The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Samyang 135mm F2.0 ED UMC and the Panasonic Leica 42.5mm F1.2 OIS for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Samyang 135mm F2.0 ED UMC is the longer of the two lenses at 122mm. The Panasonic Leica 42.5mm F1.2 OIS with a length of 77mm, is 45mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Samyang 135mm F2.0 ED UMC also has a larger diameter of 82mm compared to the Panasonic Leica 42.5mm F1.2 OIS's 74mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. Panasonic Leica 42.5mm F1.2 OIS weighs 425g, 48% (405g) lighter than the Samyang 135mm F2.0 ED UMC's weight of 830g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the Telephoto Prime Lenses in Micro Four Thirds Mount for size comparison purposes.
Telephoto Lenses in Micro Four Thirds Mount for Size Comparison
Filter Threads
The Samyang 135mm F2.0 ED UMC has a filter size of 77mm whereas the Panasonic Leica 42.5mm F1.2 OIS has a 67mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 77mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Samyang 135mm F2.0 ED UMC:
And these are the 67mm filters that we recommend for the Panasonic Leica 42.5mm F1.2 OIS:
Lens Mounts
Both the Samyang 135mm F2.0 ED UMC and the Panasonic Leica 42.5mm F1.2 OIS has the same Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Micro Four Thirds lenses are OM System OM-3 Astro, OM System OM-5 II and OM System OM-3.
Samyang 135mm F2.0 ED UMC is also available in the Canon EF , Canon EF-M, Four Thirds, Fujifilm X, Nikon F (FX), Pentax KAF, Samsung NX, Sony Alpha and Sony E mounts.
Focal Range
Samyang 135mm F2.0 ED UMC is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 135mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 2.0x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
270mm.
On the other hand, the Panasonic Leica 42.5mm F1.2 OIS is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 43mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 86mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.
