Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60 mm F2.8 Lens, Standard Zoom, Suitable for All MFT Cameras (Olympus OM-D & PEN Models, Panasonic G-Series), Black

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Lateral chromatic aberrations, typically seen as blue or purple fringes along contrasty edges, are essentially a non-issue with this lens. The crops below give you an idea of what you should expect in a worst-case scenario. On distant subjects, I actually found that the OM System 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO outperformed my old M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro in focus speed, especially in brighter conditions. However, at close focusing distances, the 60mm lens was faster – probably because it didn’t need to examine the whole range from 2:1 to wider magnifications. If you’re looking to photograph insects (or any other subject requiring a significant working distance), then the Samyang 100mm f/2.8 is one of the only options available. This is one of the sharpest lenses I’ve ever used. I was capturing details I never knew existed on animals I have photographed countless times for years. Even after cropping my images significantly, the details remained clear. In fact, the lens is sharp enough that the OM-1’s 20 megapixel resolution was the limiting factor for sharpness, rather than the glass.

I have posted a few different posts specifying how I do this (especially with the MC-14), but I wanted a single post about the process that makes it possible for the MC-20. Ok, on to some images. Each set is the 45mm first and the 60mm next, framing as close as I could get it to the same. For larger subjects like the ones I tend to photograph, thereis enough space to work comfortably with a flash and diffuser.I almost always shoot with an external and diffused flash, so it’s important that I have a decent working distance. To that end, the longer the focal length of the macro lens (and the smaller the size of the lens), the better. The M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 is good in both respects. DC-G9 + OLYMPUS M.60mm F2.8 Macro @ 60mm, ISO 400, 1/80, f/10.0 Sharpness

A weakness with all macro lenses is that, with extreme magnification, the effective aperture gets narrower. Specifically, at 1:1 magnification, the maximum aperture on the lens is effectively f/5.6, resulting in a darker image if you don’t compensate for it. This darkening effect begins to look noticeable around 1:4 magnification. How does this compare to the M.Zuiko60mm f/2.8? Below is a comparison photo from f/14. To my eye, it looks worse than the f/22 image above! I find this performance very impressive by the 90mm f/3.5, especially considering that the M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 was, before now, my sharpest lens. OM-1 + OLYMPUS M.60mm F2.8 Macro @ 60mm, ISO 200, 1/200, f/14.0 That said, some are more powerful than others, which is why the title of absolute best macro lens for Olympus goes to: 1. Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm f/2.8 Macro But the Velvet 56 is a bit cheaper, plus it does a better job doubling as a wider portrait lens or even a street photography option, so if any of those facts appeal to you, then by all means, get the Velvet 56! Interestingly, the OM System 90mm f/3.5 surprised me in remaining quite sharp even at narrower apertures. Diffraction still caused some loss in sharpness, of course, but my impression is that the only sharpness loss I saw at these apertures was from diffraction. The lens didn’t seem to contribute any additional issues of its own. You’ll see in a moment how much sharper the 90mm f/3.5 is compared to my M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 even when both were are narrow apertures of f/16 and f/14.

Really, as long as your lens has an external focus ring then you can make it work, but I’d still recommend grabbing a lens with a large, stiff focus ring, so that you’re able to carefully and accurately select your point of focus. The Best Macro Lens for Olympus: The Next Step As with the 85, you get that gorgeous Velvet glow, which is perfect for artistic macro photography and other creative-type images. If you’re looking to get the stunning soft-focus look, then it’s tough to go wrong with the Velvet 56, though it pays to remember that it’s manual focus only, and that you’ll only be able to go up to 1:2 magnification. Panasonic offers the Panasonic Leica Macro-Elmarit 45mm f/2.8 ASPH lens, which is the only other Panasonic or Olympus macro lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras. This lens also offers a 1:1 magnification. The biggest difference is of course the focal length, which is quite a bit less at 45mm. This means that you need to stand closer to your subjects compared to the M.Zuiko 60mm macro lens. Another noteworthy difference is that the Panasonic Leica 45mm macro is not advertised as weather sealed. Second, this lens only focuses up to magnifications of 1:2. This will limit you when it comes to capturing ultra close-up images of flowers and such–but you’ll still be able to get decently close, so unless you’re dead-set on a 1:1 magnification macro lens, the Velvet 85 will do just fine.

In particular, when shooting at2x magnification with the OM System M.Zuiko 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO, the tip of the lens is about 6.5 cm / 2.5 inches from the subject. At 1x magnification, this distance increases to 9.5 cm / 3.7 inches. When I was using this lens at moderatemagnifications – say, 1:2 or 1:3 – I felt luxuriously distant from my subject. This made it less likely that I’d scare my subject, and most of all, it gave me a lot more flexibility with my lighting equipment. At1:1 magnification and even 2:1, I felt I had enough space to light my subject effectively. I have zero complaints about the sharpness of the Olympus 60mm f/2.8 macro. Although the sharpest aperture is around f/4 to f/5.6 in my experience, between f/2.8 and f/11, images turn out very sharp. But more important for macro photography is getting enough depth of field. That’s why I usually use apertures from about f/8 to f/11 for most of my close-up photos. In terms of light fall-off in the corners, there is nothing to worry about – the lens performs impressively in this regard.