Olympus Zuiko ED 50mm F2 0 Macro 1 2 Review | 54 Data compared

The DPReview review of the Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 50mm F2.0 Macro lens highlights its near-perfect, razor-sharp optical performance and robust, splashproof build, declaring it among the sharpest lenses tested. This Four Thirds lens is praised for its compact design, zero distortion, and excellent control over lateral chromatic aberration and vignetting. Conversely, the lens suffers from a noisy, slow autofocus motor that lacks a range limiter, and it is susceptible to flare in bright lighting. It also lacks a dedicated macro ratio scale and can display bokeh chromatic aberration at wider apertures, according to the review.

The ePhotozine review highlights the Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 50mm f/2 Macro as a well-built, weather-sealed, and compact (300g) lens, featuring a 52mm non-rotating filter thread. While offering fast performance, the "fly-by-wire" focusing system and lack of a focus limiter switch are noted as handling drawbacks. ePHOTOzine Optically, the lens is lauded for being extremely sharp, serving as an excellent portrait lens, and providing a 100mm equivalent field of view on Four Thirds, though it only achieves a 1:2 magnification ratio rather than 1:1. The review suggests the optional EX-25 extension tube for true macro capabilities, as the inner barrel extends during close-focusing.

The Olympus 50mm f/2 Zuiko Digital Macro lens is a compact, high-quality medium telephoto lens designed for Four Thirds sensor digital SLR cameras, delivering an effective 100mm focal length equivalent. Optically, the lens is an exceptional performer that delivers tack-sharp images from its wide-open f/2 setting all the way down to f/16. It excels in lower-light photography thanks to its large maximum aperture and demonstrates excellent technical control, showing minimal chromatic aberration, a negligible quarter-stop of vignetting at f/2, and virtually unnoticeable distortion (0.2% max). Furthermore, its robust, splash-proof, and dust-proof build features metal wear points to withstand harsh environments, while a silky-smooth focus ring supports manual operation. Despite its stellar optical performance, the lens has notable drawbacks regarding handling and speed. The autofocus mechanism is slow, takes over two seconds to rack through its range, produces a substantial amount of noise, and causes the barrel to extend to nearly double its original length. At 300 grams, it is a fairly hefty lens, and reversing the large lens hood for storage inconveniently obscures the manual focus ring. From a macro...

The Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 50mm 1:2.0 Macro is a compact, lightweight lens designed for Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds cameras, offering an effective focal length of 100mm and a robust dust- and splash-resistant construction. It features an optical design of 11 elements in 10 groups, including an Extra Low Dispersion element to drastically reduce chromatic aberrations, alongside a floating focusing system to maintain clarity throughout the zoom range. Key advantages highlighted in the review include its seamless manual focusing experience, stellar depth of field control, and highly effective minimization of color fringing. However, the lens falls short of "true" macro status on its own, providing only a 0.52x maximum magnification ratio unless paired with an optional EX-25 extension tube. Performance drawbacks include somewhat sluggish autofocus speeds and a noticeable loss of sharpness when shooting at wide apertures. Additionally, the barrel design lacks a dedicated reproduction ratio display, lacks physical AF/MF switches, and features a distance window that can easily be blocked or obscured by the overhanging fill-in flash on certain camera bodies like the Olympus E-5.

The Olympus Zuiko Digital 50mm f/2 AF Macro lens review by Popular Photography highlights it as an exceptionally lightweight, compact, and fast medium telephoto macro lens designed for Four Thirds DSLRs. Boasting a 100mm equivalent field of view, this ruggedly built lens shines in low-light environments, portraiture, and close-up photography. Lab testing revealed outstanding optical qualities, specifically an "Excellent" Subject Quality Factor (SQF) showing superior sharpness and contrast. It delivers nearly imperceptible barrel distortion (0.05%) at normal distances, minimal light falloff that clears up entirely by f/2.8, and zero vignetting within the macro range—even when wide open. Additionally, the lens outperformed its official specifications by achieving a 1:1.6 maximum magnification ratio at its closest focusing distance of 9.75 inches.