Hands on: Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens review

Big, bold portrait lens

What is a hands on review?
Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens
The new 75mm f/1.8 lens from Olympus is designed for portrait work

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Olympus 75mm lens sample

Click here to see the full resolution image.

The 75mm lens can focus as close as 0.84 metres, meaning you can shoot creative portraits.

Olympus 75mm lens sample

Click here to see the full resolution image.

The f/1.8 wide aperture of the lens and focal length of the lens means that backgrounds can be beautifully thrown out of focus.

Olympus 75mm lens sample

Click here to see the full resolution image.

The 75mm lens is equivalent to 150mm in 35mm terms, so you need to stand quite a distance from the subject if you wish to get a lot in.

Olympus 75mm lens sample

Click here to see the full resolution image.

Here you can see the quick drop off in focus, as the front of the hair is in focus, but the rear section is not.

Olympus 75mm lens sample

Click here to see the full resolution image.

Shot at f/8, the amount of detail captured by the lens and camera combination is great for headshots.

Olympus 75mm lens sample

Click here to see the full resolution image.

Again, here we can see how shallow depth of field effects can be captured with the f/1.8 lens.

Amy Davies

Amy has been writing about cameras, photography and associated tech since 2009. Amy was once part of the photography testing team for Future Publishing working across TechRadar, Digital Camera, PhotoPlus, N Photo and Photography Week. For her photography, she has won awards and has been exhibited. She often partakes in unusual projects - including one intense year where she used a different camera every single day. Amy is currently the Features Editor at Amateur Photographer magazine, and in her increasingly little spare time works across a number of high-profile publications including Wired, Stuff, Digital Camera World, Expert Reviews, and just a little off-tangent, PetsRadar. 

What is a hands on review?

Hands on reviews' are a journalist's first impressions of a piece of kit based on spending some time with it. It may be just a few moments, or a few hours. The important thing is we have been able to play with it ourselves and can give you some sense of what it's like to use, even if it's only an embryonic view. For more information, see TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee.

Latest in Camera Lenses
Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G lens indoors
Sony’s super wide-angle 16mm F1.8 prime shoots fast and travels light, but relies on distortion correction
Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 lens
I tested Sony’s longest telephoto zoom lens, and it’s a winner for wildlife photographers
Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS indoors
Sony unveils its first lens with a massive 800mm reach – and it could be a dream optic for wildlife photography
Sigma
I’ve tested all 4 of Sigma’s bargain f/1.4 primes for Canon cameras – here’s how to decide which one to buy
Nikon Z 35mm f/1.2 S in the hand in front of gray slatted backdrop
Nikon's first 35mm f/1.2 looks like my dream prime lens – apart from the price tag
Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM attached to a Canon EOS R1
Canon's hefty ultra-wide zoom lens for pros doesn't disappoint, but its excellence relies heavily on lens corrections
Latest in Reviews
Assassin's Creed Shadows
I’ve played Assassin’s Creed Shadows for more than 40 hours and can’t stop collecting tea sets, painting birds, and assassinating evil schemers
Samsung SSD 9100 PRO review
The Samsung 9100 PRO SSD makes AI workloads faster—here’s what I found in my tests
A Samsung 9100 Pro sitting on top of its retail packaging
I spent two weeks with the Samsung 9100 Pro, and while it's a dream for professional users, gamers can do better
HP OfficeJet Pro 9012e main image
I tested the HP OfficeJet Pro 9012e - read why this is a cracking home printer
HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4302fdw main image
I tried the HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4302fdw - read why it disappoints
Epson EcoTank ET-2830 main image
I tried out the Epson EcoTank ET-2830 - see how this cheap inkjet holds up