Initial experience of Pany 20/1.7

I was curious because the 20/1.7 scored so well in dpreview.com tests. So I looked at more lenses, and the only better ones I found were the Nikon 50/1.4 G, and (stopped-down at edges) the Sigma 50/1.4 EX. Canon, Pentax, Sony 50/1.4 lenses were all worse, some significantly so, as were the good-reputation zooms. I heard the Sigma 70/2.8 macro scores extremely high in MTF testing, but dpreview has not reviewed it.

 

So: amazing for a pancake lens, and it is not even Leica branded.

<p>Vivek, I know and 900 euros is too much, plain and simple. I'm not so tempted about the G1 as the form factor of the GF1 is more tempting, but I'm going to keep an open mind and wait for more reviews.</p>

<p>Hi Akira,</p>

<p>I plan to visit Tokyo and Kyoto by the end of October. Where can I go to buy the 20/1.7 at a good price? How much is it right now in Japan? It is $400 here and I hope it would be cheaper to buy it in Japan. I am still waiting for the price of GH1 to fall. It seems that the supply of GH1 is finally caught up with the demand and it is now readily available at Amazon, B&H, and Adorama. However it is still sold at $1500, which I think is over-priced considering the fact that it is all plastic not a durable built. I know its price has come down substantially in Japan, and even in Canada. However those that are sold in Japan have only Japanese menu. Do you know if there are places in Tokyo where one can find GH1 with English menu? (I don't want to get you into legal trouble though, ...) </p>

<p>CC, the lowest offered price of 20/1.7 in Japan is 37,346 JPY as of Oct. 9, according to Japan's most famous price comparison website (kakaku.com). Considering the currency rate today (1 USD = 90 JPY), this is equal to around 415 USD. The price will vary but the cheapest I've seen was about 35,000 JPY. So, at least at this moment, I would find no merit for you to purchase 20/1.7 in Japan. At least it is easy to find one here, though.</p>

<p>OTOH, GH1 with 14-140mm zoom kit is offered at 98,000 JPY now, but I bet this is the Japanese-only version. Unfortunately I don't know how to search the prices of the English versions online.</p>