Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 45mm F1.2 PRO Lens, for Micro Four Thirds Cameras

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At the end of this part of the test traditionally we present crops taken from photos of our resolution testing chart, saved in JPEG format along RAW files we used for the analysis above. If you prefer something a little wider, perhaps for street photography, I can also highly recommend a 17mm prime or thereabouts and again there’s lots of options, albeit at a higher price than the 25mm above; I’m going to suggest either the Panasonic Leica DG 15mm f1.7 or the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f1.8, both in a similar ballpark price-wise; I personally prefer the Leica, but love the more compact size of the Olympus when mounted on a smaller body. Show me some of your work so I can appreciate why it takes a FF camera to shoot what can be shot with a camera phone."

The Four Thirds sensors used in Olympus and Panasonic mirrorless cameras mean the field-of-view of all lenses is effectively reduced by two times compared to a full-frame system – so a 25mm lens will deliver a 50mm equivalent field-of-view. If you’re looking to compare depth-of-field with full frame, then you’ll also need to double the f-number – so a 25mm f1.4 lens will deliver images with coverage and depth-of-field equivalent to a 50mm f2.8 lens on full frame. In terms of exposure though, an f-number on one system is the same as on another – the difference here refers only to equivalent coverage and depth-of-field. Corner shading (vignetting) is minimal at the fastest apertures, and distortion is very well-controlled thanks to the auto-correction performed on the RAW files by Micro Four Thirds cameras. Colours Plus, the lenses were a joy to use and hold thanks to their compact size and metal feel – quite a contrast to the larger, high-quality plastic full-frame lenses I’m used to.The Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 is a lens that I never leave the house without. (No exaggeration; my everyday camera bag consists of an Olympus PEN E-P7, Olympus M.Zuiko 14-42mm Pancake, and an Olympus M.Zuiko 9mm Body Cap lens). Olympus PEN E-PL7 + Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 (1/2500 sec, f/1.8, ISO200) (Image credit: James Artaius) Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8: Performance You do need to make sure you're getting the right type of lens for your camera. In this guide, we cover lenses for the Micro Four Thirds system. It's the oldest modern mirrorless system and one that multiple camera and lens makers support.

Micro Four Thirds cameras first went on sale in 2008. At the time, the mirrorless concept was novel. Instead of using an optical viewfinder and mirror, like the Four Thirds SLR system that preceded it, M43 takes the view from the image sensor and sends it right to an electronic display.First up is the focal length. The millimeter number of every lens is relative to its angle of view, and lenses with a smaller number capture a larger view. While focusing for stills and video, the lens mechanisms of both lenses are so quiet that you have to hold your ear up to the lens to hear the faint whirring of the motor.

In terms of focusing sound, all three were very quiet, but there were audible differences: the 45mm f1.8 was the quietest (perhaps not surprising given the minimal weight of optics to shift), followed by the Nocticron, leaving the 75mm as the noisiest. Although again noisiest seems a bit unfair as all three are very quiet at focusing and the sound of any stabilisation in action – especially the in-body Olympus system – will drown them out. In the video above, I manually pulled focus using the Nocticron mounted on an Olympus OMD EM1, using the viewfinder for guidance – unfortunately there’s no magnification, nor focus peaking to help once you start filming on this model. I just about nailed the closest and furthest focusing points, but found the focusing ring wasn’t 100% smooth when turning it from the side – as such you can see the speed of focus pulling vary a little during the clip. Leica Nocticron image stabilisationAt the beginning we established that, in the case of OM-D E-M5 Mark II – based tests, the best fixed focal length lenses are able to reach 80-85 lpmm and the decency level we set near 47-49 lpmm. Of course we clearly indicated that these values could change with the enlargement of our tests database. The last resolution record achieved by the Panasonic Leica DG Elmarit 200 mm f/2.8 POWER O.I.S.,which maximum result exceeded 91 lpmm, makes that decision fully justified. Currently we should say that the decency level is set within 48-50 mm range and the best fixed focal primes should be able to get to a level of about 85 lpmm or higher.

You are not capable to appreciate high quality images, otherwise you wouldn't be asking stupid questions. You take your toy camera, shoot and stitch 6 images, process it wisely, put it on a big 40"+UHD screen and compare it with your regular snapshot. The obvious difference in price, size and design may already be enough to convince you one way or the other but we cannot help but ask ourselves: how big a difference is there between the latest optical wonder and the first portrait prime for the system released six years ago? Let’s find out! As I suspected, the Nocticron is giving a tiny bit more “snap”, as in, subject separation that looks closer to a cut out than anything. The Olympus 45 PRO f/1.2 has a softer transition between what is in focus and what is not, and the Olympus is also sharper wide open. The 45 f/1.8 hangs in there with slightly less DOF. But the winner here, to my eyes is the Olympus 45 f/1.2 PRO but it was close, very close. However, my favorite cheap lens is the Olympus 45mm F1.8, a truly outstanding portrait lens and one of the few lenses I’ll never leave at home. Likewise, the Olympus 14-150mm F4-5.6 II is absurdly overpowered for its low price tag and compact size, making it an extremely likable travel companion.Portraiture is a popular genre regardless of the camera system in question and 85mm/90mm lenses (35mm format) have always given photographers the perfect field of view with which to work. As of late 2017, there are a number of Micro Four Thirds lenses that fall into this category but today we are comparing the oldest offering with the newest addition to the system.