Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 17mm F 1 2 Pro Review | 54 Data compared

The Imaging Resource review praises the Olympus 17mm f/1.2 Pro M.Zuiko Digital ED as a spectacular, professional-grade lens delivering incredible sharpness, minimal distortion, and fast, silent autofocus in a robust, weather-sealed body. Its stellar performance is marked by outstanding image quality at wide-open apertures. However, the lens is noted for its high $1,200 price point, larger/heavier size compared to typical Micro Four Thirds primes, slight vignetting at f/1.2, and lack of built-in stabilization.

The Olympus M.Zuiko ED 17mm f/1.2 PRO is a top-tier Micro Four Thirds lens featuring an ultra-bright f/1.2 aperture for superior low-light performance and shallow depth-of-field, paired with exceptional edge-to-edge sharpness. Its professional, all-weather construction and manual focus clutch earned it an Editors' Choice award, though it is quite bulky and lacks internal stabilization. While it offers professional-grade imaging, potential buyers should consider its high $1,199 price point and moderate vignetting at maximum aperture.

The LensTip review of the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 17 mm f/1.2 PRO lens concludes that the optics are exceptionally successful, calling it an optically excellent instrument capable of breaking resolution records. The reviewer notes that this lens helps the Micro 4/3 system fully profit from the advantages of its detector size by offering a truly fast, professional prime. Mechanically and optically, it marks a strong continuation of Olympus’s f/1.2 PRO lineup, overcoming previous criticisms regarding the brand's lack of ultra-fast glass. LensTip.com According to the LensTip summary, the lens features several distinct pros and cons: LensTip.com Pros: It features a solid, metal, and weather-sealed casing. It delivers sensational image quality in the frame centre, alongside good image quality on the edges even from its maximum relative aperture. Additional advantages include low lateral chromatic aberration, slight astigmatism, a lower level of vignetting compared to direct rivals, and a silent, fast, and accurate autofocus system. LensTip.com Cons: The primary disadvantages are a significant distortion level when shooting RAW files and subpar performance against bright light, as it is prone to ghosting...

The Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.2 PRO is a premium, professional-grade wide-angle lens designed for street and low-light photographers using Micro-Four-Thirds systems. The lens boasts an exceptional, fully weather-sealed metal build that is dust-, splash-, and freeze-proof down to -10°C, alongside a rapid and near-silent Movie & Still-compatible (MSC) autofocus system. Optically, its biggest strength is its remarkably smooth, "feathered" bokeh and well-controlled lateral chromatic aberrations. At f/1.2, center sharpness is impressively high, while integrated digital auto-corrections seamlessly clean up native vignetting and the lens's ~3.4% raw barrel distortion. On the downside, the lens falls slightly short of the stellar sharpness standards set by its 45mm f/1.2 stablemate, displaying a noticeable drop in performance between the sharp center and the merely "good to very good" outer edges, which improve very little when stopping down. Furthermore, because of the small Micro-Four-Thirds sensor format, its real-world depth-of-field separation is restricted, behaving only like a "34mm f/2.4" lens in full-frame terms. Reviewers also noted that the physical focus-clutch mechanism makes it incredibly easy to accidentally shift your focus point when toggling between manual and...

In terms of performance, the lens delivers exceptional sharpness even when shot wide open at f/1.2, accompanied by a pleasing vignette that aids in subject separation. Its swift autofocus performs reliably in dim indoor settings, making it an excellent choice for low-light environments and portraiture. However, the review notes minor drawbacks, including visible chromatic aberration around backlit, high-contrast details like tree branches. Ultimately, the lens's main limitation stems from the MFT platform itself, as the 20-megapixel sensor used in testing struggles to fully exploit the lens’s ultra-high-end optical capabilities, particularly at higher ISOs.

The Photo Review assessment of the Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.2 PRO lens highlights it as a top-tier, weather-sealed prime offering exceptional center sharpness and a signature "feathered" bokeh. The lens features a robust metal construction, fast autofocus, and intuitive controls, delivering excellent image quality for the Micro Four Thirds system. However, the review notes significant corner softness that does not improve much with stopping down, along with a propensity for flare and ghosting in bright light. It is also described as large and heavy for the system, and carries a very high price point.

The OpticalLimits (PhotoZone) technical analysis highlights the performance of the Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.2 PRO lens, detailing several optical strengths. The pros include impressive center sharpness even at a wide-open setting of f/1.2, which reaches biting sharpness when stopped down to f/2. Furthermore, its "feathered" bokeh receives top marks for providing exceptionally silky focus transition zones and out-of-focus highlight discs with beautifully fuzzy, smooth edges. Other optical advantages include low field curvature and well-controlled lateral chromatic aberrations, which average a minimal 0.4 pixels at the image borders. Conversely, the review notes specific optical cons that are typically hidden by modern camera systems. The lens exhibits a heavy native barrel distortion of roughly 3.4% and a high uncorrected vignetting of 1.2EV at f/1.2, both of which rely heavily on digital auto-correction software to be kept at bay. Additionally, while the center resolution is exceptional, the outer borders and corners are only rated as "good to very good" wide open and show only marginal improvement when stopping down. Minor mechanical vignetting also causes the circular shape of the bokeh highlights to deteriorate...