Announced towards the end of May, the Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 75mm f/1.8 lens is now widely available. Offering a focal length roughly equivalent to a 150mm f/3.5 lens in 35mm film format (thanks to the 1.999x crop factor of 4/3 format sensors), this lens claims to be one of the highest...

Olympus' M.Zuiko 75mm f1.8 is a lovely, well-constructed and -performing telephoto lens for photographing people. It's so nice, in fact, that I found myself wishing Olympus made lenses for larger-sensored ILCs.

The Olympus M.Zuiko 75mm f1.8 delivers generally excellent optical performance in a well-constructed lens

The manual focus ring feels a little too loose

Olympus has unveiled an interesting new portrait lens: the M.Zuiko Digital ED 75mm Micro Four Thirds. Micro Four Thirds format cameras have been steadily gaining traction for a while now and anyone who has had to lug around a heavy DSLR and a bunch of lenses for any length of time will have a good...

There's a lot to like about the Olympus 75mm ƒ/1.8 M.Zuiko; simply amazing results for sharpness, great resistance to chromatic aberration, very low corner shading and near-zero distortion. Add in excellent build quality and good looks, and you have a package that's sure to please any photographer.

The new fast optic from Olympus features an all-metal design and an equivalent focal length of 150mm - but how does it perform? Designed particularly with shooting portraits in mind, Olympus also says that the lens is ideal for shooting high-speed indoor sports.

150mm-equivalent focal length; F1.8 maximum aperture; 'ZERO' optical coating to reduce internal reflection; MSC Movie and Stills Compatible (quiet) focus system;

150mm-equivalent focal length; F1.8 maximum aperture; 'ZERO' optical coating to reduce internal reflection; MSC Movie and Stills Compatible (quiet) focus system;

The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 75mm F1.8 Lens ($899.99 direct) is a prime telephoto optic for the Micro Four Thirds camera system, and as such can be used on interchangeable lens cameras manufactured by Olympus and Panasonic.

Very sharp; Smooth, creamy bokeh

Pricey; Doesn't balance well on small Micro Four Thirds cameras.