Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 50mm 1:2.0 Macro Review

The Olympus Zuiko Digital 50mm F2.0 Macro is a lens which we've held in high regard ever since we started using it for our reviews of Four Thirds camera bodies, and subjecting it to our full optical test suite shows precisely why. Certainly in terms of the studio results, it's the nearest we've yet found to a technically perfect lens (although it's important to appreciate that we haven't yet tested any comparable short tele macros for other formats). It's impressively sharp right across the frame even wide open, shows no significant lateral chromatic aberration or vignetting, and is near-perfectly corrected for distortion. Real world results not only bear this out, but also show that the lens maintains image quality across the entire focus distance range, making it suitable for macro, portraits and general-purpose short telephoto use alike - no mean feat at all. And in design terms it's compact and reasonably lightweight, yet solidly build and weatherproofed, providing a combination of features unmatched by any other manufacturer.

Of course there's no such thing as a perfect lens, and the 50mm F2 is not without its faults. Probably our biggest issue is with the focusing system, which is something of a let-down especially when compared to the internal-focus ultrasonic designs offered by competitors. The focus motor is relatively slow and noisy, and the lack of a focus range limiter switch can be a distinct irritation when shooting portraits. We're no fans of the electronic 'focus-by-wire' manual focus system either, as it's simply not as positive and precise as a well-designed mechanically-coupled focusing ring; overall this means the lens can sometimes be frustrating to use. The optics aren't completely faultless either, with a certain susceptibility to flare with a strong light source in the frame, and distinct bokeh chromatic aberration at wide apertures; however neither of these are particularly unusual problems in fast primes, and relatively rarely impact on the normal uses of this lens.

Andy Westlake

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