M.Zuiko Digital ED 20mm F1.4 PRO introduced

On 27th October 2021 OM Digital Solutions introduced the new OM system brand. The M.Zuiko Digital ED 20mm F1.4 PRO introduced is the first product, which carries the brand. Future products from OM Digital Solutions will be published under OM System and Olympus will gradually disappear. Some won’t like it, but for me, the brand is irrelevant as long as the quality is fine.

Haptics and Design of the M.Zuiko Digital ED 20mm F1.4 PRO introduced

As the lens carries “PRO” in its name, it looks like the other “PRO” lenses from OM Digital Solutions. Like the 12-45mm lens development focused on the smallest possible size. Therefore it doesn’t have a focus clutch nor an L-Fn button. It feels premium and the focus ring makes a solid and reliable impression. Exactly as you would expect it from a “PRO” lens. In opposite to the F1.2, the lens hood doesn’t have a lock button. The lens hood snaps solidly in and it doesn’t look like that you will lose it. As always by OM Digital Solutions the lens is perfectly dustproof and splashproof. You can securely use it at a temperature below 0°C. Also here it follows the “PRO” standard. It is after the 150-400mmF4.5 and 8-25mm F4 the third lens with a fluorine coating, which avoids that liquids can stick on the surface.

Focal length and field of view

With 20mm the lens has a field of view of 57°. This correlates with the so-called standard lens, which simulates the human field of view, which is between 50° and 60°, very good. Strictly speaking, it is closer to a standard lens as the 25mm, which has a field of view of 47°. Anyway is the focal length not common as most photographers prefer a 25mm or 17mm lens. As OM Digital Solutions have already an F1.2 and F1.8 lenses with those focal lengths it is logical to introduce such a focal length. It fits exactly between them.

Quality and Speed of the M.Zuiko Digital ED 20mm F1.4 PRO introduced

As you can expect from a PRO lens the sharpness is excellent in the centre as well as in the corners. Distortions in the corners are neither in JPEG nor in RAW files visible and well-controlled. I was not able to fine chromatic aberration. Lens fault correction is one but image characteristic the other side. With a maximum aperture of F1.4 is the 20mm only slightly slower than the F1.2 lenses. You can perfectly separate your object from the background. The 20mm lens supports the so-called “Feathered Boked”, which offers a smooth transition between sharp and unsharp areas. Due to this, you will get a nice harmonic unsharp background, even though you have overlapping objects with hard edges.

For focusing, OM Digital Solution is moving only one lens element, which offers especially when you are using contrast AF only a lot of advantages. Less weight has to be moved and therefore changes in direction are possible faster. This you recognise in the praxis as well, focus is fast and reliable.

Conclusion

Even though that the 20mm lens is a not common focal length, you find in history a lot of lenses with a field of view of 57°. For example, the Olympus OM 40mm F2, which has been produced in the eighties only in a few numbers. Also, other manufacturers do have such a focal length in their portfolio.
This focal length is very versatile and is not only useful for street and portrait images but also usable for landscape, reportage and documentation. Due to its fast aperture and the short closest focus distance you are able to separate your object perfectly from the background. The Feathered Bokeh make the unsharp background very harmonic. Sharpness and aberration correction is fantastic. The lens rightly bears “PRO” in its name. Who doesn’t need an even faster lens with even more image quality and prefers therefore one of the F1.2 lenses, get a very affordable lens with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 20mm F1.4 PRO. Though it is not as fast as the F1.2 lenses, it is lighter and more compact.

In case you would like to see a depth of field comparison with the other normal lenses of O Digitalsolution read “OM System standard lens comparison”.