{"id":1626,"date":"2013-02-20T23:07:37","date_gmt":"2013-02-21T04:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/?p=1626"},"modified":"2013-02-20T23:12:06","modified_gmt":"2013-02-21T04:12:06","slug":"review-olympus-15mm-f8-body-cap-lens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/review-olympus-15mm-f8-body-cap-lens\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Olympus 15mm f\/8 Body Cap Lens"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Olympus<\/a>
Olympus 15mm f\/8 Body Cap Lens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This past fall, Olympus announced a rather interesting lens…the smallest lens yet for the Micro 4\/3 system, and one of the smallest interchangeable lenses ever made.\u00a0 This optic?\u00a0 The 15mm f\/8 body cap lens.\u00a0 This tiny lens\/body cap is classified by Olympus as an “accessory” rather than a true lens, and the lens doesn’t carry the Zuiko branding that all of their lenses generally carry.\u00a0 So how is this little $50 trinket?\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with my reviews, I review from a real world shooting perspective. You won\u2019t find lens charts or resolution numbers here. There are plenty of other sites that cover those. I review products on how they act for me as a photographic tool. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Around the Lens<\/h3>\n

The Olympus 15mm f\/8 is certainly a small lens.\u00a0 It truly is roughly the size of a Micro 4\/3 body cap.\u00a0 The lens protrudes about 5mm from the body when mounted, and features a simple lever up front as its only control.\u00a0 The lens is entirely plastic, with no electronic contacts, so the camera body will operate as it does with any adapted lenses.\u00a0 The plastic build is relatively solid, but overall it feels as cheap as it is, especially the focusing lever, which is quite flimsy.\u00a0 If you are using the lens on an Olympus body, don’t forget to set the 15mm focal length in the IS setup menu to make sure that the in-body IS is operating correctly.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Olympus 15mm f\/8 Body Cap Lens on the Panasonic GX1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Back to that lever.\u00a0 The front lever is both the lens cap and the focus control.\u00a0 When fully shut, a small plastic cover slides in front of the front element to protect it from damage.\u00a0 In this position, it truly does just act as a body cap.\u00a0 Pull the lever slightly, and the protective flap will open and the lens will be focused at infinity.\u00a0 There is a dot just past the infinity marking that represents the hyperfocal distance.\u00a0 Set the lens to this and shoot away as a snapshot lens.\u00a0 The rest of the lever’s sliding is for closer focusing, which can be done as close as 0.3m away.<\/p>\n

Due to the very deep depth of field from the lens’ fixed f\/8 aperture, focusing the 15mm f\/8 essentially has to be done with magnified view, as there is just too little difference between in and out of focus areas when viewing the whole scene.\u00a0 While the hyperfocal setting is supposed to take the focusing requirements out of play, I found that image quality suffered when deliberate focus wasn’t used for anything closer than about 15 feet.<\/p>\n

Other than that, there’s not much to talk about in terms of the lens operation, so let’s see how it performs.<\/p>\n

Next: Image Quality and Conclusion<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Image Quality<\/b><\/h3>\n

Normally, I break image quality down by sharpness, bokeh, distortion, flare, etc. in my reviews, but this lens requires a more general discussion.<\/p>\n

\"Path<\/a>
Path to Columbus – Olympus 15mm f\/8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How’s the image quality on the 15mm f\/8?\u00a0 Well, it’s unique!\u00a0 If you think that’s code for bad, you’re mostly right.\u00a0 The lens is actually relatively sharp in the center when focused properly, though certainly not exceptional.\u00a0 You can get some fine detail in the center 50% of the frame, but the sharpness quickly falls off towards the edges.\u00a0 If you’re planning on using this for landscape work, you’ll be pretty disappointed.\u00a0 In fact, most of the time, there’s just a general haze and mushiness to the images, especially if using hyperfocal distance.<\/p>\n

Contrast is also relatively low, and there’s some chromatic aberration to go with it.\u00a0 Vignetting is also visible, though it’s not too severe.\u00a0 There is really no bokeh to speak of, as it’s hard to generate any sort of background blur, even at minimum focus distance.\u00a0 What little blur there is rather busy, so I wouldn’t describe the lens as having any sort of creamy bokeh, even when you do get a little bur.<\/p>\n

However, there are situations where the lens works well for a certain look.\u00a0 See the first image in the Image Samples for what I’m talking about.\u00a0 The lens works best when you plan to pair it with some moody processing, as it naturally kind of gives almost a pinhole look (though you will want to pair it with some added contrast.). \u00a0If you like this look, you may get some enjoyment out of the lens.\u00a0 If you don’t, you’ll likely view it as relatively worthless.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/b><\/h3>\n

Pros<\/h4>\n