Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 45mm F1.2 PRO Lens, for Micro Four Thirds Cameras

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In terms of size and weight, the Nocticron, like the Voigtlander, feels most at home on Micro Four Thirds bodies with a decent grip. It’s a perfect fit on the Lumix GH3 and Olympus OMD EM1 (left), and feels relatively large but still usable on the Lumix GX7 or Olympus OMD EM5. Mount it on one of the smaller bodies though, like the Lumix GF or GM or Olympus PEN series and it looks massive, becoming quite unwieldy. For a laugh I fitted it onto the tiny Lumix GM1 where it felt like one of those vintage Sony cameras where you supported the lens and just tapped at the body to make adjustments. If you own one of the smaller bodies, the 45mm f1.8 will look and feel much more appropriate.

To sum up the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 45 mm f/1.2 PRO performs exactly as well as a top-end fast telephoto lens should perform. You get brilliant results both in the frame centre and on its edge and the resolution record is broken with a surplus. Switching to the body-based stabilisation of the EM1 delivered the best result of all, with a sharp image at exposures down to 1/5, representing three stops over my non-stabilised version. Leica Nocticron optical construction Of course, the 45mm f/1.8 isn’t without its merits. Because it is so small and light, it is much easier to transport and can suit any Micro Four Thirds body in the range. It is also four times cheaper than the PRO lens, so unless you regularly shoot portraits and require the best quality Olympus has to offer, it (or its sibling within the Panasonic Lumix range) may prove a more tempting proposition.If you prefer something a little wider, perhaps for street photography, I can also highly recommend a 17mm prime or thereabouts and again there’s lots of options, albeit at a higher price than the 25mm above; I’m going to suggest either the Panasonic Leica DG 15mm f1.7 or the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f1.8, both in a similar ballpark price-wise; I personally prefer the Leica, but love the more compact size of the Olympus when mounted on a smaller body.

It’s also worth noting that the performance of the two lenses can decrease on Lumix cameras because Panasonic’s DFD AF technology is not compatible with Olympus lenses. There's a pleasing manual focus ring that's the perfect width and has just the right amount of knurling, though this employs a focus-by-wire system that old school purists who prefer mechanical focusing may not be a fan of. For many years our Micro 4/3 optics tests were based on the Olympus E-PL1. Some time ago we’ve also started to test lenses using the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II as we felt the time has come for changes. That’s how we found out that between sensors of those two bodies there is a very small difference, amounting to 5-7 lpmm at most, to the advantage of the newer one with a higher pixel count. Mind you that difference is possible to notice only in the wide area of the maximum relative aperture and it decreases when you employ apertures limited strongly by diffraction.But if you’d still prefer a premium zoom lens with an upgrade in range, brightness, build or overall quality over a kit model, or are perhaps choosing a first zoom for a higher-end body, there are plenty of compelling options available. Remember if you have a Panasonic body without built-in stabilisation, then you’ll need a lens with optical stabilisation to iron-out the wobbles. Beyond this, prices increase significantly as you enter the realm of professional zooms with higher quality, tougher build and brighter apertures. My favourite pair are the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 40-150mm f2.8 PRO (boasting a constant f2.8 aperture but without optical stabilisation), and the Panasonic Leica DG 50-200mm f2.8-4 (which sacrifices the constant aperture for a slightly longer range and a much smaller body for greater portability, and also includes optical stabilisation). Both lenses also make ideal pairings with the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 and Panasonic Leica DG 12-60mm f2.8-4 respectively.