Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 8 mm f/1.8 ED PRO Fisheye review - Build quality

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Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 8 mm f/1.8 ED PRO Fisheye

2 December 2015

Arkadiusz Olech

3. Build quality

In the following chart you can find a comparison between the properties of the tested lens and other fisheye lenses, designed for Micro 4/3 and 4/3 sensors. The fact that the Olympus’s 1.8/8 optics is really complex sticks out immediately. What’s interesting, despite that complexity the lens is not significantly heavier or bigger than the much slower 3.5/8 model designed for the 4/3 reflex cameras.

In the photo below the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 8 mm f/1.8 ED PRO Fisheye is positioned next to the Olympus M.Zuiko 45 mm f/1.8.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 8 mm f/1.8 ED PRO Fisheye - Build quality

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The tested lens starts with a metal mount which surrounds contacts and a rear element, 22 mm in diameter. The element seems to be immobile; its edges and area near them are blackened very well. On the black part with the contact plate you can find information that the lens was produced in Japan.

The proper body of the lens, made completely of metal, begins with a ring which doesn’t move with a red dot making the alignment with a camera easier. Above the dot you see the name and the parameters of the lens. On the opposite side there is information about waterproof qualities (SPLASH PROOF) of the instrument and the minimum focusing distance which amounts to 0.12 m/0.39 ft.

Further on you see a manual focus ring, 29 mm wide and covered by ribs. It works using the electronic relay and allows you to set the focus very precisely.

The next part is a narrow and immobile ring featuring the name and the parameters of the lens and a blue strip. Then there is just a hood, built into the lens, which surrounds a convex front element, 53 mm in diameter.

Overall the lens makes a very good, solid impression. When you take it into our hand you feel you hold a fine piece of workmanship, quite heavy and made of metal; apart from that the design is very stylish too.

The optical construction of the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 8 mm f/1.8 ED PRO Fisheye presents a really impressive sight. The lens consists of as many as 17 elements positioned in 15 groups. The high number of special elements among them is indeed noteworthy – you deal with two low dispersion ED glass elements, three Super ED glass elements, one aspherical element, one HR element with high refraction index and one Super HR element as well. Inside there is also an aperture with seven diaphragm blades which can be closed down to a value of f/22.