OLYMPUS M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 Pro Lens, for Micro Four Thirds Cameras

Product Information

The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution. The taller the column, the better the lens performance. Simple. The Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 was the first in Olympus’ Pro series of lenses designed for Micro 4/3 cameras. It is a weatherproof (dust, splash and freeze proof) fixed aperture zoom lens offering the 35mm equivalent field of view of a 24-80mm lens. It has a fixed aperture of f/2.8 throughout the zoom range with a filter thread of 62mm. 62mm filter thread The lens has a versatile focal range. At the 12mm end, the diagonal angle of view is 84°, i.e. the same as that of a 24mm lens in a 35mm system. This lens isn’t specifically built for macro, with a maximum magnification ratio of 0.3x / 1:3.3 (0.6x / 1:1.7 in 35mm eq.) and a minimum close-focusing distance of around 20cm (7.87 in.). Still, the Olympus 12-40mm ƒ/2.8 Zuiko PRO provides a respectable performance in the macro category. In addition to water, oil, and dust repellent performance, the fluorine coating on the front-most lens reduces friction. Both lenses can easily be cleaned with a blower or cloth when dirty, allowing users to continue shooting immediately. MAIN FEATURES: M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 PRO II

This model uses an optical design with 14 elements in nine groups (one EDA lens, two aspherical lenses, one DSA lens, two ED lenses, one HD lens, two HR lenses) with four aspherical lenses including a DSA lens effectively placed to achieve a compact, lightweight form and superior depictive performance expected of an M.Zuiko PRO lens. Effectively compensating for aberrations that occur when zooming, results in high resolution from the center to the edges of the frame across the entire zoom range, from wide-angle 24mm equivalent to mid-telephoto 80mm equivalent 1. This high-performance lens fully utilizes the high image quality performance of the camera body when using High Res Shot mode. Make no mistake, this is one of the best kit lenses you’ll ever get your hands on. But if you do, you’ll desperately want to supplement it with OM System’s beautiful Pro-level prime lenses. You’ll also want to get more zoom lenses at the longer end because they’re just that great. My point is when you open up that aperture 2 stops to get the correct DoF you're image is suddenly going to be overexposed by two stops. F4 is faster than 8.

First, stabilization. If you’re shooting on a Panasonic body, the Panasonic lens probably gets the nod simply because it has OIS and the Olympus does not. With a FF camera, as @NZ Scott says, you can just up the ISO 2 stops and still come out with a very good image and equal or better noise. Chromatic aberrations are well controlled throughout most of the zoom range. Between 12mm and 18mm fringing only exceeds half a pixel width when stopped down to between f/11 and f/22. At 40mm fringing just exceeds three quarters of a pixel width towards the edges of the frame at f/2.8, but even so, this low level should be difficult to spot. Despite the larger size and weight, it feels great in the hand and balances nicely with both the larger Olympus E-M1 and smaller MFT cameras like our Panasonic GX1 test camera. The larger size makes it easier to hold, and helps keep smaller cameras more stable. This is a pretty easy question to answer. If you’re getting the OM System OM1, then get it bundled with the OM System 12-40mm f2.8 Pro II. Should you upgrade to it? Honestly, I’m not sure. If you go with the Panasonic 25-50mm f1.7 and pair it with the 10-25mm f1.7, you’ll probably be in pretty great shape. But you’ve got far more range with the OM System 12-40mm lens instead. However, you’re at only f2.8! Years ago, it was an impressive feat to have a 24-80mm equivalent lens with an f2.8 aperture. But the world has moved on.

The 12–40mm F2.8 PRO II is an updated version of the original 2013 lens. It features improved sealing, taking it up to the IP53 standard and adds fluorine coating to keep water and dirt off the front element. The OM System 12-40mm f2.8 Pro II doesn’t contain a whole lot of innovation over the previous lens. It has better optics, fast autofocus, and a whole lot of things the previous version had. But in the grand scheme of things, there’s not a lot that’s groundbreaking here. Comparatively speaking, it doesn’t shine as much compared to many of the other PRO-monikered lenses from OM System. Ergonomics The Olympus OM-D E-M1 used for this test is a great match for the lens, offering good balance, fast auto focus, and full environmental seals. The M.ZUIKO Digital 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens itself is very well built, fully living up to the PRO designation that Olympus have given it. The 62mm front element sits relatively vulnerable at the front of the lens, though Olympus supplies a reversible LH-86 petal-type hood that you can use to give some protection. As you zoom, the lens extends in length by a considerable amount, so don’t get deceived by the 3.3” (84mm) collapsed size; the lens will easily hit 5” with hood when zoomed. Focus does not rotate or move the front element. Since the OM System branding is still new, it's worth pointing out that OM System lenses are fully compatible with Olympus cameras and vice versa. OM System lenses look exactly like previous Olympus lenses, save for the OM System name on the barrel and lens caps.In other words, there’s little that I’d use to distinguish between the two lenses. We could quibble. If you’re mostly shooting at the wide end, the Olympus is probably the better choice, but if you’re mostly shooting at the telephoto end, the Panasonic probably is the lens of choice, despite it’s 5mm shorter length. But I don’t think most people think of a workhorse mid-range zoom that way: they want it to be useful across the board. Both these lenses are, just with different nuances as you move through the focal and aperture ranges.

Further improved high image quality and a compact, lightweight design in a standard zoom lens with a fixed maximum aperture of F2.8 Impulses: "I'd be curious how well those hold up at 42-61MP" -- not great... which is often better than the very best MFT lenses have ever done. ;-) Optical design with 14 elements in nine groups for excellent resolution across the entire zoom rangeAdvanced IP53 dustproof and splashproof performance, and freezeproof performance to 14°F Both lenses clear the IPX3 and higher splashproof tests, far exceeding the conventional IPX1 rating, as well as dustproof tests. Both feature IP53 dustproof and splashproof performance for peace of mind in even more punishing conditions. They can also function in low-temperature environments down to 14°F, and pairing these lenses with a dustproof, splashproof, and freezeproof camera body makes it possible to continue shooting in punishing environments such as rain, snow, and even dusty environments with peace of mind. This is regardless of whether or not the scene detection is on. So with all this said, you’ll have to give the OM System 12-40mm f2.8 Pro II a bit of focusing assistance by choosing an area for it to focus on. This is in some ways an antiquated way of thinking for a lens like this. If it were a much longer focal length and photographing birds, it would be different. But there were surely times where the OM System 12-40mm f2.8 Pro II frustrated me over a period of a few months of testing. Further, the OM System 12-40mm f2.8 Pro II struggles more with exposure preview settings activated. If you’re using the simulated OVF function, you’ll get the best autofocus performance in terms of accuracy, speed, and all. I wouldn't be afraid to use this lens at any focal length from f/2.8 to f/8, though technically f/4 is probably a slightly "best” aperture overall, and I mean slightly. That, too, is a bit unusual for a fast lens. One other thing that I found unusual: there's very little field curvature at 12mm (or anywhere in the lens, for that matter). I didn't really find myself having to adjust for field curvature or focus shift, which was a bit unexpected. These specs were taken from the LensRentals listing. Go ahead and rent one from them using our hyperlink. Angle of View

Tipping the scales at 382 grams and measuring 84mm in length and 70mm in diameter, the Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital 25mm f/1.8 is quite a substantial standard zoom lens, but given the constant f/2.8 maximum aperture, that's perhaps no surprise. When it's zoomed out to 40mm, it measures nearly 13cms in length. The world’s most compact, lightweight model 1 delivers unrivaled portability, and an inner zoom system improves usability Of course the camera's built-in corrections take care of much of this, though with a bit of strangeness. At 12mm corrected JPEGs have about a half percent barrel distortion. The oddity is that the camera takes the modest amount of pin cushion distortion at marked 25mm focal length and changes it into a modest amount of barrel distortion! This tells me that the table the camera is using is more a smoothed curve than a very precise set of values for each and every focal length. Its IP53-rated seal protects against ingress of dust and water, and the lens is freezeproof down to 14°F / -10°C. This enables you to shoot in the most inhospitable environments, whether that's dust, rain or snow. Overall: You'll be correcting the output of this lens either by shooting JPEGs and letting the camera do it, or you're going to want to use a converter that has a lens conversion ability for this lens. In those cases, you'll get very good results, slightly better wide open than the 12-35mm f/2.8 Panasonic I reviewed earlier. If you don't correct for the lens, you're going to have a lot of linear distortion and vignetting that will rise to high visibility.

You can get really close with this lens. I think it's a very nice option to have and I can imagine that many photographers don't need an extra macro lens. This Olympus 12-40mm might very well be the only lens many people ever need. Especially when combined with the very efficient Olympus in body stabilization. It's a do it all kind of lens. And it does it well too. Chromatic Aberration: One of the better aspects of this lens. Even uncorrected the chromatic aberration is well under control, with 40mm f/2.8 being the worst case at just over one pixel's width, and almost every other focal length and aperture being significantly under that. In camera corrections don't take care of all the CA, but they reduce it enough so that you can probably ignore it. Overall, combined with the OM1, it feels a bit like the Nikon z9 before firmware updates. That’s to say that it’s good; but not fantastic. It’s miles ahead of the Fujifilm X Pro 3 comparatively speaking. At the same time, the Sony a7r III — a far older camera — can outdo this lens with a third-party option on it.