So what about Olympus? Olympus OM-System Zuiko MC Auto-S 1:1.8 50mm

Cost: $25 (average market price $37)

Time for another Olympus review. This time the famous Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8. Although just a fast kit lens of witch 5 millions copies were made in different versions, it's a remarkable lens. It's light and nimble, but sturdy and a good quality build at the same time. The low profile makes it nice to use with the smaller Sony body, even with a adapter in place. As I have been told, it's the lightest Zuiko lens from this era.

As common with Olympus lenses, the aperture ring is at the front. That took me while to get used to but it's probably the only issue I can mention about this lens. Image quality is exceptional with great resolving power. Sharp right from f/1.8, and great sharpness across the complete frame from f/4 onwards. There is a little color fringing on high contrast, but hardly noticeable. In general, color is good with high contrast and rich colors.

As you can see on Flickr this lens is used a lot as a portrait lens, due to it's sharpness, but as it is a fast lens, it's also excellent for general and street photography. I can fully recommend this lens to whoever is looking for a cheap, fast, manual but great quality lens. Well done, Olympus!

Lens Specification:

Focal Length: 50mm

Maximum Aperture: F1.8

Minimum Aperture: F16

Image Format: 35mm

Lens Mount: OM

Optics: 6 elements in 5 groups

Blades: 6

Focussing: Manual

Minimum Focus: 45cm

Filter Size: 49mm

Weight: 165g

Length: 32mm

Production: 1972 to 2002 

Serial Number: 202127

Made in: Japan

MC: Multicoated to combat partial reflections.

More information on: Olympus Corporation

Samples:

1/400 sec - ISO200 - Handheld

1/400 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/200 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/100 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/640 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/160 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/320 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/320 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/320 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/200 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/640 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/640 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/640 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/800 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/400 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/400 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/400 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/80 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

Other samples on flikr.com