under $500.
Editor’s Note: This review was written several months ago at the end of 2023 and before we made the decision to stop reviewing products for small sensors. It has been consistently pushed off in our scheduling and we are now reviewing it.
The Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7 is a travel photographer’s dream, with the ability to shoot wide, close and in dim locations all in a lens that weighs a third of a pound. While there’s a lot to love about this 2022 release lens, pixel peepers might find a few things to complain about.
Table of Contents
The Big Picture
With a tiny body and ultra-wide view, the Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7 is a creative, versatile tool for Micro Four Thirds shooters. The lens is easy to carry around all day — even in snow or rain. The autofocus performed better than longer lenses. And the images this lens captures have nice colors, fun perspectives, and even some soft bokeh. Better yet, the lens lists for under $500.
While there’s lot to love about this lens, pixel peepers may not be quite so enthusiastic. The lens is softer around the edges and bokeh isn’t perfectly round. While it lacks stabilization, that’s not a deal-breaker on today’s stabilized bodies. I do wish it had the metal body of a Leica rather than the plastic body of a Panasonic, but for under $500, it’s a sacrifice worth making.
I’m giving the Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7 four out of five stars.
Pros
- Compact and lightweight
- 9mm that’s not a fisheye
- Bright f1.7 aperture
- Excellent half macro close-up capabilities
- Autofocus motor does well with action and low light
- Great colors
- Captures lovely blooms of light flares
- Creates some fun perspective distortion
- Excellent weather-sealing
- Budget-friendly
Cons
- I wish it had a metal barrel
- Some edge softness
- 7-blade aperture isn’t perfectly round
Gear Used
I used the Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7 with the Panasonic G9 II. Both the camera and lens are short term rentals provided by Panasonic for review purposes.
Innovations
Ultra-wides tend to struggle to focus up close, but that’s not the case with the Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7. The lens’.3 feet magnification and .25x magnification makes it equivalent to a half macro in 35mm equivalency. That’s some impressive versatility for an 18mm equivalent lightweight lens.
Ergonomics
The Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7 is a compact prime that’s easy to carry around. It weighs just a third of a pound and is about two inches long.
The tour of this lens is shorter than a tour of a New York City closet — the only control is the manual focus ring. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. The front of the lens accepts 55mm screw-in filters.
Build Quality
I shot with this lens in light but freezing rain, as well as some snow. Panasonic’s claims for dust, moisture and freeze-proof capabilities held up just fine. I didn’t experience any issues with the lens after working with it in the rain. I also didn’t spot any dust on the sensor or inside the lens.
While the tiny size would make the 9mm a good candidate for a metal exterior, the barrel is sadly plastic. It doesn’t feel awful, but it doesn’t feel like a Leica either.
Focusing
The Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7 can focus impressively close. The .3 foot focus distance translates to a .25x macro magnification. Double that for the 35mm equivalent and the lens is a half macro. Mixing the close focusing capabilities with the perspective distortion of a wide angle lens can create some fun results. Getting down to snowflake level detail is pretty impressive for an 18mm equivalent lens.
The ultra-wide view that widens the depth of field also gives the lens an autofocus boost. Photographing a dog running straight to the lens, the autofocus dropped a few frames, but performed better than the long lenses that I’ve used on the G9 II.
I did have a few dropped frames in low light, but not at a level to be concerned about. Overall, the autofocus locked on to a majority of the shots that I took that were lit solely by Christmas lights and street lights.
Ease of Use
The Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7 is a mount and shoot lens. It couldn’t really be any simpler, as there are no controls outside of the manual focus ring to mess with.
The lens, however, lacks stabilization. That’s not a deal-breaker with the ultra-wide focal length and the capabilities of in-body systems. On the G9 II, I was even able to take some fireworks photos handheld. Shots around half a second hit that sweet spot with intentional motion blur while keeping camera shake out of a majority of frames.
Image Quality
The Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7 is ultra-wide, ultra-bright goodness. The wide view mixed with the close focusing capabilities and wide aperture can make for some very fun shots. I knew exactly what I wanted to shoot with an ultra-wide that had the G9 II’s stabilization and true to expectations this lens delivered some lovely handheld shots of Christmas lights. But, pixel peep and you could quickly come up with a list of dislikes, like the softness towards the edges or bokeh balls that aren’t quite round.
Bokeh
A 9mm isn’t typically a bokeh machine. You’ll want to use that wide f1.7 aperture and get in close to the subject for soft backgrounds with this lens. Using the half macro, the lens creates some nicely soft backgrounds.
While difficult to do with the ultra-wide view, blurred points of light become lovely bokeh balls with soft edges. Pixel peep at 100 percent though, and the bokeh balls aren’t quite perfectly rounded — I could count the number of aperture blades without looking at the tech specs. Bokeh on the edges elongate more than at the center.
Color Rendition
The Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7 didn’t wash out any of the colors, keeping in tune with the color profiles I selected. Christmas lights and fireworks on a rainy night were nice and vivid. I also didn’t spot any colored fringing during the course of my review.
Lens Character
The Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7 has the unmistakeable look of an ultra-wide lens — it makes no attempts to shy away from the usual defining characteristics of such a lens. The edges are a bit softer than the center and perspective distortion can be quite dramatic. But, when you mix that perspective distortion and edge softness with close focusing and a wide f1.7 aperture, it’s a lovely combination.
When directed towards light, the lens creates some nice soft blooms of light. There’s a bit of potential for lens flare here, and it’s lovely. The lens leans towards soft blooms of light rather than dramatic flare with ghosting spots. But, I could occasionally get some small ghosting spots along with the soft, hazy flare.
Sharpness
I wanted to touch the sharpness slider in post just a little bit with this lens, particularly with off-center subjects. Subjects in the center are sharp without being too sharp. But the edges lack the clarity of many modern lenses. Still, just a bit of flexing in post can still create some lovely results. But, if you want JPEGs that are sharp right up to the very edge, this ultra wide probably isn’t your jam.
Extra Image Samples
From day one, The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, lots of folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the lens can do. So we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can make a decision for yourself.
Unedited
Edited
Who Should Buy It?
If you pixel peep your bokeh and edges, skip the Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7. But, if you want ultra-wide views with a bright aperture on a lens you can carry anywhere for under $500, buy the Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7. It’s a fun, affordable and compact lens for the Micro Four Thirds system.
Tech Specs
LensRentals lists the following tech specs for the Panasonic Leica 9mm f1.7:
- Angle of View: 100°
- Aperture Blades: 7, Rounded
- Autofocus: Autofocus
- Brand: Panasonic
- Filter Size: 55.0mm
- Focal Length: 9.0-9.0
- Hood Included: Yes
- Image Stabilization: No
- Item Type: Lens
- Lens Type: Wide Angle
- Max Aperture: 16.0
- Maximum Magnification: 0.25x
- Mfr. Model Number: H-X09
- Minimum Aperture: 1.7
- Minimum Focusing Distance: 0.3feet
- Mount: Micro 4/3rds
- Optical Design Groups/Elements: 9/12
- Aspherical Elements: 2
- Extra-Low Dispersion Elements: 2
- Ultra High-Refractive Index Elements: 1
- Physical Dimensions (ø x L): 2.4 × 2″
- Weight: 0.3 lb.
The Phoblographer may receive affiliate compensation for products purchased using links in this blog posted.