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

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.

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 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.

There are a number of good reviews for this lens already which cover most of what needs to be said, so I'll just add a quick summary and hit a few specific points. The lens is extremely sharp and performs wonderfully wide open. The bokeh is excellent and creamy smooth. It renders out of focus specular highlights gracefully, no bright rings. AF is extremely fast and micro-four-thirds being a CDAF system it always focuses accurately (in my experience the Canon wide aperture primes often suffer from the PDAF inaccuracy of many Canon bodies). In high contrast edges slightly out of focus wide open there is limited longitudinal CA appearing - very typical of wide aperture lenses and actually very well controlled in this lens. Construction is excellent, though it mounts a bit tight on a one of my bodies. I'll be a little harsh here, but if you are looking for a heavy metal lens I suggest you time travel back a few decades to when high quality plastics didn't exist and manufacturers had no choice but to use heavier metals. I'd also suggest you sell your micro-four-thirds system and buy something heavier if you honestly think metal and weight means quality. The beauty of this lens is that it is very light and small - metal for the sake of metal would be an atrocious design flaw that would serve only to coddle retro-types who think inferior materials with nostalgic value to them equate to quality. This lens is metal where it needs to be and high-impact plastic where it should be. It is designed and engineered for maximum durability at a minimum of weight, not too match someone's horn-rimmed glasses. Comparisons to the EF 50/1.4 are bound to be made. The 50/1.4 is a unspectacular lens of about the same price as the 45/1.8 (though the 50/1.4 was in fact significantly more expensive at its introduction). The 50/1.4 bokeh and rendering is not as nice as the 45/1.8 nor is it as sharp at equivalent apertures. As far as the 50/1.4 having 8 aperture blades to the 45/1.8's 7 blades the 45/1.8 is actually superior as it uses curved blades and the 50/1.4 uses straight blades. Side by side tests at stopped down apertures show the clear advantage to the 45/1.8 with nice circular out of focus highlights while the 50/1.4 is showing octagons. Anyone who as actually used both lenses is likely to be favorably impressed with the 45/1.8. For the slightly higher price the 45/1.8 is definitely the superior lens, though perhaps not by a wide margin. In fact, for the price the 45/1.8 is simply a stunning optic and through many users' experience is comparing well with anything in its price class not to mention many more expensive lenses. As a side note, limited testing with an IR converted body shows this lens works well for IR. It has good transmittance at IR wavelengths and I have not seen any "hot-spot" problems to far. I've tested with both 720nm and 830nm cut-off filters.

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.

Phenomenal little lens. Sits in the palm of your hands. Very well built, solid materials. Focus speed is incredibly fast. Tac sharp and the colors are brilliant. Silver color matches my silver OMD-EM1 flawlessly. Two small downfalls about this lens that warranted the 4 stars. No lens hood. Fairly standard piece of plastic that anyone who would use a dslr would use. Come on now. The suggested aftermarket one that comes up for purchase, I did get, left a 2 star review, and returned. Don't fall for that trap! Second ding is minimum focus distance. This isn't an idea lens for close up. Typical distance would be just shy of 2 feet. Granted, the lens does clearly state 1.64ft which is about right. If they got that focus distance in to .75ft this lens would be a 5 star perfect. With that being said, this will be a daily street photography style lens. Its perfect for daily carry and will not disappoint in the least. Oly for life!

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.

And delicious. The hype for the lens was great. All of the reviews are stellar. The price was a little steep, so I had to wait a while to get it. What really sold me on it was a street photography user review made by Robin Wong where he did a bunch of out door night street photography in Malaysia. The output of that review was awesome and I was sold. I've had many opportunities now to use this lens with a variety of light situations. Mated with an E-PL1, I found the lens to deliver on all counts I was excited about. The lens is small and has a quality, solid feel to it. It shoots very well in a variety of lighting situations, and I'm particularly loving the low light performance and the extra creamy bokeh. I spend MOST of my time (maybe 80%) shooting with this lens. I have two minor grievances: Autofocus isn't as fast or accurate as I would have liked. I know that at this point, the delimiter is probably my outdated body, and so I do not fault the lens too much here. Given the circumstances, it performs well, if not perfectly. The lens is a smidgen too telephoto for consistent, all the time use. I have hoped it would be best suited in a room around a table, but it turns out, something closer to 30mm would probably be better for that. Having said so, using a prime demands that you move your body to frame the right shot - 15 ft is probably the best bet for a nicely frame portrait on this lens, and that distance is better adapted for candids and street photography. With knowledge of these limitations, if you're on the fence, and if your using a slightly more modern body than mine, I echo others who claim that this lens is a staple for the m4/3 format, and should enter your kit, especially if you're using an Olympus body.

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 buenísima la calidad de imagen, el bokeh cremoso separa bien los planos, enfoque rápido. Lo recomiendo bastante. Dejo 2 fotos de ejemplo.

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.

Awesome image quality. Compact design.