Guys, do not start things out of nothing. As no one really know origin of this lens. It seems like from first batches.

The Nokton at 1.4 is very usable in my experience - even for stills.

all sorted i got a replacement from the current crop and the quality is much better

happy to finally use this lense now!

@vicharris

do you mean did i get it from a shop?

the ebay seller was cool and got me a replacement

how long ago did you get yours, and could you return it?

@vicharris cool it was you it shot that santa monica pier video thats on youtube... that was one of the first examples i seen from that lense and help make me decide on getting it. i understand i probably would of done the same, it only cost me £5 to send it back to london. the character is what i was after as well if its any consolation i think the newer ones the flares etc been toned down a bit and for that i would of preferred the earlier model i think. cool i know slr magic is on this, but i'm happy with there product.

Slr magic 12mm 1.6 best price in europe (Only Germany, this lens is not available in Italy). €476

http://www.amazon.de/SLR-Magic-Hyper-Prime-Weitwinkelobjektiv/dp/B006ZKJN7U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352965893&sr=8-1

Olympus Zuiko 12mm 2.0, bes price in Italy: €600

http://www.quarty.it/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.product_details&product_id=12621&category_id=265&Itemid=85#.UKSf3IfWigQ

I think in europe the price gap between these two lenses is small, and italian people will go on a well known built quality and an historical brand like Oly, instead of a new "promising" lens.

@slrmagic

I think, Sir, if you are interested in european-italian market, maybe you need to legitimate a distributor in italy for your lens (and for get people know your business here). I personally don't know anybody that has your 12mm lens in italy, and probably i don't want to be the first one at that price, unless there is some deal from your company. Please take this as pure information, no intention to polemize from me. Cheers

Got mine two weeks ago and I am quite happy with it.Focus ring is a bit stiff at one point (right before 1m) but I can live with that. Wide open my lens is definitely usuable.

Hey @Tobsen, do you have any play with the mount? Mine has about the same or a little more than my 14-140 and way more than any of my other lenses, it wouldn't be a problem but the focus is so stiff (same as you on the macro end of the scale).

@Tobsen Do you have play in your Pany lenses as well or just 3rd party ones? I have play in the middle of my SLR, not the actual portion that touches the body. Not sure of that what @disordinary was talking about. Mine just feels like it was not put together all the way but it doesn't leak light.

@Tobsen Funny you mention this. When I first had problems with this lens I went to Pany by Universal to run my camera and the lens through tests against a lab test station AF100 they had. I was told GH2's have a common lens mount problem and this could be the cause of my unhappiness with the lens. As it turns out, my GH2 was fine and the guys at Pany said that they have not heard of a common problem with the lens mount but that could just be lip service by them. Who knows. Long story short, call up Pany and ask if they know of this. Hopefully your camera is still under warranty. I use heavy glass but all with a tripod mount to avoid anything like this from happening. Good luck!

@Tobsen and @vicharris I also always had a bit too much play in my lens mount with my GH2, while sending my camera in for debris in the lens and a dead pixel, I decided to mention that it had excessive play. Panasonic replaced the mount and the new one was much tighter. I suspect it is in fact a common issue, and they have improved mounts for people like me that speak up. I actually have had quite a few little problems with my GH2, and they have so far replaced the motherboard, lens mount, and card reader. The card reader was last and to their credit the local shop was taking way too long to get it back, so panasonic hunted it down and had it sent to my door the day before I left for a vacation that revolved around my GH2. However there is a sharp piece of metal wire sticking out right above the SD card now. Perhaps a repair guy pissed at me for calling attention to the time he was taking. All the same, my warranty ended as it was in repair, but now since there is a clear issue caused by the repair I will use this time to mention the Mic port that doesn't seem the right depth for any of the adapters I use. As for Wide lenses, M42 mounts have some really wide lenses, but they are usually pretty slow. I am still on the hunt myself, but unless something great is produced for a really great price soon I think I am destined for a Nokton 17.5mm. The speed and quality is just too much to resist. I have handled this lens too. I have a lens that has the same look and feel but unfortunately it is a 200mm Tele ( Takumar f5.6). Both lenses feel perfect though.

An update: So I took my 12mm SLR out to get some night motorcycle scenes shot and now it seems my lens mount is loose on my body. I always had the play in the middle of the lens but now it turns a bit on the camera. Non of my Pany lenses do this. It's starting to act like a cheap adapter but like I said, I think mine is from the first or second batch and maybe this is corrected by now. I rarely use this lens as it's only great for certain occasions but it's starting to worry me in terms of how long it will actually hold together. The stuff I shot last night looks awesome though... I think :)

Glad you got a new copy. Honestly, this is the funnest lens I've used (still lens) and it almost never comes off of the GH2. Can't wait for the day it first goes on Blackmagic, though. That will be killer.