Panasonic Lumix G 20mm, ASPH, Pancake

The Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 ASPH. is a tiny pancake prime that gives Micro Four Thirds shooters a very useful 40mm-equivalent field of view without adding much bulk to the camera.

That sits nicely between the familiar look of a 35mm and 50mm lens, making it an easy choice for everyday photography, street shooting, travel and casual portraits. The bright f/1.7 maximum aperture is also handy indoors and in lower light, while giving you more control over background separation than a typical compact kit zoom.

Panasonic managed to fit the lens into a body only around 25.5mm long and 100g, with a 7-element design that includes two aspherical elements. 

Best for

Everyday photography, street shooting, travel, indoor photography, casual portraits and anyone wanting to keep a Micro Four Thirds camera compact and easy to carry.

What to expect

The 20mm focal length gives the same approximate field of view as a 40mm lens on a 35mm camera, making it a versatile middle ground between wide and standard perspectives.

The f/1.7 aperture makes it particularly useful when light levels drop and allows shallower depth of field when you want more separation between your subject and background.

It focuses as close as 0.2m, uses a 46mm filter thread and weighs approximately 100g. There is no optical image stabilisation built into this original H-H020.

This is a digital Micro Four Thirds lens, so images are recorded directly by the digital camera and stored on the camera's memory card.