Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45 mm F1.8 Lens, Fast Fixed Focal Length, Suitable for All MFT Cameras (Olympus OM-D & PEN Models, Panasonic G-Series), Silver

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Obviously it doesn't matter how a lens feels to use if the image quality is indifferent. From a technical point of view, I've been more than happy with the results I've been getting from the 45. Even at F1.8 it is sharp enough to give plenty of detail in subjects' eyes. Just as importantly, at sensible working distances, it gives a usefully shallow depth of field on the Four Thirds format and renders out-of-focus regions rather pleasantlyin the samples I've shot so far. Obviously all this will be covered in more detail in the forthcoming lens review but the noises coming from the testing studio are similarly positive. To me, vignetting is desired in portraits, but nonetheless it doesn’t show up on this lens, probably due to the in-camera correction. But scroll down to the corner crops and you’ll see a stark difference between them. While the Lumix manages to deliver a very crisp result in the far corner, even at its widest and aperture, the Olympus is much softer and doesn’t approach the same quality until it’s closed down to f5.6. Indeed the Olympus looks quite poor in this comparison, but this performance is not uncommon for most lenses, which are generally softer in the extreme corners at their wider apertures. It’s the Lumix here that’s performing above average. The Olympus 45mm f1.8 is a surprisingly compact lens even for the Micro Four Thirds standard. Measuring 56mm in diameter, 46mm in length and weighing just 116g, it’s beaten only by pancake lenses on size and weight. Indeed it’s only 56mm at the rear end to support the standard Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Beyond the mount, the barrel tapers down to a narrower diameter for the rest of the lens. This thing really is tiny.

Speaking of which it’s worth talking about the Panasonic 45mm f2.8 in more detail as it’s a model many will compare to the Olympus 45mm f1.8. Both share the same mount and focal length, so the main differences in optical specifications concern their aperture, closest focusing distances and stabilization.As my travels took me to various places in Southeast Asia, I mostly used my camera to capture life on the streets and outdoors. It never ceases to amaze me how people from different cultures live and work for a large part out in the open, going about with their lives in front of the most fascinating sceneries. Seeing this taught me that if you just open your eyes to the world, you have to be blind to miss its beauty. Using a camera really adds to the experience of immersing yourself deeply into the moment. For video I noticed a decrease in speed with the G7 when set to continuous autofocus. After the first attempts I found it easier to switch to manual focus and use the excellent peaking of the camera. To evaluate the real-life performance of the Lumix 42.5mm f1.7 lens, I shot this exterior scene at every aperture setting using an Olympus OMD EM1 mounted on a tripod. The first difference to take into account is the size and weight: the 45mm f/1.2 is twice the height of the 45mm f/1.8 and around four times as heavy, making it a better match for larger MFT cameras such as the OM-D E-M1 (pictured above) or E-M1 II. Much of this extra weight is due to its metallic weatherproof build and additional lens elements. Not very often I come accross a lens that's that good and that I have little or nothing to complain about. The optional lens hood I did not buy. Instead I bought a more affordable Chinese JCC copy. Apart from a tiny bit of a loose fit, it's just fine. Again, if this focal length is what you are looking for, I don't think that you'll be disappointed.

While it has an effective focal length of 90mm, this is still a 45mm optic –so you get the same depth of field as you would with a 45mm f/1.8 lens on a full frame camera (or, alternatively, you get the same effective depth as you would at 90mm f/3.6 –but note that this phenomenon only extends to depth of field; the lens still gathers f/1.8 of light, so you don't lose any transmission). Focusing isn't simply fast - it's almost silent, too, courtesy of the Movie & Stills Compatible (MSC) technology employed. This is good news for videographers and anyone who's into unobtrusive and discreet photography. I am Sebastian Strasser, a 35-year old biomedical scientist from Salzburg, Austria. When the guys from Olympus Passion asked me to write an article about two very similar lenses, I was stoked and immediately agreed. In the following text, I will do my best to summarize my personal experiences without going too much into measuring values or other technical details. We've been asking manufacturers to make a proper portrait lens for as long as we can remember. APS-C may have become the de-facto standard sensor size, making up the majority of interchangeable camera sales, but you'd never know it to look at the lens ranges current available from most camera makers. There are very few prime lenses specifically intended for APS-C and fewer still that offer the classic combination of large aperture and the circa 100mm equivalent focal length that film users used to enjoy (though some people use 85s or less perfectly, 50s to give something around 135/85mm equivalent on APS-C). The shiny metal-like finish and rangefinder-esque aesthetics might lead you to believe that this is an all-metal lens. In reality, most of the exterior parts are made of plastic, but the lens still feels very nice to the touch.Finally the Pansonic 45mm enjoys optical stabilization, whereas the Olympus 45mm has none built-in. This may be a moot point though depending on which body you own. All Olympus PEN and OM-D bodies sport built-in stabilization which works with any lens, so mount the 45mm f1.8 on an Olympus body and it’ll become stabilized; having stabilization built-into the Olympus bodies also makes the optical stabilization on the Panasonic lens redundant. But if you mount the Olympus 45mm f1.8 on a Panasonic Lumix G body they’ll become an unstabilised combination which could be an issue depending on your usage. I shot the scene using the EM1’s RAW mode and processed the files in Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) via Photoshop using the following sharpening settings: 50 / 0.5 / 36 / 10. All lens corrections were disabled, so there’s no software compensation for vignetting, geometric distortion or chromatic aberrations, although note the camera may be applying some corrections before the RAW file is recorded which can’t be disabled. Chromatic aberrations are kept well below levels that may become noticeable, in either large prints or harsh crops from the edges of the frame. At their worst, CA levels reach 0.45 pixel widths at f/22.

Note: the 42.5mm f/1.7 sample was a pre-production model but fully functional. It was available for people to try at the National Trust event held by Panasonic. Design and ease of use This technique allows you to be faster than any autofocus, which to me makes all the difference in street photography. Once you’ve pre-set your focus distance, you simply choose a good place where composition, distance and light are perfect. Now all you have to do is wait until something happens in front of your lens. If you’re looking for the softest and most incredible bokeh, I’d say the big brother to this lens, the Olympus 45mm f/1.2 Pro is the better choice. 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.The 42.5mm f1.7 defends itself quite well against its big sister, the Nocticron 42.5mm f/1.2, although the latter has more sharpness. The Panasonic 42.5mm f/1.7 is yet another nice addition to the Micro Four Thirds system, even if it wasn’t a focal length that was missing in the lens line-up. The differences between it and the M.Zuiko 45mm are more related to the build quality and optical stabilisation than the optical quality. As noted earlier the wide, ridged focus ring is not mechanically coupled but works very much as if it was - except that it has no stops, hard or soft, at either end of the focus range, making it difficult to judge whether you've reached the close-focus point or the infinity setting. Otherwise it feels like a "proper" focus ring, with smooth action and no perceptible delays.

The minimum focus distance of the two lenses is identical (50cm) while the maximum magnification is just a little higher on the 1.8 lens (0.1x vs. 0.11x). I am replacing my Pany 45-175 with this lens. I know both of different leagues, but even at pixel level this is so sharp, I better get objects (focused) cropped out of the image, besides I also got 100-300mm Pany. Olympus PEN E-PL7 + Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 (1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO200) (Image credit: James Artaius) Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8: Verdict But is the difference in image quality that relevant? Is the 1Ev advantage in aperture that significant?

Subject separation for portraits

don’t shoot portraits on a regular basis but want something better than the kit lens that comes with your camera