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

Product Information

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. I find that the M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 is perfect for my type of photography, which tends to be of small animals – usually reptiles and amphibians. The Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro is my go-to lens for these subjects, and has been for many years. I’ve dragged it around the world and always find it very easy to use. The one place I feel the OM System 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO loses out to the M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro is the autofocus speed. Although I give OM System kudos for making a 2:1 macro lens which autofocuses at all, it is still on the slow side. And not surprisingly, it gets worse at 1:1 macro and stronger. The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm f/2.8 Macro has a small 46mm filter thread, which does not rotate on focus. The maximum aperture is f/2.8 but once you enter the close-focus range, the “effective” f-number starts to drop gradually as the reproduction ratio increases, reaching f/5.6 at the close-focus point. This phenomenon is typical of macro lenses and your camera's built-in meter automatically takes this into account when calculating exposure.

In particular, here are what my autofocus speed tests showed. I tested the focusing speed of both lenses from 1x to 0.5x magnification. After 10 replications with each test, the OM System 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO grabbed focus in 5.8 seconds on average, while the 60mm f/2.8 grabbed focus in 5.2 seconds on average. (I also wonder if a newer copy of the 60mm would be even faster, since as I’ve said, mine has seen some things.) Lens configuration: 7 elements / 6 groups with 1 Aspherical ED element, 1 DSA lens element and 1 Aspherical glass element The lens has a useful distance scale with a limiter switch on the side. I find this switch a bit difficult to turn though. But maybe if it had less resistance, it would be too easy to accidentally move it. Usually, I don’t use the full power of the lens because 1:1 magnification is often overkill for my subjects. That’s why many of the sample photos in this articles are close-up photos rather than “true” macro photos with 1:1 magnification or greater. In any case, it’s a highly practical lens, and a great performer, as you’ll see in a moment. How to read our charts The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges. Averaging them out gives the red weighted column.

The lens offers a good combination of features. One of the most useful controls at your disposal is a focus limiter, which is a spring-loaded, four-position switch on the lens barrel. As seen in the image above, the options are 0.4m to infinity, 0.19m to infinity (full range), 0.19m to 0.4m and 1:1, i.e. fixed at the close-focus point. The focus limiter is extremely useful for cutting down on focusing times and minimising focus hunting when working in a specific distance range. The lens is very well-designed to resist chromatic aberration, especially at the widest apertures. Stopping down will produce slightly more chromatic aberration, peaking at the ƒ/8 mark and smaller. It's visible as magenta-green fringing in areas of high contrast, confined mostly to the corners of the image. The build of the M.Zuiko 60mm macro lens is sturdy and weatherproof. The first thing I noticed when I unboxed mine was how tiny and lightweight it is. At only 6.53oz/185g, and only 3.21”/81.5mm long, this lens is true to the compact Micro Four Thirds ethos. I find the small size makes the lens extremely easy to use. It is so small, it easy to underestimate or doubt at first glance, but its performance is far greater than its size indicates. The lens is built with a metal mount.There are three switches on the side. The top is a focus limiter with three positions: Macro, 0.25-0.5m, and 0.25-infinity. Below is the image stabilization switch with On and Off positions. Below it is an L-fn button which can be customized to your needs. The most obvious comparison is the M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro, which has a maximum magnification of 1x and has served me well for several years. Although it’s certainly not a 90mm 2x macro lens, it will get the job done for most subjects. Additionally, the Panasonic 45mm f/2.8 also offers 1x magnification, although it has an even shorter working distance.

Optically, I haven’t experienced any significant weaknesses on the 90mm f/3.5 Macro. The sharpness is breathtaking, even compared to the M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro that has always been my sharpest lens. Not to mention that the working distance of this lens is comfortable, and the image stabilization works as it should. All shots you see here are done with the Panasonic G5 handheld, so the camera is the same for all, but it does mean no stabilization for the Olympus lens. In the example above, the blurred specular highlights aren’t perfectly circular when the lens is wide-open, but they’re not unpleasant either, and at least there’s no onion-ringing to mention; the heptagon shape is expected as the aperture is closed. Judging from my previous results with the Leica 45mm f2.8, I’d say the Leica delivered superior rendering to the Lumix, but then it is a lot more expensive. As far as construction goes, they are similarly built. Both have high-grade plastic bodies built to tight tolerances and feel solid in the hand. The 60mm is a bit longer. The 45mm is fatter and a little bit heavier. The 45mm’s focus ring is ribbed rubber, while the 60mm uses ribbed plastic. As far as construction goes, the biggest difference is that the Olympus 60mm is a weathersealed lens, so used on a body like the Olympus OM-D or Panasonic GH3, you’ll get some protection against splashes and dust when shooting in the rain or the desert. So now that we’ve found an insect we want to photograph, what comes next? How do we translate this dewy insect into a photograph?As with most photographers, there is always some new lens I desire, whether telephoto, wide-angle, or something in between. However, I have always been satisfied with my Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm Macro. Even though there are some other macro lens options for Micro Four Thirds shooters, none of the others strikes me as a better choice.