Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f/1.8

£249/$299 A light, budget-friendly lens

Lens mount Mi c ro Four Thirds

Thanks to the 2x crop factor of the Micro Four Thirds system, this 45mm lens has an effective focal length of 90mm. It also has a fast aperture rating of f/1.8, bringing some much-needed help in getting a tight depth of field, which is generally a struggle with MFT cameras.

The Olympus is far and away the smallest and lightest lens in the group. Autofocus is driven by an ultra-quiet stepping motor, while high-precision manual focusing is available via a ‘fly by wire’ focus ring.

Performance

Sharpness remains good across the frame, even wide-open, where it only drops off towards the extreme edges and corners. However, bokeh isn’t as smooth as with any of the other lenses on test; when stopping down a little, points of defocused light take on a heptagonal shape.