Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm F4.0 PRO Lens, for Micro Four Thirds Cameras

Comment

I read a lot of reviews on this lens, and was so hopeful, even though leery of the extremely high price tag, to try it out. I purchased the lens last month, and have used it nearly everyday now in all types of situations, from city architecture to nature (attempting as well its feeble "macro" billing), to indoors, to sporting events. What I will say is the lens is OK - between average and good. Pluses would be the nice zoom range from 12-100MM, and the additional Image Stabilization within the lens . That said, I noticed very little difference when shooting low lit scenes handheld if I had the IS on the lens body turned on or off in terms of usable photos at slower speeds, as compared to the already super 5-Axis IS in the body of my Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II. Another pro is this comes with a hood, and a nice and smooth locking hood at that. The other plus is the ease of going from auto to manual focus right on the body of the lens via sliding a collar up or down. Also the lens is weatherproofed - a plus if you shoot in rainy or poor weather type conditions. The cons though are extreme, and all related for me to image quality. Purple fringing is TERRIBLE. Barrel distortion between 12-25MM focal lengths is TERRIBLE. City skylines look like the tall buildings are at 45 degree angles - yes folks, this is a really bad lens in this regard. Sure you can fix this in post processing, but for this kind of money I shouldnt have to. Images are very soft at the corners in all but F8 and F11, which is not what any review I read said. Lastly, its "macro" feature is a joke. You can get very close to focus at the widest angle which can produce some cool photos at F22, but using it zoomed in to 100MM as a macro, with the focus distance considered, it is average here. So, in closing, to me if I am paying $1200 for a PRO grade lens, I want to get and expect much more for my money. This is a highly overrated lens in my opinion, and frankly I am sorry I spent this kind of money on it as opposed to buying the 75MM F1.8 and another lens. It is pretty on the outside, but unless you shoot between 35-85MM and in bright light, it is definitely a disappointment in my opinion.

Show more

Comment

I am a dual system user. My m4/3 system was originally aimed at travel and my primary system is a APS-C based DSLR. Past experiences showed me that zooms with large zoom ratios were compromises at best, so I would only consider zooms with ratios typically =<3. In the recent years, I relaxed this constrain to =<5 as optical design has significantly improved. The down side is that decent zooms with larger ratios are typically large and heavy and require large filter. It kind of negates the benefit of using zoom. My APS-C system has reached a point that I no longer want to bring it for trips especially overseas trips. This was the reason for building a m4/3 system. I started out with a e-pm1 and soon replaced with a e-pm2 and now added a GX85. The kit zoom are OK but limited in zoom range. I hate to change lens when traveling. I replaced the kit zoom with a 12-60, which was a big improvement. I especially like the 12mm on the short end. However, I found out that I also used focal length between 60mm and 100mm on a 40-150 zoom. This was the reason for looking at this 12-100. This lens has a zoom ratio of 8+ which should be outside my range for consideration. The fact that so many people like it and reviews are great, it cannot be too bad and so I gave it a try. I think the smaller m4/3 form factor makes it possible to design high quality zooms with larger zoom ratios. This lens is big for m4/3 platform. I can live with it because I now have a one-lens travel solution. This lens is extremely well built, heavy and substantial. The lens mount is not as smooth as I am used to and neither is the zoom ring. The focus ring is very smooth (no resistance) when using the focus by wire and relatively stiff using the mechanical linkage. These are the not so great aspects of this lens. AF is fast and accurate on both e-pm2 and GX85. Close focus distance is excellent and can almost be a macro lens. Optical performance is the best strength of this lens. My limited experience confirms reviews findings. Even though it is a heavy lens, I dont find it unbalanced even when using it on e-pm2. This is now my go to travel lens. Highly recommended.

Show more

Comment

This lens defeats the purpose of the reason people buy a micro 4/3,, !!,, I returned it. Mounted on a Olympus EM5 , it looks ridiculous large and is too heavy to enjoy taking photos while trying to hold body and lens(must) at same time,, I found the combination of the OLY pro 2.8 12-40 and the OLY 40-155 4-5.6 better for use on camera and not being heavy. Also I found the difference in F4 to 2.8 noticeable,, I would rater shoot at a higher shutter speed. in side by side comparisons of the F4 12-100 and the F2.8 12-40, the 2.8 was sharper in all its range. On the pros for this lens, it is a quality build and feel, has a hood cover and if you really are locked into using only the 4/3 body and ONLY want one lens,, then this may be a option, the cons are heavy, large and f4 limitation. for myself,, for $1200 I would not buy it.. . If I was only taking travel photos outside, and could pickup this for half price, I might be temped to trying it. But beware,, it is not a discrete street camera then and is certainly a target for theft. Overall I dont think OLY "hit this out of the park",,, its a miss.

Show more

Comment

I am a Nikon guy usually shooting with D500 and D750. I have used Nikon 70-200 f/2.8, 24-70 f/2.8, 17-50 f/2.8, 16-35 f/4.0, 200-500 f/5.6, 16-80 f/2.8-4.0. I got the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II with the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f/4 IS and the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 25mm f/1.2 for travel light. This lens is so good that I never have to use my Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 25mm f/1.2. The dual stabilization system is amazing. Here are some sample pics at Waikiki beach, shot handheld and unaltered at f/11 12 mm ISO 200 with 3 sec exposure!

Show more

Comment

Fantastic lens!! Incredibly sharp, with great color rendering. The image stabilization is amazing, especially so with an Olympus camera body with in-camera stabilization. Hand-hold for several seconds in low light, and get sharp images! Brilliant.

Show more

Comment

The 12-100 replaces my long beloved 12-40 F/2.8 pro to go with my M1-2. I sometimes miss losing a stop of light, but for still shots, you get it back with the extra stability. How much extra? The M1-2 IBIS already boasts 5.5 stops of stability, and I really didnt think the extra stop you get with the lens would be noticeable, until I toggled it off by accident and was wondering why I was getting blurry long exposure shots. It absolutely makes a difference in trying to get 2-4 second (or longer!) hand held exposures, and the extra reach going all the way to 100mm (200mm, FF equivalent), is so handy to have for a travel lens. I pair this with the 25mm F/1.2 for when I really need a super fast beast, usually for indoor, low light shooting. This is also my to-go lens for any sort of video, but Ive started to use it more for portrait shoots as well when I have my own lighting and backdrop (and stop being so much of a bokeh freak). Is it expensive? Yes. Big for a M43 lens? Sure, but look at what youre replacing! A 24-70mm and a 70-200mm lens, all in one, and smaller than either for a full frame system. And for a similar price of a single 70-200mm F/4. Sharpness? Its very good. Its not mind-numbing, but very respectable for a zoom lens, and its already more or less at its sweet spot wide open at F/4. If you dont have a body that works with the lens stability, it may not be worth the price. Then again, its still a stunning lens that gives you incredible flexibility at a relatively reasonable size.

Show more

Comment

Everything good they say about this lens is true. However, the weight and size of the lens combined with the relatively small size of the camera body made it awkward to hold and operate. I found that using the Manfrotto MTPIXI-B PIXI mini tripod as a hand grip solved that problem and added a lot of stability.

Show more

Comment

This is a superlative all-around lens for my use cases, which are hiking and travel. It’s a heavy lens, butif I know I might have to both handle a high canyon wall and a bird in flight on the same outing, this is the lens I bring.

Show more

Comment

This is an amazing walk around lens with no significant downsides coming from shooting nikon primes and nikon pro lenses. The relatively small form factor, extra reach , phenomenal Sync image stabilization with olympus bodies (omd em1 mark ll, in my case) makes it an ideal travel lens. My travel kit is completed by pan Leica 100-400 as well as olympus 17mm and 45mm both at f / 1.8 . Highly recommended. This could replace olympus 12-40 f/2.8 pro lens if you dont mind trading the extra stop of light gathering capacity for a longer reach. To my eyes, images are plenty sharp. My other travel primes will suffice for low light photography.

Show more

Comment

What an amazing lens!!! The imagines this lens produces is outstanding. I use it with both OMD-E1 and the OMD E-1 mark ii. I have all the professional lens Olympus offers and this lens stays on my camera. Even in low light the quality is super clear. It is higher on the price point end, but so worth it.

Show more