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

Product Information

m4/3 ที่ทำการละลายหลังได้ยาก แต่เลนส์ตัวนี้ก็สามารถละลายหลังได้ในระดับที่ดี เหมาะกับการใช้งานด้าน Portrait มากๆ

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). With the lens wide open, you can see some light fall-off in the corners, but it is not very severe, and goes away almost completely upon stopping down to f/2.8. 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! One thing I missed with my Leica lens however was a working focus ring. Even though it has got one, the full functionality of the ring is not supported by Olympus bodies. I enjoyed this feature on my old Sigma lenses so much so that it got me searching for a new lens. 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.

Intro

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). 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.

To sum it up – I find it very difficult to name a clear favourite. What matters most to me is the pure joy of taking pictures and I get that from both lenses. However, if I had to choose one of the two lenses at gunpoint, the price might be the deciding factor.Starting with the crops from the middle of the frame, I’d say both lenses are roughly similar in sharpness, although the Lumix 42.5mm starts with a little higher contrast. By f4 though, they’re fairly evenly matched in performance. 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. This lens is a must for micro 4/3 users if it suits their way of photographing. If you are looking for a short tele prime and you don't need macro, look no further, this is the one to get. 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.

One of the seldom-discussed benefits of this particular lens for portraits is how it does NOT intimidate your subject. In the past I never used lenses pouches with my larger lenses, but with these smaller rangefinder like lenses, I put all my lenses into pouches before they go into my bag. This is one disappointment I have with Olympus which Panasonic is one step ahead with even their Leica lenses. Hood and Pouch should be included in the price of this. 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. In the two tables below you’ll see how the Lumix 42.5mm f1.7 compares against the Olympus 45mm f1.8, first in the middle of the frame, then in the corner. Note due to its slightly longer focal length, the Olympus is delivering a slightly tighter field of view and therefore resolving slightly finer details. The thing to look for in the comparisons below are the overall sharpness and contrast. As far as I know, the M.Zuiko is usually a bit cheaper than the Leica. But, it should also be mentioned that the Leica lens is designed by Leica in Germany but manufactured by Panasonic in Japan. If you are willing to pay that bit extra for the illustrious brand name and all it brings with it, this is the lens for you.Furthermore I didn't want to preempt the review, which will be based on much more extensive use and testing, so have made very few comments about IQ. At maximum aperture, this lens already produces excellent resolution in the centre portion of the frame. Towards the edges, the resolution remains very good, which is excellent performance for a wide aperture lens. Stopping the lens down to between f/5.6 and f/8 results in outstanding sharpness across the frame with sharpness in the centre being at its highest at f/5.6. I often heard that wide-angle lenses have trouble delivering sharp images all the way to the very edges. With the M.Zuiko 17mm, I barely notice that, apart from really deep zooms while editing. But to be honest, I am not a pixel-counter. My philosophy is that it is much more important a picture is coherent in terms of content and design than technically perfect. Sharpness (even wide open) is very, very good. It has beautiful bokeh and good contrast. Autofocus is smooth, fast, silent and accurate, really good. There is some CA, but it doesn't bother me much.