OM SYSTEM M.Zuiko Digital 25mm f/1.8 Lens (Silver)

The Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f1.8 is an excellent standard-angle lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras, and an affordable alternative to Panasonic's lens.

• +

  Wide aperture. Impeccably sharp. Minimal distortion. Compact. Includes lens hood.

• -

  Lacks focus clutch. Not weather sealed.

The Olympus 25mm Æ’/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital is another excellent member of Olympus' fast prime lens family for their Micro Four Thirds cameras. The build quality feels excellent, even with a polycarbonate lens barrel (it does have a metal mount, however).

The Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 is undoubtedly a high quality lens with a tiny form factor. The resolution characteristic is very even across the relevant aperture range. The center quality is mostly excellent followed by a good to very good outer image region.

I like the idea of small fixed-focus lenses with f/1.8-2.0 apertures very much. Olympus tries to be consistent and efficient in making it happen. Despite the slight slip-up with the 1.8/17 model the rest of their line-up definitely encourages you to enter that system.

• +

  small, very handy and, at the same time, very solid casing,, very good image quality in the frame centre,, good image quality on the edge of the frame,, slight longitudinal chromatic aberration,, good correction of lateral chromatic aberration,, negligible spherical aberration,, moderate...

• -

  noticeable vignetting,, significant level of astigmatism up to f/4.0 aperture included.

Announced with the OM-D E-M10 at the CES show in January, the M.Zuiko Digital 25mm f/1.8 fills a gap in Olympus's Premium series of fast prime lenses, fitting between the 17mm f/1.8 and 45mm f/1.8 lenses with the 75mm f/1.8 lens completing the set.

I've done a lot of reading and YouTube watching before buying this lens. Based on my research, I decided that paying almost 4 times more for a pro lens was not worth it in my case. Still, I was not 100% sure that this was a good choice.

I compared to the 25mm Pana 1.4 and 1.7, not the f0.9x beasts. Even so, lucky me to have them for 2 days! This "high standard" lens makes up in sharpness and low/distortion/CA for the tiny amount it lacks in speed. Good into the light too. Silent, fast and accurate focus.

• +

  Sharpness/colour low vignetting/CA Size/weight

• -

  Not f/0.85

I've come to love a fast prime, and this 25mm is the perfect all-around focal length. A lense like this can almost make you forget about zoom lenses. It's fast aperture makes it very useful and responsive in low light, It can do decent portraits, but I'd prefer a longer focal length for that.

Small, lightweight, and SHARP! Excellent lens.

Very well made, very sharp. Have this on a X5S cam and it's an outstanding combination.