Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 17mm f/1.2 Pro Lens for Micro Four Thirds, Black

2021-08-11T20:00:00

Once and awhile a lens comes by that is in a league of its' own. This is one such lens. As someone who enjoys landscape and street photography (and many other venues also), I find that this lens combines solid build quality with a bright aperture and sharp detail throughout the images. This is the only prime f/1.2 lens that I own, and it is enough, more than enough, for my needs and wants. The f/1.8 version is much smaller and no slouch, yet this one is in another league and I am glad that I have it to enjoy and to be humbled by.

Roger

Originally posted at

2021-06-18T20:00:00

I spent some time saving for this lens, and a few hundred pictures later, I'm really glad I got it. This has to be one of the most expensive and most modern lenses I have. I usually use manual focus, and Olympus did an amazing job getting the feel of the focusing ring right. If I didn't know it was a servo focus by wire lens, I couldn't have guessed. Autofocus is also incredibly fast and quiet. It's a big lens and weighs more than my E-PL8 does. The best part of this lens is the character it has. I mostly use vintage glass, and I was really surprised how this lens looks in different kinds of light. It has a very nice character to it, and even though it has really high resolution and sharpness, at the same time it doesn't seem to feel "fake" or artificial or "too perfect." There's some modern lenses that just look so sharp or clinical that it doesn't feel the same way this lens does (I can think of a few of my more modern lenses that are really sharp and clinical). I'm not sure what Olympus did with this lens, but it somehow has this beautiful character to it that is hard to explain. At first I was unsure how this lens would be even though I loved the sample images I saw, but after shooting with this lens for the past few weeks and shooting with it the way I usually do, I'm so happy I got it. One thing about this lens is it seems to be designed in a way that reminds me of the Nikkor Noct lenses. It is optimized wide open so you can shoot into the stars wide open and they come out sharp in the corners and it has minimal coma. It also appears to have very little vignetting wide open. A lot of my fastest vintage lenses change their character a lot from wide open to where I stop them down. Most of them start softer with more bloom and haloes and heavier vignetting. This lens doesn't change character as drastically, and that makes the lens so useful for stars wide open. I rarely ever shoot with my lenses wide open, but just because the lens behaves this way wide open, I'm more likely to use it wide open than many of my other lenses. I don't save using the wide open aperture for special effects only. I also use this at f2, f2.8, and f4 a lot and I feel like it keeps its very pleasant character. Even if you usually use miniature format (full frame), shoot medium format, or large format, I think it's definitely worth getting a micro 4/3 (subminiature 110) system just so you can use this lens, even if it's going to be the only lens you get for it. It has something in it that will not only satisfy the modern specs, sharpness geartographers, but also a beautiful character that will make people who are trying to make art with any camera happy. It has done everything from my usual environmental portraits and dioramas to impressionistic photos of plants that I like to do. It doesn't matter what sort of system and format you usually use. You don't have to care that it has some weight to it or even weighs more than some large format lenses (to be fair many large format lenses are slower and have a simpler design, and modern fast mirrorless lenses for miniature format are often much heavier than this). This lens is unique and you can't find the character of this anywhere else in any other format. You have to try this lens. It doesn't matter if you rent it for a couple weeks, but this is such a special piece of glass and you are missing out if you don't try it and challenge yourself with it. Get out and make something beautiful!

Cupcake

Originally posted at

2021-06-12T20:00:00

Sunning bokeh, extra extra sharp! I have had this one only for a short time and so far really impressed. Even though I am fairly new to the Zuiko famiIy, I can say their quality is upper top shelf and performance is very consistent. Having Zuiko precision tools has increased the value of my business and the quality of work I present to my clients.

Keagan

Originally posted at

2020-03-10T09:45:52

As mainly a portrait photographer I wasn’t sure what I’d do with this wide a lens. Well low and behold an entire new way of looking at things. This guy seems to now be stuck to my camera when I leave the studio.

JOE S.

2019-09-06T09:58:49

I also own the Olympus 17mm f1.8 and can say without a doubt that the 17mm F1.2 gives you sharper, brighter images, edge to edge with more contrast and definition. The lens is truly incredibly wide open, great for low light, street and astrophotography when paired with an EM-1 MkII

PETE T.

2019-04-20T07:56:28

This lens is worth the cost. One of the best I’ve owned of any manufacturer. If you like the 35mm (equiv.) focal length, you will love it. I would happily travel anywhere with just this lens, and be confident with capturing well virtually any image.

WILLIAM R.

2018-11-20T04:38:57

Great lens for landscape photos. I live in Las Vegas and the sharpness and detail of photos I took on the strip at night are amazing.

Thomas P.

2018-11-08T06:25:22

Solid build a truly 5 starts prime lens for MFT. Creamy bokeh wide open and tack sharp as well. It’s minimal close focus (20cm) allow you to do decant macro shot with awesome results. I am using it with my EM5 Ii and the pair works great. I don’t find the combo to be too heavy or overly front heavy. To sum it up, Focuses quick, Stellar IQ i find it to be the best everyday street photography lens for MFT. You can create good Shallow DOF if you shoot close enough to the subject while having a decent distance of the background. If you want nohitng but the best for this FL, you cannot go wrong. I am able to take more keepers of my daughter and family in low light situations comparing to the 17mm f1.8. So the hefty price is well worth it for me. Yes I highly recommend this lens particularly if you shoot with Olympus MFT camera.

NARIN T.

2018-03-20T20:00:00

The perfect street photography lens - especially if you like to shoot around dusk and into the night. The extra speed you get from the 1.2 makes a huge difference in nighttime street photography. This lens is SUPER sharp as well. Truly a pleasure to use as a street photography lens.

Reba

Originally posted at

2018-02-18T08:18:56

Highly engineered, yet of reasonable size and cost, it exemplifies one of the key advantages of the move to the FT/mFT format. The results from this lens at all apertures must be experienced to be believed. It is now my favorite optic, possibly of all time. Highly useful as a standard lens. Usefully sharp to the edges from wide open, quite fantastic by f/4.

JAN C.

2018-02-06T10:40:32

I knew this lens was going to be good, but not this good. The performance at F1.2 breathes new life into the M 4/3 system. Very sharp with smooth transitions to creamy out of focus background...just like they advertised. With the IBIS on modern M 4/3 cameras (e.g., Panny G9/Olympus EM1 MK II, Pen-F), you can produce excellent images at low ISOs in a tiny package (relative to full frame cameras). Love it. Have to try it for yourself and you'll see what I mean.

SEVAN S.