lens comparison

Panasonic Lumix 14mm f/2.5 vs Leica DG 15mm f/1.7 – The complete comparison

panasonic 14mm vs 15mm

The Lumix G 14mm and Leica DG 15mm are both wide-angle primes from Panasonic. In addition to having a similar field of view, they both offer a relatively bright maximum aperture in a compact lens body. There are, however, quite a few differences that set them apart, starting with the ‘Leica’ designation of the latter and of course, the price. In fact, the 15mm is approximately twice as expensive as the 14mm at the time of writing.

In this comparison, we’re going to be looking at how these two primes compare, and more importantly, whether the 15mm is worth the extra investment. Let’s get started!

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Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 vs 90mm f/2 – The complete comparison

The Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 has long been one of the most popular lenses for the Fuji APS-C mirrorless system. It has a fast aperture, a lovely rendering for portraits and its size – while not the smallest in the line-up – fits most X-series cameras well. It would be my first recommendation to any serious portrait photographer.

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Tokina Firin 20mm f/2 vs Zeiss Loxia 21mm f/2.8 – The complete comparison

tokina firin 20mm vs zeiss loxia 21mm-4

Back in early 2016, Mathieu spent two very enjoyable weeks in Wales and London using the Zeiss Loxia 21mm f/2.8, the company’s third manual focus E-mount lens. Just before we had to send the lens back, he said something that he doesn’t often say about the gear we test:

“If I stopped reviewing gear today, the Loxia 21mm is the first lens I’d want in my personal collection.”

Our positive experience with the Loxia was the main reason for our curiosity about the Tokina Firin 20mm f/2, which we first saw last year at Photokina. Despite having very similar fields of view, the Firin benefits from a marginally faster aperture and currently costs around $650 less than the Zeiss equivalent.

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Samyang 50mm f/1.2 vs Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 – The complete comparison

If you are looking for a portrait lens for the Fujifilm X series, the first choice that many photographers would recommend is the XF 56mm f/1.2. Released two years ago, it was the first lens designed specifically for portraits by Fujifilm and is one of my favourites from the brand.

Before that, the only viable option was the XF 60mm f/2.4 semi-macro lens released alongside the X-Pro1 in 2012. Today the choice for portrait photography has increased with the addition of the 56mm f/1.2 APD, the XF 90mm f/2 and the cheaper XF 50mm f2 (see our XF 50mm vs 56mm vs 60mm comparison here).

However up until last year the system was lacking an alternative from third-party manufactuers. This is where Samyang comes in with its 50mm f/1.2 which was released in 2015.

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Fujifilm XF 50mm f/2 vs 56mm f/1.2 vs 60mm f/2.4 – The complete comparison

fuji 50mm vs 56mm vs 60mm

The Fujifilm XF 50mm f/2 arrived on the scene last year, completing the triad of inexpensive and lightweight f/2 primes for the system. With its equivalent field of view of 76mm in 35mm format, it is long enough to be considered a decent portrait lens but can also work for events and everyday walk-around photography.

No sooner was this lens released than people began to wonder how it compares to two other lenses for the Fujifilm X series with a similar focal length: the premium XF 56mm f/1.2* and the five-year-old XF 60mm f/2.4 – and rightly so, since it is the most affordable of the three despite being the most recent.

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