The Panasonic Lumix G Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 ASPH. ($599.99) is a wide-angle lens with an all-metal build, a wide f/1.7 maximum aperture, and an aperture control ring. It's compatible with Micro Four Thirds cameras from Panasonic and Olympus, and is capable of capturing really terrific images with a 30mm (full-frame equivalent) field of view. It's quite similar in field of view, light gathering capability, and build quality to another Micro Four Thirds lens, the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f1.8($349.00 at Amazon), but it's a bit pricier. The Olympus 17mm earned our Editors' Choice award, and it remains our favorite prime Micro Four Thirds lens in this focal range, but the Summilux 15mm f/1.7 is a strong performer in its own right and shouldn't be discounted if you prefer a prime that's just a bit wider.

The Summilux($547.99 at Amazon) isn't quite as small as the 1.4-by-2.3-inch (HD) Olympus 17mm, but at 1.9 by 2.5 inches and 3.8 ounces it still qualifies as compact. Adding the included metal hood makes it a bit bigger; the lens measures 2.5 by 2.9 inches with the hood, and weighs 4.6 ounces. It's a bayonet mount and includes its own rubber lens cap; a removable beauty ring and a standard cap are included if you prefer to use the lens sans hood. The barrel is all metal; there's a switch to toggle between automatic and manual focus, a ridged manual focus ring, and an aperture ring that ranges from f/1.7 through f/16 at one-third stops. The ring has an A setting, which transfers aperture control to the camera body. The front element supports 46mm filters—they can be used in conjunction with the hood—and the lens can lock onto subjects as close as 7.9 inches from the camera's image sensor. There's no image stabilization, a feature not common in wide-angle prime lenses, but it can be paired with Olympus PEN and OM-D cameras, or the Panasonic GX7, all of which offer in-body image stabilization. The lens is available in a silver or black finish.

I used Imatest to check the sharpness and distortion characteristics of the lens when paired with the 16-megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5($270.00 at Amazon). At f/1.7 the lens just exceeds the 1,800 lines per picture height we require for an image to be deemed sharp. Its center-weighted score is 1,916 lines, and that holds up for most of the frame, but the edges are soft at 1,594 lines. They get marginally sharper at f/2, and at f/2.8 the lens delivers even sharpness across the frame; the center-weighted score is 2,092 lines and edges top 2,000 lines. It improves at f/4 (2,187 lines) and peaks at f/5.6 (2,222 lines). There is some barrel distortion, about 2.4 percent. This gives images a slight, but noticeable, outward bow, with straight lines appearing to curve a bit. It's something that you can correct in software with ease, but is a concern if you don't like to deal with image editing. The Olympus 17mm doesn't show any distortion, but it exhibits similar edge softness at f/1.8, improving at f/2.8 just as the Summilux does.

The Panasonic Lumix G Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 ASPH. is a solidly built Micro Four Thirds lens with optics that, aside from some barrel distortion, are excellent. It is on the pricey side, carrying a $100 premium over the Olympus 17mm f/1.8, but unlike the Olympus lens it includes a lens hood for that price, and more importantly for wide-angle fans it captures just a bit more of the world and can focus just a bit closer. We still give slight preference to the similar Olympus lens as our Editors' Choice due to its more compact design, minimal distortion, and manual focus clutch mechanism, but the Summilux is a very, very close runner up. Both lenses are great, and if you don't feel that the 17mm f/1.8 is quite wide enough for your liking, the Summilux is right up your alley.

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