It was one of the much awaited lenses for Olympus PEN and the Micro Four Thirds format line. For years, Olympus as opted to keep the f2 as its fastest aperture to ensure the quality of its Zuiko lenses. But now they made a bold move to introduce a larger aperture of f1.8 for its 45mm M.Zuiko. This was welcomed with much celebration both from Olympus and Panasonic users as the lens selection for M43rds has definitely mature with this new addition along with the excellent Lumix 20mm f1.7, Pany/Leica 25 f1.4 and Olympus 12mm f2. But let’s put the spotlight on this wonderful Olympus 45mm f1.8 M.Zuiko Lens.
The Olympus 45mm f1.8 was actually announced last June 2011 but it was only a couple of months ago when it started shipping to the hands of eager photographers clamoring for a proper portrait lens for the M43rds. Here in the Philippines, it’s not officially out yet since there’s an ongoing transition on the distributorship of Olympus Products (from Axis Global to now Red Dot Imaging for 2012). This transition halted the import of the new PEN Line and lenses. Luckily, I recently had a visit to Malaysia and got the lens for RM 1,080. SRP for the US Market is $399.99.
Just some quick impressions
- It’s tiny for such a large aperture lens
- The build is plastic but feels solid, though I’m careful I may scratch the paint off
- It focuses quite fast on my E-PL1
- It’s definitely not a Macro lens but it’s close focus of 1.6 feet is quite good compared to similar portrait lengths of 90mm where they focus only as close to 2ft
- Its retro design looks absolutely sexy on the PEN cameras
I did some initial shoot with the lens and am enjoying it a lot. Will be using it heavily on my upcoming trip and would show a full review and samples by then. Meanwhile enjoy the unboxing images.
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