At one of my photography workshops using available light, no hair stylist and no MUA,  I had the opportunity to test the Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM lens mounted on my Olympus OM-D E-M5 using face detection closest eye AF (a little unreliable but this shot worked) against the Olympus mZD 40-150mm f/2.8 lens mounted on an Olympus OM-D E-M1 at 135mm f/2.8 again with face detection AF for closest eye but with this combination, AF was much faster and more reliable.

I was brought up to respect women for who they are and not how much makeup they wore, what adornments they had nor what fancy clothes they wore, so my preferred portraiture is a very natural look with minimal post-processing of natural skin textures largely restricted to removal of blemishes. I certainly don’t go for the over-processed glamour looks nor the plasticized Instagram looks which are commonly used on iPhone selfies these days.

Photographing women in such a manner to achieve an intimate imagery with beautiful aesthetics is a rare privilege for me, so hope you like the results .. and spoiler … I don’t think the extra f/2.0 aperture advantage of the Canon lens makes up for the better depth of field at this distance, the faster AF and the more subject detail and pop that the Olympus lens provides.

If you do really want smoother bokeh, then look at the Olympus mZD 75mm f/1.8 lens – it is my favourite of all lenses for outdoor portraiture assuming you don’t mind working at that focal length.

I have tried to post-process them from RAW in an identical manner.

Above, the Olympus mZD 40-150mm f/2.8 lens at 135mm f/2.8.

Above, the Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM lens at 135mm f/2.0.

See my last post as to how one can attach the Canon lens to the Micro Four Thirds cameras and gain full aperture control, EXIF data and some AF capabilities.