A really good and versatile prime lens

David Smith - Photographer wrote:

mtnroads wrote:

I agree, it looks like a winner. Perfect for my E-M5 III. I'm a hobbyist, but travel internationally, and think I could carry that, along with my 12-45/4 Pro and 35-100/2.8 and be all set for anything, under any conditions. 24-200 EFL, all WR, all 58 filter size. And only 3 pounds gear weight, not including the bag. Unbelievable. I would use that lens for street photography, foul weather and night walkabouts.

Well, that setup should cover pretty much any situation. How do you like your 12-45mm f/4? I'm thinking about getting this lens for wide angle photos and as an everyday walk around do most lens. However, the Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 and Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 are interesting lenses too.

I love the 12-45/4 Pro.  I haven't traveled with it yet due to the pandemic (I normally go to SE Asia) but have taken local pics and compared it with my 12-40/28 and Fuji 18-55 and it is just as good as either of those, actually slightly sharper than the 18-55. This lens on an E-M5 III is a dream combo - compact, WR and light (1.5 lbs) - as long as you carry a fast prime for evening/low light - currently I have both the 25/1.8 and 15/1.7 for that.

David Smith - Photographer wrote:

Because I was curious about this new lens, I compared my test photos from the OM System 20mm f/1.4 to those of a Mark II Panasonic 20mm f/1.7.

The OM System 20mm is optically superior, especially towards the edges of the image. It's sharper in the center too, but you have to pixel peep at 100% to see that. Also, it has better bokeh, weather sealing, it focusses very fast and it's nearly silent when focusing. I hoped the difference in corner sharpness would be less, because I like the Panasonic pancake, but it isn't. It is clearly visible.

I really like the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 because it's so darn small and lightweight. It literally fits in your pocket, has good image quality and combined with a compact MFT body like the E-M5 and E-M10 series camera, it forms a inconspicuous compact and lightweight system.

However, this new OM Systems 20mm f/1.4 is not only slightly faster, it's also optically superior. Although it's significantly bigger and heavier than the Panasonic pancake, it's not as big and heavy as the f/1.2 primes or Pro zoom lenses. It fits somewhere between the compact primes and the faster Pro lenses.

There's a place for both type of lenses I think. The Panasonic pancake is great to keep the size and weight of your camera gear down. Take this pancake and a short fast tele with you to travel light. The OM Systems 20mm is perfect if you want the best possible image quality, weather sealing and/or fast autofocus in the smallest possible package. It's a great lens, albeit a bit expensive.

Thanks David for your review. I agree with most of it, the lens is very good, I have been using it for the last 2 weeks on my e-m5 iii. I haven't used the Panasonic lens. However I have to mention one major - to me - negative characteristic of the OM System 20mm f1.4 lens: purple fringing, a lot of it! I was very surprised to see it in most of high-contrast night shots. I know it can be solved in post but I don't like having to post, usually go for SOOC. I hope it can be improved soon with a firmware update. Two sample photos below (SOOC jpegs).

20mm, f1.4, 1/4sec, ISO 800 (fringing only on the street lamp, the dome light is a light projector)

20mm, f1.4, 1/8sec, ISO 500 (fringing on the street lamps)