OM SYSTEM Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm F1.8 Black for Micro Four Thirds System Camera, Compact Design, Beautiful Bokeh, Bright

I can't believe I slept on this gem for this long. My hobbyist photography generally involves super zooms or travel zooms so I don't use primes much, but I like to have them handy. Lenses I tried before the 45mm: 14-42mm EZ* 40-150 R (the cheap one) x 25mm F1.7 Pana... x 60mm F2.8 macro* 75-300mm x 9-18 mk1 x 12-200mm x 100-400mm* (my favorite) 12-45 F4 PRO x 20mm F1.4 PRO ? 12-100mm F4 PRO* (I consider this my best lens) 7-14mm F2.8 PRO ? 45mm F1 8 ? x - Sold or selling * - Keeping ? - undecided, still testing The 45mm is one of the cheaper lenses made by Olympus, but the quality is impressive, as is the 45mm perspective. I originally went with the 25mm as my first prime, but after a particularly rainy trip to Finland, I wanted to weatherproof my setup. So, I purged all of the lenses that weren't weather sealed, which is how I ended up with the 20mm. It's the cheapest Pro prime, but is also immaculate quality and I highly recommend it, although it lacks clutch and function button if those are desired (which explains the price). So now we arrive at the 45mm. I had the opportunity to purchase the 7-14mm F2.8 for a great price, and decided that for lowlight and indoor photography, I might switch to that instead of the 20mm, since the majority of lowlight stuff I do is either in museums, or when traveling or hiking and the sun dips too low, and the Em1x has impressive stabilization... But then I wondered what my options were if I wanted to do portraits, or needed something really bright. And then I decided that the non pro primes would be fine, because I don't use the primes enough to need them to be weather sealed. I'm eyeing the Sigma 30mm, but while I wait to snag one at a good price, I decided to pick up the 45mm... And it's been a joy to use. I picked up an Oly EPM2 recently to use on streets and it pairs magically with the 45 (and the 17 F2.8). I've also used it with an Em1x mkii, but it looks a little too ridiculous on my Em1x LOL. Autofocus is fast enough, it's perfectly sharp, and so tiny relative to the PRO lenses that I've gotten used to. While I'd still like to give the Sigma a try, and haven't decided if I'll keep it, I would recommend the 45 to anyone wanting to do portraits or street photos with a narrower FOV. The 25mm perspective is a safer option if deciding between that and the 45, and the 20 PRO is the better lens in every way but price (haha). But if you want the 45mm perspective and don't need the pro features and value the portability, get this lens, it's not going to hold you back. Oh, one more consideration... It's definitely more enjoyable to shoot this lens than say using the kit lens at 42mm... So if the kit lens is all you have... Well, maybe get the 25, unless you know you want a prime with more reach. And also get the 40-150 lol. But the 45 is great too.

I'm using this lens with a Panasonic GF1. Even after having my micro 4/3 for 2 years, I continue to be impressed at how small these lenses are, especially when compared with the huge NEX system lenses from Sony. The Olympus 45mm 1.8 continues that trend with a diminutive size and weight. The plastic body certainly helps with bring the weight down, in contrast to the 12mm all-metal wide-angle also from Olympus. When I set the camera down, the lens doesn't tip the camera over which helps for setting it on a table for time-release shots. There are sample videos on the internet showing the focus speed on cameras like the GF3 and E-P3. My GF1 seemed to focus a bit slower with this 45mm lens than those cameras, but it was still spot on and almost silent. It was certainly faster and quieter than the 20mm pancake. The minimal focus distance says 0.5m. For practical purposes that means that you can't focus down on someone sitting right next to you but you can if they are one seat over. Now, you may already have one of the 14-45mm kit lenses and ask yourself 'why do I need this 45mm lens if I've already got that focal length covered?' A few reasons: (1) speed. The maximum aperture of the kit zooms at 45mm is 5.6 which is over 3 f-stops more than the 1.8. That means you get a 1/100 shutter speed as opposed to the about 1/10 shutter speed of the kit zoom. (2) bokeh. The 45mm produces that great blurry quality in the background while keeping your subject sharp. Kit zoom lenses almost never produce those great images. (3) weight. Except for the new pancake 14-45mm zoom that panasonic recently came out with, this lens is smaller and lighter than the other kit zooms out there. The other lens in the micro 4/3 system at this focal length is the Leica-branded 45mm macro lens (f2.8). Despite the same focal lengths, the lenses couldn't be more dissimilar. The Leica is about $300 more, produces great macro shots, is over 1 stop slower, and it focuses slower. The Olympus is positioned more accurately as a fast portrait lens. The images are sharp without distortion or any visible artifacts. But, for a more scientific look at sharpness and chromatic aberration, etc, check out dpreview or lenstip.com. Finally, aesthetically, this is a great looking lens. If you are planning on getting a filter for it, the diameter is 37mm. It does not come with a lens hood. I personally like the silver color which looks cool on my black GF1. Even though it is plastic, it feels like a pretty solidly constructed lens. I preordered in September and it came in 1 month later. There are some excellent sample images on flickr if you still need convincing. I would highly recommend this lens if you are planning on being invested in the micro 4/3 system.

This lens is nothing short of fantastic. A really good buy with excellent optical characteristics. This lens is fast and sharp with tremendous detail. It is small and compact and is an excellent intermediate portrait lens. I can't recommend this lens highly enough. It's low light capability is just great an on the EM-5 it focuses fast and the images are sharp everywhere. I just wish the 12mm were priced this well, I would have purchased it too. If there is one lens you must have besides the kit lens, this is it. Manual focus works very well on it too. I'm looking forward to the new 75mm 1.8 as if it is anything like this lens it will be great. I just wished they had priced it closer to this one too. It appears to be well made but still light weight and the focus collar is smooth and works very nicely. It is probably focus by wire but it feels mechanical like a good design should.

Good lens, pictures are sharp nice blurry background good for portraits, and little micro :). It’s Light and small fits the om3 and om 5 ii very well.

So far seems like a great lens. Has typically received great reviews on line and by reviewers. And it’s so tiny and light! The price on Amazon was very very competitive and so I couldn’t let it pass by. Optically it seems very good although I don’t test my lenses I just use them and decide whether or not they’re keepers. Time will tell. For now this lens is a win.

I have bought this lens from amazon.com but then returned it because I realized that I can get it with my ThankYou points via BestBuy. After using it for a while with my new Olympus OM-D E-M5 16MP Live MOS Interchangeable Lens Camera with 3.0-Inch Tilting OLED Touchscreen and 12-50mm Lens (Black) and being not a professional or semiprofessional photographer I can say that it is overall a good and lightweight portrait lens for practical purposes. Together with Olympus's very good sensor, this lens makes good photos in low-light conditions. In comparison to most prime lenses it is more narrow angle, so that you have to move away from the subject further than usual. If the space is small, this can be a problem. I was surprised that its smallest field depth is much larger than that of my Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens portrait lens with which I was able to make photos with an extremely narrow field depth. With the Zuiko lens there is a background blurring that is probably sufficient for portraits but one has to take care that the background is sufficiently far behind the subject. My friends told me that this difference from the Canon prime lens should be a consequence of the Micro 4/3 system.

Update: 15-feb-2015 I left the M43 fray for a stint with a DSLR and have returned, so this is my 2nd copy of this lens. The biggest thing I can do for you is recommend the write-up of this little gem on ePhotozine: http://www.ephotozine.com/article/olympus-45mm-f-1-8-zuiko-digital-micro-four-thirds-lens-review-17667 On a recent trip I was shooting on a tripod outside on a fairly dim day and touring the inner confines of an old military fort. Because my exposures were going to be long anyway, I stopped down to f8-f11 for most of my images. To repeat myself - "eye cutting sharpness". Truly amazing images from my trusty GX1. This lens remains one of my all time favorites. ************************************************************************************************************************************************* i've been taking pictures for over 30 years and a few lenses stand out. This is one of them. Construction-wise, yes it's plastic. But until or unless someone can prove to me that it matters that it's made out of plastic, I would discount the worries. I don't find it weak or flimsy or suspect in any way. I guess I'd prefer black, but it does have kind of a throw back look to it and being silver has no impact on images. This lens has the most beautiful bokeh I've seen in years. Coupled with it's eye cutting sharpness and excellent contrast I'm just blown away. Reminds me of some old Zuikos and Nikkors from my manual focus 35mm days. Wonderful. And having that f1.8 aperture again is nothing short of splendid, only driven higher by it's excellent optical design. I know fast primes have been out there in DSLR offerings, but since the switch to M-4/3's, these 2 are my first foray. This prime (and the Lumix 20mm) have taken me back to the days of creative DOF and "zooming" with my feet. But this time it's in compact, lightweight heaven. Nothing ever taught me more about pre-visualizing an image and nurtured creativity like leaving the house with a single camera and prime lens. I'm a Panasonic user, so no image stabilization since it's not in the lens, but that's a small price to pay. My only beef with Olympus is the lack of a hood, and the cost to acquire one. It's a beautiful piece, but the $40 price tag seems unreasonably steep. No regrets with this purchase. Nothing but praise for this product.

This is why I love being on team LUMIX. A must-have portrait lens with minimal footprint, totally decent minimum focus range, and works fabulously with the latest phase-detect autofocus system on the GH7. Versus the ultra premium f1.2 older brother (well over one $K) this lens gets you incredibly close to the low-light performance at a fraction of the price (and weight). Integrates very nicely with in-body stabilization as well. Bonus for having the Silver Edition, not officially available in N. America (bizarrely enough) Get an adapter and add some cheap Shimmer Glass to take the edge off and you're playing with fire.

Consolida mi pequeño arsenal de lentes MFT. Equivalente a un 85mm, da buena compresión, es rápido y tiene un sedoso bokeh. Es perfecto para retrato. Tuve la suerte de encontrarlo a un buen precio y MSi. El lente es nuevo aunque su caja llegó maltratada. Una nota de estética es que el lente no es "bonito". Al montarlo en la GH5 se ve un poco pequeño. Fuera de eso, lo recomiendo 5/5.

Lente rapida e leve. Trouxe nova vida a Olympus PEN

sono riuscito a farci delle foto alle 20,30 di sera a tutta apertura e sembrava mezzogiorno per quanto fosse luminoso ad 1,8 di apertura diaframma o iris - Anche se è di marca Olympus io lo uso con la lumix Panasonic e tutto va alla grande compreso l'autofocus - riesce a fare un ottimo Boke ovvero sfocatura dello sfondo dietro il soggetto fotografato nei ritratti - è molto piccolo ed anche perfetto oltre che per i ritratti (diventa sulle quattro terzi un 90 millimetri puro) ecco è ottimo anche per le foto street view . Spero che Olympus o Panasonic facciano anche un duplicator di focale per aumentare il range ritrattistico ma anche così è perfetto .

Es cierto, hay versiones de objetivos más luminosos todavía, pero este por el coste que tiene, es perfecto para poder jugar con un mayor diafragma, mejorar el rendimiento, y a la vez, es tan perfecto, para retrato! En general se desenvuelve bien en todo tipo de situaciones pero hay que tener en cuenta que es un 45mm de micro 4/3 y tendrás que distanciarte del sujeto para que tenga un buen encuadres. A tener en cuenta si solo lo buscas para interiores. Muy, muy recomendable.

Good quality lens. Does what it should very well.