The Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH is the first true macro lens for Micro Four Thirds, and sees Panasonic 'rounding off' its initial lens line to provide users with examples of all of the most popular types (standard and telephoto kit zooms, wideangle zoom, superzoom, fast normal prime and...

• +

  Very good, if not quite outstanding, optics, Extremely compact and lightweight, True 1:1 macro, Reasonably effective image stabilization (but really need to use mode 1)

• -

  'Focus-by-wire' manual focus gives no tactile feedback, No distance or macro ratio scale, Rectangular lens hood doesn't reverse for storage, Slow maximum aperture not ideal for portrait use, Image stabilization ineffective at macro distances, Expensive

In the summary of the Panasonic-Leica DG MACRO-ELMARIT 45 mm f/2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. it would be difficult not to take into account the price, especially as we deal here with one of the most expensive lenses of the Micro 4/3 system.

• +

  compact and solid barrel,, sensational image quality in the frame centre,, negligible chromatic aberration,, low distortion,, well-corrected astigmatism,, decent work against bright light,, silent and accurate autofocus.

• -

  average image quality on the very edge of the frame,, noticeable coma,, a bit too high vignetting,, slow autofocus in the FULL mode.

Evaluating this lens with the Olympus E-M1 Mark II. Excellent lens optics and sharp images. Construction: The lens is extremely light in weight, auto focus is very slow (user guide states that focusing takes time) with the Olympus Pro Lenses the focusing is instantaneous.

Fantastic little lens. One of my favorites for m43. Such a beautiful macro look... The PanaLeica lenses really morph the sharpest of Carl Zeiss together with the color rendering more typical of canon into one. I couldn't be more pleased! Ironically, this also works great as a walk around lens.

Very good for both macro and scenic photography. Not at its optical best at f/2.8 and diffraction is obvious at f/16+ but otherwise excellent.

I purchased this for my new Lumix GX8 system. I have used this lens for portraits and for close-up or macro images. The image quality is extremely sharp...sharper than any of my other lenses I own! Great in low light or even during the day in bright sun. Quick focus! See for yourself!

I don't "love" this - but I have been impressed by it. It has a good pedigree (Leica) and so far has lived up to my expectations. If you are considering a micro four third (macro) lens its really worth bearing in mind that the focal lengths don't relate to APSC cameras.

love it, great macro lens

haven't used it much bought it for the wildflower season here in the desert which starts in Feb--but I did take this shot and from what I see I love it

The depth of field and quality of this lens is worth the price. Definitely one of the best lenses I own now!

Lens perfection.

This is not a technical review, but more an everyday use description of a fun lens to own. I've used this lens several times now that the weather is cooler. This lens brings a whole new perspective to my photography in that I'm now looking for the smallest of details.