75mm - the focal length of my least used but optically one of the best quality lenses in my collection. Sad but true. Yet this is a lens I won't let go of as there is just something about it...
This 75mm lens is an odd ball. It's one of Olympus's earliest M43 lenses in their Premium Prime series so despite being of all metal construction and of the highest optical quality it is not classed as Pro lens as for example it is not weather sealed.
Also, it is of a strange focal length as at 75mm it has a 35mm full frame equivalence of 150mm which is a bit "now't nor summit" as you might say. A bit too long for portraiture and not long enough to be a useful telephoto.
So why continue to own and occasionally use this orphan child of the Olympus/OM System MFT ecosystem?
Well, it's lovely optic, so pride of ownership plays a big part in this. I love great glass. I also have a predilection for fast primes such as this one.
Then again it can be used to great advantage to provide subject separation even when used at a distance and even when stopped down a bit.
It's fast but still of exceptional quality when used wide open, so you can use it in low level light conditions to stay at or close to base ISO for maximum image quality.
Finally, in extremely low level light conditions it can be used wide open in conjunction with the camera's many stops of IBIS in action for very slow shutter speeds together with higher ISO's to still keep the ISO as low as possible and never-the-less get the shot, whilst maintaining a comfortable working distance from the subject.
BTW, for those that say MFT can't do high ISO and shouldn't be used above 1600 or even 800 ISO, the bookcase image above was taken in the gloom on the 75mm f1.8 wide open at 1/30th on my OM-5 at ISO 2000 - noise? detail loss? colour shift? I should cocoa.