Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 25 mm F1.8 Lens, Fast Fixed Focal Length, Suitable for All MFT Cameras (Olympus OM-D & PEN Models, Panasonic G-Series), Black

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It is simply not true. I am not a Panasonic shooter with a gripe…I use two Olympus bodies. Most people shooting on MFT cameras are not shooting E-M1’s. With outstanding sharpness, even wide-open, as well as minimal CA, vignetting and distortion, the new 25mm ƒ/1.8 is a very solid performer that produces excellent images. Like other Olympus Micro 4/3 lenses, this new 25mm ƒ/1.8 also has super-fast AF performance making it great for things like street shooting and other fast-moving subjects. AF Speed. When out on the street shooting these lenses I though for sure that the Olympus would smoke the Panasonic with Auto Focus, and that was not the case! Both lenses focused fast on my E-M1, and to be 100% honest, I saw no difference in speed when out in the street at night using both. The Olympus may have a slight edge overall, but it is not a night and day, and for some will not even be noticeable. Remember though, this is on the E-M1 which may be helping the lenses to focus fast. So I give this one a Tie with a SLIGHT edge going to the Olympus.

Olympus 25mm f1.8: So good! - Focus Review Review Olympus 25mm f1.8: So good! - Focus Review

Good review and fine comparison. I mostly use the 17mm 1.8 as a walk-around for my street photography, however, I’ve been on the fence too… and settling for the 25mm 1.8. I think mostly it is about size for me. I was also leaning towards the 25mm Pana/Leica 1.4 — but the size of the Oly is swaying me, not to mention it is also half the price of the Pana.At the end of the day though, a 25mm acts like a 50mm for focal length/magnification so this is what you are going to see when looking through your viewfinder. It will not be like when you put a 24mm on your full frame camera, but like when you put a 50mm on your full frame camera except for the Depth of Field control. Basically, on Micro 4/3 we are magnifying that 25mm to give us a 50mm field of view. With the clutch engaged, will the focus settings remain even when camera is turned off and on again? I need this when using the camera on a film set where we might take a break and need the same settings upon return. MPB puts photo and video kit into more hands, more sustainably. Every month, visual storytellers sell more than 20,000 cameras and lenses to MPB. Choose used and get affordable access to kit that doesn’t cost the earth. One other thing that is visible from these crops is the relatively higher level of vignetting on the Olympus. While both lenses are notably darker in the corners wide open, the Panasonic eliminates most of that corner shading by f/1.8, while the Olympus has to be stopped down much further to bring the vignetting to negligible territory. See the full size files below from each lens at apertures from 1.4 to 1.8 to 5.6..the Panasonic does not appear to be any sharper than the Olympus here:

Olympus 25 1.8 Lens Review on the E-M1 | Steve Huff Hi-Fi The Olympus 25 1.8 Lens Review on the E-M1 | Steve Huff Hi-Fi

Actually it didn't make decisions easier, mostly because the Oly 25/1.8 is "just" 20% cheaper than the PanaLeica 25/1.4. So your comparison will be very interesting. With a design that's largely similar to Olympus' existing Zuiko Pro lenses, including rugged metal construction and thorough weather-sealing, the small 8-25mm f/4 lens is ready to go on your next adventure. For me this is the fast and compact standard prime that was missing in the Micro Four Thirds lens lineup. Extended Manufacturer Coverage - 1 year manufacturers warranty, + an additional 2 years with protection plan SIZE. The Panasonic is quite a bit larger than the Olympus when the hoods are attached (see below) but the Panasonic is still a very small lens. Only when viewed next to the Olympus does it look large. The Olympus is super small and light where the Panasonic is wider, taller and has more bulk. The Olympus almost appears to be half the size when looking at the image below. So if small size if your thing, the Olympus wins.I have a 14mm which is too wide for street and a 45 which is too long for street and give a portrait feel to my shots. Silent, fast and accurate focus. Image quality from wide open: superb. I was going to say "handles beautifully", but in fact, I was barely even aware of it being there, most of the time. Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more. Manual focusing is possible in a focus-by-wire fashion, although there are no hard stops at either end of the range. This should not put you off using it as it feels pretty natural in use, and actually enables the camera to display a magnified view of the subject automatically, or to use focus peaking if available on the camera body. The focus ring is quite generously sized given the overall dimensions of the lens. Chromatic Aberrations

Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 ED Premium Lens Review

I go in phases between the 35mm and 50mm being my #1 fave to shoot with and these days it is 35 all the way, so when out shooting with this 25 (50mm equiv) I was once again having to get used to shooting this focal length. After a solid few days of shooting with it daily I remember what it is that makes it my #2 favorite focal length! It has the perfect mix of sharpness and shallow DOF possibilities. While this is indeed a true 25mm lens, and we will get 25mm DOF from the lens, the focal length appears as a 50mm. So imagine the Olympus 25mm as a 50mm with 25mm Depth of Field and “Bokeh”. Due to the shorter focal length we will not get subject isolation as we will get on a real 50mm. It will give us 25mm DOF and isolation and yes, f 1.8 is a true f/1.8. Just on a 25mm lens. Color bokeh, magenta edges at sharp contrast transitions in front of the focal point and green edges at contrast transitions behind the focal point, often appears with bright lenses (.The images were almost straight out of camera, with slight exposure (brightness/contrast balance) tuning and white balance tweak. Vignetting is also very minimal. I saw a slight amount of corner shading at 8mm, particularly at f/4. Stopping down to f/5.6 helped brighten the corners, and dialing down to f/8 helped further. I also noticed just a hint of vignetting at 25mm f/4, which was reduced by stopping down to f/5.6. Overall, though, vignetting is so insignificant that I really wouldn't worry about it. At f/1.8, sharpness in the centre of the frame is already excellent, and clarity towards the edges of the frame is good. Stopping down improves performance across the frame, with sharpness in the centre reaching outstanding levels between f/2 and f/8. Clarity towards the edges of the frame reaches excellent levels between f/5.6 and f/8. We expect most folks to autofocus with this lens and manually select the focusing point though. Build Quality Hmm. I have the PL 25 sitting on an OMD EM5 and even though the lens is beautiful (and big M43 speaking), what I cannot stand is the rattlesnake noise that is constant when using this lens. Its annoyance is such that I rarely use the lens and I am now seriously considering the Oly 25 and just trashing the PL 25.