In summary
When fitted to an M4/3 camera, the 17mm f/1.2 PRO lens covers a 65 degree angle of view, equivalent to a 34mm lens on a 35mm camera. This makes it suitable for a variety of genres, particularly landscape and architectural photography and street photography.
The wide maximum aperture enables it to be used in very low light levels without requiring a tripod, while its minimum focusing distance of 20 cm provides some scope for shooting close-ups with good subject isolation. The MSC autofocusing mechanism is quiet enough to be used while shooting movie clips as well as being very fast.
Its size, weight and solid construction make it an ideal partner for the weatherproof OM-D E-M1 and E-M5 II camera bodies. Like other Olympus lenses, this lens can also be used on Panasonic cameras. It would be best suited to the larger, more recent models with integrated image stabilisation like the weatherproof GH5/GH5S, G9 and G85 cameras.
The 17mm f/1.2 PRO lens is a pleasure to use.
Full review
Announced on October 25, 2017 in tandem with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 45mm f/1.2 PRO lens we reviewed in November 2017, the M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.2 PRO rounds out Olympus’s trio of fast professional-quality prime lenses. Covering an angle of view equivalent to 35mm in 35mm format and with dustproof, splashproof and freezeproof construction to match the E-M1 Mark II camera, it boasts a large maximum aperture that enables it to be used in dim lighting and produces attractive bokeh.
The new M.Zuiko Digital ED 17mm f/1.2 PRO lens, shown without lens hood and end caps. (Source: Olympus.)
Along with the M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.2 PRO lens, which was unveiled at Photokina 2016 and reviewed in November that year, the latest two lenses have been developed with the similar design philosophies. Not only are the positions and physical sizes of their focusing rings very similar, they also produce similar ‘feathered’ bokeh at f/1.2.
The optical design of the 17mm f/1.2 PRO lens comprises 15 elements in 11 groups, which is less complex than the 19 elements in 14 groups design of the 25mm lens. Among them are three extra-low dispersion elements, one Extra-Low Dispersion Dual-Sided Aspherical element, one Extra-Low Dispersion Aspherical element, one Super High Refractive Index element and one aspherical element.
The diagram above shows the positions of the exotic elements in the optical design of the M.Zuiko Digital ED 17mm f/1.2 PRO lens. (Source: Olympus.)
Together, the exotic elements are designed to control chromatic and spherical aberrations for improved clarity, reduced colour fringing, and enhanced sharpness. Proprietary Z Coating Nano has been applied to lens surfaces to minimise ghosting and flare to maintain image clarity.
Autofocusing is driven by a MSC mechanism that is optimised to work with the 121 point all-cross type On-chip Phase Detection AF sensor in the OM-D E-M1 Mark II. It provides silent and smooth automated focusing and aperture adjustment for capturing still images and movies and can make optimal use of Face Priority or Eye Priority AF.
The manual focus clutch mechanism found in all three lenses makes switching to manual focus quick and easy, while the L-Fn button on the lens barrel lets users pause autofocus. It can be customised to adjust other camera body settings. This lens will focus to 20 cm with a maximum magnification of 0.15x.
No stabilisation is built into the lens mechanism but the in-body 5-Axis Sync Image Stabilisation system in the Olympus OM-D and PEN cameras can provide up to 5.5 f-stops of shake compensation. The lens is supplied with a LH-66C lens hood, LC-62F front cap, LR-2 rear cap, LSC-0811 lens case, instruction manual and warranty card. A protection filter (PRF-ZD62 PRO) is available as an optional extra.
Who’s it For?
When fitted to an M4/3 camera, the 17mm f/1.2 PRO lens covers a 65 degree angle of view, equivalent to a 34mm lens on a 35mm camera. This makes it suitable for a variety of genres, particularly landscape and architectural photography and street photography.
The wide maximum aperture enables it to be used in very low light levels without requiring a tripod, while its minimum focusing distance of 20 cm provides some scope for shooting close-ups with good subject isolation. The MSC autofocusing mechanism is quiet enough to be used while shooting movie clips as well as being very fast.
Its size, weight and solid construction make it an ideal partner for the weatherproof OM-D E-M1 and E-M5 II camera bodies. Like other Olympus lenses, this lens can also be used on Panasonic cameras. It would be best suited to the larger, more recent models with integrated image stabilisation like the weatherproof GH5/GH5S, G9 and G85 cameras.
Build and Ergonomics
The 17mm f/1.2 PRO lens has similar build quality to other lenses in the PRO series. With a barrel length of 87 mm and a weight of 390 grams, it is similar in size to the other lenses in the series. Build quality is up to expectations for the price of the lens, taking account of the large glass elements and high percentage of metal in the barrel and mount.
Cutaway view of the M.Zuiko Digital ED 17mm f/1.2 PRO lens. (Source: Olympus.)
There’s only one main control surface: a 32 mm wide focusing ring that is located 22 mm behind the front of the lens when the lens is in AF mode. It carries three rows of finely-moulded ribbing to provide a secure and comfortable grip.
As well as adjusting manual focus, this ring controls the clutch mechanism for AF/MF switching. Push it forward for autofocusing; pull it back to engage manual focus. Swapping from one mode to the other is instantaneous.
The focusing ring rotates through 360 degrees in the AF position but turns through about 90 degrees in the MF position, with hard stops at each end of the range. Autofocusing is electronically controlled in Olympus cameras, which means there’s not much tactile feedback in the MF mode.
A depth-of-field scale is stamped on the barrel just in front of the focusing ring. It’s visible in both AF and MF modes. Pulling the ring back to engage manual focus reveals a distance scale on the lens barrel.
A Lens-Function (L-Fn) button is partially inset into the barrel just behind the focusing ring. Its default setting is to temporarily suspend autofocusing when it’s pressed, for example when an object passes through the field of view. However, it can be programmed via the camera to control a single camera function and make it instantly available.
Behind the L-Fn button, the barrel contracts slightly. This section is approximately 15 mm wide and has ridged grip pads on opposite sides to provide a secure grip when changing lenses. A further slight contraction leads into the lens mount, with a 7 mm wide section that contains the red indexing dot for mounting the lens on a camera.
The mounting plate is solid metal and chromed for durability. A line of 11 gold-plated contacts enables signals to pass between the camera and lens. The front of the lens is threaded to accept 62 mm filters and, because the lens doesn’t rotate during focusing, angle-critical filters can be used without requiring readjustment.
The supplied hard plastic lens hood is roughly 45 mm long and petal-shaped with fine ribbing on its inner surface. It has a neat locking clip and can be reversed onto the lens for storage.
Performance
All our test shots were taken with the lens on our OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera body, which was a good match for this lens in both size and weight. Subjective assessments of test shots showed them to be nice and sharp across the plane of focus, even at the maximum f/1.2 aperture.
The fast MSC autofocusing system and effective stabilisation in the E-MI Mark II enabled us to use the lens hand-held at very slow shutter speeds ““ as low as 1/2 second for several test shots. Each shot taken at this shutter speed was sharp, with moving subjects within the scene showing distinctive blurring. Examples can be found in the Samples section of this review.
Our Imatest tests showed the lens could meet expectations for the 20-megapixel resolution sensor in the E-MI II for JPEGs with measurements taken near the centre of the frame across a range of apertures from f/1.2 to f/5.6. Resolution declined gradually from that point. Raw files yielded significantly higher resolution. In both cases, the edge softening measured at all aperture settings was much as we expected, given the very shallow depth-of-field at wider apertures.
While the 17mm f/1.2 PRO lens didn’t quite achieve the consistency of the 45mm f/1.2 PRO lens across its aperture range, it performed capably enough across the range of apertures most photographers would utilise. The effects of diffraction started becoming visible at around f/8 and, as we found with the 45mm f/1.2 lens, resolution was higher than expected at f/16, which will be appreciated by landscape and architectural photographers.
The highest resolution was obtained at f/2.0, which is a stop down from maximum aperture. The results of our Imatest tests are shown in the graph below.
Lateral chromatic aberration remained well within the ‘negligible’ band for most aperture settings, with the exception of the widest and narrowest apertures. In the graph of our test results below, the red line marks the boundary between ‘negligible’ and ‘low’ CA.
Because in-camera corrections are applied automatically for both vignetting and rectilinear distortion, we had to analyse ORF.RAW files to see whether either issue was present. Both were effectively negligible .
The review lens handled backlit subjects extremely well, with very little flare and ghosting present, even in shots when a bright light source was within the image frame. We found no loss of contrast or colour saturation in normal shots with relatively strong backlighting.
The minimum focusing distance of 20 cm reduces the range of subjects you can use for close-ups with this lens. Depth of field at the widest aperture is also very shallow. However, the 9-bladed iris diaphragm produced attractive bokeh at wider apertures and we found no instances of outlining when there were bright highlights in the background.
Conclusion
We spent an enjoyable morning exploring the capabilities of the review lens, taking pictures around Circular Quay on the edge of Sydney Harbour. The lens was a pleasure to use and made an ideal partner to our OM-D E-M1 II camera.
The combination was small and light enough to be easily carried as well as relatively inconspicuous. This made it ideal for street photography, despite its moderately wide angle of view.
The lack of distortion also made the lens well suited to architectural photography, particularly when shooting interiors. Examples can be found in the Samples section.
One outstanding feature of this lens is its fast autofocusing, which took full advantage of the technologies integrated into the camera. Among the Samples you will find some shots of moving subjects that were taken on the spur of the moment with minimal attention to shot composition or exposure levels.
The AU$1799 price tag puts the M.Zuiko Digital ED 17mm f/1.2 PRO lens squarely into the ‘premium’ product category, which could be out of the reach of some readers. If you can’t afford the f/1.2 PRO lens, the M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/1.8 ““ which we reviewed in January 2013 ““ is one f-stop slower. It is still listed in the M.Zuiko Premium line-up and typically sells for less than AU$400, which is a bargain. It’s quite a bit smaller (57.5 x 35.5 mm) than the f/1.2 lens and weighs only 120 grams, which makes it even easier to carry around. However, it’s not weatherproof and its minimum focusing distance is slightly longer, although its field of view is the same. We found its optical performance to be reasonably good in our Imatest tests, although not as consistently good across the full aperture range as the 17mm f/1.2 PRO lens. Loss of resolution through diffraction was also significantly greater, with a sharp decline from f/5 on.
It’s early days for buying the new PRO lens and many online re-sellers (both local and offshore) still have it listed for pre-ordering. Consequently, it’s unreasonable to expect significant discounts at this stage. Nevertheless, you can expect to save over AU$100 at some local re-sellers and maybe a bit more if you take shopping around seriously.
Off-shore re-sellers have the M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 lens listed, although not at what we’d consider competitive prices when compared with local pricing.
The US price for the M.Zuiko Digital ED 17mm f/1.2 PRO lens might appear attractive, but once you take shipping and insurance costs into account, potential savings disappear. You also lose the benefits of warranty support and local consumer protection laws if you buy offshore.
SPECS
Picture angle: 65 degrees
Minimum aperture: f/16
Lens construction: 15 elements in 11 groups (including one aspherical, one Super HR, one DSA, three ED and one EDA elements)
Lens mounts: Micro Four Thirds
Diaphragm Blades: 9 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: MSC (Movie & Still Compatible) stepping motor
Stabilisation: No (sensor-shift stabilisation is a feature in Olympus interchangeable-lens cameras)
Minimum focus: 20 cm
Maximum magnification: 1:6.6 (0.15x)
Filter size: 62 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 68 x 87 mm
Weight: 390 grams
Standard Accessories: Lens front and end caps, LH-66C hood
Distributor: Olympus Imaging Australia; 1300 659 678, www.olympus.com.au
TESTS
Based on JPEG images captured with the lens on the OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera body.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at f/1.2.
Rectilinear distortion.
Close-up at f/1.2; A mode, ISO 200, 1/2000 second.
Crop from the above image enlarged to 100%.
Contre-jour shot with the sun inside the image frame; A mode, f/8; ISO 200, 1/1600 second. Note the very low levels of flare and ghosting.
Strong backlighting; A mode, ISO 200, 1/200 second, f/9.
Backlit shot; A mode, ISO 200, 1/125 second, f/82.
Crop from the above image showing the relative absence of coloured fringing and the resolution of details near the edges of the frame.
Hand-held shot taken in A mode at ISO 320, 1/2 second at f/5.
Shot of moving subject showing fast, accurate autofocusing; P mode, ISO 200, 1/640 second at f/3.5.
Shot of moving subject showing fast, accurate autofocusing; P mode, ISO 200, 1/320 second at f/2.5.
Shot of moving subject showing fast, accurate autofocusing; A mode, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/11.
Shot of moving subject showing fast, accurate autofocusing; A mode, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/11.
Architectural shot; P mode, ISO 200, 1/50 second at f/2.
Architectural shot; A mode, ISO 200, 1/100 second at f/8.
Architectural shot; P mode, ISO 200, 1/500 second at f/3.2.
Architectural interior; A mode, ISO 400, 1/20 second at f/10.
A mode, ISO 200, 1/400 second at f/6.3.
A mode, ISO 200, 1/160 second at f/10.
A mode, ISO 200, 1/60 second at f/5.6.
A mode, ISO 200, 1/40 second at f/5.
P mode, ISO 200, 1/30 second at f/4.
P mode, ISO 200, 1/25 second at f/4.
A mode, ISO 200, 1/40 second at f/13.
A mode, ISO 200, 1/320 second at f/13.
A mode, ISO 200, 1/160 second at f/10.
Rating
RRP: AU$1799; US$1200
- Build: 9.0
- Handling: 9.0
- Image quality: 9.0
- Versatility: 9.0