Here's mine!
My Olympus 45mm/1.8 arrived today from Japan (Ebay) after being pre-ordered back in July. During unboxing, I was presented with two instruction booklets (one english, one japanese), and a bubble-wrapped lens. No hood was included. This lens is intended to replace my current Canon nFD 50mm/f1.4 (to go on a tangent, I do also have the PL45mm/f2.8, but I reserve that lens almost exclusively for hiking and outdoor adventures).
As for first impressions I'm amazed at how slender the lens is considering that it is a f1.8 and comparing to my current 14mm/f2.5 and 20mm/f1.7 pancakes! This is obviously a result of the lens being a non-pancake and non-IS, which I believe probably makes it simpler to manufacture. Proportion wise, it scales really nicely relative to the G3 body, which I use and really drives home the point of miniaturization of the system as a whole.
Yes there is indeed a lot of plastic on this lens, but at least the mount itself is metal. Upon mounting onto the G3 the connection feels solid and secure. I must say, the plastics used in the lens do feel a tad flimsier than the plastics used in the panasonic lenses. Overall, the panasonic lenses feel more robust in my hand. I'm not so sure how long the silver finish on the plastic will wear. I suspect that the silver finish will wear off revealing the base colour over time. The only external moving part of the lens is the focus ring which itself rotates vary smoothly. Although a hood was not included in the box, the lens will take an accessory hood. The bayonet hood mount on the lens is protected by a silver plastic bayonet ring.
As for the operation early indications are that this lens will sit in the body for a good chunk of time. As everyone has stated the lens is extremely sharp in the centre and does very well in the corners wide-open. Contrast is excellent. Bokeh is, well I'm sure you've all seen samples already (excellent!)! The only caveat is that my shutter speeds really are limited to 1/100s or greater on my G3 (which does not have IBIS). On a good day, I can go as low as 1/80s before camera shake sets in. In a typical cubicle office setting ISO400 is usually sufficient for me to get 1/80s or 1/100s wide-open.
Compared to the Canon nFD 50mm/1.8, the Oly has slightly less reach at 90mm equiv, compared to 100mm on the Canon. While their aperture numbers are fairly close to each other, I'm able to get much higher shutter speeds on the Canon at the same ISO settings. Is this because of the larger image circle of the nFD lens which exposes the sensor to more light? Maybe you guys will know better here. In terms of "IS", the Oly feels more prone to shaking, likely as it is so light! The Canon, being a full-frame lens, is much heavier and more resistant to slight shakes of the hand.
All in all, this lens will be a nice replacement for the Canon nFD 50/f1.4 and will likely find significant mount time on my G3.
These are my initial thoughts so far. I hope you enjoyed reading my review!
Regards,
AJW
My Olympus 45mm/1.8 arrived today from Japan (Ebay) after being pre-ordered back in July. During unboxing, I was presented with two instruction booklets (one english, one japanese), and a bubble-wrapped lens. No hood was included. This lens is intended to replace my current Canon nFD 50mm/f1.4 (to go on a tangent, I do also have the PL45mm/f2.8, but I reserve that lens almost exclusively for hiking and outdoor adventures).
As for first impressions I'm amazed at how slender the lens is considering that it is a f1.8 and comparing to my current 14mm/f2.5 and 20mm/f1.7 pancakes! This is obviously a result of the lens being a non-pancake and non-IS, which I believe probably makes it simpler to manufacture. Proportion wise, it scales really nicely relative to the G3 body, which I use and really drives home the point of miniaturization of the system as a whole.
Yes there is indeed a lot of plastic on this lens, but at least the mount itself is metal. Upon mounting onto the G3 the connection feels solid and secure. I must say, the plastics used in the lens do feel a tad flimsier than the plastics used in the panasonic lenses. Overall, the panasonic lenses feel more robust in my hand. I'm not so sure how long the silver finish on the plastic will wear. I suspect that the silver finish will wear off revealing the base colour over time. The only external moving part of the lens is the focus ring which itself rotates vary smoothly. Although a hood was not included in the box, the lens will take an accessory hood. The bayonet hood mount on the lens is protected by a silver plastic bayonet ring.
As for the operation early indications are that this lens will sit in the body for a good chunk of time. As everyone has stated the lens is extremely sharp in the centre and does very well in the corners wide-open. Contrast is excellent. Bokeh is, well I'm sure you've all seen samples already (excellent!)! The only caveat is that my shutter speeds really are limited to 1/100s or greater on my G3 (which does not have IBIS). On a good day, I can go as low as 1/80s before camera shake sets in. In a typical cubicle office setting ISO400 is usually sufficient for me to get 1/80s or 1/100s wide-open.
Compared to the Canon nFD 50mm/1.8, the Oly has slightly less reach at 90mm equiv, compared to 100mm on the Canon. While their aperture numbers are fairly close to each other, I'm able to get much higher shutter speeds on the Canon at the same ISO settings. Is this because of the larger image circle of the nFD lens which exposes the sensor to more light? Maybe you guys will know better here. In terms of "IS", the Oly feels more prone to shaking, likely as it is so light! The Canon, being a full-frame lens, is much heavier and more resistant to slight shakes of the hand.
All in all, this lens will be a nice replacement for the Canon nFD 50/f1.4 and will likely find significant mount time on my G3.
These are my initial thoughts so far. I hope you enjoyed reading my review!
Regards,
AJW
