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Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.2 PRO - Review / Test Report |
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Lens Reviews -
(Micro-)Four-Thirds
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Page 1 of 3
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published October 2019
Introduction
Shallow depth-of-field photography is not at the center of the micro-four-thirds system due to the comparatively small sensor size. However, that
doesn't mean that it is beyond its capabilities. The somewhat exotic series of Voigtlander Nokton lenses (all f/0.95) showed that quite a while ago already. However, there are also more mainstream options both from Panasonic/Leica as well as Olympus. In the scope of the review, we'll have a look at the Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.2 PRO. It also has a couple of in-house cousins of similar speed (17mm f/1.2, 25mm f/1.2). Unlike the faster Voigtlander lenses, the Zuiko features an AF motor which is pretty much a must-have for most users of lenses in this speed class. As the name implies, it is a member of the professional gang of Olympus lenses coming with a correspondingly high price tag of around 1100USD/EUR.
The build quality of the 45mm f/1.2 PRO is excellent. Professional lenses have to be designed to withstand some abuse - and the 45mm f/1.2 PRO is dust-proof, splash-proof, as well as freeze-proof. It's an all-metal construction that maintains its length during focusing (aka internal focusing). Typical for MFT lenses, manual focusing is very smooth. Olympus also implemented a programmable L-Fn (lens function) button for easily accessible settings adjustment. A plastic, barrel-shaped lens hood is provided.
The AF is very fast, silent and, of course, precise. The Movie & Still-compatible (MSC) autofocus system is also aligned to smooth video recording. The lens features a focus-clutch mechanism for switching between manual and auto-focusing. It is a matter of taste but we are generally not a fan of this approach because you can never keep the focusing when switching between the modes. However, unlike conventional focus-by-wire systems, you do get a focus distance and depth-of-field scale on the lens here.
| Specifications |
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| Equiv. focal length (full-format) | "90mm" (in terms of field-of-view) |
| Equiv. aperture (full-format) | "f/2.4" (in terms of depth-of-field) |
| Optical construction | 14 elements in 10 groups inc. 1x ED, 4x HR & 1x aspherical elements |
| Number of aperture blades | 9 (rounded) |
| min. focus distance | 0.5m (max. magnification 1:10) |
| Dimensions | 70x84.9mm |
| Weight | 410g |
| Filter size | 62mm |
| Hood | barrel-shaped (bayonet mount, supplied) |
| Other features | dust, moisture & freeze proof, focus-clutch |
| Mount | Micro-Four-Thirds |
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