OM SYSTEMOLYMPUS M.Zuiko Digital 45mm F1.8 Black For Micro Four Thirds System Camera, Compact Design, Beautiful Bokeh, Bright

There are a number of good reviews for this lens already which cover most of what needs to be said, so I'll just add a quick summary and hit a few specific points.The lens is extremely sharp and performs wonderfully wide open. The bokeh is excellent and creamy smooth. It renders out of focus specular highlights gracefully, no bright rings. AF is extremely fast and micro-four-thirds being a CDAF system it always focuses accurately (in my experience the Canon wide aperture primes often suffer from the PDAF inaccuracy of many Canon bodies). In high contrast edges slightly out of focus wide open there is limited longitudinal CA appearing - very typical of wide aperture lenses and actually very well controlled in this lens.Construction is excellent, though it mounts a bit tight on a one of my bodies. I'll be a little harsh here, but if you are looking for a heavy metal lens I suggest you time travel back a few decades to when high quality plastics didn't exist and manufacturers had no choice but to use heavier metals. I'd also suggest you sell your micro-four-thirds system and buy something heavier if you honestly think metal and weight means quality. The beauty of this lens is that it is very light and small - metal for the sake of metal would be an atrocious design flaw that would serve only to coddle retro-types who think inferior materials with nostalgic value to them equate to quality. This lens is metal where it needs to be and high-impact plastic where it should be. It is designed and engineered for maximum durability at a minimum of weight, not too match someone's horn-rimmed glasses.Comparisons to the EF 50/1.4 are bound to be made. The 50/1.4 is a unspectacular lens of about the same price as the 45/1.8 (though the 50/1.4 was in fact significantly more expensive at its introduction). The 50/1.4 bokeh and rendering is not as nice as the 45/1.8 nor is it as sharp at equivalent apertures. As far as the 50/1.4 having 8 aperture blades to the 45/1.8's 7 blades the 45/1.8 is actually superior as it uses curved blades and the 50/1.4 uses straight blades. Side by side tests at stopped down apertures show the clear advantage to the 45/1.8 with nice circular out of focus highlights while the 50/1.4 is showing octagons. Anyone who as actually used both lenses is likely to be favorably impressed with the 45/1.8. For the slightly higher price the 45/1.8 is definitely the superior lens, though perhaps not by a wide margin.In fact, for the price the 45/1.8 is simply a stunning optic and through many users' experience is comparing well with anything in its price class not to mention many more expensive lenses.As a side note, limited testing with an IR converted body shows this lens works well for IR. It has good transmittance at IR wavelengths and I have not seen any "hot-spot" problems to far. I've tested with both 720nm and 830nm cut-off filters.

I can't believe I slept on this gem for this long. My hobbyist photography generally involves super zooms or travel zooms so I don't use primes much, but I like to have them handy.Lenses I tried before the 45mm:14-42mm EZ*40-150 R (the cheap one) x25mm F1.7 Pana... x60mm F2.8 macro*75-300mm x9-18 mk1 x12-200mm x100-400mm* (my favorite)12-45 F4 PRO x20mm F1.4 PRO ?12-100mm F4 PRO* (I consider this my best lens)7-14mm F2.8 PRO ?45mm F1 8 ?x - Sold or selling* - Keeping? - undecided, still testingThe 45mm is one of the cheaper lenses made by Olympus, but the quality is impressive, as is the 45mm perspective. I originally went with the 25mm as my first prime, but after a particularly rainy trip to Finland, I wanted to weatherproof my setup. So, I purged all of the lenses that weren't weather sealed, which is how I ended up with the 20mm. It's the cheapest Pro prime, but is also immaculate quality and I highly recommend it, although it lacks clutch and function button if those are desired (which explains the price).So now we arrive at the 45mm. I had the opportunity to purchase the 7-14mm F2.8 for a great price, and decided that for lowlight and indoor photography, I might switch to that instead of the 20mm, since the majority of lowlight stuff I do is either in museums, or when traveling or hiking and the sun dips too low, and the Em1x has impressive stabilization...But then I wondered what my options were if I wanted to do portraits, or needed something really bright. And then I decided that the non pro primes would be fine, because I don't use the primes enough to need them to be weather sealed.I'm eyeing the Sigma 30mm, but while I wait to snag one at a good price, I decided to pick up the 45mm... And it's been a joy to use. I picked up an Oly EPM2 recently to use on streets and it pairs magically with the 45 (and the 17 F2.8). I've also used it with an Em1x mkii, but it looks a little too ridiculous on my Em1x LOL.Autofocus is fast enough, it's perfectly sharp, and so tiny relative to the PRO lenses that I've gotten used to.While I'd still like to give the Sigma a try, and haven't decided if I'll keep it, I would recommend the 45 to anyone wanting to do portraits or street photos with a narrower FOV.The 25mm perspective is a safer option if deciding between that and the 45, and the 20 PRO is the better lens in every way but price (haha).But if you want the 45mm perspective and don't need the pro features and value the portability, get this lens, it's not going to hold you back.Oh, one more consideration... It's definitely more enjoyable to shoot this lens than say using the kit lens at 42mm... So if the kit lens is all you have... Well, maybe get the 25, unless you know you want a prime with more reach. And also get the 40-150 lol. But the 45 is great too.