As is the case with baseball, I have intended to learn about photography for a while now. Since upgrading my Olympus E-PL5 with an OM Systems E-M10 Mark IV, and then subsequently finding a new use case for my E-PL5, I’m starting to pay more attention to gear and technique.

The E-PL5 came with a kit lens, an M.Zuiko zoom that shoots from 14mm to 44. I understood that this was some kind of zoom lens, which to a budget-minded buyer dipping a toe into the prosumer world of digital cameras, makes a lot of sense. I had, in short order, added a 17mm Panasonic Lumix 1.7 pancake lens to the E-PL5, and that was pretty much curtains for the kit lens.

For the rare instances when I might need some serious magnification, I purchased a cheap Olympus 40-150mm 1:4–5.6 Zoom Lens.

The kit lens, though, is neat in that you can switch between focal lengths that equal 35mm and 50mm, a lens shooting at which is referred to as a “nifty fifty.” And having researched lenses a bit, the kit lens actually is well regarded. It is, however, plasticky.

I decided to order a used Panasonic LUMIX G 25mm f/1.7 off of eBay in the interest of experimenting with this length. I have nothing but praise for the 17mm wide angle LUMIX, but the temptation of a “nifty fifty,” with its lifelike perspective, was too irresistible to bear.