The M43 system is a very dangerous system. Dangerous to your wallet.. that is. Before I knew it, I now have 8 lenses from the system. EIGHT! Don’t remember having that many lenses in my dry box before.. (Image above taken by the Voigt 17.5mm, while 1 more lens is on loan). Ok in my own defence I acquired the last 3 lenses at a price I couldn’t resist: The 12-40mm f/2.8, 75mm f/1.8 and 17mm f/1.8 at merely SGD1.5k. Considering that the first 2 alone would cost over 1 grand each, the 17mm is almost like a free gift =). But that brings me to a serious dilemma…
The 17mm f/1.8 is a lens I did not dare to buy, because it directly challenges the very existence of the Voigt. It weighs a mere 120g (v.s. 540g), has a very nice aluminium built, and also has the distance scale for zone focusing. It is extremely discrete, allowing me to focus and fire single handed, leaving my other hand to play with my phone (a very useful disguise!). It is also one of the fastest lenses to AF, and f/1.8 is bright enough for many situations, while sharpness wide open is more than enough for street.
Hang on. (17mm f/1.8 wide open.)
That being said, the Voigt takes in almost 4 times more light (but it weighs over four times more). It renders with an analogue feel that Olympus lenses do not possess, while being all manual meant that every exposure taken is a deliberate and calculated decision. The bokeh at f/0.95 is also nothing to sneeze at. Given that the 17mm didn’t cost me much anyway, I will hang on to both before deciding which to keep.
Addiction. (17.5mm f/0.95 wide open)
At this point, I would like to introduce the lens that caught my interest in this system in the first place: the 9-18mm. At a mere 155g, it is also the widest M43 lens that takes filters. Given my experience with the Tokinas 12-24 and 11-16, I knew right from the start that the 9-18 (18-36 equivalent) was more than enough for my landscaping needs. It is truly a mini-marvel that is a god-send for hiking/travelling.
What about the other lenses? The 45 f/1.8 has a price/quality/weight ratio that makes it a no-brainer to have (<SGD200 used, 116g and insanely sharp), while the 12 f/2 is awesome for night stars/crowded street photography. The 75mm? Every systems needs a bokeh monster, and for M43, this is the one. Sharpest lens of any system tested, and very suitable for bokehrama. Just remains to be seen how often I would use it though..
In case you are wondering, my entire D300 system is now sold.
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