Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 45mm f/1.2 PRO Review

November 23, 2017 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Sharpness at 45mm

The sharpness tests for this review were carried out using a real-world subject rather than a test chart. The Olympus 45mm f1.8 lens was attached to an Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II body, which in turn was mounted on a sturdy tripod. The self-timer was activated. Slight tonal changes are due to slight changes in natural light during the session. The 100% crops represent about 1/300th of the total frame area.

The full frameThe full frame

In the frame centre, the lens is a little soft wide open, but commendably already tack-sharp at f/1.4. Impresively, the edges aren't very far behind. The "sweet spot" is f/2.8-f/5.6, but we would not hesitate to use it at any f-stop except f/16 where diffraction robs you of too much detail.

Aperture Centre Crop Edge Crop
f/1.2 f1_2.jpg f1_2.jpg
f/1.4 f1_4.jpg f1_4.jpg
f/2 f2.jpg f2.jpg
f/2.8 f2_8.jpg f2_8.jpg
f/4 f4.jpg f4.jpg
f/5.6 f5_6.jpg f5_6.jpg
f/8 f8.jpg f8.jpg
f/11 f11.jpg f11.jpg
f/16 f16.jpg f16.jpg