I’ve been on the fence for years now regarding a moderate/short tele micro 4/3 lens having been pretty happy with my adapted Contax G Zeiss 45mm f/2 Plannar lens, until fate dealt me a debilitating blow last week which saw my trusty 12-32mm pancake zoom bite the dust. I’ll get into that in more detail later, but looking to replace it, and having a difficult time finding one, I came across the current Olympus Lens Rebates (click here to see them all). The Oly 45mm f/1.8 lens is largely regarded as one of the best lenses for the system, especially for the price. Right now, that normal price of $399 is down to $349 as Olympus has issued a $50 rebate which runs through June 14th, 2014 according to Oly’s website.
While I’ll do a more in depth review on this little gem shortly, come on in for my initial thoughts and sale links.
One thing I will say for this lens is that it is much smaller than I’d imagined and when fitting it to the GM1, it is beautifully balanced. While it looks a little sillier on the GX7 size wise, there is no doubting the optical abilities of this little lens on whichever camera it finds itself attached to. A 90mm equivalent lens, with the ability to provide good low light performance and quick auto focusing in even lower light from my quick experience here in the shadowy office, I am very excited to shoot some people, and even some street/candids this weekend. I’m sure many of us are familiar with this lens and its reputation as a portrait lens as well. Did I mention that it’s really small and light? Excuse me, I’m excited…
Like I’d mentioned, I’ll do a proper review and even test it against the legendary Zeiss 45/2 Plannar Contax G lens soon, but for now, if you’ve been even semi interested in picking up this great lens, it might be a good time to jump on it. You can find it via the links below in Black or Silver at Adorama or B&H and if you do buy through these links, I’ll receive a small referral commission as is the norm for so many of our sites and blogs nowadays, so in advance, I greatly appreciate it if you do.
Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 Lens in BLACK (at Adorama HERE, at B&H HERE)
Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 Lens in SILVER (at Adorama HERE, at B&H HERE)
Here are a few quick shots using the Oly 45 on the Panasonic Lumix GM1…
While I’ve only had this lens in my presence for a couple hours so far, I already know from the first few shots I’ve taken that I am impressed and excited to get this out and firing.
Stay tuned and have a great rest of the week!
Happy shooting,
Tyson
Tyson Robichaud Photo-blography 
Nice pictures. I will second your recommendation that folks at least consider picking up this lens. I love mine for pets, people, flowers.
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have fun with the 45mm. i think it delivers the best price-performance ratio in m43 very close (but) behind the m.zuiko 40-150mm. but then of course it is much smaller and faster than the 40-150mm.
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Thanks LFZ,
I’ve not used the 40-150 but have heard that it does very well. I’ve always been drawn to the imagery from the 45/1.8 whenever I see it in the right hands and have held off quite a while. I’m excited to really dig in with this little guy.
Cheers,
t
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How does it shoot with Panasonic cameras without IBIS?
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So far, on the GM1, it has been killer. IBIS (or OIS) is handy, but in many cases it is overrated in my opinion. For instance, when shooting people, or any moving subjects, stabilization, no matter how its implemented, will do nothing to freeze any of their movement. It is handy in that it can help combat your hand shake keeping any static elements in any given image more sharp, but nothing will stabilize like shutter speed 🙂
So, having been shooting for many, many years, a vast majority of which having had access to no type of stabilization that wasn’t called a tripod, I’ve never been entirely bothered if my setup doesn’t have it.
That said, if the option is there, I like having it, even if I don’t particularly need it for one shot or another as I see it as yet another cool tool that can help in certain situations and also feel that every micro 4/3 camera from here on out should have some form of IBIS now that Pana has shown us their willing to do so in the case of the GX7.
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Back when I got my E-PM2 this was the first additional lens I bought . I have the 75 1.8 as well but for some reason the 45 1.8 became my favorite. I use both of them to shoot indoor ice hockey…with much success…the 1.8 really makes a difference . People tell me that the sigma 60 2.8 is as good…well it is very sharp but I really need the 1.8 to shoot indoor ice hockey . I just park myself in a corner and wait for the action come to me. The 45 is a classic….enjoy it .
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I think this 45 might just allow the 75 to rest a little bit for me as well 🙂
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Yes, that is a big point for me, too. I am often taking pictures at basketball games and usually the the gyms are dark (in the sense of the camera, not for the players itself). I have used it for nearly two years with my G2 and since new year with a G6 and the aperture 1.8 is your big friend in siuations like this, even more as this lens is already very sharp wide open.
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How often do you shoot in bad weather?
I only have one lens that is not weather-sealed and it always becomes an issue for me, if I want to use it.
I would like to use the 45mm and 75mm lenses but I’m afraid to actually use them, as with my Four-Thirds Leica/Panasonic 25mm f/1.4.
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I guess I’d say that I shoot in “bad” weather fairly infrequently, but I do shoot in wet, windy and humid conditions quite often. The only weather sealed camera I’ve had has been the EM5. The 5D2 has a certain level of sealing, but nothing I’d call weather proof by any stretch, and as far as sealed lenses, any that I have live on the Canon side of things in the 17-40L and 70-200L. I’ve never really been too bothered by non sealed gear, I guess because most of my gear hasn’t been and I’ve just learned how to avoid the worst of it I think.
Where are you shooting, and in what conditions that would cause you pause to using a non sealed lens out of curiosity?
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Last autumn, I was photographing a large cross country meet in October in the pouring rain. This is a typical event for me, but there are occasions where I might want to stop after the meet and take a few shots of scenery. The rest of the photographic and videographic crowd were hiding under a tent. I’ve also photographed three hurricanes, while being outside in the mess.
In most cases, I go from the 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 to the 14-35mm f/2.0 lens, since they’re both weather-sealed. I just consider the Leica/Panasonic lens to be useful to be great in drought conditions, but not too dusty.
Since 2004, I’ve been using all weather-sealed equipment from the Olympus E-1 to E-5 to Panasonic GH3.
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I’ve wanted to get this lens for a long time now. Yet with the newer 12-40mm I’m not sure I will, but maybe. It would be nice to have the 45mm anyway what with it’s size and weight.
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if you have the 12-40 you do not need the 45 1.8…but in my findings…I was not happy with the 12-40…I think the 45 1.8 gives better results . There was a day when all I used was zooms…but now I try to stay away from using them and prefer primes . Also the 45 1.8 might give you a crisper image than the 12-40 at the 40 mm end…something to think about
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While I’ve not personally used the 12-40, or the lumix 12-35, I am very interested in both of those lenses. I think, for the money though, I’d probably invest in something different, unless I was really needing a wide angle (which, after losing the 12-32, I kinda am…) and would probably buy one of these over the Oly 12mm f/2 at this point. As for the 45/1.8, I feel it exemplifies why I like primes in this scenario. Very sharp, even wide open, a stop and a third faster than the comparable zooms, and at $350 is very reasonable. Would paying a little over double that to get a slower standard zoom make more sense? To many, probably, but I like to see these as complimentary as opposed to competitive essentially, as you’ve mentioned Sven.
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I hear ya. I tend to supplement any zooms I have with faster primes within that zoom range, mostly for the lens speed. f/2.8 (or slower) to me is fairly pedestrian for lower light and I always like to have a few options faster than f/2 if possible with a wide, standard and portrait which end up rounding out pretty much any need for me. The zooms I buy tend to be bought for work horse duty (interior, product, studio shots, etc) and my primes tend to be my “creative” tools so to speak. They’re interchangeable certainly when the needs arise, but often I’ll be using the zooms when being paid, and the primes when I’m shooting for myself, and having to lug stuff around 🙂
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But what happened to the 12 -32mm Pancake. That oly does seem really nice though
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I was crouching down and basically got run over which found me dropping the camera, or more accurately catching myself from falling with the camera taking the weight and it came down right on the barrel of the 12-32 effectively jamming the zoom gear. So, it was crooked and stuck open, but still works amazingly. I just can’t operate the zoom and had to apply quite a bit of force to straighten it out. It has become a 32mm f/5.6 prime lens 😉
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Jeez man you ok? That sounds rough. Hopefully no lasting injuries…other than the 12-32. Very true you now have a nice very sunny day lens, which in fairness, having a lens that’s already broke can be put to good use on beaches, muddy areas or general tom foolery without worrying. You may have just created yourself the perfect action lens…in good light! Hope you’re ok man. C
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What Chris said. I hope you did much better than the lens out of the incident.
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Thanks Steve,
While I probably shouldn’t have acted instinctually, I came out unscathed, rather allowing the lens to take the entire brunt of the fall.
t
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Thank you for sharing this with us I needed this information especially because I have the same camera and now I will definitely get this lens because of you. Thank you 😊
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