Image courtesy: ePhotozine.
The probably most interposing new product is the new Olympus 25mm f/1.8 lens. And it will already ship on February 12 according to Amazon (Click here). And if you want to learn more about the lens Robin Wong (Click here) posted the first part of his Olympus 25mm f/1.8 lens review:
There is something interesting about the contrast rendering of this M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens. It does seem like the images come out more punchy with higher contrast. This was especially noticeable when I switched lens immediately from the M.Zuiko 14-42mm F2.5-5.6 EZ Pancake Zoom lens. In fact the only time I remember seeing this kind of contrast level was when I was shooting with the Olympus M.Zuiko 75mm F1.8 lens. I admit that the 25mm F1.8 is not as sharp as the 75mm F1.8 (one of the sharpest lenses around in the market) but the look and feel of the images somehow came out with similar tones. This is the main reason, straight out of the camera, images from the 25mm F1.8 actually looks a tad bit better than the 45mm F1.8.
Also Jackie Loi (Click here) tested the same lens on the same day with Robin and posted some image samples on his site.
Great lens, but it would have been even better if the lens would be a tiny bit cheaper 🙂
Preorder links for US and Europe:
Special page with all new products at Amazon.
E-M10 Black at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
E-M10 Silver at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
E-M10 with 14-42mm lens Black at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama , GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
E-M10 with 14-42mm lens Silver at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
25mm f/1.8 Black at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
25mm f/1.8 Silver at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
14-42mm Black at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
14-42mm Silver at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
Olympus SP-100 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama.
Olympus TG-850 iHS at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama.
Olympus ECG-1 Black Camera Grip for E-M10 at Amazon, Adorama.
Olympus 9mm f8.0 Fisheye Body Cap Lens at Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex Uk.
Olympus V321200BW000 Macro Converter MCON-P02 (Black) at Amazon,
63 Responses
Trinitatis facta est:
hOly Primes Trinity:
25, 45, 75
Adoremus fidelis
You are forgetting 12mm, the unfairly misunderstood 17mm f1.8 and the great 60mm. 😉 a doublr trinity then.
Sexity? 😉
Can we say orgy or will it go under moderation? 😉
This is lens porn in full glory 🙂
Robin can’t really be a serious source for reviews considering he works for Olympus Asia. Great photographer but you have to take his “reviews” more as promotional material.
pictures won’t lie.
You sir, are an idiot.
Be nice,You! Don’t have to be this way!
Why? For stating what Olympus’ marketing strategy is?
I agree with Eddy43. I found Robin Wong’s reviews and blog interesting in the past.
However, now they are purely paid marketing, and truth is second place, at best.
There are very many blogs on the ‘net. There are others that have maintained their independence.
The constant promotion of Robin Wong’s makes the veracity of 43Rumors suspect, which I regret.
It’s time to let go, as you are now presenting advertising/marketing data as bonafide tests and reviews.
Sorry. That’s the way it is.
Very true. I wouldn’t go by his word, because he’s paid off and gets free stuff, even though he says he “paid” for his Olympus equipment.
Sure Robin…
The brand bias is getting ridiculous. Too many pro photographers are getting paid to spew bias towards a certain brand and be negative toward others.
Just look at the Steve Huff post about the new Leica rumor. He doesn’t even mention the word PANASONIC, but mentions a “Partner”, when he knows it’s Panasonic.
I trust so few, it’s discusting. I guess they can’t make the money that they used to, or simply got greedy, so a brand like Olympus approaches them, and the sign on the dotted line.
It’s hard to trust photography sites nowadays.
Yes, we know. Everyone’s unfair to Panasonic and biased towards Olympus.
And everything Panasonic does is better than the equivalent Olympus.
And there’s a global conspiracy run by the Olympus Yakuza to promote Olympus products and force DPReview members to vote for their products.
Well, you’d better watch out because you might be next on their list.
Are you feeling paranoid enough now.
Nobody said anything about another brand being better, but you as well as these paid off “Pros”. And besides, Yakuza are know for dealing with Dirty money so I guess you’re right.
But being paranoid? HAHA… -No. You Upset? Maybe…
Panna Troll number 3.
I agree with you anonymous re bias – Photozone is another site that seems biased against Panasonic. Compare the depth of the test, e.g. bokeh etc, they did of the Panasonic 12-35 with the Oly 12-40. Bias is natural so we should expect it. No disrespect to Photozone.
I wonder how this Oly 25 f/1.8 will compare against the Panasonic f/1.4. Street price for the Panny is US$420 here.
Photozone is so biased against Panasonic that the personal camera of the reviewer is a…Panasonic GX7!
Talk about paranoia…
I read his review and the pictures look amazing. I’m sure it’s a great lens and the pictures make me want to buy one.
However:-
– How can you have a “review” where you don’t mention anything negative about a product? Sorry that is not a review that’s just promotional material. He is upfront about this on his website and on every post he highlights this. I think it’s more accurate to say “these are some nice shots I took with the Olympus 25mm 1.8” and leave the “reviewing” to sources who don’t work for the company. Perhaps we could follow this trend and have Bill Gates “reviewing” the next Windows release.
– I not going to comment on his review until his statement that the 25mm Pansaonic 1.4 costs almost twice as much as the Olympus. Complete Nonsense. Here (Europe) the Panasonic 25mm 1.4 is 15% more than the Olympus 25mm.
I think this is normal, I mean, who would mention negative stuff about his boss’s products on internet with the risk of being kicked out? I had the impression Robin already had a bias toward Olympus before he got under contract. he prob loves his Olympus as much as I do, I know its just hardware, but cameras & lenses need love too right?
Panna Troll number 2
No.
Either his review are good or they are bad *REGARDLESS* of him being in an apparent conflicting position of interest.
Panna Troll number 1
Can´t agree with you Edy43: Robin has a bias, but openly declared. In his writings he handles that very well I think. Most reviewers on the net are biased – openly or not. I read Robins reviews with his bias in mind and find them very useful. His openness and very sympathetic way of writing being honest of it being his personnel views but based on facts is very nice.
Take his comparison with the 45/1.8: This is a very sharp and cheap lens. However I never liked the results from it as much and from the 25mm Panasonic. Now there is a confirmation that the 45/1.8 does not have the contrast ( and I would say color rendition) as some other lenses. My guess is that the Oly 25mm will render close to the Pana. Never used the 75/1.8, can´t comment on it.
I hope Olympus will release a kit with the e-m10 and 25mm combo.
JHM, if you visit the Amazon page for E-M10 they have a link offering promotional discounts on (among other cameras) the E-M10 and a variety of lenses. I’m currently trying to get clarification from Amazon promotion specialist as to whether it’s the $100 amount reflected when you add them to cart together, or the $200 promised on the page, but it’s at least a decent deal.
All this stuff about Robin working for Olympus is dog meat. Everyone works for someone. If he has a bias so what? Everyone has a bias. At least he gives you the information up front. Get over it.
If you look at the MTF charts the 25mm f/1.8 is quite similar to the 45mm f/1.8. Pleny of sharpness but not a ton of detail. The review’s notion that the lens has more detail than the 45mm seems about right. Not a ton but a little bit. The review’s suggestion that the lens creates images with good contrast is consistent with the charts. No surprises.
Looking forward to the comparison of the Panasonic 25/1.4 to the Olympus. The Oly has a shorter minimum focus distance, the Pana separates things better at larger distances. Difficult for me to decide. Having a FF, too, I think I will go for the Olympus. Robin Wongs photos look really good.
Any word on what lens the fixed-lens m4/3 camera will have? Zoom or prime?
this 25 is very small. does it have an interest to get 20 and 25 both? i got 20 before, sold it and bought leica 25. I found it too big. i sold it and i get again 20 (kit with gx7). I love 50mm FF focal. i dunno if i should sell again the 20 for the olympus 25. but love compact size of the 20.
Wong said this 25/1.8 have more contrast than 45/1.8, that’s nice.
LOL at those people calling Robert biased!
Who isn’t in this day and age? Read between the lines if you find something over stated.
Pics don’t lie. His thoughts are genuine and marketing talk is only really need for stuff that is shite to begin with or over priced.
That thing is S.H.A.R.P.
To bad I am sooooo broke.
Oly needs a 9 or 10mm f2.0 next. Although I could live with f2.8 really.
This should sell like hotcakes. Extremely contrasty hotcakes.
I assume Robin is talking about micro contrast.
As long as that lens is a typical production sample, I think it is great. But if it is a pre-production or golden sample, then we will need to see what the production run looks like!
Yes, great pictures nicely showing off the lens’s – and Robin’s – talents. But his text by now is way to “Olympus employee”. After this read, i will go there for images and captions only and will skip the text.
Want to see: black 25mm on silver E-M10, with hood. Also, since the automatic lens cap isn’t included with the power zoom, do we have any idea of pricing?
NM, found it at BH: $39.95. Not… unreasonable. Kinda silly for a lens cap, though.
The Oly 25mm might have acheived the stardard of the great 45mm that we are missing so much but to compare with the summilux in the same aperature , I still believe the Leica branded lens should easily edged it in sharpness & resolution .
Let Robin conduct the comparation & see the how .
I’ll check it and I plan to see it with my eyes at the Photo Show 2014.
Truth however is that quite a few popular lenses are reaching the level of Leica nowadays, through computer design and numerical machining.
Olympus certainly has the facilities at Tetsuno.
Good microcontrast bodes well for Reportage and Street.
Other images here:
http://www.thephoblographer.com/2014/02/03/first-sample-images-olympus-25mm-f1-8/#more-56946
Not bad for grey snowy day.
Unlike Robin Wong The phoblographer didn’t really showcase the ability of the lens in any shape or form. Other than the bike basket photo he could have just as easily got all those effects using a standard kit zoom.
Doesn’t look particularly sharp or interesting in those pictures.
Because a picture is worth 1000 words, and a lens will always stay a lens: if the people taking the photo has not a “good eye”, you can give him/her the same gear of a good photographer but the results will be really different.
Yes, but the atmospherics would have killed any lens/camera.
I am not familiar with snowy settings but I know they can be killing for photography. So difficult to draw conclusions: the Phoblographer didn’t draw any, clearly they need more time with the lens and a different weather.
BTW I am impressed with what is happening in North America, must not make life easy. Looks like they are under a permanent blizzard.
Auto white balance works better on Em1 than Em5. I just came back from a walk, it’s snowing here, and the only important thing to remember (leaving aside the choice of subject and composition) is the shutter speed: the faster the better, in my opinion, and the flocks will appear as flocks. The slower the shutter speed, the flocks will obviously look like stripes.
Robin Wong is terribly biased… these reviews are infomercials.
And whoever is shouting “but look at the pictures!” is delusional. Those samples are terrible. The rendering and bokeh is horrible. Robin Wong keeps promoting this nonsense over full frame, but the IQ from this lens is so ridiculously far below the new Sony 55/1.8. The images he posts are so ridiculously ugly compared to what the Sony Zeiss produces.
Given that this is a cheap plastic lens just like the 45, I’m assuming Olympus will come with a fully metal 25/1.2 and 45/1.4 within the next year. Meanwhile, if it needs to be light and pocketable, nothing beats the 20/1.7.
You could also throw in a Noctilux f0.95. Beside the similar (not the same) angle of view, what do they share (Sony/Zeiss 55 and Zuiko25mm)?
Who told you something about an f1.2 and an f1.4 lens? Given what Olympus president said f1.8 is the widest aperture they do, to achieve the best compromise in fastness, IQ, price.
“Given what Olympus president said f1.8 is the widest aperture they do, to achieve the best compromise in fastness, IQ, price.”
That’s true. People often forget this statement. It may be true, as Olympus never released a 4/3 under f/2 and m4/3 lens under f/1.8. As they were the initiators of 4/3 format, I thinks they have some good reasons to do so.
But Olympus once said that 12 Mpix was enough, so we never know 😉
That said, it’s nice for us that Panasonic or Voightlander make lenses under f/1.8 for m4/3 🙂
Voigtländer lenses are manual focus (obviously) and built like tanks, and their quality makes them nore expensive than the AF lenses (with same focal lenght) of other brands.
Also Panasonic offers a faster than f1.8 lens (25mm) and will offer the f1.2 Nocticron: people often forget that we can chose 2 out of these three pros in a lens: fastness, IQ, price. The remaining quality will always be a con.
Add weight as 4th quality and you can only choose 2 out of 4.
I have a feeling that Olympus will change their policy about the max aperture thing. I hope that, when they do, weather sealing will become standard in those lenses.
The bokeh and rendering are very pleasing. Your eyesight and discernment are questionable.
Well done on trying to put the lens down by comparing it to the 45 – one of the most highly regarded lenses for M4/3 – nice own-goal there!
Panny Troll number 4.
So anyone that disagree’ s with you is a troll? It’s clear that you use the troll label to describe someone who offers a viewpoint you disagree with and/or find it hard to rebut using evidence.
– We could be equally childish and call you a “Olympus Online Affiliate Marketing Troll No.1” right?
Cheers
Panasonic Troll (Who owns 2 Olympus cameras)
Robin has shown via photos what sort of lens the 25mm is and what it can do. The images are not biased. I just want to know why so many people, such as yourself, appear to want to put down the 25mm f1.8 through association because Robin Wong says good things about it?
While you can successfully argue for bias in his written words because he is an Olympus employee, you can’t argue with his photos which clearly show the 25/1.8 is optically outstanding. I would agree with anyone who took a negative position if you had a rave review and just mediocre images to support it, but the images are such, they clearly back up the written adulation in spades.
You can’t call me a Troll unless I am trashing Panasonic equipment for no identifiable and cogent reason. I don’t believe I am in the habit of doing that. I think the GM1 is a fantastic camera and would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone looking for the ultimate in compactness and IQ.
Lets get this straight Stig.
It was you who went around on the this topic and labelled everyone’s comment who you disagreed with as being “Panasonic Troll 1,2,3..X.” Not me, I merely judged your comments using your own faulty reasoning.
No one is saying that the photographs are poor or are not of good quality. However, I could use the Olympus 1.8, Panasonic 1.7 to produces those images and say they are fantastic, amazing lenses that you should go and buy. The written words are used to convey details of the focus speed, ease of use, and other subjective aspects which are under scrutiny – Someone who can only report positive aspects is not a valid arbiter.
The fact that you are arguing that an Olympus employee can be considered an impartial judge is frankly absurd. When you are looking for a camera to buy do you go on the camera equipment manufacturer’s website and look at the images to make your decision? I don’t think so. That’s why we look at independent reviews.
Olympus work with Robin because he is a talented photographer and he can showcase their equipment. It’s no different to getting a race car driver to drive a mid range range saloon. He can get outstanding results with even mid range equipment, his photograph’s are more a reflection of his skill and his imagination rather than the quality of equipment that’s why Olympus hire him – to promote and showcase equipment.
The job of independent reviewers is to review equipment that a competent person can use and rate it on metrics in considerations of it’s peers both favorably and unfavorably.
The Robin Wong/Olympus situation is the case of an expert showcasing (NOT Reviewing) a piece of equipment for money.
without goin in details about Robin working for Olympus, I prefer a paid photographer like Robin showcasing what a lens cando in his hands, rather then a reviewer, analyzing the build,doing stndard tests for stats like sharpnes,vignetting etc. with non inspirational photos(its a sad fact that many reviewers dot have any real artistic skills in making photos), while its imo common that any lens only can show its value when you are able to add “personal way of seeing subjects/objects”. Ofcourse in the end its up to anyone which kind of lens review he or she prefers.
As do I.
I prefer photographers taking pictures rather than some a nerd (which is what most reviews are) handing out endless stats then taking dull pictures of the building they work in using a 1.8 aperture which you could just as easily do with a standard kit lens.
But.
1)Remember the point of those statistics is a professional photographer can compose and showcase images much better than the average consumer, so he/she can compensate for limited equipment. Look at the Benedicte Guillon Iphone Photographs – most nerds could not do that with a FF DSLR with every function in the book, that’s why they spend so much energy in mental masturbation discussions about which sensor collects the most photons because they want to win the Physics Test rather than the photography awards.
2)However, the stats tell us what is better, scientifically objectively on what we can measure. Regardless of the skill of the photographer. Camera companies sell their products using monikers suck as great “fast autofocus” “excellent low light performance” “excellent image quality” it’s only fair they are put to the test one scientific basis where we can compare one camera against another. Without the stats, we cannot compare 2 different camera bodies with any real certainty.
3)As I’ve said before Robin’s photo’s are beautiful. But I would much rather his posts be described as “Showcasing Olympus 25mm 1.8” or “Some pictures I took with my 25mm 1.8” rather than “REVIEW of the Olympus 25mm 1.8”
C’mon. Take Robin for what he is : an awesome photographer, Olympus fan and employee, and an enthusiast blogger who share his passion.
If you want independant and impartial reviews, look elsewhere (though I which you good luck to finde one ;-))
“No one is saying that the photographs are poor or are not of good quality.”
That’s odd, because you called me out for criticising ‘Mike’ – whom I originally replied to. The basis for my replying to Mike and calling him a Troll was because he did exactly what you claim no one is doing.
Quoting Mike: “And whoever is shouting “but look at the pictures!” is delusional. Those samples are terrible. The rendering and bokeh is horrible.”
If that isn’t: “saying that the photographs are poor or are not of good quality.” I don’t know what is.
I’ll tell you what, let’s wait to see if any other reviewers post assessments of the 25mm that contradict Robin and which might give us an idea he is being unduly biased. Lets see who will tell us it’s slow to focus and is actually a dog.
Examples of Robin’s bias:
” I have tried my best to love the M.ZUiko 17mm F1.8 lens, though it was great but I cannot quite achieve what I “saw” in my mind.
but the sharpness drops significantly at corners. Not only soft corners, but chromatic aberration especually purple fringing is evident at the corners too.
One thing that I find this lens is lacking, is the overall Olympus “punch”. The fisheye body cap lens lacks contrast, my images look very pale even in very good lighting conditions. It generally lacks contrast, and by extension, very poor micro contrast.
What I Wish to be improved
Lens Contrast could be better
Corner softness and CA are evident
Closer minimum focusing distance
Trying Very Hard to Love that Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm F1.8 Lens
The Pancake Zoom lens is reasonably sharp
Close up performance of the lens is mediocre”
Please.
1) I did not call you out for criticizing Mike specifically. I called you out for writing Panasonic Troll 1,2,3 X,.. under all of the comments you disagreed with. What you were doing is just trying to tarnish opinions without reason by labeling them as “Panasonic Trolls” Let me explain your fallacious argument. Just because I call you out for using guilt by association tactics and labeling all dissenting opinions “Trolls” that does not mean I agree with all of those opinions, in fact I disagree specifically with “Mike’s” opinions.
2)If the lens turns out to be the fastest focusing /best IQ lens ever that does not invalidate the argument that an Olympus employee being paid to showcase a product in a promotional piece is not a independent reviewer who can be relied upon for unbiased commentary.
3)With regard to the 17mm 1.8. Robin seems confused:-
November 18, 2012 Review below:-
Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm F1.8 Lens Review SUMMARY
What I like:
1) Very sharp, corner to corner
2) Very good technical control: minimal chromatic abberation, flare control, distortion control, etc.
3) Extremely good Auto-Focus performance, even in very low light condition
4) Solid built, and good handling
then
” If you are very sure you know what you want from a 35mm equivalent focal length, this Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm F1.8 lens is a no brainer, in fact it is a must have lens to have, if you need a normal perspective shooting lens. There really is nothing much to complain about the lens itself. It has the great Olympuz Zuiko sharpness and near technical perfection. Everything about the lens, technically feels right. ”
and
on how it compares to the Panasonic (which most reviewers think is visibly sharper than the 17mm 1.8)
“I am sure many micro 4/3 users are dying to find out how this Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm F1.8 performs against Panasonic 20mm F1.7. I cannot tell you whether the Olympus 17mm F1,8 is optically sharper, that you have to judge for yourself from the images I have shown in two Parts of my review, and I am very sure sooner or later more and more people will post up images online and do direct comparisons between the two lenses. However, two strong advantages the Olympus 17mm F1.8 has would be the much faster and reliable autofocus performance, and also more solid built quality. ”
Ok so what he’s saying is HE CAN’T SAY THE PANASONIC LENS IS SHARPER IN HIS REVIEW –
You need to decide for yourself what is sharper because I can’t say that another company’s product may have better resolution.
This is priceless! Stop this now, it’s getting silly!
Also you seem confused.
I’m not sure why you are trying to dispute that Robin’s is not biased. After all he declares that he is an Olympus employee upfront. He gives his readers respect by declaring his “bias” upfront and saying that he is an Olympus Asia Employee on every post.
Now, that’s fine by me. I have no problem with him working for Olympus or any other company, his photos are amazing and I’m sure he’s a great guy, certainly much more honest than the many hacks who do not declare their associations upfront.
What you are arguing is that he is an independent reviewer without bias. But Robin himself does not claim to be independent, he claims upfront to be an employee of Olympus – yet you seem to be arguing that he is unbiased when he himself does not claim to be “unbiased” – in fact he claims the opposite.
An you, are you biased? Of course you are, like everybody!
It’s always funny to read somebody accusing another of bias.
At least Robin Wong made it clear, he’s not an hypocrite.
The Sony lens has a 36 mpix sensor behind it – not 16. Mpix means resolution. We will probably (?) never see a 36mix m43 sensor! 🙂
At least not within five years…….
A little too much angst and drama about this, I think everyone is arguing past each other. There seems to be little disagreement that Robin is employed by Olympus, and that fact should probably be taken into consideration when reading his ‘review’ (or whatever you want to call it.) All you have to do is take it for what it is, and no harm done.
To say, “look at those photos, it’s an awesome lens!” is only part of the story. I think great photos that showcase what a lens can do are very useful, but brick wall type tests can be too. One gives you a realistic sense of what you can accomplish with the lens, but the other is necessary if you want to compare different lenses. Otherwise you will be picking a lens based on who happened to take the better photos, which may not necessarily correlate with which is the better lens for you. Obviously great photos can be taken with any Micro 4/3 lens.
Eventually the street price of this Oly 25 will settle out somewhere lower than the Pana 25, I think there will be compelling cases for both lens. They share the same focal length but fortunately will have different strengths and weaknesses and different rendering.