Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 25mm F 1 8 Review | 54 Data compared

The ePHOTOzine review highlights the Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 as a lightweight (137g), compact prime lens delivering excellent center sharpness from f/1.8, peaking between f/2 and f/8. Key strengths include fast, silent MSC autofocus, a 25cm minimum focus distance, and high-quality build despite a plastic barrel. Limitations noted in the review include the lack of weather sealing, the absence of a focus clutch mechanism, and a relatively high price point for its specifications.

The Olympus 25mm f/1.8 is an affordable, compact, and lightweight standard prime lens designed for micro four-thirds system cameras like the Olympus OM-D E-M10. Evaluated on a 14-megapixel setting to match larger sensor benchmarks, it delivers exceptional, uniform sharpness across the entire frame right from its maximum f/1.8 aperture. The lens design effectively minimises optical flaws; vignetting remains under half a stop at full aperture, barrel distortion is low enough to bypass software correction, and lateral chromatic aberration is practically non-existent in both JPEG and RAW files. Additionally, its autofocus mechanism is silent and lightning-fast, making it highly capable for both still photography and video recording. The lens offers an impressive price-to-quality ratio and features a 7-blade circular aperture that produces a beautiful background blur, allowing subjects to stand out nicely. A major advantage over its sibling, the 45mm f/1.8, is that a lens hood (sun cap) is included in the box. It also boasts a short minimum focusing distance of 25cm, letting photographers get very close to their subjects. However, the reviewer notes a few drawbacks. It loses the...

The M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 is a compact, lightweight standard prime lens designed for Micro Four Thirds cameras, providing a 50mm full-frame equivalent field of view that mimics the human eye. Structurally, the lens is built out of plastic with a solid metal mount, weighing just 137g and utilizing a 46mm filter size diameter. Optically, it consists of 9 elements in 7 groups, featuring a 7-blade circular aperture diaphragm and a short minimum focusing distance of 25 cm. The reviewer notes that its autofocus performance is highly efficient, capable of capturing fast-moving subjects instantly, while the inclusion of a lens hood provides great added value. In terms of image quality, the lens delivers brilliant performance, offering very sharp details even wide open at its maximum f/1.8 aperture. Central and corner sharpness peak remarkably between f/4 and f/11, while distortion and vignetting remain virtually nonexistent. Background bokeh is pleasant and creamy, especially at close distances. On the downside, the lens is prone to an invasive purple flare in backlit conditions despite its extra-low reflection coating, though this can be remedied by slightly...

The original Olympus 25mm f/1.8 lens is a highly compact, lightweight (137g), and budget-friendly prime lens for Micro Four Thirds systems that delivers exceptional value and a strong price-to-performance ratio. Optically, the lens excels with excellent sharpness across the frame even when shot wide open, effective control over chromatic aberration and distortion, and a highly impressive, close minimum focusing distance of 25cm that allows for pleasant background separation and bokeh effects. Its autofocus performance is another standout feature, operating near-silently, accurately, and instantaneously—even matching the speed of the much more expensive Olympus 25mm f/1.2 PRO lens. Despite these strong features, the lens does have notable downsides. The most prominent weakness of the original version is its complete lack of weather sealing, making it less ideal for shooting in unpredictable outdoor conditions. Additionally, the outer body is constructed using high-quality plastics; while it feels more solid than cheap kit zooms, it does not match the premium metal build quality found in the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 or the system's high-end PRO series lenses. Lastly, for photographers seeking ultra-shallow depth of field, the...

The Henry's Note review highlights the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 25mm f/1.8 as an exceptionally versatile, compact, and lightweight lens delivering outstanding, sharp image quality, particularly when stopped down to f/4-f/5.6. It is highly praised for its fast MSC autofocus, rich contrast, and pleasing bokeh, making it an excellent choice for street and video work. Conversely, the review notes the lack of a physical manual focus clutch mechanism and a reliance on electronic focus-by-wire, which may not appeal to all users. Additionally, the lens exhibits significant vignetting wide open at f/1.8 and lacks weather-sealing, featuring a primarily plastic construction.

The Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 is a compact, ultra-lightweight standard prime lens designed for Micro Four Thirds (MFT) cameras, offering a 50mm full-frame equivalent focal length. Built with plastic parts on a durable metal mount, it includes a fast and silent "Movie-Still-Compatible" (MSC) autofocus motor that performs excellently for both stills and video. Optically, the lens delivers impressive, uniform sharpness, boasting an excellent image center straight from its maximum f/1.8 aperture, alongside good to very good borders. Additionally, it exhibits minimal, barely noticeable barrel distortion (~0.5%) and very low lateral chromatic aberrations. Despite its high quality, the lens has notable drawbacks regarding light gathering and depth-of-field potential. Because of the MFT format, its creative background blur is equivalent to a "50mm f/3.6" on full-frame, which restricts shallow depth-of-field imagery unless you stand very close to your subject. In terms of flaws, there is noticeable corner vignetting (1EV light falloff) when shooting wide open at f/1.8, and traces remain even when stopped down to f/5.6. While the general focus transition of the bokeh is very smooth, the out-of-focus highlights suffer from...

The Olympus 25mm f/1.8 is a highly capable, fast-focusing prime lens for the Micro 4/3 system that offers an excellent balance of size, performance, and value. Tested on the Olympus E-M1, the lens delivers a 50mm equivalent field of view and produces exceptionally sharp images with vibrant colors and pleasant bokeh, though it provides slightly less background separation and micro-contrast than its f/1.4 competitor. Its standout advantages include a compact and lightweight body, blazing-fast autofocus speeds, and highly effective control over distortion and chromatic aberration (purple fringing). Priced at $399, it is $129 cheaper than the Panasonic equivalent, making it a stellar option for budget-conscious photographers looking for premium everyday glass. Despite its strong performance, the lens does have a few drawbacks when stacked against its legendary counterpart, the Panasonic 25mm f/1.4. It exhibits minor vignetting when shot completely wide open and lacks the ultimate center sharpness and elite micro-contrast found in the Panasonic-Leica collaboration. Additionally, some users may find the plastic construction disappointing and miss the useful sliding manual focus clutch mechanism found on other premium Olympus primes like...

The Olympus 25mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital is a compact, lightweight Micro Four Thirds lens providing a 50mm equivalent field of view with excellent sharpness even at f/1.8, minimal distortion, and smooth, creamy bokeh. It features fast, accurate, and quiet MSC (Movie and Still Compatible) autofocus, making it highly effective for both stills and video. While optically impressive, the lens utilizes a polycarbonate construction lacking weather sealing, and it exhibits noticeable vignetting at wide apertures and minor chromatic aberration in high-contrast corners. Additionally, despite being a strong performer, it is priced higher than some alternative prime lenses in the system.

The Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 is an exceptionally compact and lightweight "nifty fifty" equivalent prime lens designed for Micro Four Thirds (MFT) cameras, taking full advantage of the system's 2x crop factor to provide a natural 47-degree angle of view. Billed as a "Premium" lens, it features a robust build, an electronically coupled manual focus ring, and a fast f/1.8 aperture that keeps the lens downsized and affordable compared to heavier f/1.2 or f/1.4 alternatives. It utilizes a Movie & Still Compatible (MSC) autofocus system for near-silent video transitions, and while it lacks Extra-low Dispersion glass, its optical formula includes nine elements in seven groups, including two aspherical elements and a seven-blade diaphragm. Notably, this original version has been succeeded by the OM System M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 II, which shares the identical optical design but introduces weather sealing and an included lens hood. In laboratory and real-world testing, the lens delivers highly impressive overall performance, but it does come with specific tradeoffs. On the positive side, its primary pros include an incredibly small form factor (weighing just 137g), smooth bokeh...

The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 25mm f/1.8 (50mm equivalent) is a compact, 137-gram Micro Four Thirds lens lauded for its portability, fast, silent autofocus, and excellent sharpness at f/1.8. It features a 25 cm minimum focusing distance and a bundled lens hood, making it a versatile option for street and portrait photography. Conversely, the lens lacks weather sealing and a physical focus scale. While generally sharp, some testing noted slight softness in specific, limited scenarios.