Lumix 20mm f/1.7 on Olympus E-P1

I've been waiting for the Panasonic micro-4/3rds Lumix 20mm f/1.7 lens to become available since I got my Olympus E-P1 back in July.

(See blog entry here.)

I prefer the grey Lumix 20 (shown on the left with UV filter attached) to the standard Olympus collapsible zoom (14-42mm f/3.5-5.6).

There are several reasons:

1. It's a fast lens f/1.7 useful for subject isolation (bokeh) and for indoors/low light situations.
2. It's not a macro lens but manages to focus down to 0.2m.
3. It's pancake in thickness and weighs just 100g. Much slimmer than the kit zoom. Perfect size for walkaround use.

The lens has received excellent reviews.

Styling-wise, it's very plain and looks a bit oversized in diameter compared to the E-P1 body. It's definitely not as attractive as the classic f/1.4 Voigtlander 35mm M-mount I also have:

It's about the same thickness as the E-P1 body.

Enough about the lens, some initial test photos (all taken at maximum aperture f/1.7) showing the subject isolation/bokeh characteristics of the lens. I was curious about the depth of field given the impact of the quarter-of-35mm size 4/3rds sensor.

From the lobby of the Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel in Shibuya, Tokyo:

Of technical interest only...

Depth of focus chart Click to zoom in.