1st real Olympus 45 1.8 review and other news…

August 21, 2011 cool links, News 15

Check out the Olympus 45 1.8

Hello to all! It’s Sunday night and I am sitting here at my computer figuring out what I should be posting tomorrow. For now, I was browsing the net and found the 1st real review of the new Olympus 45 1.8 lens for micro 4/3. This is one of the two new lenses Olympus announced along with the 12mm f/2, which we already know is a fantastic (but pricey) lens. The cool thing is that the 45 1.8 will be half the price of the 12. I pre-ordered mine from B&H Photo as I heard they may be shipping in the next week or two. Their pre-order link is HERE.

 

To see the 1st real review from Robin Wong, click HERE. Love the real world style there so I am happy to link to it! The lens looks pretty promising and at $399, not too horribly priced. This seems like it will make for a great portrait lens. All I can say is that FINALLY Olympus is releasing some really good glass for micro 4/3. I have a feeling this lens will be available in the next 10 days…

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Chicago Workshop/Meetup Selling Fast!

To all of you who had interest in the Chicago workshop, it will be held on September 24th, which is a Saturday. I posted about it here and I am having an “early bird” special until Sep 1st, so get in now if you want in. There will be two guest presentations, it will be held right smack dab in the middle of downtown and we will be doing some cool street shooting, having a killer lunch (all paid for by me) and a great breakfast with world famous coffee and espresso (also paid for by me). It will be a jam packed day of learning, shooting, food and fun with an optional night out at a local pub/bar for those who feel up to it 🙂 Check out the page here and to sign up, email me at stevehuff1@me.com

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Don’t forget the Leica M9/Thumbs Up promo!

or the Sony NEX/SLR Magic contest (over 200 entries so far!)

In the mood to shoot some film? B&H has a used Leica M7 and an M6 for sale. 

UPDATED my Olympus E-P3 review with a side by side shot between the E-P3 with 12mm and the NEX C3 with 16mm (near the bottom)

IN STOCK! Fujifilm LH-X100 Lens Hood + Adapter Ring

Leica M9 and 50 Lux  review from Forbes – They love it!

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15 Comments

  2. I don’t know about optical performance, although I’m sure that will be good as well, but that is one beautifully designed lens, and makes for a stunning combo with the new silver EP3.

  3. Being a Pany shooter (amongst other systems), the one issue that is causing me to hold back is the shiny nature (lack of stealth) of these lenses.

    • “Stealth” is more in your mind than anything. A photographer who is comfortable in his/her surroundings and with approaching people appears far more discrete even with a large shiny camera than someone who is uncomfortable no matter how tiny of camera they have.

      Countless thousnds of Leica shooters are working with nonblack cameras and lenses with no problem everyday (though the blackpaint versions do look cool). I agree that I think the silver looks ugly on a black Panny body (but great on a black EP3) but there is no issue of stealth.

      You could have a camera thats invisible and if you the photographer are uncomfortable and it shows, people will pick up on that. People on the street are looking out for a camera, they are looking out for someone that seems out of place, that is up to something so to speak. People really can pick up on that.

      Could always just wrap a piece of black gaffers tape around the barrel as well if it really was a big deal, given how good the m4/3 AF is anymore, not like you’d really need the MF ring anyways.

      • You have a point, but I still think that people pick up on a moving shiny object much more than they would on a darker matte object, and that is part of stealth. In any case, it’s less of an issue with a 45mm m43 as the user would be more stand off’ish.

  4. A really great (albeit expensive) combo; EP-3, 12mm and 45mm; certainly imagewise and sizewise.

    Still, no practical viewfinder, and there’s that 2.0x cropfactor, forcing you to open up a stop more to achieve the DoF your mind is thinking of.

    Tempting…

    • There is the VF2 and VF3 electronic VF’s that work quite well and are very practical. Again they do add a bit of expense to the camera, but they are, (VF2) especially as good as EVF’s get right now.

      Being a fulltime live view camera as well, your getting a fulltime preview of the DoF on the rear LCD or in the EVF as well so should be no surprises in that regard

      • I had an EP-2 with 1.7/20 and EVF for a while, so I know. The EVF is not very practical; makes it more difficult to grab the camera out of a bag or put it in a bag. Then there’s the thing about switching it on and off. It’s a huge improvement over gazing at a display though.

  5. Darn, saw this and thought it was a Steve Huff review meaning that the lens was maybe finally starting to show up in the USA.

    Looks great for the modest price and hopefully Olympus starts moving them soon. Got a preorder in already so fingers crossed.

    Luckily Olympus seems to be far more on the ball in terms of global release dates and sufficient quantity to meet demand than Panasonic. Who knows when the 25mm f1.4 will finally arrive in the US for example.

  6. Thanks for the link, nice review and some nice shots. Performance, speed, size, weight, price, all looking good. A “must have prime lens” for Olympus mft shooters.

  7. WOW…thanks for the heads up on the Robin Wong review.. Real world and down to earth with some really nice photos. That lens looks pretty sharp for $400 and the bokeh looks bokehlicious. Looks like the best auto-focus offering yet in that area for MFT for portraiture, etc……hmm….I may have to sell my Pan/Leica 45mm f/2.8 Macro…and pick up one of these!

      • That’s hard to say. Robin has no access to Pany in Malaysia so we’ll just have to wait and see if someone gets that combo together. Maybe Steve can manage it?

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