(FT5) Olympus makes it right! 45mm f/1.8 lens coming and for 299 Euro/Dollars only!
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We can long discuss if you like the upcoming PEN or not but one thing is sure, the two upcoming Olympus lenses will be awesome! We already knew for a long time that one of the lenses would be the 12mm f/2.0 High Quality PRO lens. But we were not so sure about the second lens. Some said it would be a 50mm f/1.7 and others told me it would be a 45mm f/1.8. I finally got the right answer! Olympus will announce a new 45mm f/1.8 lens which will cost around 299 Dollars/Euro only! I think that’s an amazing cheap price for a lens that is fast and will have a very good image quality (at least that is what sources told me). It’s not a pancake, it’s a bit bigger lens. It should be very similar (in size) to the just announced Panasonic/Leica 25mm f/1.4 lens (click here to preorder on Adorama!). Wow, Olympus finally is making the lenses we wanted! What I don’t know yet is if the lens is a macro like the famous Olympus 50mm macro lens (Click here to see that lens on ebay). One source told me it is NOT a macro lens but that’s a very weak rumor for now. Reminder, the only Micro Four Thirds macro lens to date is the Panasonic-Leica 45mm f/2.8.
The new three PEN cameras + the two new lenses will be announced on June 30th! Follow us daily. There are still many rumors I am working on! P.S.: The chance is big that there is something more coming (lenses and accessories).
Links to mentioned lenses:
Panasonic/Leica 25mm f/1.4 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay (hard to find preorders).
Olympus 50mm f/2.0 macro lens Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
Panasonic-Leica 45mm f/2.8 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
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deep
2 years ago |Since m4/3 came out, many have waited and waited for a good landscape prime lens around 12mm and a fast portrait lens with autofocus. Finally! Note we will actually have a choice of two 12mm lenses when the Noktor HyperPrime 12/1.6 comes out as well.
Personally, I am very glad Olympus picked 45mm for their portrait offering. I used to use a Canon 100/2.8 in film days and often wished it was a tad shorter, while my PenF 40/1.4 on m4/3 is a tad wide. 45mm is perfect. This is a great time for us indeed!
Georg
2 years ago |Well,
unconfirmed rumor or not. Olympus has had a lens roadmap on their official web site for a long time that seem to be forgotten by this rumor site. The road map show a 45mm macro lens to be announced in the spring/summer 2011 so that should not come as a surprise to anybody. A more confirmed rumor is hard to find.
It would be strange if it was not a fast macro lens after all. Olympus already has the technology and patens. It os faster than most macro lenses and I agree that the depth of field will be very shallow. I have a Nikon 105mm f/2.8 macro lens on a full frame body. Its depth of field would be equal to an Olympus 45mm f/1.4. In lieu of that fact, a f/1.8 macro is not so extraordinary. Also keep in mind that the lens would only be 1/3 stop faster than Olympus´existing Four Thirds lens. I agree that for pure macro work one usually works with a narrow aperture, but this lens will also double as a portrait lens.
Ahem
2 years ago |Meh, I was hoping for a proper portrait lens: 50-70mm prime, f/1.4 or faster. I’ll stick with my 57mm Hexanon.
Fish
2 years ago |With the 2x crop factor of the 4/3 sensor, this new Olympus lens is an excellent focal length for portraits. After all, didn’t your konica still produce nice portraits during the film era it was designed for?
Ahem
2 years ago |I wouldn’t know, I’ve only used it on MFT. 57mm on a film camera is too short for my tastes even for full-length portraits. I shoot facials with ~135mm equivalent focal length with APS-C digital and MF film, so 57mm on MFT is shortish.
Ranger 9
2 years ago |I think a 45/1.8 will be a good fit for most people (self included) but I feel your pain. I wish Olympus would blow the dust off the drawer where they keep the design drawings for the Pen F’s 60mm f/1.5 and 70mm f/2 lenses and do something with them… those lenses may not be “great” by today’s (bogus) Imatest standards, but they made beautiful images.
Fish
2 years ago |Wow, 1400 people so far have said they would buy this lens if the quality is good. I guess my order will have to compete with a few others.
I wonder how the interest here will relate to the actual marketplace (it is often pointed out that 43rumors readers are not necessarily representative of the buying public).
Does anyone know if the ZD 50mm f2 was a lucrative product for Olympus? This should have a similar customer base right?
Christian
2 years ago |I would not be so sure about the FT 50/2.0 and the mFT 45/1.8 having a similar customer base unless we have more details. The FT 50/2.0 is a relatively expensive lens, with superb image quality, dust and splash water protection and macro-abilities. We do not know yet to which extent the 45/1.8 will posses these abilities. I love my ZD 50/2.0, for me (!) a 45/1.8 without macro-abilities and tanklike construction is not that tempting.
Anonymous
2 years ago |Why does m4/3 like to compare AF speed to the 5d, the GH2 also did that. The 5D af is a very dated AF, similar to the 20D. Not fast at all compare to a 50d, 60d, 7d or 1d4 or even the current T rebels.
I would be really impress if it AF like a 50D with a 70-200 2.8 USM. Not the fastest of the canon’s but very fast.
But I totally agree, oly hear their customers and listen to what they wanted in then next gen of pen’s. This new AF is a big step in the right direction. Now can we get a new sensor?
George
2 years ago |“Olympus will announce a new 45mm f/1.8 lens which will cost around 299 Dollars/Euro only! I think that’s an amazing cheap price for a lens that is fast”
Now lets take a look at other manufacturer’s prices for fast primes.
EF 50mm f/1.8 II Autofocus Lens $119
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D Autofocus Lens $129
Sony 0mm f/1.8 DT AF Lens $149
Oly coming with a 45mm f1.8 lens with maybe $300 (if it is euro it makes around $450) and you are calling this “amazing cheap price”
Seriously guys what is wrong with you? It seems you really enjoy getting screwed my m4/3 companies.
Do you have any kind of logic. I read lots of comments and people are very happy about the price.
LOL i mean LOL big LOL
triple price comparing to others and you are saying lens is cheap
)))
napalm
2 years ago |sounds like you didnt own any 4/3 lenses before.
Oly lenses were never cheap, but they always had decent quality, with the 50mm f2.0 macro being one of the sharpest lenses for DSLR available.
sure the previous Oly kit lenses for m4/3 are not great, but the rumor is that these upcoming lenses are supposed to be ‘higher grade lenses’ so most are assuming that quality is at least on par with the 4/3 lenses
Christian
2 years ago |In case you haven’t noticed: At least the Canon 50/1.8 (don’t know about Nikon and Sony) is a very, very bad lens, probably one of the worst APS-C lenses ever produced. Not only is the image quality below standards, but also the build quality so toy-like that the lens occasionaly falls apart for no reason at all. The FT 50/2.0 cost me 500 Euro as compared to the Canon 50/1.8. Nevertheless, I think the Oly lens was well-priced by comparison.
rik
2 years ago |@George: take a look at the wide open performance of those three lenses you listed and tell me who is LOL-ing now? If the the m.Zuiko offering is close to its 50mm f/2 Macro big brother in this regard, it will be an instant classic.
Michael Devitt
2 years ago |Well, that Nikkor 1.8D won’t AF on entry level Nikons… All depends how will new Zuiko perform at wide apertures (also stopped down) and lens built quality. BTW there are many legacy lenses at 50mm range with price even uder 100$ so this 45mm lens is option for those who want AF lens optimized for 4/3 sensor.
Tobias W.
2 years ago |George, you get what you pay for.
I own the Canon 50mm f/1.8 and it’s OK for the price – but it’s certainly not a good lens. The build quality is rubbish, the manual focus ring sucks. The lens has four advantages: it’s cheap, it’s fast, it’s light and it’s cheap.
By comparison, the more expensive Olympus Four Thirds lenses that I own outperform any other lens in their focal length range and price class (even higher price classes) by leaps and bounds. Olympus knows how to build excellent lenses.
Excellency has its price.
I am not a big fan of their Micro Four Thirds lenses so far, owning only the kit lens that came with my E-PL1. I think it’s not as good as the kit lens that came with my E-520. I wouldn’t buy any of the Micro Four Thirds zoom lenses. I am very open for the prime lenses though.
The Other Chris
2 years ago |The angle of view is different, and they are designed for different purposes. For an equivalent angle of view, you have to step up to 85mm in full-frame:
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 – List price $670, $419 at Amazon
Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D – $489.95 at B&H
To get the same angle of view for an APS-C camera, you’d have to go up to 57-60mm:
Canon EF-S Macro 60 mm F/2.8 – $449 at Amazon
60mm f/2.8D AF Micro-Nikkor – $479 at Amazon
Granted, those last two are macro lenses, but hopefully you get the point.
Imants
2 years ago |George nice to see that you care about other’s finances now go and find another sandpit to mess around in
zuiko
2 years ago |George,
look at the price of 85mm lenses offered by these companies and you’ll see the announced price is very much in line.
Alan
2 years ago |Olympus have made some strange decisions over the years, but there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel here (well, perhaps only ½ way down), and I fully applaud these new prime lenses (12,45)on the way. Up to this point I’ve only dabbled in m43 (Pany GF1/20mm) but it seems I will be able to turn this into a small compact 3 prime system. To me this is what m43 should be about. Congratulations Olympus!!!
simonl
2 years ago |GF-1
14mm f/2.5 Pancake
20mm f/1.7 Pancake
45mm f/1.8 Compact
Seems like a mighty good lightweight system to me……………..
Nathan
2 years ago |It’s a good choice for a focal length, should compliment the 20mm f1.7 quite well.
lolo
2 years ago |So a 90mm lens? Still too much. the Lumix 20 (40mm) is as perfect as an all around fit as I have found. For years it has been established that 50mm is the perfect size. So a 90mm is nothing for me to get excited about.
sam_m
2 years ago |Definately will be buying this, its a suprisingly useful focal length
Al
2 years ago |E-P2 with 17mm f2.8, just sold my 20mm Pana, waiting for my 25mm 1.4 Leica, Nikon 50mm 1.4, 55mm f2.8 Micro and 105mm f2.5 with adapter, except for lack of AF on those Nikon glasses, I’m very happy with the result, until the new Oly 45/1.8 proven to out perform my Nikon 50/1.4, I’m not going to buy it.
My E-P2 is tough, took a lot of beat, scratches all over the body, but no dent, no crack, recently brought a beautiful skin from a Japaness Company, it looks like new again. Oly M4/3 lenses are different story, kit zoom cracked, sold on ebay as parts, 17mm filter ring chipped, but still works, thank god. I don’t expect the new Leica lens has the toughness of my old Nikon lense, at lease should be better than the 17mm, which cost $250. You can get all 3 of my Nikon lenses on Ebay for that amount of money.
cosinaphile
2 years ago |just preordered the 25 1.4 panny and will do so for the 45 when they list it ….at adorama i do this in person so i can learn how many folks are ahead of me ……
for the 25mm 1.4 lens more than 250 people preordered before me , for the fujifilm x 100 which i also put down a deposit there are 70 folks ahead of me…
about a month ago i asked how many preorders they had
for the x 100 and my adorama guy told me more than 600!
i waited lol…..Adorama is a fun place to shop
Ed
2 years ago |Gonna sell my voigtlander 45mm and buy this new portraitlens. I am amazed by the looks of it, almost camera porn. Olympus did well!! gonna spend some euro’s on it.