I do admit, I am a victim of the latest lens ads myself. For one reason or another, I bought a 45mm f/1.8 MFT lens made by Olympus. Yes, it is a great lens, fast autofocus, nice bokeh, etc... Do I regret having bought it? NO! However, there are some afterthoughts at the end...
45mm, lets say 50mm, that's what was known as a standard or normal in 135 terms. Yes, but it is f/1.8! I read you thinking... well ok... the very first lens I ever owned was a 50mm f/1.9, which was a poor man's standard (and a poor boy I was at the time!).
Anyway, some time ago, I got myself a 55m f/1.4 M42 lens. We are talking €30 at that time! Sure, this lens is totally manual, no automation at all. However, what are we comparing here?
Fujinon 45mm f/1.8 (MFT) vs. Cosinon 55mm f/1.4 (M42).
One is sure, the Cosinon was designed for 135 film (aka full frame), thereby promising a very flat image across any smaller sensor than full frame.
What we are comparing now is modern vs. legacy. If you are able to ignore automation, the legacy glass beats the modern stuff.
There we go, the question is: do you need auto, or does manual do the trick for you?
