With a focal length of just 25mm, the Olympus 25mm F/2.8 has been designed for the FourThirds systemThe Olympus 25mm F/2.8 has a focal length that’s bang-on the classic 50mm field-of-view, thanks to the 2x crop factor. With a maximum aperture of f/2.8, it’s fairly fast, too. Physically, the 25mm lens is incredibly compact, with a pancake design that’s only 23.5mm in length. Attached to the small-sized E-4XX series of D-SLRs, it’s a very neat, compact combination and though it only weighs 95g, the build is very strong with a metal lens mount and everything is finished to a high standard.
In action, there’s little to moan about. Focusing speed is solid and while there’s no motor present to reduce AF noise, this isn’t too much of a problem as the AF itself is still pretty quiet. The manual focus ring is on the thin side, but it’s balanced really nicely to offer a very smooth level of control, and the compact design and minimal weight mean it’s hardly noticeable once mounted on a D-SLR. Overall it’s small, light, quick and quiet, and nicely finished, too.
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