Olympus’ PEN cameras are usually seen with either the 17mm pancake lens or the 14-42mm f/3.five system lens. In my review with the E-PL1 (as nicely as the E-P1) I focused on the 14-42mm as it’s actually versatile, lightweight, and collapsible, generating it a wonderful lens for use while using the Micro Four-Thirds body. Because the release of the E-PL1 Olympus has promised Micro Four-Thirds users a broad angle, internal emphasis lens, specifically the 9-18mm f/4.0-5.six. It’s finally landed and I’ve had some time to test it out.
Additionally I’ve been utilizing the SEMA-1 stereo microphone kit. This plugs within the E-PL1’s accessory port and hot shoe to replace the camera’s mono audio with stereo. It uses an included microphone, but if you have your own microphone it is possible to add it for the port as effectively.
The Olympus ED 9-18mm f/4.0-5.six M.Zuiko lens (18-36mm equivalent) currently sells for about $690, not low-cost, even for a super broad angle lens featuring a 100-degree viewing angle, a weight of just 5.five ounces, along with a length of about 2-inches (collapsed). It uses ED (extra-low dispersion) glass and includes a minimum working distance of just six inches. Its internal focus mechanism signifies it is best for video–the autofocus is more rapidly than Olympus’ other M43 lenses and it can be silent, so you won’t pick up any lens grind within your audio.
Quick note: Do not confuse this lens with Olympus’ extremely similar sounding Four-Thirds compatible 9-18mm. This lens can only be applied with M43’s cameras with an adapter.
The lens appears constructed nicely sufficient but this is not superb–more along the lines of the 17mm than the 14-42mm. This signifies a far more solid experience, a silvery metal mount, including a smoother general feel. The zooming has considerably less friction than the 14-42mm and there’s no comparison using the focus–the 9-18mm is in a totally diverse league. The 9-18mm operates silently and it includes a full-sized lens cap, unlike the toy-like ones within the two other lenses. It still has a lot of plastic parts on it and doesn’t really feel like a professional quality lens, despite being a major step up from the kit lens.
Maintain in mind that this is not a constant lens, to ensure that as you improve the focal length the maximum aperture changes. At 9mm you possess the complete f/4.0 but at 18mm you’re fastest stop is f/5.six.
Technical stuff aside, this lens is entertaining to make use of. That it is collapsible so it is very good for travel, this is lightweight, and–more than something else–it’s genuinely broad. Shooting superwide is just a ton of exciting, particularly whenever you have the little size and casual, n0-hassle nature of Micro Four-Thirds. The 100-degree viewing angle catches a whole lot of content and combined having a short minimum distance it operates effectively indoors as well as out. The speedy autofocus makes a huge distinction and let’s the E-PL1 experience like a much additional powerful camera than it basically is. The quick and silent autofocus is great, but I could see how some picky digital camera users will nag about the focus-by-wire manual emphasis, which can leave you feeling disconnected. All round, this is a polished shooting encounter.
As far as image good quality goes, I was incredibly happy using the lens–it’s feels like an expert quality piece of equipment compared towards the kit lens. The 9-18mm functions good sharpness throughout most of its range, with some loss of sharpness being inevitable towards the corners. Distortion is minimal, with some barrel distortion being reported, but not adequate that you’d pick it up throughout normal shooting. There have been complaints of chromatic aberration but I was most concerned with flare, which isn’t as pronounced as just one may anticipate. This is beneficial news given that a lens hood is just not enclosed. Close-up shooting is fairly impressive granted all the other points the digital camera does nicely, so long as you might be searching at it as an added bonus, not expecting anything spectacular.
The autofocus can have some problems with close distances, but making use of the manual concentration can yield some nice outcomes in case you possess the digital camera stabilized and/or adequate light accessible. This brings us to single concerns while using the lens: this is f/4.0. For your cost it would be fantastic to see it a small quicker than this.
The SEMA-1 is really a microphone adapter package for that E-PL1 digital camera. It mainly operates with the entire ME-51S stereo microphone (pictured) but can also be used with other microphones as properly. The point of that is to enhance around the E-PL1’s lackluster mono sound recording.
Feedback within the ME-51S appears truly positive but I have had a mixed experienced. During general recording (indoors, usual conditions) it was excellent, certainly an improvement over the stock alternative. When I took it outside even though, under adverse circumstances, I had issues with wind pickup and crackling. That it is on the sensitive side which is really great for some ailments, but it’s actually as well sensitive for other jobs. There is certainly no reason to believe that this is an all-in-one solution though, so it performs well below some problems and less than excellent with others. You’ll need to run some tests and get a think for it prior to shooting everything critical.
The entire SEMA-1 system (adapter, microphone, three.3-foot extension) sells for about $75 so ensure you happen to be obtaining the correct thing, not just one particular component.
The Olympus 9-18mm f/4.0-5.6 is a fantastic lens, but not a stellar one–more or less what you’d expect at this value. It has some loss of detail at the corners and some noticeable CA but the larger point is that it has a swift autofocus that it is quiet, and it’s actually exciting to make use of. It is a really excellent addition for the M43 lineup even if it does have some usage overlap with all the kit lens as nicely as the Four-Thirds 9-18mm as well as the Panasonic Lumix G Vario 7-14mm lens. I love the size, but would appreciate a higher build good quality presented the value. This is a great lens to have with your Micro Four-Thirds arsenal.
The microphone kit isn’t especially inexpensive and it’s actually a shame that the adapter to the auxiliary port just isn’t incorporated while using the E-PL1, but that it is a good way to augment the digital camera. Plus, the microphone kit looks very cool mounted for the E-PL1.