Olympus Micro Four Thirds cameras
are excellent, but that’s only half of
the equation; you need high-quality
lenses to go with them. With an astonishing 15
elements and f/1.2 initial aperture, this 35mm
equivalent wouldn’t look out of place on some
full-frame mirrorless cameras.
Although sizeable, this lens balances
perfectly on the E-M1X we were sent for
testing. Auto-focussing is very fast, accurate
and near silent, and handling is good. Just like
you find in the 17mm f/1.8 model, it retains
the push-pull focussing ring option, so you can
decide if you want AF with manual override or
manual only, the latter being nicely damped.
Build quality feels good from a combination
of a mostly metal outer with some composite
materials, but what you’re paying for here is
the optical quality.
Sharpness is outstanding when stopped
down. It’s not often that you see high
sharpness at f/1.2, but that’s what we
have here. And best of all, the out-of-focus
transitions are really smooth and incredibly
natural looking. It is subtle with the limited
depth of field of this lens.
Control of flare is excellent as well, which
is a surprise considering there are so many
glass surfaces. However, while this lens is very,
very good, it’s not perfect. There’s a hint of
longitudinal fringing if you look closely, while
distortion and lateral fringing are tidied up
with a profile.PRICE: £1,199 / $1,199
We put the ultra-high-speed prime Micro Four Thirds system through its paces
Olympus M. Zuiko
Digital ED 17mm f/1.2 Pro
Image quality like this doesn’t come cheap,
and this isn’t that expensive compared to
some lenses, but bear in mind Olympus offers
other models that come close for less.Overall
Left
Rendering
Olympus talks of ‘feathered’ bokeh, but
transitions to out-of-focus areas are subtle
even at f/1.2, unless you’re focussing really
close due to the limited DOF
Below
Fringing
Distortion is mild and usually kept in check
with a profile anyway, but if you disable
chromatic aberration then some fringing is
visible around high-contrast edgesTechnical specs
Manufacturer^ Olympus
Model^ M. Zuiko Digital ED 17mm f/1.2 Pro
Web^ olympus.co.uk
Elements/construction^ 15/11
Angle of view^65 degrees
Max aperture^ f/1.2
Min aperture^ f/16
Min focus distance^ 0.2m
Mount^ Micro Four Thirds
Filter size^ 62mm
Length^ 87mm
Diameter^ 68mm
Weight^ 390gLENSES
Olympus Micro Four Thirds cameras
are excellent, but that’s only half of
the equation; you need high-quality
lenses to go with them. With an astonishing 15
elements and f/1.2 initial aperture, this 35mm
equivalent wouldn’t look out of place on some
full-frame mirrorless cameras.
Although sizeable, this lens balances
perfectly on the E-M1X we were sent for
testing. Auto-focussing is very fast, accurate
and near silent, and handling is good. Just like
you find in the 17mm f/1.8 model, it retains
the push-pull focussing ring option, so you can
decide if you want AF with manual override or
manual only, the latter being nicely damped.
Build quality feels good from a combination
of a mostly metal outer with some composite
materials, but what you’re paying for here is
the optical quality.
Sharpness is outstanding when stopped
down. It’s not often that you see high
sharpness at f/1.2, but that’s what we
have here. And best of all, the out-of-focus
transitions are really smooth and incredibly
natural looking. It is subtle with the limited
depth of field of this lens.
Control of flare is excellent as well, which
is a surprise considering there are so many
glass surfaces. However, while this lens is very,
very good, it’s not perfect. There’s a hint of
longitudinal fringing if you look closely, while
distortion and lateral fringing are tidied up
with a profile.PRICE: £1,199 / $1,199
We put the ultra-high-speed prime Micro Four Thirdssystemthroughitspaces
Olympus M. Zuiko
Digital ED 17mm f/1.2 Pro
Imagequalitylike this doesn’t comecheap,
and this isn’t that expensive comparedto
some lenses, but bear in mind Olympusoffers
other models that come close forless.Overall
Left
Rendering
Olympus talks of ‘feathered’ bokeh, but
transitions to out-of-focus areas are subtle
even at f/1.2, unless you’re focussing really
close due to the limited DOF
Below
Fringing
Distortion is mild and usually kept in check
with a profile anyway, but if you disable
chromatic aberration then some fringingis
visiblearoundhigh-contrastedgesTechnicalspecs
Manufacturer^ Olympus
Model^ M. Zuiko DigitalED17mmf/1.2Pro
Web^ olympus.co.uk
Elements/construction^ 15/11
Angle of view^65 degrees
Max aperture^ f/1.2
Min aperture^ f/16
Min focus distance^ 0.2m
Mount^ MicroFourThirds
Filter size^ 62mm
Length^ 87mm
Diameter^ 68mm
Weight^ 390gLENSES