Sharp wide open throughout most of the frame with both near and far targets. Overall sharper than the Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4 (which I will compare to on several points below) when you consider edge performance. Since the success of the Olympus OM-D E-M5, Olympus has decided to continue in the direction of system cameras for the serious amateur photographer. This kind of photographer enjoys using high-quality, dedicated, fast lenses. Together with the Olympus OM-D E-M1, the first lens in the Pro series was released (the Olympus 12-40 mm f/2.8). And with the introduction of the Olympus OM-D E-M10, the Olympus 25 mm f/1.8 from the Premium series was presented. When it comes to lenses with a fixed focal length, an amateur photographer now has the choice of a few feather-light, compact and also fast Olympus lenses from the premium series with a fixed focal length and an f/1.8 aperture. In the first case, I’m thinking about the 17 mm, 25 mm, and the 45 mm, which all have a suggested retail price of under 400 euros. The Olympus 75 mm f/1.8 is, given its higher price and less common focal length, more a lens for connoisseurs and prosumers. This Olympus lens has been long-awaited by the Micro 4/3 community, and I am pleased to say that Olympus delivered the goods. 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 M.Zuiko Digital 25mm F1.8 Overview: Digital

We expect most folks to autofocus with this lens and manually select the focusing point though. Build Quality The lens offers no focus limiter and no image stabilisation, either. The latter is no big deal really, given that this is a fast wide-angle lens that allows hand-held photography in fairly low light without IS (not to mention that Olympus bodies offer in-body image stabilisation). This lens features superb IPX1-equivalent splashproof and dustproof performance and freezeproof performance to 14°F for the ultimate reliability unique to the M.Zuiko PRO series. When paired with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 and E-M5 series, you can have peace of mind using this lens in punishing environments such as rain and snow. Fluorine coating is used on the front lens for easy cleaning in rainy, snowy, or dusty environments. Filter Support You will never have trouble from vignetting with this lens. Even at full aperture, the vignetting is less than half a stop. In comparison: For a standard lens on a camera with a full-frame sensor, a stop and a half is not unusual. Now, there is a hint -- ever so slightly -- of some corner softness at ƒ/1.8, but it's so minor that it's hardly worth mentioning. However, stopping down this lens improves sharpness even more -- and across the entire frame -- especially around ƒ/4-ƒ/5.6. However, center sharpness remains excellent throughout the entire aperture range, from ƒ/1.8 onwards until around ƒ/16, when minor diffraction limiting softness appears.

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No really, of any Olympus lens that we tested, this one’s hit rate was amongst the highest. To be clear, we usually test our lenses by manually selecting a focusing point after framing a scene, then focusing and releasing the shutter. And with that said, we’re happy that the focusing isn’t only accurate but fast. If you’re shooting portraits, the OMD system’s face detection is also a major help in getting something accurate–providing it really detects the face correctly. Image Quality Model: Jesse Philbin Manual focusing is also available with this lens using an electrical focus-by-wire system. Unlike some Olympus primes such as the M.Zuiko 12mm ƒ/2, which uses a focus ring clutch mechanism, manual focus is, instead, enabled by the camera. Has solid build, despite being plastic and light. The "decorative cap" is more snug, less inclined to fall off as compared to the Olympus 45mm lens The problem with your present lens, from a product photography standpoint (besides not being true macro), is diffraction. In 35mm film, we thought of f8 as the sweet spot for most lenses. In m4/3, that tends to be around f4 (I find the 12-40mm f2.8 Pro lens works best wide open). f5.6 usually works OK, but things get noticeably softer above f8. So your 14-42mm lens's maximum aperture already is near the diffraction limit for the m4/3 format. It's just a matter of physics.

Review: Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 - Admiring Light Review: Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 - Admiring Light

Autofocus is swift, silent and dead on. Noting moves externally and I think it's nice that the lens shares a 46mm filter thread with some other lenses for the system. The first immediately noticeable thing about the focus of this lens is the high, very regular sharpness. The sharpness in the in the center is actually equal to the sharpness in the corners – from full aperture on. That is a very good performance and increases the usability of this lens. Many other lenses at full opening have clearly softer corners. Where sharpness is concerned, you’re completely free to choose any aperture between f/1.8 and f/11. The amount of sharpening is partly a matter of personal taste. For my taste, standard jpg files of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 are slightly too sharpened. But there are many photographers who will find that really beautiful. Examine the image below at 100%, and form your own opinion. Sell the kit you’re not using to MPB. Trade in for the kit you need to create. Buy used, spend less and get more. Buy. Sell. Trade. Create. But when you consider that it is a wider focal length, then you’ll get less bokeh at a given aperture, correct? Yes, but we didn’t find this to be a really big damper on the images that we created. Some notes: As you can see in the images below, despite both lenses being marked as 25mm lenses, the Panasonic Leica has a slightly longer focal length. I can’t say whether the Leica is longer than 25mm or the Olympus is shorter than 25mm, though in comparison to other lenses I own, I’d lean towards the Olympus being slightly shorter than marked.

Image Quality

EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. Smaller and lighter than Panasonic (balances better on the smallest MFT bodies) - much smaller if you include the dedicated hoods (finally Olympus includes a hood) Straight out of the camera, it is very hard to find any sort of color fringing. But when you start adding a tad of contrast, you’ll start to see more of it. To be clear though, this rarely happened. There is another photo that we shot that looks like it has color fringing when zoomed out. But when in at 100%, the fringing isn’t there. Bokeh The 25mm f1.8 would be a definite improvement over what you now have, and a good walkaround lens if you don't mind the single focal length. If you don't need the capabilities of a true macro lens, it's a good choice. As an aside, the 25mm is a true "normal" lens on m4/3 (22.5mm diagonal of the imaging rectangle) v. 35mm on the 35mm film/full frame digital format (36mm diagonal): 50mm, which we've come to think of as "normal" on the latter format, actually is a slightly long focal length. Add to that the slightly chunkier proportions of m4/3, and your perspective will be slightly different from what you're used to (if you are used to it) with the 35mm film/50mm lens combination.