Review:
Olympus 17mm f1.8 is a solid lens that performed well throughout this test. The autofocus speed is incredible and the overall image quality is very good. It is a bit on the pricey side when compared to the Olympus 17mm f2.8 and the Panasonic 20mm f1.7, but its construction and autofocus speed may be worth the premium for some. This lens will be very appealing to many Micro Four Thirds users as it, along with its slower/cheaper 17mm sibling, is your only option for a 35mm equivalent prime in this format. It was great out on the street and it is a very useful focal length when going out with only one lens.
http://www.thephoblographer.com/2013/04/25/review-olympus-17mm-f1-8-m-zuiko-micro-four-thirds/
This is the most comfortable m43 lens I've used. I don't worry about its optimal settings cuz there's really none. The performance is not stellar but pretty much consistent across f-numbers. Keep It Simple Stupid rule works well. All I need to know is that it is 17mm. Just go out and use it. Life can be simple stupid fun.
Reviews are popping up more :-)
http://slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/1565/cat/14
AFC works smoothly on E-PM2 with little or no hunting. But it hunts a lot on GH2. At max aperture, it blurs background enough. Yes there is CA at f/1.8. No CA at f/4. IQ is quite good all the way to f/11.
The manual focus ring gives short throw and responses well for slow turning, but GH2 thinks the lens is in auto focus mode unless GH2's focus dial switch is on MF. Activating the manual focus ring shifts focus immediately. It's either all AF or all MF. Mixing AF/MF no good.
No it doesn't replace Lumix 20mm 1.7. It gives nice color on Olympus body and flatter color on Panasonic body.
@IvanUsKokovic I like micro contrast characteristic of the lens. How's AFC performance during video recording?
Olympus 17mm 1.8 has pleasing color contrast and impressive CA control. Yeap it's less sharp than 20mm 1.7, and it's just fine.
@IvanUskokovic , this looks and works great.
Looks very sharp!
Hey, @RRRR - good to hear from you! I just uploaded a new video. Two out of the four shots are at infinity.
Password: 17mm
Video image looks nice.. could you upload some shots at infinity @IvanUskokovic ?
Password: 17mm
I uploaded the file from my memory card straight to Vimeo. @feha - I apologize for the lack of stabilization. My intent was to just get you something quickly. I can get you some better footage if you specify what your looking for.
@feha I might have some time to shoot/upload/post a little footage in the next 24 hours or so. Autofocus seems to work well to get a quick shot one might otherwise miss. The build quality is indeed very nice. Some people (photo reviews) have complained about the lack of sharpness in the images this lens renders. However - I find it quite suitable for the purpose of shooting video.
@IvanUskokovic , would like to see some video , i could not find and good video review. Also how about auto focus , is it fast and accurate ? I wish Panasonic made same metal lenses with same mechanics.
@feha I have the Olympus 17mm f/1.8 and I use it on a Panasonic GH3. If you have any specific questions concerning the lens and it's use with a GH3, feel free to ask. I'll do my best in answering them.
Anyone tried this on GH2, GH3 ?
@igorek7 +1. Another missed opportunity by Olympus.
The more I read reviews of and see the real-life images with 17mm f/1.8, the more it appears to me that this lens is another missed opportunity by Olympus to create high quality lens for the Micro Four Thirds, in comparison with their Four Thirds SHG lenses.It does seem that the 17mm lens tested in these reviews still needs some IQ-"tuning" to explain its relatively high price (in comparison with the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 or Panasonic 20mm f/1.7).
The manual fly-by-wire focus is my other concern, as the prototype that I hold at the Photokina had the same fiddly pull-down ring with sparse DOF and distance scale for zone-focusing, as Olympus 12mm f/2. Moreover, the pre-production 17mm lens focused past the infinity mark as well.
25cm minimum focus distance. 0.08x magnification.
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