Important Note:
1) I am an Olympus Malaysia employee.
2) This review is a user-experience based review, from a photography enthusiast's point of view.
3) All images were shot in RAW and converted to JPEG via Olympus Viewer 3. Noise Filter = OFF, Gradation Normal, Saturation, Contrast and Sharpness set to default "0". Image Setting Natural, Auto White Balance with Warm Color OFF.
4) The images were almost straight out of camera, with slight exposure (brightness/contrast balance) tuning and white balance tweak.
I have been getting a lot of requests asking me to do my review of the new Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens. I am still in the midst of reviewing the Olympus OM-D E-M10, but I figured why not pushing the M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens out first, since this is one lens that I have been anticipating for a long time.
Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens, some technical specifications:
Lens Construction 7 groups 9 elements
Closest Focusing Distance 25cm
Size 57 Diameter, 42mm length
Filter thread 46mm
There is an option to attach the new Macro Converter, M-CON P-02 for higher magnification shooting.
Lens Hood included (I hear some say Halleluia!)
To carry out my shooting test on the field, I used the OM-D E-M10 for this blog entry. I tried to shoot a wide range of subjects, including environmental portraits, headshot portraits, close-up shooting of various subjects including food, as well as a bit of tight landscape. Whenever possible I did my best to highlight the shallow depth of field rendering of the open wide F1.8 aperture. On the other hand, I also explored shooting with various aperture opening, stopping down to gain maximum depth of field. So how does the M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens perform, in terms of image quality (sharpness, technical control of distortion and chromatic aberration), autofocus performance, and how does the lens handle with the new OM-D E-M10?
1/80sec, F22, ISO200
THE CLASSICAL 50MM PERSPECTIVE
I will be frank with you from the start, I am a 50mm shooter when it comes to wider perspective. (just to clear off some confusion, 50mm focal length in traditional 35mm format is equivalent to the M.Zuiko 25mm for Micro Four Thirds format). While I have no issues utilizing wider focal lengths and I do acknowledge the importance of using wider lenses when necessary to accomplish certain photography goal, the magic always happens for me, something I can describe as the sweetspot of turning the vision I had in my mind into photography reality, when I use the 50mm perspective. I have tried my best to love the M.ZUiko 17mm F1.8 lens, though it was great but I cannot quite achieve what I "saw" in my mind. I fully understand that this is subjective and can be a personal preference that differs from photographer to photographer, but if you are asking me to recommend a focal length to learn and improve in photography, and have something versatile and flexible to use in almost all shooting conditions, this new M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens is a must have lens in my book.