I'm in the market for a lens. I love portrait photography and want to do some weddings. Money is no object, but I want to buy only one. Which one? The Olympus 75mm 1.8 or the Olympus 45mm 1.8?

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OM-D EM-5, 12/50mm, 40/150mm, FL-300R, FL-600R

The 75mm f/1.8 would be a better portrait lens.

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Olympus E-3 | Olympus E-PL2 PEN | Olympus E-PM1 PEN | Zuiko ED 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 SWD | Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 | Vivitar 100mm f/2.8 Macro | Carl Zeiss Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 | Konica Hexanon 50mm f/1.4 | Konica Hexanon 85mm f/1.8 | G.Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 | Zuiko 35mm f/3.5 Macro | Zuiko 25mm f/2.8 | KMZ Jupiter-3 50mm f/1.5 | E.Zuiko 200mm f/4 | Zuiko 75-150mm f/4 | Olympus EC-14 teleconverter | VF-2 and VF-3 Viewfinders | EMA-1 Mic Adapter | Olympus FL-36R and FL-50R speedlights

cyclopsphoto.ca

is the oly 75mm available?

IMHO,
The focal lengths are too different to only want one. And because you only want one, then perhaps the upcoming Panasonic 35-100 ƒ2.8 would work out best for your needs.

Good suggestion!

Now, to the OP, the question is which focal length are you more accustomed to using?

Back in my film days, the rule of thumb for a portrait lens on a 35mm camera was in the range of 85-120. That would make the 75, which is 150 equivalent - a little long as a portrait lens.

But that was then....maybe the standard has shifted longer.

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Chuck

The 45 is a good cheaper option, the 75 should be good as well. You can't go wrong with either.

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Jonathan
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www.jonathanfriolo.com

Indoors, 45mm, outdoors 75mm.

That 75 will put some serious distance between you and your subject, a 150mm equivalent is a very long lens. I think the 45mm will offer more flexibility, BUT... you need to determine your needs. If you like to stand back and get optically close, the 75 is for you. It will capture greater detail without having to move in close, however the 45 is still a telephoto lens and is right in the sweet spot of "traditional" portrait lenses with a 90mm equivalent field of view.

A tough call but a very subjective one, both promise excellent image quality, now you have to decide what kind of images you plan to shoot.

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Ira (Pentax shooter)
Gander, NL, Canada
http://aicphotography.blogspot.com/
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Current equipment: Olympus E-P2 with M.Zuiko 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 L, E-PL1 with M.Zuiko 17mm f2.8 and VF-1, Pentax and Nikon adapters on the way My Pentax Gear will be listed later Nikon gear: Nikkor AF 50mm f1.8D (with m4/3 adapter)
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/monza76/

As has been said, they are very different focal lengths.

That said, I would tentaviley suggest you go with the 75. According to olympus, and my own estimation based on observation of samples, this is the best technical performance of any M43 lens. It will also have even better resale value, and build quality will be better.

150mm isn't that much longer than the normal long designation for portrait lenses. Remember that differences in angle of view are less significant on the long end than on the short end. The difference between a 450mm and a 500 mm lens is much less than the difference between a 10mm and a 50mm, for example. Having it a bit longer than standard portrait classification was probably partially to help it gain just a little more shallow DOF and flatness that M4/3 traditionally has problems with.

If you're going to shoot weddings, my guess it that having a longer lens will be more practical than otherwise. You can capture portraits of more than just the people immediately around you, and would have a better time with candids. For set-up shots, it shouldn't matter. You'll also get better subject isolation, and less fringing in high contrast situations(which is about the only downfall of the 45mm wide open, although easily fixable in LR4.1).