OM SYSTEM M.ZUIKO Digital 17mm f/1.8 Lens (Black)

The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f1.8 is a fast wide-angle lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras. It's extremely sharp, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

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  Very sharp. Fast aperture. Compact. Manual focus clutch system. Virtually no barrel distortion.

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  Hood not included. Not weather sealed.

As you can see above, there's no shortage of alternatives in this category - in the world of micro four-thirds, the manufacturers are all looking for that walk-around lens that the photographer will keep on their camera.

A lens that puts manual focusing a snap away

This premium compact wide angle lens sports a fast f/1.8 maximum aperture and is compatible with all Micro Four Thirds cameras. The lens provides a field of view roughly equivalent to a 34mm lens used on a 35mm camera and costs around £440.

The Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 may not be a stellar performer but it is certainly an interesting lens considering its strengths. High speed wide-angle lenses tend to suffer from poor corners at large apertures but the Olympus lens actually does a decent job here.

Even though this lens may carry a premium price, and a premium place in Olympus' lens line-up, this optic certainly deserves it. £440 for a lens that delivers sharpness like this is excellent value and it should find a home in many a Micro-Four Thirds camera owner's kit bag as a result.

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  Very, very sharp, Excellent build, Compact, Lightweight, Good value for money

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  Not weather sealed, No hood supplied as standard

This lens is the latest addition to the Olympus range of premium prime lenses for the micro four thirds system cameras. It can be used on either Olympus or Panasonic cameras. The new lens is not to be confused with an older 17mm f2.8 unit. The new optic is faster, sharper and has quicker auto-focus.

The new M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/1.8 wide-angle lens isn't the first 17mm lens Olympus has produced for its PEN and OM-D cameras. But it's the fastest and one of the fastest in the Olympus stable. The other lens is a pancake-type lens that's only 22mm long but has a maximum aperture of f/2.8.

This is where you see the advantage of Olympus's Micro Four Thirds format. This 35mm equivalent f/1.8 lens is a fraction of the size of a DSLR equivalent. Its optical performance is first rate too.

This lens is not exactly a successful construction and it should have been thought out better – I write it without scruple. I could even call it ill-considered. Why? Because it repeats some features you can already find in the Micro 4/3 system.

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  small, very handy and solid casing,, decent image quality in the frame centre,, slight longitudinal chromatic aberration,, moderate coma,, good work against bright light,, efficient and accurate autofocus.

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  very high distortion,, significant vignetting,, huge astigmatism, visible up to f/5.6 aperture,, modest accessory kit.

Purchased this for when I want to reduce weight and for the faster stop than the Olympus 12-40 f2.8 Pro Lens that I would normally use in this range. It is solidly built and optically it is excellent. Wide open it is sharp in the centre, very sharp by f4 from side to side.

I was using the Panasonic LUMIX 40mm f1.7 before trading up to the Olympus 17mm f1.8 after seeing a video on the focusing speed of both. Both lenses were aimed at near/far objects. The Olympus 17mm was more than twice as fast compared to the 40mm.

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  Small, lightweight, all metalDOF scale for manual focusSharp, beautiful Olympus JPEGs

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  No lens hood.

I own this in addition to my Olympus 12-40mm 2.8 and an E-M10. Despite the overlapping focal length, the 12-40, despite being my favorite lens for its versatility, is very bulky. For those lazy days when you're not sure if you need a camera or not, I reach for the 17mm 1.8.

This lens is a real gem: - Lens construction is first class with it's full metal body. You have to see it in real to really appreciate it. - 34 mm FOV with f1.8 is the best all-around performer I can imagine for the micro 4/3.

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  Absolutely beautiful and sturdy construction, 34mm FOV with f1.8

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  Lenshood not included and it's pricey

Just bought this lens last week and I've taken a few candid shots of my son mostly in manual with my E-M10 Mark II. I was able to take clear, crisp shots while he played outside in the yard.