Lenses Archives - The Cotswold Photographer

Sony A7R II vs Olympus OMD EM1 II Depth of Field Comparison

I just took delivery of a Sony A7R II yesterday with the Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 lens. Part of my decision to buy this combination was to supplement my Olympus OMD EM1 II with a camera with a full frame sensor as I believe Micro 4/3 and full frame compliment each other as systems very well. The idea being that the Olympus will be my everyday camera and the Sony will allow me to get more subject isolation and better low light performance when I need it.

The difference between micro 4/3 and APS-C is so negligible that I don’t see the benefit of owning both for my uses.

Anyway I thought it would be interesting to do a quick test to see the difference between the two when it comes to subject separation.

I shot both on a tripod from the exact same location. The Zeiss is a 55mm lens whereas the Olympus equates to roughly 50mm so the field of view is not exactly the same with the Zeiss being a bit narrower. The Sony was paired with the Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 and the Olympus with the 25mm f/1.2 Pro (see my review here ).

So here are both shots wide open.

The Sony A7R II + 55mm Zeiss lens wide open

Olympus OMD EM1 ii + 25mm 1.2 Pro wide open

The Sony is definitely doing a better job of isolating the subject and that is no surprise as the 25mm 1.2 on the Olympus is roughly equivalent to a 50mm f/2.4 on full frame in terms of depth of field and field of view. Part of the difference can be put down to the longer focal length of the Zeiss lens but even then here are the things to look at that highlight the differences.

Look at the detail in the brown unit to the left of the top of the lens. The Olympus is picking up more texture and details whereas the Sony has blown most of that into smooth out of focus rendering.

Secondly the light sphere immediately left of the focus markings on the lens is much more in focus on the Olympus shot than the Sony one.

So even wide open and with a larger aperture the Olympus 25mm 1.2 can’t quite match the Sony with a 1.8 lens.

Here are the Olympus and Sony both at f/1.8 side by side in Lightroom so you can directly compare like for like what you would get when shooting at the same apertures on different systems.

Sony (left) and Olympus (right) both at f/1.8

So as you can see the Sony definitely offers an advantage when you want to isolate your subject. Just as expected. You can of course also buy lenses with a larger aperture for the Sony system which will widen the gap further. However I have no intention of buying those lenses, not because of the price (which is expensive) but because I don’t want to imbalance the camera by putting on huge lenses that will make the whole setup incredibly front heavy.

So if you want that creamy shallow depth of field look then it’s a no brainer right? Get full frame….. Or is it.

One thing to note is that these Olympus Pro line of lenses have a trick up their sleeve that can level the playing field somewhat if you are not constrained in your shooting position.

They can focus incredibly closely.

All the shots above are taken from the closest focusing distance of the Sony Zeiss 55mm 1.8. In these circumstances the full frame Sony clearly does better. However take a look below at just how close the Olympus 25mm 1.2 Pro can focus. The lens hood was nearly touching the subject when I too this.

The Olympus 25mm 1.2 and all the Pro lenses can focus really close.

I’m not arguing that one is better than the other here. For some things the Sony will be better and for others the Olympus. That is why I bought the Sony A7Rii to compliment, not replace my Olympus OMD EM1 ii. For example when I shoot the Olympus 25mm 1.2 Pro I get the light gathering of a 1.2 lens but I gain a little extra depth of field which can be useful to ensure enough of your subject is in focus. More depth of field can be an advantage at times.

The Sony will of course give me better low light performance, a little more dynamic range and the ability to print gallery sized prints with more detail but if anyone tells you that Micro 4/3 is not capable of producing shallow depth of field images then you can safely ignore them as they clearly haven’t used lenses like the 25mm 1.2(review here ), 45mm 1.2 (review coming soon) and 75mm 1.8 (review here )from Olympus.

Olympus 25mm 1.8 Review

The Olympus 25mm f/1.8 is a premium fast aperture prime lens from Olympus. It is available in either silver or black. I have the black version and have been using it on my OMD EM1 ii.

Olympus 25mm 1.8 Review – Construction and Handling

The Olympus 25mm f1.8 is constructed using high quality plastics. It feels nicely built and not cheap like Canon’s nifty 50 lens. The lens makes for a very light and compact combination even on Olympus’ larger bodes such as the OMD EM1 ii.

I have been out this morning for a Sunday stroll with this combination and it feels so light and compact that I hardly even noticed that I was carrying the camera.

Thankfully Olympus supply this lens with a lens hood although I haven’t used it much but it is certainly right and nice that Olympus saw fit to include a lens hood with this lens.

In terms of construction it feels more solid and better made than the cheaper kit zooms but it is not up to the standards of the Olympus 75mm 1.8 or the pro grade lenses but then this lens is not in the same price category coming in at under £300 on Amazon UK.

From left to right Olympus 25mm 1.8, 25mm 1.2, 75mm 1.8

Autofocus performance of this lens is nothing short of excellent. It is incredibly quick to focus and silent too. It focuses instantaneously and is very accurate. Whether the scene is front lit, back-lit or when using it in low light the auto focus performance is a s good as any lens in the system. It is noticeably quicker to focus than the Panasonic 25mm 1.4 for instance and as quick as the Olympus 25mm 1.2 Pro. Both of which are more expensive.

Olympus 25mm 1.8 Review – Image Quality

The Olympus 25mm 1.8 doesn’t suffer from any noticeable distortion. It is also highly resistant to lens flare, even when pointing it directly at the Sun as I did this morning.

It doesn’t suffer with CA in high contrast situations and in fact having tested it over and over again I am very impressed with the performance of this lens in every aspect.

The lens also focuses incredibly closely at 25cm. Combine this with the f/1.8 aperture and you ave the ability to really throw the background out of focus to create some nice bokeh effects.

The Olympus 25mm 1.8 focuses incredibly close.

The lens is sharp wide open and doesn’t really show much improvement when stopped down further. Again the performance of this lens is excellent.

Olympus 25mm 1.8 Review – Conclusion

There are now a lot of choices in the Micro 4/3 system for this focal length. I currently have 3 25mm lenses, the Pana-Leica 25mm 1.4, Olympus 25mm 1.2 Pro (see my review here) and this lens. So which one should you choose?

The performance of all 3 lenses is stellar, however the price points vary so is it worth paying more for the other the lenses.

In terms of optical performance they are all excellent. Only the Panasonic lens suffering slightly with CA. All are sharp wide open. The Olympus 25mm 1.8 is the cheapest option and if you have an Olympus camera I would recommend it if you don’t need weather-sealing and the 1.8 aperture is sufficient for your needs. It is also the lightest of the 3 lenses and makes a great walk around package even with my OMD EM1 ii. It is also small enough to carry in a pocket and light enough to sling in your camera bag as a just in case you need it lens.

Of the 3 lenses I would say it offers the best price/performance ratio and is the one I would recommend to most people. It really is a fantastic little lens and its performance is so close to the 25mm 1.2 optically that unless you really need f/1.2 or weather-sealing then it is hard to justify the additional cost of the Pro lens.

On an Olympus camera I also prefer the handling and auto focus performance to the Pana Leica 1.4.

Olympus 25mm 1.2 Pro review

In this Olympus 25mm 1.2 Pro review I shall go through the pros and cons of this premium lens from Olympus and weigh up whether it is worth the extra cost over other 25mm options like the Olympus 25mm 1.8 and Pana Leica 25mm 1.4 lens.

I have had this lens for a couple of months now and mainly used it in Asia for portrait and travel photos on the Olympus OMD EM1 Mark ii and Panasonic GH5. If you want to see how those two cameras compare for stills photography then head on over to my comparison here

Olympus 25mm 1.2 Pro review – Specs and handling

Lens Specifications
Name	Olympus 25mm ƒ/1.2 Pro M.Zuiko Digital ED
Image Circle	Micro Four-Thirds
Type	Standard Prime
Focal Length	25mm
35mm Equivalent	50mm
Max Aperture	ƒ/1.2
Min Aperture	ƒ/16
Diaphragm Blades	9 (circular)
Lens Construction	19 elements in 14 groups, including 1 aspherical, 1 SED, 2 ED, 1 E-HR, and 3 HR elements
Diagonal Angle of View	47 degrees
Focus Details	High-speed Imager AF (MSC)
Front Element Rotation	No
Zoom System	n/a
Closest Focus	30cm / 11.8 in.
Magnification Ratio	0.11x / 1:9.1
Filter Size	62mm
Dimensions(Length x Diameter)	87mm x 70mm / 3.43 in. x 2.76 in.
Weight	410g / 14.5 oz
Notes	Splash and dust proof; Lens hood, lens caps and case included.

Obviously the stand out specs for this lens are the super fast 1.2 aperture along with the weather sealing.

The lens feels very well made, the same as all Olympus’ pro lenses. It is quite large by Micro 4/3 standards being around the same size as the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8. Pro. However it feels well balanced on the OMD EM1 ii and Panasonic GH5. I never felt that the size of the lens was an issue. In fact I prefer the size of this lens over something smaller like the 25mm 1.8 as it just matches up with the larger Micro 4/3 bodies better.

Construction is impressive as it feels solid and well made. The focus ring is buttery smooth and allows you to easily and accurately manual focus when necessary. The lens features a clutch mechanism which you simply pull back to engage manual focus or push forward to be back in auto focus again.

The only criticism I would have is that the focus clutch mechanism is a little too easy to move so sometimes when picking it up out of my bag I knock it into manual focus by accident.

The focus clutch is nice to have but just a little too easy to move on this lens.

I can vouch for the excellent weather sealing on this lens as it withstood many Asian downpours while attached to the EM1 ii and I never had any problems at all with it.

It auto focuses quickly and accurately on the Olympus OMD EM1 ii and GH5. It is incredibly quick to focus and combined with eye detect AF makes shooting portraits a breeze.

There isn’t really a huge amount more to say on the handling of this lens. It is impressive and if you don’t mind the size then you will not be disappointed.

Olympus 25mm 1.2 Pro review – Image quality

I bought this lens and was expecting great things from it as Olympus has made a big deal about the image quality and in particular the quality of the ‘feathered bokeh’. Is this all marketing hype or is this lens really something special and worthy of the price tag.

In terms of sharpness I am not particularly interested in MTF charts and DXo scores. They tell me very little. What really tells me if a lens is sharp is if it looks sharp to me when I examine my images in Lightroom.

I shot a lot of portraits with this lens and the test for me is always when looking at eyebrows and eyelashes. I want to see if they are clearly defined or not.

Lets take a look at some samples below:

25mm @f/1.2, 1/1000, ISO 200 unedited raw file

As you can see when shot wide open the Olympus 25mm 1.2 pro is incredibly sharp for a 1.2 lens. It renders the details of your subject beautifully and indeed offers some of the smoothest and creamiest bokeh I have seen. The bokeh is not busy or nervous at all and to my eye is very pleasing.

There is also a quality to the photos taken on this lens that you just do not find on many lenses. Your subject pops but because of the smooth transitions from in focus to out of focus the images feel very natural. In comparison to the Pana Leica 25mm 1.4 the images feel more organic and less digital. The Pana Leica is a lovely lens too and seems to offer more of a 3D pop to the images making your subjects look very 3 dimensional and thus stand out from the background. However I find the rendering of the Olympus more natural and pleasing. The Pana Leica’s bokeh is a little more busy.

Olympus 25mm 1.2 Pro @ f/1.2, 1/250, ISO 200

Pana-Leica 25mm 1.4 @1.4, 1/800, ISO 200

Pana Leica 25mm 1.4 shot on the GH5 @ 1.4, 1/160, ISO 500 I find the Pana Leica just as sharp but the bokeh is a little more busy

At f/1.2 the lens is already sharp and it gets a little sharper as you stop down to 1.4 -2. I would say the Pana Leica is perhaps a little sharper wide open but both are easily sharp enough for me.

Olympus 25mm 1.2 @ 1.2, 1/60, ISO 1600 SOOC Jpeg

The Olympus 25mm 1.2 Pro controls CA very well.

100% corner crop shows CA’s are very well controlled

I didn’t experience any issues with lens flare and I was often shooting in broad daylight with strong sunshine.

Olympus 25mm 1.2 Pro Review – Conclusion

So would i recommend the Olympus 25mm 1.2 Pro?

That is a resounding yes. It is my favourite lens and in my time in Asia with it I only took it off my EM1 ii once and I regretted it. I absolutely love this lens for the fast aperture and build quality but most of all for the superb image quality and beautiful rendering. It allows you to create images that you just cannot get with other 25mm lenses and it means that I can shoot those images in to the night while keeping my ISO to 1600 and below.

If you can afford it and like the focal length then I can highly recommend this amazing lens. You will not be disappointed.

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I am regularly posting photos of my travels.

You might also like to check out Robin Wongs excellent review of this lens

Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 Review

In this Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 review I will go through the pros and cons of this professional grade zoom lens after having used it for well over a year in my personal and professional work.

The Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 was the first in Olympus’ Pro series of lenses designed for Micro 4/3 cameras. It is a weatherproof (dust, splash and freeze proof) fixed aperture zoom lens offering the 35mm equivalent field of view of a 24-80mm lens. It has a fixed aperture of f/2.8 throughout the zoom range with a filter thread of 62mm.

Build Quality

The first thing you will notice when you pick up the 12-40mm is the build quality. Like all of the Olympus Pro range of lenses it is extremely well made. At 382 grams and featuring a metal construction it feels solid in the hand and inspires confidence in use. For me it fits perfectly on the Olympus E-M5 II with the HLD-8G grip attached or on the EM1 and Em1 II giving you a weather sealed combination.

There is also an additional function button on the lens which you can program to activate a variety of features by simply customising it in camera.

While it is a larger lens for Micro 4/3 in comparison to some of the tiny primes, it is not oversized and much smaller than something like the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8. You can carry it attached to your camera all day and not notice the weight.

Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 Review – Focus

This is going to be a very quick section because all there is to say is that focus is as fast as any lens on the system. It is instantaneous to focus and is deadly accurate. Absolutely no issues here.

The zoom ring is nicely damped and it features a manual focus clutch mechanism that allows you to easily swap between auto and manual focus simply by pulling the clutch back or pushing it forward. It uses focus by wire but don’t let that put you off as the focus ring is incredibly smooth and allows you to easily and finely adjust your focus.

Zoom markings are shown for 12, 14, 18, 25, 35, and 40mm. If you pull back on the focus ring you put the lens into manual focus mode and reveal a focus scale. The focus scale has markings at 1’, 2’, 5’, and .2m, .5m, and 1m, plus infinity. Close focus is 8” (0.2m), and the lens can produce a 1:3.3 magnification ratio at 40mm.

The Olympus 12-40mm zooms externally so it increases in length from 3.3″ -5″ when extended.

Size compared to the Olympus 25mm f/1.8 lens

Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 Review – Image Quality

The 12-40mm pro does suffer with some barrel distortion at the wide end if you shoot raw. The Jpegs are corrected in camera and the software does a good job in most cases. At 40mm there is a slight amount of pin cushion distortion. If you are shooting raw and have straight lines in your shots then you will need to correct in post.

The lens also shows some vignetting when wide open at f/2.8. This is easily corrected in post. I guess Olympus tried to keep this constant f/2.8 zoom as small as possible and that means the image circle only just covers the micro 4/3 sensor.

This lens handles chromatic aberration very well and I see very little sign of fringing even when shooting high contrast scenes. It also handles flare well.

The Olympus 12-40mm is sharp from 12mm all the way through to 40mm even wide open at f/2.8. At 12mm the corner performance is slightly softer than the centre but still way better than something like a Canon 17-40mm L. As mentioned the lens is bitingly sharp in the centre at f/2.8 and performance increases slightly when stopped down to f/4.

While f/2.8 on the Micro 4/3 format does not offer the same shallow depth of field as on 35mm sensors it is still capable of allowing your subject to be isolated from the background as shown in the above portrait. The bokeh from the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 at 40mm is enough for portrait work and the rendering is smooth and not overly busy. While it couldn’t be described as creamy it is not nervous and distracting and so works well. If you want a dedicated portrait lens then I suggest that you check out my Olympus 75mm f1.8 review or 45mm 1.8 review

Conclusion

Overall I would rate the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 as one of the best zooms I have used. It is very well-built and combined with my EM5II or an EM1 series body offers excellent weather-sealing and a very useful focal range.

In terms of image quality sharpness is outstanding throughout the zoom range enabling you to shoot it wide open at f/2.8 without concern. It can do everything from wide-angle landscapes to portraits and it does it all well. Yes other lenses may be better at specific roles but none offer the versatility and fixed bright aperture of this lens.

If you are trying to decide between this lens and the Panasonic 12-35mm (mark i or mark II) then it really comes down to a few factors as optically they are very similar. The Olympus is better at the wide end and offers a little more range at the long end. However the Panasonic is slightly sharper at 35m than the Olympus is at 40mm.

If you are shooting on a Panasonic body then perhaps you might prefer to go with the Panasonic lens to take advantage of Panasonic’s depth from defocus system and in the case of the mark ii lens their dual sync IS. The Panasonic lenses are both lighter than the Olympus.

However having owned all 3 lenses and as an owner of the Panasonic GH5 and Olympus EM5 II I decided that the build quality of the Olympus 12-40mm edged out the Panasonic and so I kept it over its rivals. When I say edged out, it is night and day. The Panasonic’s feel like a consumer grade lens with very good optics. The Olympus 12-40mm feels like a professional grade lens in every way.

During my testing, dual sync IS between the GH5 and 12-35mm ii made no noticeable improvement in the image stabilisation and didn’t allow me to handhold shots for any longer than when using the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 on the GH5.

If you are going to own just one lens for Micro 4/3 then this may very well be the best choice. Make sure to check out my Olympus 25mm 1.2 Pro review as well.

If you found this Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 review helpful then all I ask is that if you buy anything from Amazon that you use my links below. Your purchase doesn’t have to be photography related, it can be anything at all. I will earn a small commission if you use the links and it really helps me to keep this site going and create more content.

The best value portrait lens in the World

If you are looking for the best value portrait lens in the World then I think I may have the answer for you.

For many years now I have been shooting a variety of cameras and lenses ranging from Micro 4/3 to large format 4×5 film. As I am not rich I like to get the best gear that I can afford that will do the job I need it to do.

With that in mind I have used many different lenses and for portraits I have found that the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens offers the best value of any lens for portrait shots. It comes in at around £200 and is as sharp as you need for portraits. In fact it is pretty sharp wide open at f/1.8 and gets a little sharper when stopped down to f/2.8-5.6.

So below I am going to show why I think it offers great value and is basically a must have lens for every Micro 4/3 photographer.

Don’t forget that you can really help me out by buying this lens through the links on this page. I will earn a small commission and it won’t cost you a penny more.

If you are looking for an even better lens for portraits and don’t mind paying a bit more then be sure to check out my Olympus 75mm f/1.8 review here

Best Value Portrait Lens in The World – Handling

There is nothing outstanding about the handling of the Olympus 45mm f/1.8. It is made of plastic and doesn’t feel particularly expensive. However it is still a notch above lenses like the Canon 50mm 1.8 (sometimes called the plastic fantastic). It feels decently made but certainly cheaper than other lenses such as the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 or Olympus Pro zooms. However it is perfectly functional and does what it needs to do.

The reason I mention handling is because it is such a small and light lens that you can easily add this to your bag or even in a pocket and not even notice the weight. This makes it a carry everywhere lens for me and if I was to only have a 2 lens setup the little 45mm would almost always be one of the two lenses that I would carry.

Best Value Portrait Lens In the World – Image Quality.

More importantly, the reason why I think this lens offers such great value is because it offers really good image quality for the size and weight. It is sharp wide open and as mentioned before it improves a little when stopped down.

It easily defines eyelashes when shooting portraits which is one of my prerequisites for sharpness in a portrait lens.

It doesn’t suffer with any major flaws in terms of CA or distortion. Therefore for the price you get a very handy high quality lens that doesn’t add much weight to your setup. The only criticism I could level at it is that sometimes the bokeh can get a little nervous so you have to watch your background sometimes. However you should always be doing that anyway.

The f/1.8 aperture allows it to be used in low light and maintain fast enough shutter speeds to get sharp people images and the focal length is my personal favourite for portrait work.

Below are a few images taken with the 45mm f/1.8.

Olympus 75mm 1.8 Review

The Olympus 75mm f/1.8 has a rather odd focal length but despite this it is regarded as one of the best lenses in the Micro 4/3 lineup.

In this Olympus 75mm f1.8 review I am going to show you how this lens performs in the real World. You wont find any charts here, just real World use and everyday photos.

Olympus 75mm 1.8 Review – Build quality

Lets not beat around the bush, the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens is not cheap, however it is within the price range of a lot of enthusiasts before we push into the territory of really expensive glass such as the Panasonic Nocticron 42.5mm 1.2.

The build quality of the Olympus 75mm feels excellent with its metal barrel and smooth focus ring. In matt black finish it looks beautiful attached to my black EM5II. Suffice to say you can feel where the extra money goes in comparison to lenses such as the Olympus 25mm 1.8 and 45mm 1.8. Those lenses are optically very good but they feel made to a budget whereas the 75mm 1.8 feels like no expense has been spared in crafting this lens. Easily on par with the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens, in fact it feels a little nicer in the hand.

It feels well balanced on an EM5 II and even better with a grip attached. For a 150mm equivalent lens this is exceptionally small and light. But it doesn’t feel cheap. Just well built, solid and professional.

Size wise it is easier to just show you the lens compared to the 45mm 1.8 and 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro zoom to give you an idea of the size.

The 75mm compared to 45mm (left) and 12-40mm Pro (right)

I’m not going to go into detail on auto focus performance except to say that it is very quick to focus. As fast as any lens on the system. The only caveat is that in low light it can hunt a little but that is due to the contrast detect AF system on the EM5II. All lenses perform like this on the EM5 II. However I will retest it on the EM1 mk II once I have one as its phase detect focus points should help it perform better.

Olympus 75mm 1.8 Review – Image Quality

A lens like the Olympus 75mm 1.8 is a beautiful thing. I really do find satisfaction in handling and looking at a piece of glass that is this well made. There is a beautiful aesthetic to well made products and I appreciate this.

However that means very little if the performance is not up to scratch.

This is the second copy of the Olympus 75mm lens that I have owned and they both performed to a very similar level. That is they are both pin sharp. In fact this is some of the sharpest glass you will ever use should you decide that the focal length suits your style.

It is sharp from wide open with only minor improvements when stopping down to f/4 and f/5.6.

Lets take a quick look at some samples below.

100% crop from the centre (conversion from raw with no adjustments)

The lens is sharp and gives plenty of detail even wide open at f/1.8

Stopping down to f/4 increases IQ slightly

All the above images were shot in raw and then exported as jpegs for the website without any adjustments in lightroom.

The Olympus 75mm 1.8 is pin sharp in the centre at 1.8 with some slight loss of quality as we get out to the edges. One thing you can pick up on here is a little bit of purple fringing in the corners in the first image. I’ll go in to that in more detail later.

Here’s a shot of my wife that I took which shows how sharp details such as eyelashes look when shooting portraits. I didn’t make any extra effort to get a really sharp shot here. This was how it came out when we were playing about taking pictures.

Shot at F/8 using off camera flash but sharpness is nearly as good even wide open.

Bokeh

It’s pretty obvious that a lot of us buy fast glass for the ability to throw the background out of focus. Some lenses exhibit nervous bokeh (out of focus areas) and others render the scene in to a dreamy hazy creaminess. It is somewhat subjective to analyse bokeh with many factors playing a role. However I can say that the Olympus 75mm 1.8 offers creamy smooth bokeh with a gentle fall off. It doesn’t suffer with nervousness which can cause the out of focus areas to become distracting to the viewers eye. But hey, why read about bokeh when it is easier for me to show you a few examples below.

Look at the difference in subject isolation between the previous shot and this one shot at f/4.

Is the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 a perfect lens?

It’s pretty close to perfect if the focal length suits you. However there are two points that I would note.

It is not weather sealed but I don’t mind as this is a specialist lens for particular situations. It is not intended to be a do everything lens like the 12-40mm Pro. Therefore weather sealing while nice is not essential.
It suffers with some Purple fringing in very high contrast scenes.

Lets talk more about the purple fringing

This is quite a common flaw in many of todays lenses and I am not usually put off by it as long as a lens doesn’t suffer too badly.

The Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens does suffer some purple fringing when shooting very high contrast scenes. The real acid test for this kind of fringing is always backlit leaves on trees so I shot a few example to see how it performed.

Notice the purple fringing due to the very high contrast scene. This is 100% crop of the worst affected area of the image

Just bare this in mind if you are going to shoot in very high contrast conditions but I would not let it put you off what is otherwise a superb performing lens.

Olympus cameras generally do a good job of removing Chromatic abberations in camera using profiles for each lens so it is not always a problem. I have also intentionally shot the lens in what is the most difficult situation so that I can highlight any flaws.

The Olympus 75mm 1.8 doesn’t exhibit any issues with lens flare. In fact I shot it straight into the sun through some leaves and it coped remarkably well. It retained plenty of contrast in the image. Move the sun just out of frame and you have no problems with flare at all.

The lens does not suffer any noticeable levels of distortion.

Olympus 75mm 1.8 review – Verdict

Overall the Olympus 75mm is a great performing lens. Optically it is one of the sharpest lenses I have used for any system. If you are using micro 4/3 and you want to define every eyelash in your vicitms (ahem sorry I mean subjects) then this lens can easily do that. The creamy bokeh and sharp glass from wide open mean that you can use this lens exactly how it is intended to be used.

The fact that Olympus do not provide a lens hood with a more premium lens like this still grates a little but in the end the results that this lens can produce makes it worth the added cost over something like the 45mm 1.8.

However if you are just looking for your first portrait lens to add to say, a standard zoom, then I would advise you to look more closely at the incredible value of the Olympus 45mm f/1.8. It is sharp, light and a lot cheaper than the 75mm. Plus I find the focal length much more useful in a wider range of situations.

If you found this review helpful then all I ask is that if you buy anything from Amazon that you click on my links below first so that I can earn a small (and I mean tiny) commission. It wont cost you a penny (cent, pesos) more.