Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 Review Part 1

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.

After doing some research and digging, I was not alone in condoning the 50mm perspective. Countless photographers have also highly recommended to just stay with one lens, which is the 50mm focal length to improve your vision. It has something to do with how natural and now normal the images look and feel from this perspective. The images appear more convincing and real, similar to what we can see with a single eye vision (hence it is close to what our eyes see shooting through the traditional viewfinder when you can see through the viewfinder with just one eye). I can do almost a little bit of everything with this lens, as you will see in my images on this blog review, I have landscape (wide enough to cover some shots, if you stand from a good enough distance), portraits and even close up shooting. It is the versatility of the focal length that truly made this lens stand out from many other prime lenses, and the 50mm lenses remain the most popular and highly recommended lens. 

The important thing I like about 50mm perspective is the "less distorted" view, especially when you shoot up close. Whether shooting from far or near, the images look and feel real, and believable without being purposefully forced. Wider lenses are more susceptible to perspective distortion (all lens will suffer perspective distortion, depending on how and where you shoot from) and 50mm perspective is just the right focal length to achieve the balance of natural output. 

1/640sec, F1.8, ISO200

1/250sec, F1.8, ISO200

1/1250sec, F1.8, ISO200

1/500sec, F1.8, ISO200

100% crop from previous image

1/1000sec, F1.8, ISO200

100% crop from previous image

1/320sec, F2.8, ISO500

100% crop from previous image

LENS SHARPNESS AND CONTRAST

The new Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens is VERY sharp. When I was reviewing the images, the sharpness of the lens reminded me of the M.Zuiko 45mm F1.8. Although I did not do side by side comparison, I can safely testify that the sharpness level of the 25mm F1.8 is on par with 45mm F1.8 (if not slightly better than the 45mm!), very capable of resolving fine detail, and the sharpness is very even all across the frame. As usual, not a surprise coming from Olympus, the great sharpness can be achieved even shooting at F1.8 wide open with the 25mm F1.8 lens, and stopping down will improve the sharpness surely but not that significantly noticeable to me. 

There is something interesting about the contrast rendering of this M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens. It does seem like the images come out more punchy with higher contrast. This was especially noticeable when I switched lens immediately from the M.Zuiko 14-42mm F2.5-5.6 EZ Pancake Zoom lens. In fact the only time I remember seeing this kind of contrast level was when I was shooting with the Olympus M.Zuiko 75mm F1.8 lens. I admit that the 25mm F1.8 is not as sharp as the 75mm F1.8 (one of the sharpest lenses around in the market) but the look and feel of the images somehow came out with similar tones. This is the main reason, straight out of the camera, images from the 25mm F1.8 actually looks a tad bit better than the 45mm F1.8. 

BOKEH RENDERING

Yes we all know that Olympus using a smaller sensor will never accomplish as shallow depth of field as larger sensor format cameras, but seriously, for practical photography, when I was using Olympus system all this time, I never had issues creating shallow depth of field effect to isolate my subjects in my photographs. Just dig around my archive for the past 3-4 years of me shooting with Olympus system, in fact a handful of my blog readers commented that I had too shallow of depth of field and they would have preferred if some of my shots had been stopped down a little more to have more area in focus! However, if you absolutely MUST have the shallowest depth of field possible (as if shallow depth of field is the only defining quality of a camera) then kindly look for other systems. For me, what Olympus lenses can do is more than sufficient for what I need and usually shoot. 

Being an F1.8 lens, I am expecting the M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens to deliver beautiful, smooth and creamy out of focus rendering, and the lens did not disappoint at all. In fact, in some of the 100% crops you will see that the depth of field rendering can be very, very shallow, and for practical shooting, you might need to stop down to F2.8 or more to get sufficient zone in focus. The out of focus area has very good "creaminess", with round shaped bokeh and overall looking very pleasing, not distracting at all. I do not know of any other words to describe the bokeh rendering, but please do look at the many,  many images of different subjects I have shot to get an idea of what the lens can do. 

My Favourite shot of the day. 

1/2000sec, F1.8, ISO200

1/640sec, F1.8, ISO200

100% Crop from previous image

1/1000sec, F1.8, ISO200

1/2000sec, F1.8, ISO200

1/800sec, F1.8, ISO200

1/2500sec, F1.8, ISO200

1/100sec, F4.5, ISO200

1/1000sec, F2.8, ISO200

CLOSE UP SHOOTING PERFORMANCE

The one thing that sets this Olympus 25mm F1.8 lens apart from other 50mm lenses in the market is the ability of the lens to focus very near to the subject. The rated minimum focusing distance is 25cm from the image sensor plane, hence it is about 20cm from the front of the lens to the subject, and that is respectable. 50mm lenses from other manufacturers will have about half a meter or more minimum focusing distance. Consequently this Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens can give you better close up shooting, with higher magnification capability, which can be useful especially when shooting smaller subjects, such as food! One way to create shallower depth of field, to compensate for the smaller sensor size, is to go nearer to your subject. Being able to focus so close can isolate the subject from the background even better, as you can see in many of my sample images here. 

DISTORTION AND CHROMATIC ABERRATION CONTROL

The lens has almost no noticeable barrel distortion, and very little chromatic aberration. I am not entirely sure of these flaws were already corrected by the lens, but I have a feeling that the Truepic 7 engine of the OM-D E-M10 did something to minimize the distortion and CA issues further. In very high contrast areas (at highlight clippings) of out of focus zones, there are some color fringing, but the issue is very minor. All lenses (not just Olympus) will suffer chromatic aberration to some degree, and Olympus lenses always have very minimal problem. Only when zoomed in to 100% view you will be able to identify traces of CA. In fact the only lens I know of from Olympus that almost had zero CA is the amazing M.Zuiko 60mm F2.8 macro lens. Even the legendary M.Zuiko 75mm F1.8 and 45mm F1.8 lenses have minor CA issues, which was negligible in my opinion. 

AUTOFOCUS

Olympus continues the tradition of offering blazing fast AF, so there really is nothing new here. Focusing was extremely fast and silent, and deadly accurate. I almost never missed any shots, and if I did, it was my own error (timing miscalculation, finger not responding fast enough, etc). Olympus still claims to have the world's fastest AF. 

HANDLING WITH CAMERA

The Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8, for the first time I picked it up, it really felt like I was holding a slightly larger version of the M.Zuiko 45mm F1.8 lens. The build quality and feel on hand are very similar to the 45mm F1.8 lens. In fact, the design and overall appearance look very identical, the only thing that separated both lenses apart was the lens barrel diameter size (25mm of course is larger). The M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens is still considered a very small lens, and very light. Mounting it on small and lightweight camera body such as the OM-D E-M10, it was a good match. Handling was very comfortable and I can hand-hold the lens very steadily. 

1/800sec, F1.8, ISO200

100% crop from previous image

1/40sec, F2.8, ISO200

1/1000sec, F1.8, ISO200

1/320sec, F1.8, ISO200

1/400sec, F1.8, ISO200

1/3200, F1.8, ISO LOW

100% Crop from previous image

1/1600sec, F1.8, ISO200

WAIT, THERE IS ALREADY A PANASONIC 25MM LENS

Panasonic already has a 25mm lens for Micro Four Thirds, which is the Panasonic Leica 25mm F1.4 lens. On paper, this Panasonic 25mm lens delivers wider aperture, able to gather more light and render shallower depth of field at F1.4, versus what Olympus can do with the 25mm at F1.8. The Panasonic lens is also larger and heavier, and retailing at almost twice the price of the Olympus new M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens. 

I am thinking of doing a side by side comparison between these two 25mm lenses, but this comparison (for my Part 2 of the Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 review) will have to wait a little bit, since I do not have the Panasonic lens with me now. Am working hard to find one very soon. I am curious to find out how much advantage the F1.4 lens actually holds against the Olympus F1.8. 

THEN THERE IS THE OLYMPUS M.ZUIKO 17MM F1.8

This is a very personal perference, I have mentioned I am a 50mm perspective shooter, hence I am leaning toward the new M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8. However, if 35mm perspective resonates with you better, and if you do feel the need to shoot a normal view "wider", then the M.Zuiko 17mm F1.8 is the right choice for you. It is very difficult to recommend single focal length lenses because I do not know how and what you shoot. Unless I know the photographer or friend, observing his shooting style and his preferences, I would usually answer by saying do your own experimentation (with the kit lens if you must) and find out which focal length (25mm vs 17mm) works for you better. In terms of image quality all Olympus lenses are consistently sharp. We have now a very extensive, impressive looking line-up: 12mm F2, 17mm F1.8, 25mm F1.8, 45mm F1.8, 60mm F2.8 macro and 75mm F1.8 lenses. Take your pick!

1/1000sec, F4, ISO200

100% crop from previous image

1/20sec, F11, ISO640

1/50sec, F8, ISO500

1/200sec, F1.8, ISO250

I have made available 9 full resolution image samples for download, and you may get it from the following link:

OLYMPUS M.ZUIKO 25mm F1.8 SAMPLE IMAGES DOWNLOAD

That is all for Part 1. For coming part (I intend to do just one more) I shall be shooting with the M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens in low light conditions, and do comparisons with Panasonic 25mm F1.4 lens (if I can source a copy). 

Also, I am still continuously working on my review of the Olympus OM-D E-M10, and still actively shooting now. 

The new blog update will be something rather fun actually, it will be the review of Olympus FISHEYE 9mm F8 Body Cap Lens! Below is a photograph taken with the Fisheye Body Cap Lens on an OM-D E-M1, by dear friend Jackie Loi.

Photo Credit: Jackie Loi

Photo Credit: Jackie Loi

I have lent Jackie the Fisheye Body Cap Lens to shoot for a few hours and he has updated his blog with some amazing sample images! Do head over to his blog to see the photographs while I am busy composing my own review. 

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