Final Corner for My Holy Trinity

 Just figure me as an oddball. I don't subscribe to the Olympus micro four thirds trinity of prime lenses: 17mm f1.2 PRO, 25mm f1.2 PRO and 45mm f1.2 PRO, even though I desire the beautiful depth of field achieved with primes. These fast, weather-sealed, expensive lenses produce images with feathery bokeh and cover the slightly-wide, normal and portrait ranges. But the high prices and angles of view are not quite right for my needs. Plus packing all three of these glass-heavy lenses is less than ideal for traveling.

Despite the steep price, I purchased the Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.2 PRO -- the normal view -- soon after it was released, replacing my slower M.Zuiko 25mm f1.8.  The f1.2 PRO works well on my Olympus E-M1 III camera and my Olympus PEN-F if a third-party grip is attached for better balance. The field of view of the Oly 25mm Pro is 47-degrees, arguably close to that of a human eye.

By the time of this purchase, I had established the f-stop of 1.4 as the fastest needed to achieve the quality bokeh I desired. However, there were no f1.4 lenses in the Olympus lineup. 

I did not, however, buy the other two f1.2 lenses because I had concluded the other two anchor points of my holy trinity should be different focal lengths. Forty-five millimeters for portraits is too short for me. Thus for portraits I am using the third-party Sigma 56mm f1.4 DC DN with a field of view of 28.5 degrees and minimum focusing distance of slightly less than 19 inches, making it handy for other close-up shots, too. The lens is very compact and light-weight, producing high-quality images with beautiful bokeh on applicable shots.

The other anchor in my trinity is 12mm, wider than the 17mm Oly recommendation. I owned the tiny M.Zuiko 12mm f2.0 but did not like it on the bigger OM-D E-M1 series cameras. To fill the wide prime requirement, I looked to the Panasonic side of the micro four thirds camera family and chose the Leica DG Summilux 12mm f1.4 with a field of view of 84 degrees. The water-resistant and dust-proof lens focuses fast on the E-M1 III. 

At a current price of approximately $1,300 USD, this Leica DG Summilux is now the heaviest and most expensive micro four thirds prime lens I own but worth every penny. I just sold the 25mm f1.2 PRO, and ordered the new OM System Digital ED 20mm f1.4, scheduled to begin shipping December 20. The price, $800 USD, about half the cost of the M.Zuiko 25mm f1.2 PRO.

The first MFT lens with OM Digital's OM System branding, the 20mm f1.4 PRO, due to be shipped later this month.

This PRO lens does not have the manual clutch ring of the Olympus holy trinity nor the lens function button. I do not use the lens function button on any lenses I own with that feature, and the lever switch on the E-M1 III can be conveniently activated for manual focus.

What the lens does have with with this camera is fast auto focusing and sharpness equal to or better than any other Olympus PRO lens, plus minimal distortion. The lens is small, dimensions of 2.5"x 2.4", and it weighs only 8.7 ounces. The minimum focusing distance is 9.8", and it has an angle of view of 57 degrees. For those micro four thirds photographers who can live without the manual focus clutch and the lens function button, the OM System 20mm f1.4 PRO could wind up being the best lens in the system. 

When I switched to micro four thirds, the first prime I bought was the Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f1.7. I loved the images I captured with that lens -- sharp with minimal distortion. For me, it was near perfect lens except for the extremely slow autofocus on my Olympus cameras. I finally had to sell it because of that flaw.

With memories of my first 20mm lens in mind, I'm sure the much higher quality OM System 20mm lens is destined to be the prime lens that remains on my camera most of the time.