Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm F1 8 Review | 54 Data compared

The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 25mm f/1.8 lens is a highly capable standard prime lens for the Micro Four Thirds system, offering a versatile 50mm full-frame equivalent focal length. Tested by reviewer Edmond Terakopian primarily on real-world street and portrait assignments in Los Angeles, the lens stands out for its high performance in everyday shooting situations. It features an advanced optical design with two aspherical elements and a close focusing distance of just 25 cm, allowing for excellent subject separation and creative close-ups. Terakopian notes that when married with the 5-axis stabilization of cameras like the OM-D E-M1, it becomes a powerful option for hand-held, extreme low-light photography. The review highlights several key strengths, including blazing fast and completely silent autofocus, pin-sharp image resolution, accurate color and tonal rendition, and a high-quality element coating that effectively prevents flare when shooting into the sun. Additionally, its physical attributes are a major plus; part of the M.Zuiko Premium range, it boasts excellent build quality while remaining incredibly small and weighing a mere 137 grams. On the downside, the reviewer points out that it...

The M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 is a highly capable and compact prime lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras that delivers a 50mm full-frame equivalent field of view. Built primarily from plastic but featuring a solid metal mount, the lens is exceptionally lightweight at 137g and includes a lens hood in the box. In terms of pros, the lens is brilliantly sharp right from its maximum aperture of f/1.8, showing almost no vignetting and creating a creamy, pleasant bokeh when shooting at its close-focusing distance of 25cm. Peak sharpness across the center and corners is achieved between f/4 and f/11, while the contrast and color rendering remain excellent. Additionally, its autofocus performance is incredibly fast and accurate because only the rear lens elements move during operation. Despite its overall brilliant performance, the reviewer highlights a few distinct cons to consider. The most notable flaw is the prominent presence of invasive purple flare in backlit conditions, though this can be mitigated by slightly tilting the camera angle. Minor traces of chromatic aberration also appear at f/1.8 in overexposed, high-contrast lighting, though it disappears...

The Olympus 25mm f/1.8 lens is a highly capable, compact prime lens for Micro 4/3 cameras that provides a 50mm equivalent field of view. Tested on the Olympus OM-D E-M1, it serves as the primary autofocus competitor to the heavier, more expensive Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 lens. The Olympus stands out for its exceptionally small size, lightweight design, and wallet-friendly price tag ($399 vs. $529 for the Panasonic). It delivers blazing-fast autofocus speed, captures bold, bright colours, and exhibits excellent control over chromatic aberration (purple fringing) out-of-camera when compared directly to its Panasonic rival. However, the lens does compromise slightly on ultimate optical performance. While it reaches about 99.5% of the sharpness of the Panasonic 25mm, it lacks the signature micro-contrast and "Leica magic" found in the more expensive glass. It also vignettes slightly when shot wide open and cannot match the ultra-shallow depth of field or "bokeh" produced by the Panasonic's wider f/1.4 maximum aperture. Furthermore, unlike some of Olympus's higher-end offerings, this lens utilizes a plastic construction and completely lacks the popular sliding manual-focus clutch ring. Despite these minor...

The ePHOTOzine review rates the Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 Premium lens highly for its outstanding sharpness, excellent performance at wide-open apertures, and very low distortion. This compact Micro Four Thirds lens also features fast, silent autofocus (MSC) and high resistance to flare. However, the review notes significant corner vignetting at f/1.8 that requires stopping down to f/5.6 for uniform illumination. While offering a solid build, the lens construction uses plastic parts rather than all-metal, and the manual focus ring operates via a "by-wire" system.

The OpticalLimits review concludes that the Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 is a highly capable, ultra-compact standard prime lens for the Micro Four Thirds system. Optically, the lens delivers impressive sharpness across the entire frame, with excellent center resolution straight from f/1.8 and good to very good performance at the borders and corners. Additionally, it features negligible barrel distortion, well-controlled lateral chromatic aberrations, smooth background bokeh rendering, and a fast, silent Movie-Still-Compatible (MSC) autofocus motor. Mechanically, it boasts high build quality despite utilizing plastic parts over a metal mount, and a lens hood is included in the package. On the downside, the review notes a fairly high degree of vignetting (light falloff) at wide apertures that persists slightly even when stopped down. The out-of-focus bokeh highlights also exhibit a busy, distracting inner sub-structure. Finally, the maximum aperture of f/1.8 translates to a "50mm f/3.6" full-frame equivalent regarding depth of field, which limits its creative potential for creating heavily blurred backgrounds compared to faster, pricier competitors.

The original Olympus 25mm f/1.8 lens is a compact, lightweight everyday prime lens constructed from high-quality plastics that delivers exceptional value for Micro Four Thirds users. Key advantages highlighted in the review include its highly accurate, nearly silent, and exceptionally fast autofocus system that rivals more expensive pro-grade options. Optically, the lens excels with edge-to-edge frame sharpness when wide open, a close 25cm minimum focusing distance that creates pleasing background bokeh, and excellent resistance against lens flare, distortion, and chromatic aberration. Additionally, Olympus generously packages the lens with an included lens hood, presenting an outstanding price-to-performance ratio for a walk-around lens coming in under £300. However, the reviewer points out a few drawbacks to this specific model. The most notable omission of the original version is its complete lack of weather sealing, limiting its durability in unpredictable conditions. While it feels more solid than standard plastic kit zooms, the plastic build cannot match the premium engineering standards of the high-end Olympus 75mm f/1.8 or the f/1.2 PRO lineup. It is also not suited for photographers who demand an ultra-shallow depth...

The Henry's Note review of the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 25mm f/1.8 praises the Micro Four Thirds lens for its exceptional center sharpness at f/1.8, extremely fast and silent autofocus, and a lightweight, portable design that includes a bundled hood. The lens is highlighted for its excellent color rendition and smooth bokeh, making it a versatile choice for daily shooting. YouTube · However, the review notes that the plastic construction feels less premium and lacks weather sealing, and it lacks the manual focus clutch mechanism found on other Olympus lenses. Additionally, the lens shows noticeable vignetting at maximum aperture and requires stopping down to f/4 for maximum corner-to-corner clarity.

The Olympus 25mm f/1.8 is a highly capable and affordable standard lens designed for the serious amateur photographer using the Micro Four Thirds system. Tested on the Olympus OM-D E-M10, this compact and feather-light lens delivers a 50mm full-frame equivalent field of view, making it a highly versatile tool for everyday shooting and portraits. Optically, it excels by offering impressively high and even corner-to-corner sharpness starting right at its wide-open f/1.8 setting, a rare feat for bright prime lenses. It also boasts a lightning-fast, silent autofocus mechanism that makes it equally great for video recording, and a short minimum focusing distance of 25 cm for close-up detail work. The lens's review highlights several strong pros, including its exceptional image quality characterized by minimal distortion (a negligible 0.5% barrel distortion), less than half a stop of vignetting at full aperture, and virtually nonexistent lateral chromatic aberration. Additionally, it shows excellent resistance to flare and ghosting, features a 7-blade circular aperture for beautiful background bokeh, and offers a high price-to-quality ratio that includes a standard lens hood. On the downside, the review...

The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 25mm f/1.8 (50mm equivalent) is a compact, 137-gram prime lens delivering excellent sharpness, fast f/1.8 aperture for low-light, and quiet, fast autofocus suitable for street and travel photography. It features nearly nonexistent distortion and handles chromatic aberrations well, earning an 8.8/10 rating for its overall performance. Key drawbacks include a lack of weather-resistant sealing and a plastic barrel construction rather than metal. It relies on a focus-by-wire system, lacking the physical clutch and distance scale of higher-end lenses, and requires removing a small ring to attach the lens hood.