Is the Lumix 42.5mm f/1.7 the new affordable reference for MFT portrait photographers? Let’s find out!

Olympus 45mm F/1.8 – The pocket portrait gem Olympus 45mm F/1.8 – The pocket portrait gem

I found some traces of chromatic aberration at the fastest apertures in images with strong contrast like the picture below. It is present in both the JPG and Raw versions. However it is easily removable in Lightroom. DMC-G7, 1/4000, f/ 1.7, ISO 200 The only thing I dislike is that it is not a pancake lens, like e.g. the Panasonic 20 mm or the Olympus 17mm...

Corner shading (vignetting) is minimal at the fastest apertures, and distortion is very well-controlled thanks to the auto-correction performed on the RAW files by Micro Four Thirds cameras. Colours Since the 45mm PRO’s maximum aperture is one stop faster than the 45mm’s (1.2 vs 1.8), you can achieve a more shallow depth of field when both are set to the same focus distance.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm 1:1.8 review | Cameralabs

Nice review. But just to clarify, the Olympus 45mm focal length is not nearly the same as the Canon 50mm. The Olympus is actually 90mm full-frame equivalent. So it should be compared with the Canon 85mm which I believe the differences in physical size is even larger. The manual focusing ring turns smoothly and is a step-up from the manual focusing rings on the kit lenses, but it’s not quite in the same league as the silky smooth manual focusing rings of the Panasonic Leica models including the 45mm f2.8 macro. All my film shooting was done with slow-ish kit zooms so my first real experience of playing with depth-of-field came with a 50mm F1.8 on APS-C. It's a fun combination and one of the only really affordable ways to play around with the low-light and shallow depth of field capabilities of your first DSLR (it's no surprise that cheap 50s are sometimes seen as 'gateway' lenses, leading to addictive fast-glass buying habits). Sharpness (even wide open) is very, very good. It has beautiful bokeh and good contrast. Autofocus is smooth, fast, silent and accurate, really good. There is some CA, but it doesn't bother me much. Both lenses perform admirably in terms of sharpness but there is no question that the 45mm PRO has a clear edge over the 45mm, particularly at the fastest apertures. This comes as no surprise given that the 45mm 1.2 belongs to the M.Zuiko PRO category of lenses and is four times as expensive as the 45mm 1.8 at the time of writing.The Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 is a lens that I never leave the house without. (No exaggeration; my everyday camera bag consists of an Olympus PEN E-P7, Olympus M.Zuiko 14-42mm Pancake, and an Olympus M.Zuiko 9mm Body Cap lens). If you’re looking for the softest and most incredible bokeh, I’d say the big brother to this lens, the Olympus 45mm f/1.2 Pro is the better choice. The 20mm is over twice as wide and is more of a general purpose lens as is the 17mm. The 45mm would be a rather poor choice for general landscapes frankly. This is another perfect lens for live performances where you can get closer to the action. Local venues are often quite dark so F/1.8 is perfect. And the fact that we get the equivalent depth of field of F/3.6 due to the crop factor makes it even better in these scenarios. It means you get more of the image in sharper focus. I prefer that compared to a razor thin sliver when someone is moving. You have a greater chance to actually keep your focus point in focus. Olympus PEN E-P7 + Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 (1/30 sec, f/1.8, ISO1600) (Image credit: James Artaius) Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8: Build and handling