Since I'm buying, I bought the 45 f1.8

It's quite funny how you prize the Nocticron's aperture ring while using it on an Olympus body.

Tried both, the Zuiko 45 f/1.2 is really better. Besides the aperture ring will not work on olympus bodies. It's useless. The wheather sealing on the olympus is gold. Great buil quality. That lens will last.

If I'm not shooting with film , I'll use my ep5 with the oly 45 1.8 for walking the streets . Nice and light set up . Enjoyed your easy comparison .

I just ordered the Olympus and have a gh5. I read that the latest firmware update now supports the function button on the Olympus lenses. And yes, what decided it for me was that it's weatherproof where the Panasonic is not and for the money really should be. I also prefer the more accurate manual focus capability for doing rack focusing.

The 45mm f1.8 punches way above its weight, size and price!

The Panasonic 42.5 f1.7 is am unsung hero you haven't included. It's my favorite lens of my three: PL DG 15mm F1.7, 25mm f1.4

Thanks for this great comparison, just bought the Olympus after watching the S35 street review.

panasonic 42.5 1.7

Great review. I didn’t notice the difference in color you mentioned as much. It didn’t really pop. I did, however, notice the difference in bokeh. The Olympus is definitely smoother.

I'd buy the lens with the more appealing (appealing to me) bokeh ... and that's the Oympus for me. It's creamier.

I paid $140 used for the Olympus 45 1.8 and it came with a hood. At that price it doesn't make any sense not to buy it.

$1400 and not weather sealed is ridiculous, the oly45 will outsell it eventually

Hmm. I'd go with one of the Olympus lenses. Looks a bit like the Panasonic is less value for money.

Does it work the aperture ring on the Olympus EM1 1:25?

You cannot ignore the quality the Olympus 45 f/1.2 screams in your face.

I don't believe the Nocticron aperture ring works with Olympus bodies. Or am I missing something?

I prefer the focus clutch to the aperture ring.

The one thing missing here is the Panasonic 42.5 1.7 That lens is sharp like the Noct but has a close focus that makes it standout. Another thing not explored here is B&W. The Noct’s characteristics really stand out in B&W, while the Oly 1.2’s characteristics are best suited to color photographs, so for those of us who love B&W the Nocticron is the perfect choice. While manufactured by Panasonic, the Noct was designed by Leica and it has a lot of that Leica aesthetic. They have a philosophy of aiming for great sharpness at the point of focus, but very rapid falloff into blur from the focus point and this is what produces the pop mentioned in this review. The Leica aesthetic has always been particularly special in B&W.

Gotta go 45 1.8 because it's small light and in keeping with the principles of Olympus and sharp enough - oh and it's CHEAP.

great review, what do you think about the future of Olympus? just invested in some equip.

since both this lens will be mostly used for portrait, the olympus 45 f1.2 is a slightly better choice, smoother bokeh, sharpness at f1.2, and color is a little nicer and more uniform than the panasonic which is neat for portrait. the better contrast of leica is not that useful in portraits to win over the the advantage of olympus.

Dear Steve, Many thanks for the useful comparison that you have made. However; please advise if the Olympus F1.2 could be used in Video shooting and whether it has got built in image stabilisation. Also, advise the benefits when used in shooting video with Olympus EM1 Mark II or Mark III.

I missed a word about the Voigtländer. And what's about the alternative speedbooster?

the aperture dial wont even work on your body

The Nocticron was further away from the hydren, hence the lack of sharpness. Also I prefer you that you can see what the background is, so it's not completely washed away. So I prefer better 3D rendering.

I have the 45 1.7 and never considered the step up.

this is such a great, straightforward review i instantly sub'd

dude, I don't think you can use aperture dail on olympus body

A very informative review! Very nice. My conclusion would be another! Have a beautiful 2018! Regards Ulf

Could you make a quick comparison between the 42.5 f1.2 and the 45 f1.2 at the same field of view and not the same distance? Thank you in advance.

The aperture ring does nothing on an Olympus body...

Olympus 45mm 1.2, you just cannnot beat a great quality product.

I find the manual focus clutch on the Olympus waaay more useful. Lets be real ...how often are you going to be changing aperture on a 1.2 lens? Might as well get the 45 1.8 if thats the case.😉

What camera and lens did you use to fil this review? Btw, an excellent review!!!

Panasonic nocticron is a legend here. Ignore at your own peril

I've been contemplating between the two, and odds are I'll go with the Olympus even though I use Panasonic bodies... Manual focus clutch is a big plus (doubly so the ability to swap between autofocus and manually set zone focus with the flick of your left hand), as is the fact it's $700 CAD cheaper than the Panasonic, and Olympus even throws in weather sealing, which can be handy for those who live in climates where temperatures dropping down as low as -30C are the norm.

What about these compared to the Voigtlander

You've praised the aperture dial but did it actually work on your E-M1? It doesn't work with 15 mm 1.7 and any panasonic lens I know of.

The Olympus 45 1.8 is one of the great little deals in photography. As for the other two... yeah it seems from this the Olympus clearly performs better. But who cares? You shouldn't buy either. For that kind of price you can buy a used full frame camera with a 85mm 1.8 lens (a Canon 6D, for example), and get way better image quality and bokeh for the same price as just that lens. Olympus and Panasonic should be selling these lenses for half the prices listed here--especially when you consider they need half the glass compared with their full frame equivalents.

which Persol is that? :D

Nocticron for quality Olympus f1.8 for budget

I had both 45mm 1.2 and 42.5mm 1.2, but dynamic range on Panasonic nocticron is better than Olympus.

Weather sealing could be an important differentiator between the two Olympus 45mm lenses (the f/1.8 does not have it). So for a pro photographer, who might be forced to shoot in bad weather conditions, the f/1.2 would be a no-brainer (granted, you could ruin 3 pcs. of the f/1.8 for the price of the f/1.2 … ;)).

Are all 3 weather sealed? 🤔 If not, no reason for comparing.

What would you say is the best lense for someone wanting to shoot mainly landscapes and panos on a Panasonic G9?

You ought to test out the Kamlan 50mm1.1...

Audio is annoyingly uneven through the different segments.

bokeh olimpus 45 f/1.2 wins

is it me or that background is doing something distracting :S

The winner is Olympus f/1.2 :)