Important Notes:
1. This is a user experience based review.
2. All images were shot in RAW and converted directly to JPEG (High Quality) via Olympus Viewer 2 version 1.31
3. General camera settings, Noise Filter = OFF, Contrast/Saturation/sharpness = 0, White Balance = Auto (with an option maintain warm color = OFF), Gradation = Normal
4. Minimal post-processing applied to the images. Only slight tweak of brightness/contrast and minor adjustment of white balance for better overall consistency.
This blog entry is a continuation from the previous entry: Part 1 of Olympus M.Zuiko 75mm F1.8 Review. If you have not read the
Part 1, kindly do so here.
In the Part 1 of my review, I have brought the Olympus 75mm lens out for street shooting in Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, where majority of the shots were taken under abundant and good amount of light during early morning in the open air wet market area. In that shooting session, I have also found that the 75mm F1.8 lens is remarkably sharp even being used at wide open F1.8, and can produce admirably creamy and smooth bokeh (background blur). The 75mm F1.8 lens was tested at its optimum performance in terms of resolution and sharpness at mostly ISO200 settings, yielding best possible results under favorable natural available ambient lighting condition.
What if we reverse the situation, and bring the lens out shooting in the dark? That is precisely what I am doing in this Part 2 of my Olympus M.Zuiko 75mm F1.8 review. I have brought the 75mm lens to Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur for night shooting to test how the lens perform under street lighting condition, where I needed to boost up the ISO settings to compensate for the lack of available light. While I was walking along Central Market (just opposite Petaling Street night market) I chanced upon live Chinese Kung Fu demonstration, which was performed free for the public !! Yet another fabulous opportunity to put this 75mm lens to test.
As a reminder, and a note to first time visitors, this review will be written from a photography-enthusiast’s point of view. This will be a user experience based review, sharing on what I think and feel using the M.Zuiko 75mm F1.8 mounted on OM-D E-M5 in real life shooting situations. Therefore, this is not a technical review as there will not be elaborative technical explanations, such as explanation of corner softness, optimum aperture range, chromatic aberration and so forth. In addition to that, I will not be doing direct side by side image and performance comparisons with other lenses. What I am presenting in this entry is merely what I can do with the Olympus 75mm F1.8 lens for my usual shutter therapy session.
ISO1250, F/1.8, 1/1000sec
Wrong Side of the Fence