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Olympus 17mm F1.8 (Micro 4/3 Lens) $439.20 at Digital Camera Warehouse (Melb, Syd, Brisbane)

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Olympus 17mm F1.8 (Micro 4/3 Lens) $439.20 at Digital Camera Warehouse (Melb, Syd, Brisbane)
Go to Deal
LDavidFong on 17/08/2013 - 14:42 digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au (625 clicks)
Last edited 23/08/2013 - 22:40

Small, lightweight 'street-shooting' 34 mm equivalent (in 35mm 'full-frame' parlance) lens with both fly-by-wire focus and clutch-enabled manual focus with distance and depth-of-field scale.

Australian stock (I purchased a black one. Silver presumably also available).

Current Amazon or bhphoto price $US449.

(lots of helpful user reviews at either Amazon or bhphoto, including comparison with the smaller, sharper and slower-to-focus but usually cheaper Panasonic 20mm/f1.7)

Olympus Australia RRP $AUD599, and typical 'brick-and-mortar' store price starts at $AUD529.
Cheaper than any grey-market Australian retailer, or (new) e-bay seller that I could find.

Current 'kit' lens of the Olympus E-P5, but the E-P5 is overpriced if not purchased with a discount!
(I suggest waiting for the occasional Myer '20% off' sales if you want an E-P5).

Generally positive review at the usually micro-4/3 averse DigitalRev.
Main criticism of the 17mm/f1.8 is that is not as sharp as the smaller Panasonic 20mm/f1.7.

This item is part of a wider '20% off' sale of Olympus micro-4/3 lenses at Digital Camera Warehouse. As a result, most of the Olympus micro-4/3 lenses approach or better the Amazon/bhphoto or ebay prices, though not always better than grey-market.

Unfortunately, as I already have a few legacy Pentax and Olympus 4/3 glass which kind-of-works, at least with manual focus, with my micro-4/3 camera, I can't quite bring myself to purchase another lens….

Electrical & Electronics Camera Lens Olympus OM System

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closed Comments

  • 5k on 17/08/2013 - 15:02

    good price! already someone on gumtree trying for 600 along side many other olympus accessories lol

    • DavidFong on 17/08/2013 - 15:12
      +1

      I'm drooling over the 75mm/f1.8 too, but I'm not that kind of photographer….yet.

  • lplau on 17/08/2013 - 15:16

    Not bad price.
    About the same price as I got my Panasonic 20mm f1.7 Mark II.

    A Summary of the differences:
    Olympus 17mm f1.8:
    Pros:
    Faster Focus
    Silent Focus (Works for Video)
    Distance Zoom Ring

    Cons:
    Not as sharp

    Panasonic 20mm f1.7 (Mark I and Mark II):
    Pros:
    Extremely sharp lens
    Slightly brighter lens
    Smaller, more easily pocketable.

    Cons:
    Noisy Focus
    People say slow focus, but I don't feel its that slow.

    So which one should you choose?
    For sports and unpredictable objects e.g. pets and like doing video. If you don't mind the larger size and not being as pocketable, Then I would suggest Olympus 17mm F1.8.

    Where as if you do more portraits and scenic shots, and not as much video then I would suggest the Panasonic 20mm f1.7, as it is so sharp that you can clearly see all the wrinkles on somebody's face.

    If you want to see a comparison of how much sharper, then you can look at this website:
    http://www.thephoblographer.com/2013/04/26/quick-comparison-…

    Both Lenses are extremely good, it just depends on what you want it for.

    • B_S_D on 17/08/2013 - 15:39

      Out of curiosity, where did you get the 20 Mk II from? I was thinking of getting it but with the 17 at this price I'm very tempted.

      • lplau on 17/08/2013 - 17:33

        I got it from Japan, Amazon'd it then redirected it to Australia through another shipper.

    • Shwayne on 18/08/2013 - 03:28

      The focus isn't slow (in practical situations) or noisy, however it does protrude from the front of the lens.

  • aim54x on 17/08/2013 - 18:19

    I ordered this last night. I owned the original 20mm and wasn't happy with sharpness and focus speed… I played with one of these last week and was sold on it … this pushed me over to make the purchase

    • edfoo on 17/08/2013 - 19:02

      aim54x, if you are not happy with the Pana 20mm's sharpness, apparently this Oly 17mm's sharpness is slightly worse. You have to consider it.

      • aim54x on 19/08/2013 - 11:44

        I suspect my 20mm sample was not in the best of nick when I got it. The AF speed on this lens is fantastic, as well as being a focal length that I prefer, I think it will be ok for me. I had a look at that link posted above and I have to admit, my 20mm was never that good (mine was 2nd hand) and it never really gelled with me. I will find out soon enough if the Oly 17mm will make me happy, but the contrast/color/build/handling is pleasing, sharpness will have to be judged when it arrives. I love my Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G despite the bad press, it works and even dares to try to have a bit of character, something that the big Sigma 35mm 1.4 does not, im hoping that they Oly 17mm will have something similar, flaws that work (that is the secret of older Leica and Zeiss glass, the new stuff is too clinical).

  • Shwayne on 18/08/2013 - 03:27

    I think the Panasonic LUMIX G 20mm F1.7 ASPH is a much better buy for less than that.

    Despite it being 17 vs 20mm, I guess it depends what you need it for really.

  • DavidFong on 21/08/2013 - 21:11

    DigiDirect has matched the price for the Olympus 17mm/f1.8, offering $439.00.

    Digital Camera Warehouse's $759.20 price for the Olympus 75mm/f1.8 is still good by world standards, although the 'standard' price is very high. The $375.20 price for the Olympus 45mm/1.8 is good by Amazon/bhphoto/Australian non-greymarket price standards.

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