I got this lens not long after they first came on the market and I can honestly say it is brilliant, I highly recommend it and this review says it all.
I have been shooting my family portraits with this on my oly em-5 for the past 5 odd years, it's superb. Works a treat in low light and I always take when out with fam at say restaurants, so it's not intrusive. I'll try it on my new G9 (when we're out of Covid). I have the silver version and it has cracked on each side of the outer frame (never been dropped and is well cared for) which really annoys me, but it still works. That lens along with the summilux 25mm are brilliant.
I'm planning to buy this lenses for my new omd m10 iii, I heard and read so many good things about it, and it seems that with two macro adaptors, the problem of macro is solved.
Olympus 45 is a beautiful little lens. It’s my go to interview lens when I’m shooting video interviews, everyone looks really good and I get a nice shallow depth of field at F2.2. Yes, it it looks like a toy lens but it sure is a powerhouse and I always recommend it as a great portrait and interview lens for my GH5. The price on this great little jewel is so cheap everyone has to have one of these in their kit.
I just ordered this lens for my Em5 Mark iii to take portraits of my family. Your images look awesome and I'm surprised with how well the bokeh looks and the amount of sharpness. This looks like a no brainer to own especially for the price. Great video!
Nice one. Great review :) Keen to see more of your portrait adventures. If you’re ever in northern NSW, we should catch up for a shoot or something. Maybe do a joint TFP with a model. Try some off camera flash techniques with the G9. I’m used to the canon DSLR. Need to put my G9 through its paces.
thanks for the video Andrew. I own this lens on the G9 and I find it razor sharp. I rarely use it doe, its a hard focal len to use if not shooting portraits.
Agreed. The nature examples in the video were just playing around when I first got the lens, before I could organise my first portrait shoot. I really expect to use this lens for portraits only.
Honestly one of the things I struggle with is that these 1.8 lenses are too small for video work. I find that whenever I go to manually focus the lens during a shot, I often end up with my hand in front of the lens. It happened too many times during one professional shoot and that was when I just gave up on the smaller lenses, and opted for something bigger.
Yes it is tiny, which for some people is a benefit and for some people is a problem. That is not something I had considered, but video is a very small part of my photography, just something I do for a bit of variety. I understand what you are saying though.
The panny is not better, it suffers from chromatic aberrations even at f5.6. The best 45mm is the Oly f1.2 but....for price and sharpness the f1.8 is unbeatable!
I’m so curious why you selected the oly 1.8 over the stabilized Panasonic 42.5/1.7? I never actually tried the oly because it didn’t include the lens hood. I did do an extended test and shot two weddings with the oly 42.5/1.2 and it’s lovely but ended up with the nocticron again for the stabilization and the face defect autofocus was slightly faster.
Getting this lens was not really on my radar as I also have a Pentax DSLR with lenses for shooting portraits, landscapes, macro etc. I really was going to use the G9 for wildlife only. The 45mm was offered to me second hand in great condition at an even greater price and after reading and watching some reviews I really couldn't say no. And the bonus is it now gives me something else to talk about on TH-cam!
I've had it for years and I got a really nice third party metal hood on ebay for around 10 bucks shortly after I bought it. That's how I get most of my hoods with very few issues.
I have two kits lenses for my d3300 and g85 which are mediocre to say the least. I bought 35 mm f2.8 nikor and Tokina 11-16 mm f 2.8 for D3300 and Olympus 45 mm f 1.8 for my g85. For my work of corporate video shoots it is top order. Your portraits have come great. Probably, I will be shooting a male model in two days at the beach with this 45 mm. Your video raised my expectations.
Amazing.. I have Lumix G9 .. Model slow motion video quality too much impresive . often I shoot video with 12-60 Lense but never get result as you shows with Olympus Lense
I fully understand the choice of a G9+100-400 for nature photography. I can only advise you the 75 F/1.8 Olympus for portraits. That's my favorite lens for this purpose on my G9. Same qualities as the 45mm, but sharper, with more bokey.
Your photography is the best ever in the history of the world. I want to buy the 45mm F1.8 after watching your video. But then I remembered - this guy makes every lens look good because he is such a great shooter.
Well I'm not sure very much of that is true but I do appreciate the compliment - so thank you. And it is a great lens so if you decide to buy it you won't be sorry!
If you look through my posts you will see I have done some on video. But with 40 years of still photography behind me, I only started taking an interest in video when I bought this camera. So I don't consider myself anything like an expert but I have tried to share what I have learned. Mainly about VFR video which is what I mostly use.
Thanks Andrew for a clear and concise presentation. Similar to you, I purchased one lens, the 14-140, with my G9. I'm now looking for a wide angled lens; can you recommend one? Hope you can advise. Mike in Oz
Mike I have only borrowed a couple of other lenses briefly from a mate at Ted's cameras. One was an Olympus 7-14 which I found to be an excellent wide angle. It can't use the dual stabliser but with such a wide angle lens camera shake is not such an issue and the body stabiliser was more than sufficient. One of my shots taken on that lens here: www.flickr.com/photos/natures_image/49186944957/in/dateposted-public/
The only other lens I have used is a 12-60mm Panasonic which was also great but more general purpose but dedicated wide angle. I would happily recommend both.
Stunning video. But why your shutter speed is so fast (ex: 1/8000s = 8000th/sec) for portrait ? This lady doesn't move so much for this portrait shoot.
As long as it is a micro four-thirds camera and lens, then no, you don't need an adapter. M4/3 Panasonic Lenses will fit Olympus, and Olympus lenses will fit Panasonic.
Wait...I have a very small budget and I'm looking for a micro 4/3rd cam that is very lightweight with external mic input or is good for videos/focus/steady shots for live events. I'm not sure if I should get an Olympus or a Panasonic. My budget is $600 to $699. I'm going to get a used camera & the 45 mm or 25 mm 1.8 lens. Thanks. Do I really need 24 fps?
The G9 is not particularly lightweight, it is solidly build and weather proof. Lighter and smaller than full frame or regular DSLR's but you should feel the weight before you decide. Some people prefer the focus system of the Olympus, but in my opinion the G9 has a better electronic viewfinder and a much easier menu. I am not a video expert but the G9 offers a bunch of frame rates. 24 is available but only on some quality settings. But also available is 30 and 60 fps. If you have questions about the best frame rates you are better to ask a video expert.
I have always used 200 ISO as my starting point and go higher if necessary. There does not seem to be any difference in noise levels from 100 to 200 so I don't lose any image quality and can work with faster speeds. I only go to 100 if I have a specific need (i.e. if I want a slower speed for movement effects. The G9 starts at 200 ISO by default but you can extend the ISO range to include 100 as well. I made a video about it: th-cam.com/video/wG2v-uTDBVI/w-d-xo.html However it was pointed out to me that image performance is optimal at 200 ISO and if you use 100 you lose dynamic range by a stop or two.
Is this lens still good to get in 2022? I need a 45mm for my GX9. I tried the Panasonic 42.5mm but I think it was defective. Thought I would try this one.
I still use it for all my portrait shoots. In fact I am going to be using it today. But I can't compare it to what else is on the market because I have been happy with this lens so haven't felt the need to shop around for others. And I don't work for Panasonic, so I don't have the luxury of trying out lots of alternatives.
Because it was offered to me at a ridiculously good price so I grabbed it. And as I said in the video, it has served me so well I have not really needed to go shopping for something else.
Add a couple of cheap extension tubes to get macro capability for little extra bulk or weight and cost less than $40. But if you really want serious macro buy the Leica 45mm or Olympus 60mm for a lot more...
I really don't feel qualified to answer your question as this is not a type of photography I have ever done. There is a very good group on Facebook for G9 users from all over the world and they seem to be very good for answering all sorts of questions. Here is the link: facebook.com/groups/PanasonicG9
Not that I have noticed but that is not something I pay attention to...I am using it hand held and constantly adjusting composition to work with a model in motion. I will try to pay more attention and give you an answer if I have more info.
I have not used enough lenses from either brand to pass judgement. I have the P/L 100-400 and find the dual stabiliser a life saver...something you don't get if you use an Olympus lens. But I have been more than happy with the Olympus portrait lens. I agree about the body, the user friendly setup of this camera was my main reason for choosing it over the other brand.
if you have no dinero for 75mm 1.8 or 45mm 1.2 or the size of 75mm is too big, then, by all means, get a 45mm 1.8. It is absolutely amazing and the ever so important bokeh looks fantastic. besides that, you don't have to sell a kidney to finance the other alternatives :)
The Olly 45 f/1.8 is a smashing lens and very fast for a telephoto, which is what it is. It doesn't have OIS and being a 'long' lens needs body-IS. To do Dual-IS the lens has to have OIS, and neither make will Dual-IS the other one. To compliment that one I'd add the Panny pancake 20 f/1.7 as a 'standard' lens, which if you look in the exif reports as a Leica. The Leica 25 is so sharp it will cut diamond but got far less use than the 20 and got traded. My go-to lens is probably the Panny G X PZ14-42, a pancake video lens with OIS. I got fed up waiting for either MFT to produce a long wildlife lens so I acquired an old 4/3 Bigma 50-500, a stunning apo but no OIS and the AF is ancient and clunky; the AF will ballpark but then has to MF to dial it in, plus it is so heavy it always needs the tripod, but it does 'talk' properly to the bodies which most adapted lenses don't; so you can not only control aperture but it reports its zoom length for body-IS to work properly.
@@jerryg.3080 Of course either one will deliver. The Sigma is pretty cool. Although bigger and heavier, which I like, the extra focal length combined with the 1.4 aperture is probably a better fit for portrait photography and particularly your low light bedrooms shots.
@@jerryg.3080 Yep, in this case I do like the more positive size and the 56mm focal length combined with the 1.4 aperture is probably a better setup for portrait work. Ah, did I mention the bedroom shots?
Wow, very nice, just ordered one for my EM1 ll. Looks like the G9 is pretty awesome too.
I got this lens not long after they first came on the market and I can honestly say it is brilliant, I highly recommend it and this review says it all.
I have been shooting my family portraits with this on my oly em-5 for the past 5 odd years, it's superb. Works a treat in low light and I always take when out with fam at say restaurants, so it's not intrusive. I'll try it on my new G9 (when we're out of Covid). I have the silver version and it has cracked on each side of the outer frame (never been dropped and is well cared for) which really annoys me, but it still works. That lens along with the summilux 25mm are brilliant.
Its a good lens for sure. I use mine with an older Olympus em10.
Great purchase. This is my favourite lens for sure.
I got the Lumix 42.5 f1.7 to use on my G80, its that good I use it on my Olympus EM1 MK3.
Impressive!! Nice to be able to achieve such fast shutter speeds. Skin tones look amazing. She's a very pretty girl.
I'm planning to buy this lenses for my new omd m10 iii, I heard and read so many good things about it, and it seems that with two macro adaptors, the problem of macro is solved.
Beautiful portraits. I will definitelly look for these lens.
Olympus 45 is a beautiful little lens. It’s my go to interview lens when I’m shooting video interviews, everyone looks really good and I get a nice shallow depth of field at F2.2. Yes, it it looks like a toy lens but it sure is a powerhouse and I always recommend it as a great portrait and interview lens for my GH5. The price on this great little jewel is so cheap everyone has to have one of these in their kit.
I just ordered this lens for my Em5 Mark iii to take portraits of my family. Your images look awesome and I'm surprised with how well the bokeh looks and the amount of sharpness. This looks like a no brainer to own especially for the price. Great video!
Yes it's a great lens and a bargain price.
You can definitely tell you are a professional. Very thoroughly and nicely written review!
Wow, thank you!
I have the same lens with my Panasonic GF5 and its outstanding .
Nice one. Great review :)
Keen to see more of your portrait adventures.
If you’re ever in northern NSW, we should catch up for a shoot or something. Maybe do a joint TFP with a model. Try some off camera flash techniques with the G9. I’m used to the canon DSLR. Need to put my G9 through its paces.
Hi, I bought this lens to be used in my Lumix G but unfortunately it was zoom in and I cannot seems to fix it. How do I fix its zooming?
thanks for the video Andrew. I own this lens on the G9 and I find it razor sharp. I rarely use it doe, its a hard focal len to use if not shooting portraits.
Agreed. The nature examples in the video were just playing around when I first got the lens, before I could organise my first portrait shoot. I really expect to use this lens for portraits only.
Honestly one of the things I struggle with is that these 1.8 lenses are too small for video work. I find that whenever I go to manually focus the lens during a shot, I often end up with my hand in front of the lens. It happened too many times during one professional shoot and that was when I just gave up on the smaller lenses, and opted for something bigger.
Yes it is tiny, which for some people is a benefit and for some people is a problem. That is not something I had considered, but video is a very small part of my photography, just something I do for a bit of variety. I understand what you are saying though.
why don't u just get the 42.5 f1.7 for Panasonic? it's stabilized too
a big difference on the price
The panny is much better, I owned both
@@danielcourtemanche9988 but the price of the Panasonic is better?
@@DrWaSaBe in what way better?
The panny is not better, it suffers from chromatic aberrations even at f5.6. The best 45mm is the Oly f1.2 but....for price and sharpness the f1.8 is unbeatable!
I’m so curious why you selected the oly 1.8 over the stabilized Panasonic 42.5/1.7? I never actually tried the oly because it didn’t include the lens hood. I did do an extended test and shot two weddings with the oly 42.5/1.2 and it’s lovely but ended up with the nocticron again for the stabilization and the face defect autofocus was slightly faster.
Getting this lens was not really on my radar as I also have a Pentax DSLR with lenses for shooting portraits, landscapes, macro etc. I really was going to use the G9 for wildlife only. The 45mm was offered to me second hand in great condition at an even greater price and after reading and watching some reviews I really couldn't say no. And the bonus is it now gives me something else to talk about on TH-cam!
@@naturesimagephotographyYes and also P 42.5 1.7 is bit expensive too.
I've had it for years and I got a really nice third party metal hood on ebay for around 10 bucks shortly after I bought it. That's how I get most of my hoods with very few issues.
Really enjoy your posrs
Was there any post on the ages and video? All looks lovely needless to say
I have two kits lenses for my d3300 and g85 which are mediocre to say the least. I bought 35 mm f2.8 nikor and Tokina 11-16 mm f 2.8 for D3300 and Olympus 45 mm f 1.8 for my g85. For my work of corporate video shoots it is top order. Your portraits have come great. Probably, I will be shooting a male model in two days at the beach with this 45 mm. Your video raised my expectations.
Amazing.. I have Lumix G9 .. Model slow motion video quality too much impresive . often I shoot video with 12-60 Lense but never get result as you shows with Olympus Lense
I’d love to see how you use this in one hand with a reflector in the other
That is do-able in some situations, but not on a windy day at the beach.
I fully understand the choice of a G9+100-400 for nature photography.
I can only advise you the 75 F/1.8 Olympus for portraits. That's my favorite lens for this purpose on my G9. Same qualities as the 45mm, but sharper, with more bokey.
Thanks for the tip. I got the 45mm second hand at a great price, but if I go a lot further with the portrait thing I might look at that lens too.
Your photography is the best ever in the history of the world.
I want to buy the 45mm F1.8 after watching your video.
But then I remembered - this guy makes every lens look good because he is such a great shooter.
Well I'm not sure very much of that is true but I do appreciate the compliment - so thank you. And it is a great lens so if you decide to buy it you won't be sorry!
Fantastic! Thank you
Nice done! Always enjoy your advice....and if you ever want to share more on the video side it would be welcomed too.
If you look through my posts you will see I have done some on video. But with 40 years of still photography behind me, I only started taking an interest in video when I bought this camera. So I don't consider myself anything like an expert but I have tried to share what I have learned. Mainly about VFR video which is what I mostly use.
Excellent review! Thanks.
What song is playing in the background at 1:10?
Just something from the TH-cam free audio catalogue.
Thanks Andrew for a clear and concise presentation. Similar to you, I purchased one lens, the 14-140, with my G9. I'm now looking for a wide angled lens; can you recommend one? Hope you can advise.
Mike in Oz
Mike I have only borrowed a couple of other lenses briefly from a mate at Ted's cameras. One was an Olympus 7-14 which I found to be an excellent wide angle. It can't use the dual stabliser but with such a wide angle lens camera shake is not such an issue and the body stabiliser was more than sufficient. One of my shots taken on that lens here: www.flickr.com/photos/natures_image/49186944957/in/dateposted-public/
The only other lens I have used is a 12-60mm Panasonic which was also great but more general purpose but dedicated wide angle. I would happily recommend both.
Stunning video. But why your shutter speed is so fast (ex: 1/8000s = 8000th/sec) for portrait ? This lady doesn't move so much for this portrait shoot.
Because it was bright daylight and I was testing the effect of the 1.8 aperture. In such bright light the shutter had to be fast.
Do you need an adapter to fit Olympus lenses for Panasonic mirrorless camera body?
As long as it is a micro four-thirds camera and lens, then no, you don't need an adapter. M4/3 Panasonic Lenses will fit Olympus, and Olympus lenses will fit Panasonic.
Wait...I have a very small budget and I'm looking for a micro 4/3rd cam that is very lightweight with external mic input or is good for videos/focus/steady shots for live events. I'm not sure if I should get an Olympus or a Panasonic. My budget is $600 to $699. I'm going to get a used camera & the 45 mm or 25 mm 1.8 lens. Thanks.
Do I really need 24 fps?
The G9 is not particularly lightweight, it is solidly build and weather proof. Lighter and smaller than full frame or regular DSLR's but you should feel the weight before you decide. Some people prefer the focus system of the Olympus, but in my opinion the G9 has a better electronic viewfinder and a much easier menu. I am not a video expert but the G9 offers a bunch of frame rates. 24 is available but only on some quality settings. But also available is 30 and 60 fps. If you have questions about the best frame rates you are better to ask a video expert.
Great review. Thanks. How to compare with Panasonic Leica 42.5 Nocticron?
Sorry I don't have any experience with that lens.
Great Lens! Can I ask why you shoot at ISO 200 instead of 100? Thank you for your answer! :)
I have always used 200 ISO as my starting point and go higher if necessary. There does not seem to be any difference in noise levels from 100 to 200 so I don't lose any image quality and can work with faster speeds. I only go to 100 if I have a specific need (i.e. if I want a slower speed for movement effects.
The G9 starts at 200 ISO by default but you can extend the ISO range to include 100 as well. I made a video about it: th-cam.com/video/wG2v-uTDBVI/w-d-xo.html
However it was pointed out to me that image performance is optimal at 200 ISO and if you use 100 you lose dynamic range by a stop or two.
I bought a hood for about £10. It's a third party one, fits perfectly.
Is this lens still good to get in 2022? I need a 45mm for my GX9. I tried the Panasonic 42.5mm but I think it was defective. Thought I would try this one.
I still use it for all my portrait shoots. In fact I am going to be using it today. But I can't compare it to what else is on the market because I have been happy with this lens so haven't felt the need to shop around for others. And I don't work for Panasonic, so I don't have the luxury of trying out lots of alternatives.
@@naturesimagephotography Thanks, I just bought it.
Question...why didn't you buy the panasonic lumix G 42.5 mm f/1.7 asph, power OIS lens?
I was offered this lens second-hand at a good price. I was so happy with it I had no need to shop around for anything else.
@@naturesimagephotography Thank you for answering all my questions from all the different videos. I really in joy your videos. Thank you.
@@naturesimagephotography >I'm buying one tomorrow for @$100 > I'm always happy to hear your reviews as I also share the amazing and wonderful G9
Why the Olympus 45mm and not the LUMIX 42.5 with better closeup, IS, and made in Japan?
Because it was offered to me at a ridiculously good price so I grabbed it. And as I said in the video, it has served me so well I have not really needed to go shopping for something else.
Add a couple of cheap extension tubes to get macro capability for little extra bulk or weight and cost less than $40. But if you really want serious macro buy the Leica 45mm or Olympus 60mm for a lot more...
Nice work.
nice lens))) - i have one.
Nice!
Best lens for short range music video?
I really don't feel qualified to answer your question as this is not a type of photography I have ever done. There is a very good group on Facebook for G9 users from all over the world and they seem to be very good for answering all sorts of questions. Here is the link:
facebook.com/groups/PanasonicG9
skip to 1:13 for content
Does it have focus breathing?
Not that I have noticed but that is not something I pay attention to...I am using it hand held and constantly adjusting composition to work with a model in motion. I will try to pay more attention and give you an answer if I have more info.
my best lens.
I've found that Olympus make the best MFT lenses and Panasonic make the best bodies.
I have not used enough lenses from either brand to pass judgement. I have the P/L 100-400 and find the dual stabiliser a life saver...something you don't get if you use an Olympus lens. But I have been more than happy with the Olympus portrait lens. I agree about the body, the user friendly setup of this camera was my main reason for choosing it over the other brand.
if you have no dinero for 75mm 1.8 or 45mm 1.2 or the size of 75mm is too big, then, by all means, get a 45mm 1.8. It is absolutely amazing and the ever so important bokeh looks fantastic. besides that, you don't have to sell a kidney to finance the other alternatives :)
Since the lens doesn’t have OIS, your second con of no dual IS is moot here. It’s a good review though.
The Olly 45 f/1.8 is a smashing lens and very fast for a telephoto, which is what it is. It doesn't have OIS and being a 'long' lens needs body-IS. To do Dual-IS the lens has to have OIS, and neither make will Dual-IS the other one.
To compliment that one I'd add the Panny pancake 20 f/1.7 as a 'standard' lens, which if you look in the exif reports as a Leica. The Leica 25 is so sharp it will cut diamond but got far less use than the 20 and got traded. My go-to lens is probably the Panny G X PZ14-42, a pancake video lens with OIS.
I got fed up waiting for either MFT to produce a long wildlife lens so I acquired an old 4/3 Bigma 50-500, a stunning apo but no OIS and the AF is ancient and clunky; the AF will ballpark but then has to MF to dial it in, plus it is so heavy it always needs the tripod, but it does 'talk' properly to the bodies which most adapted lenses don't; so you can not only control aperture but it reports its zoom length for body-IS to work properly.
Become your new fan
like mine also
The Sigma 56m 1.4 is a vastly superior lens
Vastly superior? That might be a stretch, but don't forget the Sigma 56 is typically $350 even second hand. The Sigma is vastly bigger.
@@jerryg.3080 Of course either one will deliver. The Sigma is pretty cool. Although bigger and heavier, which I like, the extra focal length combined with the 1.4 aperture is probably a better fit for portrait photography and particularly your low light bedrooms shots.
@@jerryg.3080 Yep, in this case I do like the more positive size and the 56mm focal length combined with the 1.4 aperture is probably a better setup for portrait work. Ah, did I mention the bedroom shots?