I like both focal lengths but I can only afford one for xmas. And I don't think I need both. I can make do with one. Both focal lengths work for me as far as portraiture. Which one would you recommend as far as bokeh quality and results? Which one is sharper open?

If you can only afford one of the two, I recommend the 25 f/1.4 - it's a more versatile lens than the 45mm for general use. I have both lenses, and I use the 25mm more than the 45mm (although I like both); indeed, it's my favourite lens in the Micro Four Thirds system at present. Never underrate the versatility of something close to the normal focal length, or the usefulness of the additional 2/3rds of a stop of light compared with the 45mm.

(I should add that if you were only taking portrait photographs of single people, you might find the 45mm to be more useful, as I use the 45mm for portraits; but for general use, the 25mm has more to recommend it).

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James E. Petts

My photostream

Olympus E-P3

Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 IIR, Panasonic 14mm f/2.5, Panasonic/Leica 25mm f/1.4, Olympus macro 60mm f/2.8,
Olympus 12mm f/2.0, Olympus 45mm f/1.8, Samyang 7.5mm f/3.5, Pentax Super Takumar SMC 135mm f/3.5

what jamepetts said; couldn't agree more

Ask Bhupinder and he'll say get the 45. I'll say get the 25.

According to the tests at Lens Rentals, the 45 is slightly sharper wide open but that's at half a stop less than the 25 and the difference is probably not noticeable. At F/4 the 25 has the edge. Bokeh is subjective and I wouldn't like to call it given the difference in focal length/depth of field and isolation. I have no problems with either as far as bokeh goes, but they are different.

The big thing between the 2 lenses for me is field of view. I use the 25 a lot more because of that wider field of view and I find it a great general purpose lens. I feel the 45 is a little too long for that. I can crop shots from the 25 to include less, but I can't add back what gets left out with the 45. Also, as a walk around lens, the 45 doesn't focus as close.

And now that I have the 75 I suspect I'll use the 45 less often. I don't do portraits so I was tending to use it as a short telephoto but I prefer the longer reach of the 75 for that and the 75 is definitely sharper than the 45.

So I'd go for the 25 for what I shoot. If you shoot a lot of portraits, however, then I'd look at the 45 instead. You really can't choose lenses solely on optical performance—use is paramount.

The 25mm sounds very good and very useful but I like the longer reach of the 45mm. Having a 25mm for all around and the 75mm for portraits would have been perfect except that i'm on a strict budget for a while. And, I also don't want to have more than a 3 lens lineup. Luckily, I still have some time to think about this and decide.

+1 to James' reply. A good normal lens is probably your best starting point, unless you do a lot more portrait photography than anything else. I would vote for the 25/1.4 (or 20/1.7), and then get a legacy 50 or longer for portraits until you can afford the 45/1.8

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E-P3 | 14 | 25 | 45 | 40-150 | various legacy

Another vote for 25mm. It's on my G5 by default.

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Chuck

Ok after all the replies I am leaning towards the 25mm because it would be useful overall and better to keep on the camera as an all around lens. But I do have until xmas to decide.

Get the 25mm . I have a 45mm lens and it is very good. But I
am saving for the 25mm. Like others said . The FOV will be more
useful to you.

Do you have any lenses now?