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Olympus 4/3 mount 50 f/2 - worth it?

Started Jan 24, 2018 | Discussions thread
OP aliasfox Senior Member • Posts: 1,375
Re: Olympus 4/3 mount 50 f/2 - worth it?

daddyo wrote:

The 50mm is a very good lens, but it is no better for portraits in my opinion than the 45mm f/1.8 (the 45mm focuses much faster too). I own both lenses, and prefer the 45mm (I already owned the 50mm before buying the 45mm, and plan to keep it).

If I were you, I would continue to use the 45mm for portrait work, and get the Oly 30mm f/3.5 for close up/macro shooting. It is razor sharp, and will allow in-camera focus stacking with your E-M1. In addition, if you catch one on sale, it is very inexpensive for the optical quality (I bought a brand new one recently for $99).

I admit, I was sorely tempted by the $149 (new!) deal for the Oly 30mm macro over the holidays. The only thing holding me back was that if I was going to get a short macro, it would primarily be for the fiancee on the IBIS-less GM5, so the Panny 30mm macro is a better choice - too bad it's 2x the price of the Olympus.

Are you saying that the difference in sharpness/rendering between the 45/1.8 and 50/2 isn't really visible in real-world scenarios? I think the 45mm renders OOF areas quite well, and I like the colors, as well, but have always wondered how much better the 50/2 could be (for not too much money).

 aliasfox's gear list:aliasfox's gear list
Olympus XZ-1 Olympus PEN E-PM2 Olympus E-M1 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 Olympus E-M5 II +17 more
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