Is 75mm Really A Useful Focal Length for Micro 4/3?

Olympus 75mm f1.8

Image Source: http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/images/product/1622/1622_header.png

I have written that I'm very enthusiastic about the new 75mm f1.8 Micro 4/3 lens coming soon from Olympus. In fact, at the moment, I'm more excited about this lens than the Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm f2.8, another very promising yet expensive product.

My thought is that the 75mm focal length will add exactly the right field of view to round out my Micro 4/3 kit for shooting live music performances. The super-fast f1.8 aperture will be killer for dark indoor venues.

My 45mm Pana-Leica Macro-Elmarit f2.8 makes a nice short telephoto, but I need more reach. I have been known to carry around a Nikkor 300mm f4, but that's awfully heavy, and can be overkill. So, in order to evaluate whether the 75mm focal length is as good a fit as I suspected, I mounted up my Cosina Voigtlander 75mm f2.5 Color-Heliar lens in Leica thread mount (LTM) on the dual adapters (LTM-Leica M, Leica M-Micro 4/3), and went to a show. This time, it was the Furnace Mountain Band, playing a free concert in Rose Hill Park in Berryville, Virginia.

The Voigtlander lens is a great optic in its own right. It's pretty fast at f2.5, but the extra stop of the Olympus will come in handy. Also, the Voigtlander lens is manual focus - not really an issue, but fast autofocus will be nice.

Here are a couple of shots from the show:

Danny Knicely of Furnace Mountain Band, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Cosina Voigtlander 75mm f2.5 Color-Heliar

Morgan Morrison of Furnace Mountain Band, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Cosina Voigtlander 75mm f2.5 Color-Heliar

My conclusion? Yes, 75mm is a near-perfect focal length for this type of shooting. My enthusiasm for the new Olympus lens as a welcome addition to my Micro 4/3 kit remains very high.

By the way, Furnace Mountain has a great new CD out - "The Road to Berryville."

(Click Here) to support Furnace Mountain and get yourself some excellent music at the same time!

(Click Here) to see more shots from the show at my website (creativeobjective.com)

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