Street photography with the Olympus ZD 17mm f1.2 PRO – an addendum to the review

Some of you who read the Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm F1.2 PRO lens review here, must be wondering why there were no street photography images, since the 35mm equivalent is a classic focal length for street photography and it is widely known that I do love shooting on the streets. The culprit was bad weather, thanks to a spell of rain over the last couple of week combined with overcast skies. Lighting is crucial for all photography and with cloudy weather I would have had flat, uninteresting and dull looking images. Fortunately, I did have a little time left with the Olympus 17mm F1.2 lens before returning it to Olympus, so I went out to do some street shooting when the weather cleared. This article shall be an extension to the Olympus 17mm F1.2 review, with more sample images shot with the lens.

F2.8, 1/6, ISO200

Fast and reliable autofocus can are crucial for nailing the shot, particularly when its a fast paced one. Why do I always shoot on the streets when I am reviewing a camera or lens? When I spot an opportunity, and I know I have to act quickly, the camera’s ability to respond fast enough to capture the shot tells me a lot about its performance. A lot of photographers over emphasize the image quality (resolution, high ISO, dynamic range, etc), but to me, what really matters is getting the image in the first place. What is the point of having a high megapixel, clean high ISO camera if it fails to capture the critical moment?

I appreciate the extremely fast autofocus that Olympus is able to offer with their recent releases of cameras and lenses. The Olympus 17mm F1.2 was snappy in acquiring focus, and I as confident in shooting the images I wanted to capture. The autofocus is so reliable, I just do not see the need to engage manual focus, at least not for street shooting.

Personally, I’ve never quite got along with the 35mm equivalent for my own street images. I acknowledge the versatility and effectiveness of 35mm in producing natural looking images but I have always worked with exaggerated focal lengths on either ends of the spectrum, i.e. wider than what the eye can see, or much longer into the medium telephoto range. My favourite lenses to use on the street would be the Olympus 45mm and 12mm. Hence, it took me some adjustment to get used to this Olympus 17mm F1.2 lens.

F6.3, 1/500, ISO500

F4, 1/125, ISO200

F4, 1/200, ISO200, I was not prepared, but I took this by reflex. I should have used faster shutter speed to freeze the cat

F1.2, 1/1000, ISO200, even at this close range, the depth of field is not that shallow enough for subject isolation at F1.2

F4, 1/25, ISO200

If you tend to use the 35mm focal length often, especially while shooting on the streets, there is a lot to like about the Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm F1.2 lens. Besides the obvious speedy AF, the lens manages to render realistic and natural looking results, something I feel is a step up from the older Olympus 17mm f1.8 lens. I have said this before in my review, but this is more evident with street images. Despite repeated attempts, I could not successfully achieve such results with the older 17mm f1.8.

Given the drawbacks of a 35mm lens, I was careful not to get too close to the head when shooting people, as that would create ugly distortions.

Some would argue that F1.2 aperture advantage is lost when shooting on the streets. That is true to some extent – with so much ambient light, we do not really need to shoot wide open at all. Using a wide angle lens also means we want as much to be in focus as possible, maximizing depth of field by narrowing the aperture to F4 or F5.6, if needed. Even at wide open F1.2, there is not much shallow depth of field advantage due to the smaller sensor size. Very few of the images in this series were taken with F1.2 wide open.

The unique thing about using the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, is the ability to utilize the electronic shutter that goes up to 1/32,000 second shutter speed, which in combination with ISO Low (extended to ISO64, from ISO200) you can shoot wide open under bright daylight without having to attach an additional ND filter.

F3.5, 1/500, ISO200

F3.2, 1/500, ISO200

F4, 1/500, ISO200

F1.2, 1/1250, ISO200, if you see a cat, shoot it!

Crop from previous image

F4, 1/3200, ISO200, Pro Capture Mode (low) used.

A few comments pointed toward the Sigma 16mm F1.4 lens released recently. From my understanding, that lens was originally designed for use on Sony APS-C (E-Mount) cameras, and conveniently adapted for compatibility when used with Micro Four Thirds mount. I have not personally tried the lens myself, and I am as curious as everyone else on how the Sigma 16mm performs. If only I could get my hands on one.

So what do we do after the usual street shooting session? For me, I always end my shutter therapy with a cup of overpriced coffee. And sometimes that comes with some ridiculously “hipster”-ised food. This also gave me a chance to continue shooting with the lens, doing what most normal people do these day (at least this is rampant here in Asia), shooting our food before we eat. So here are some more image samples from the Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm F1.2 PRO lens, non-street shots, but mostly close ups, further exploring that feathered bokeh Olympus is so proud of.

F3.2, 1/50, ISO200

F8, 1/15, ISO500, the 17mm F1.2 PRO lens has decent close up shooting capabilities

F1.2, 1/400, ISO200, the F1.2 was useful in this situation to isolate the subject, placed against an otherwise messy background

F5.6, 1/125, ISO200

 Bokeh comparison, from F1.2, F1.8, F2.8 to F4. Kindly take note that the F4 bokeh shape is not fully circular anymore.

F1.2, 1/40, ISO200, all it takes sometimes, is a cup of good coffee to pick me up.

I hope this extension to the original review of the Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm F1.2 PRO lens has been useful.

I do have a an interesting list of cameras and lenses to review early this year, and I am excited to go out and shoot and share these images here with you beautiful people!

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