Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12 mm F2.0 Lens, Fast Fixed Focal Length, Suitable for All MFT Cameras (Olympus OM-D & PEN Models, Panasonic G Series), Black

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Good behaviour at night; as a matter of fact it is my favourite for night cityscapes (on a par with the Zeiss 35/2 on full-format cameras). WYSIWYG score:This table shows the performance of this lens if you save the files in the camera as jpg, whereby you have all available in-camera lens corrections applied. This score gives you for this lens/test camera combination: “What you see is what you get”. In use, this lens proved itself highly resistant to flare and loss of contrast, yielding contrasty images, even in harsh contra-lighting situations.

The Best Micro Four Thirds Wide-Angle Lenses for landscapes

As seen in the photo above, the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12mm f2 is a truly small lens that easily fits in the palm of your hand. Being a metal lens means it's somewhat heavier than you'd expect based on its size alone, but it's still extremely lightweight in comparison to most SLR lenses. When we compared the 17mm 1.8 to the Panasonic/Leica 15mm 1.7, we concluded that the latter was preferable for many reasons given the similar price tag. Today though, the Olympus lens can be found for less and therefore it deserves a mention. Lenses – Should have no marks on the elements andoptically clear. There may be light dust present that will not effect theimagery. Windows of the buildings shine most beautifully throughout the year and that is where I come to shoot. With the focus ring in its normal position, manual focusing works just like it does on any other Micro Four Thirds lens. In MF, S-AF+MF or C-AF+MF mode – as set on the camera – you can simply grab the focus ring and rotate it to focus on your subject. Focusing is done “by wire” as the ring is not mechanically coupled to the moving lens elements. In this position, the focus ring has no stops, hard or soft, at either end of the focus range – which is again typical of an MFT lens.So, when I started to switch to the Micro Four Thirds system with the Olympus OM-D E-M5, the first lens I looked for was, of course, a wide angle. I had already tried the excellent Panasonic Lumix 7-14 f/4, but it is a little too extreme for my tastes, not to mention I was looking for a lens with a faster aperture. The Olympus M.Zuiko 12mm was, as such, my only option, and I was really curious to see if I would miss my big fat (Greek?) DSLR wide angle lens. Well surprisingly, the anwser was a big fat ‘no’! While the Panasonic is compact and light, the Olympus 12mm f/2 is extremely well built and solid. It looks like is should be on the front of a Leica, not a M43 body. The lens is finished with a champagne colored metal and a blue ring adorns the top of the lens, similar to Canon’s red L ring. Nicely done Olympus. Olympus 12mm f/2. Shown with focus ring set to AF focus mode.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12 mm F2.0 Lens, Fast Fixed Focal

Although this lens isn't the most compact on offer for Micro Four Thirds system compatible cameras, it is still relatively compact and lightweight at only 130g. The build quality is excellent, with a retro metal finish and it makes a perfect companion for the Panasonic Lumix G3 used for testing.Sharpness is spot on from the fastest aperture at the centre and in the corners. At this value, it isn’t far off peak performance which occurs at around f2. You also get a very pleasant bokeh and excellent subject separation. Distortion is very well controlled so the lens can be used for architecture without any issues. There can be a bit of flare, vignetting and chromatic aberration at the fastest aperture but it’s nothing to worry about. The 12mm F2 was one of Olympus' first few mini sized prime lenses, released together with the Olympus PEN E-P3, before the era of OM-D cameras. The idea of compact sized prime lenses was genius, pairing them with smaller sized cameras like the PEN series. However, over the years Olympus has also made incredibly high performing standard zoom lenses, such as the 12-40mm F2.8 PRO. The 12-40mm lens is sharp, even at wide open, and if you were to show me images taken from 12-40mm vs 12mm side by side, I may have difficulty to tell each of them apart. The F2 vs F2.8 advantage is true and present but it is not that significant for wide angle framing, for wider angle lenses do not render shallow depth of field as easily as longer focal lengths, say 25mm or 45mm lenses. The F2 brighter aperture allows capture of more light for dim environment, but it does not make that huge of a difference because wide angle lenses are also less susceptible to camera shake compared to longer lenses. Furthermore the 5-Axis Image Stabilization from current Olympus cameras can sufficiently compensate for the loss of brightness in the PRO zoom lenses.

Lens Talk: Olympus M.Zuiko 12mm F2 - Blogger ROBIN WONG : Lens Talk: Olympus M.Zuiko 12mm F2 - Blogger

Optical Quality – Through the lens E-M5, 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 200 – M.Zuiko 12mm GX85, 1/8, f/11, ISO 200 – Leica 12mm SharpnessFigured! If it's purely for astro, I think the Samyang 12mm f2 might be a better value... IIRC it's just as sharp but with less coma, probably less reliant on software corrections for vignetting since it's made for APS-C sensors, and it's far cheaper. OTOH it's larger, and it's a manual lens which makes it a little less versatile. Unlike the M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f/1.8, which we also reviewed recently, the Olympus 12mm f/2 is truly an all-metal lens that is reminiscent of the highest-quality rangefinder lenses of yore, both in terms of its tactile qualities and its overall aesthetics.