Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 lens officially announced

Panasonic has officially unveiled the new Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 ASPH lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras, which will also become a kit lens for the Panasonic GM1.

Panasonic has previously claimed that it is working on a new Leica-made Summilux lens for mirrorless cameras with Micro Four Thirds image sensor and mount.

After months of waiting, the Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 ASPH lens has become official with the promise of a bright aperture for low-light photography.

 Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 ASPH lens becomes official, sheds “under development” status

Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 is a new lens for the Micro Four Thirds cameras. It will offer a 35mm equivalent of 30mm when it finally hits the market this summer.

Panasonic has been flaunting the Leica 15mm f/1.7 lens ever since October 2013. Now, the product is finally here in a compact and lightweight body, the kind of combination which is appealing to mirrorless camera owners.

The internal design of the lens consists of only nine elements, including a trio of aspherical glass elements, split into seven groups.

The aspherical elements coupled with the Nano Surface Coating technology will cut down aberrations, distortions, ghosting, and flare among other unwanted optical defects.

Panasonic says the new Leica 15mm f/1.7 lens works great its high-speed cameras

The Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 lens will provide a 35mm focal length equivalent of 30mm. This is enough to keep it in the wide-angle range, so interior, landscape, and architecture photographers will surely want to take a closer look at this product.

Panasonic has revealed that its new optic comes packed with an improved focus technology that can be attributed to a new stepping motor, delivering quiet and smooth autofocus.

Additionally, the Leica 15mm f/1.7 lens supports a video shooting mode of up to 240fps, taking advantage of the new high-speed Panasonic cameras, such as the Lumix GX7 and Lumix GH4.

Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 lens release date and price

Panasonic has confirmed that its new lens will become available at the beginning of June 2014 for a price of £549.99 in black and silver colors.

Nevertheless, it will be offered as a kit lens for the Panasonic GM1. The bundle will be priced at £999.99. The company feels that the couple’s tiny bodies are a perfect match in order to form a “got to have it” kit.

Pricing in the US still needs to be determined, but the numbers should be equivalent with the ones in the UK.

Meanwhile, the body-only version of the Panasonic GM1 is available for a price under $600 at Amazon.