Admiring Light
Menu
  • Home
  • Review Index
  • Shop Talk
  • Technique and Vision
  • Opinion
  • Portfolio
  • Site Index
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
Menu

Macro Battle Part 2 – Olympus 60mm vs Leica 45mm

Posted on October 5, 2012October 5, 2012 by Jordan Steele
The Contenders: The Olympus 60mm f/2.8 Macro and the Leica 45mm f/2.8 Macro

A few days ago, I compared the new Olympus 60mm f/2.8 against the venerable Leica 45mm f/2.8 to see how they stacked up in the macro and close focus arena when stopped down.  Today I’m going to look at another characteristic: Wide open performance and bokeh.  These are important because macro lenses often pull double duty as portrait lenses due to their focal length and relatively high optical quality.

So I did two tests – one real world, one controlled.  First, I coaxed my daughter into sitting for me to test how they fare in an outdoor portrait.  While she agreed, she was pretty impatient and decided that she didn’t want to smile for the pictures.  I shot both lenses wide open at f/2.8 to maximize subject separation. I took about 5-6 shots with each lens with similar framing (though in the move closer with the 45, the angle changed a bit, so comparing background is harder to do here.  I did notice a substantial sharpness advantage to the 60mm, but due to the handheld nature of the shooting, and the reliance on autofocus, I won’t post those crops here as anything conclusive.  Use the shots below to judge skin tones, drawing style, etc.  To be honest, with the exception of the slight sharpness advantage to the 60, they look awfully similar.

Olympus 60mm f/2.8 Macro @ f/2.8 – Click for larger image
Leica 45mm f/2.8 Macro @ f/2.8 – Click for larger image

The Leica renders greens slightly warmer, and, perhaps a bit smoother in tonal transition. Otherwise, there’s not a lot of difference. Bokeh looks very similar here.

So, to test and make sure that the sharpness advantage I saw earlier wasn’t simply due to small differences in focusing (even though it was present in all shots), I did a more controlled test.  At first, I did this shot handheld with IS and multiple tries, but decided that really wasn’t the way to go, so I re-shot the test on my tripod, with 2 second self time and IS off to ensure there wasn’t any shake involved.

I shot both lenses at f/2.8 and framed the beer bottle identically, moving the camera forward for the 45mm.  I placed the bottle off center, as the eyes of a portrait are much closer to this position in the frame most of the time when shooting portraits.  In RAW development, the files were processed identically – same white balance, and any minor adjustments were synced between the images. The results are below.  Click on images for a larger size, and to compare out of focus rendering.

Olympus 60mm f/2.8 Macro @ f/2.8 – Click for larger image
Leica 45mm f/2.8 Macro @ f/2.8 – Click for larger image

As you can see in the above images, the look of out of focus renderings is very neutral for both lenses.  The Olympus has a blurrier background as expected, given its longer focal length (and therefore larger absolute aperture opening).  Both produce smooth, even specular highlights and a pretty creamy look overall.

The Olympus has a little punchier color and a little higher contrast on the focus area, which may or may not be advantageous in a portrait setting, depending on your taste (as noted in the real world example).  Overall, I slightly prefer the Olympus image due to those factors, but you are free to make your own opinion.

So, how about that wide open sharpness away from the center of the frame?  Well, these tests definitely confirmed what I saw in my real world test.  At portrait distances wide open, the Olympus is significantly sharper.  At first I thought maybe my Leica was acting funny.  I even retested with manual focus at 14x with the same results.  I then went over to LensTip to see how their resolution chart testing with the Leica 45mm jived with what I was seeing.  And, well, it confirmed it.  While the Leica 45mm is exceptionally sharp in the image center wide open, that sharpness falls off somewhat quickly, leading to a softer image on the sides of the image.  Click below to see 100% crops of the focus area.  As you can see, the Olympus 60mm is significantly sharper at this distance and aperture off-center.

100% unsharpened crops – Olympus 60mm on left – Leica 45mm on right. Click to see full size.

Well, in my opinion, the Olympus 60mm wins this battle handily.  So where does that put us?  Well, it certainly adds  information.  In my testing, with the two copies of the lens I own, the Olympus 60mm is the superior optic from a resolution standpoint, and I like the higher contrast wide open as well.  Stopped down, they are much closer than they are wide open.  For me, the 60mm is the lens to have, especially since it is $250 cheaper than the Leica 45mm.

That said, there is still definitely a market for the Leica 45. It is also an excellent lens, and it may make a lot more sense for those shooters who are using Panasonic bodies, as the 45mm has built in optical image stabilization.  This can be a pretty big deal when shooting macro, and is certainly a big plus for the 45mm.  It is also a shorter lens, and so it makes the overall package a little smaller to carry.  Ultimately, the OIS and the desired focal length for your shooting should be the primary concerns when choosing between these two lenses.  If you shoot with a body like the Olympus E-M5, however, and you don’t have a focal length preference, then save your money and get the better lens optically in the 60mm f/2.8.

8 thoughts on “Macro Battle Part 2 – Olympus 60mm vs Leica 45mm”

  1. Starred says:
    October 7, 2012 at 3:48 am

    Jordan, as you also tested the Oly 75/1.8, which lens do you consider to be the sharpest of these two?

    Reply
    1. Jordan Steele says:
      October 7, 2012 at 10:22 am

      They are both extremely sharp. I haven’t done a head to head with them, but from impressions from using them, they are effectively equal in field use. Only difference is that the 60 Macro has absolutely zero purple fringing on high contrast subjects, while the 75 can exhibit a little bit of it wide open. The 60 controls longitudinal CA a little better too (though it’s not really a problem on either lens).

      Reply
      1. Starred says:
        October 7, 2012 at 11:00 am

        So the 60 performs adequate in the corners as well?

        Reply
        1. Jordan Steele says:
          October 7, 2012 at 2:09 pm

          Yes. The 60 is quite sharp in the corners. Only exception is that I have noticed (but not formally tested yet), some field curvature when focused near infinity, so the edges of the infinity subjects are not as sharp, since the focal plane curves towards closer subjects at the edges. There is no observable field curvature at closer distances and absolutely zero at macro distances.

          Reply
  2. EvieEff says:
    October 7, 2012 at 8:27 am

    Nice work on the review. Perhaps you could comment on focus speed and accuracy, as well as any handling differences in real-world use, between the two lenses.

    Reply
    1. Jordan Steele says:
      October 7, 2012 at 10:24 am

      I think the 60mm focuses a little bit faster, but in field use, it’s a negligible difference. They both handle well. The 60mm has the nice 1:1 toggle switch to instantly focus to 1:1, which saves some time. I also prefer the longer working distance, especially for shooting insects. However, that’s a personal preference of focal length rather than an advantage of the lens.

      Reply
  3. rogerml says:
    October 8, 2012 at 8:09 am

    Informative, relevant and well composed reviews, US. Thanks!

    Reply
  4. Rudy Pataky says:
    July 10, 2016 at 9:00 am

    Had to choose between the Leica 45mm 2.8 macro and the Oly 60. I chose the Oly for my M1 and boy are the photos awesome.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow Me:

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on RSSFollow Us on InstagramFollow Us on Mastodon

Most Popular Posts

  • "Full Frame Equivalence" and Why It Doesn't Matter (288)
  • Fuji X-Pro 2 vs. Sony A7 II: Noise Comparison (70)
  • Fuji 56mm f/1.2 vs. Panasonic Leica 42.5mm f/1.2 Nocticron (63)
  • Review: Metabones Speed Booster (Canon FD to Fuji X) (56)
  • Review: Olympus OM-D E-M5 (48)

Recent Comments

  • Eric Wojtkun on My Favorite Photos of 2022
  • Jordan Steele on “Full Frame Equivalence” and Why It Doesn’t Matter
  • Leon on “Full Frame Equivalence” and Why It Doesn’t Matter
  • Clarke jones on Review: TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH (RF Mount)
  • Anonymous on Sony A7 III vs. A7 II – Noise Comparison

Archives

©2023 Admiring Light | Theme by SuperbThemes
We use cookies to personalize content and ads and to analyze our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. You may consent to the use of cookies or opt out. Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

SAVE & ACCEPT