First Review Of Olympus 75mm Lens

The new Olympus 75mm lens, one of a new breed of lenses where they won't include a lens shade and then try to sell it for $100, has received its first review. The early sample photos of the lens are born out in tests. It is awesome. The lens shade deal, something that Olympus did with the 12mm, pisses me off almost enough to simply not buy the lens. The only thing keeping me from doing that is the guarantee that cheap, aftermarket shades will be, if not already are, available.

Sharpness across the frame is fantastic. Aberrations, distortion, and vignetting are low. Build quality is top-notch. An amazing 150mm equivalent focal length. All for $900. This is the first Olympus lens that is an absolute must-have. The 12mm was a disappointment, the 45mm was good for the price, but not great. Every other great Olympus lens is for 4/3 and not Micro 4/3. Olympus has finally delivered, and done so in a big way.

Micro 4/3 now has some really excellent lenses at all focal lengths. The Panasonic 7-14mm, which is going to get an update soon; the Panasonic 14-45mm is the best kit lens on the market; The Olympus 12mm is expensive but, in fairness, it does better than Canon or Nikon's 24mm primes; The Pansonic 20mm prime is amazing; Voigtlander and Panasonic make excellent 25mm lenses; the list goes on. It's not a pretty mess, with no company producing a full compliment of good lenses, but between them all, the system is pretty solid.