Oly MFT lens for shallow DOF

jim stirling wrote:

Peng Bian wrote:

Skeeterbytes wrote:

agaoo wrote:

I did research online but I didn't get right to decide. So I'd like to seek your kind advice here.

I'm considering Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 60mm f2.8 Macro Lens and Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f1.8 Telephoto Prime Lens for my Oly EM1.

I own Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 12-40mm f2.8 PRO Standard Zoom Lens.

I want to take portrait photo with nice shallow depth of field and sharp IQ.

1. Is 12-40mm f2.8 PRO already good enough for it? In the other words, do I really need those lenses (which I'm considering now) for better IQ with nicer shallow depth of field?

2. If yes, which lens I should consider for it? Or any other lens?

Thank you.

IMHO the 12-40 and 75/1.8 make an ideal team. DOFs from the 12-40 are quite shallow in typical settings, including portraiture, although clearly not quite what you can achieve with the fast prime counterparts. But the combination of longer lens and extremely thin DOF make the 75 stand well apart from the zoom for portraits, especially tight headshots.

I do have and use the 25/1.8 and 45/1.8, but the 12-40 is my go-to lens for general use. IMO its best at 40mm for portraits, as the OOF rendering is quite pleasant.

cheers,

Rick.

Agree wholeheartedly! It's my go to pairing.

The 75mm is a wonderful lens my only issue with it as a portrait lens { other than for head & shoulder type} is that its a wee bit on the long side in typical home settings. The 45mm F1.8 delivers a lot of bang for the buck though its build quality is nowhere near the 75mm. For shallow DOF portraits manual focus is often your best option and if you can accept this you have a world of choice in adapted lenses

Yes, even in my friend's relatively large studio I still find the lens too long for anything wider than head and shoulder. It's certainly a more of a specialized lens. I still have my 45mm for indoors, but when I go out, it's usually 12-40 and 75. Great for candids of others from far away, and the amount of compression gives you a unique perspective to create a lot of depth to an image.