Reviewed: Panasonic 42.5mm F/1.7 ASPH POWER O.I.S

Verdict: This lens is very lightweight making it easily portable. It doesn’t feel like the most robust build and does have a little vignetting but it’s very reasonably priced. It’s great for portraits and will provide quick, accurate results.

This compact Micro Four Thirds lens from Panasonic, which weighs only 130g, offers a 35mm equivalent of 85mm, and a wide f/1.7 aperture, making it ideal for close-up portraits.

The compact construction, though not the sturdiest feeling in test, packs ten elements in eight groups, including an aspherical element. It also offers seven rounded diaphragm blades for silky bokeh in the out-of-focus areas. The internal focusing motor is near-silent and produces quick and accurate results, which makes it ideal for focusing on the fly.

As for sharpness, this lens is astounding. Even the widest aperture of f/1.7 produces stunning results corner-to-corner, as well as allowing for silky-smooth blurred backgrounds and bokeh.

Wide open, you may notice a touch of chromatic aberration in high contrast areas, as well as a very slight vignetting at f/1.7, though for the price, this is easily forgiven and simple to fix in post-processing.

Want to see more? We've rounded up the best large-aperture portrait lenses.

Spec

Max aperture: f/1.7

Min aperture: f/22

Elements/groups: 10/8

Min focusing distance: 31cm

DxL: 55x50mm

Weight: 130g

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Kirk Schwarz is a tech-addicted photographer with over a decade's experience; Kirk’s used to putting new gear through extreme field testing. He's previously written for Practical Photography.