Sharpness
The lens is capable of delivering nicely sharp images and can focus pretty close up--about 9.8 inches away. Also note the welcome lack of fringing on the higlights.
(E-PL1, 18mm, 1/30 sec, f5.6, ISO 200, AWB, ESP metering, Natural picture mode)
(E-PL1, 18mm, 1/30 sec, f5.6, ISO 200, AWB, ESP metering, Natural picture mode)
Sharpness
Another example of the lens' detail rendering; I credit the slight crunchiness to the camera's image processing rather than the lens.
(E-PL1, 18mm, 1/60 sec, f5.6, ISO 100, center-weighted metering, Natural picture mode, AWB)
(E-PL1, 18mm, 1/60 sec, f5.6, ISO 100, center-weighted metering, Natural picture mode, AWB)
Distortion
There's little visible barrel disortion for such a wide-angle lens, but it also looks as if the distortion has been corrected in-camera--as if the lines have been straightened, but still aren't quite parallel.
(E-PL1, 1/500 sec, f13, ISO 200, ESP metering, AWB)
(E-PL1, 1/500 sec, f13, ISO 200, ESP metering, AWB)
Bokeh
The lens has a nice organic rendering for out-of-focus elements. It has a pretty narrow maximum aperture of f4 (given its short focal length), though it was too bright out when I was testing to get that wide.
(E-PL1, 17mm, 1/100, f5.6, ISO 100, center-weighted metering, AWB, Natural picture mode)
(E-PL1, 17mm, 1/100, f5.6, ISO 100, center-weighted metering, AWB, Natural picture mode)
Fringing
The lens exhibits very little chromatic aberration; at the very edges of the frame you can just make out a bit of cyan, magenta, and purple fringing, but it's otherwise quite clean.
(E-PL1, 18mm, 1/80, f11, ISO 200, center-weighted metering, AWB, Natural picture mode)
(E-PL1, 18mm, 1/80, f11, ISO 200, center-weighted metering, AWB, Natural picture mode)
Flare
This is just an illustration to note that Olympus doesn't bundle a hood with the lens; it's a $29.99 option.
(E-PL1, 9mm, 1/20 sec, f14, ISO 100, center-weighted metering, AWB, Natural picture mode)
(E-PL1, 9mm, 1/20 sec, f14, ISO 100, center-weighted metering, AWB, Natural picture mode)
More Galleries
My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?