The Zuiko is absolutely beautifully crafted based on a metal lens body and a metal mount but no (explicit) weather protection. The physical length of the lens remains constant regardless of the focus operation. Thanks to an IF (internal focus) the front element does not rotate. A square-shaped metal lens hood is only optional ... which we think is either bizarre or insulting regarding the already high price of the lens. Puerto de San Antonio atrás a la derecha, antes la desembocadura del Río Maipo junto al Humedal Río Maipo. Playa Marbella de Rocas de Santo Domingo abajo. The first four images were taken with the Panasonic G3 used for testing. The last four were taken with an Olympus E-PM1.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12mm f/2.0 Micro Four Thirds Lens

With the lens wide open, you can see some light fall-off in the corners (see the macro test shot below for an example). Stopping down to just f/2.8 cures this problem almost entirely. Cameras – LCD screen is heavily worn either by de-lamination or has scratches to it. Rubber grips are starting to come away from the body. There is some chromatic aberration and vignetting , but that can be easily fixed in post processing. The color rendering of this lens is warm. Warmer than most Panasonic lenses. Color temperature can also be adjusted in post processing. Autofocus is silent, fast and deadly accurate.In an age when plastics are often used in lens manufacturing it comes as an absolute delight to find that the Olympus M.Zuiko 12mm f/2 lens is not only metal-cased but also feels solidly-built and has a very tactile satin finish. While there is only a 2mm difference between these two lenses, you wouldn’t know it by simply looking at them. The Panasonic is a tiny little thing, both in size and weight while the Olympus is quite a bit larger and feels much more substantial in your hand. From the moment you lay your hands on it, you know there is something about the lens, the way that its built a solid lens built in a metal casing and with low dispersing glass, offering durability that is unmatched in any of the Micro Four Thirds primes. The lens feels solid despite its diminutive size.

Olympus 12mm f/2 Micro Four Thirds Lens | Park Cameras Used Olympus 12mm f/2 Micro Four Thirds Lens | Park Cameras

With the micro four thirds mount still relatively new on the camera scene, at the time of writing there's little in the way of alternatives. As you can see from the images above, both lenses produce excellent images and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend either to any M43 user. I found performance with the Olympus 12mm and the Panasonic 14mm to be very similar when shooting with my GF-1. With that being said, there are reasons to buy one over the other, see below. Hugin Panorama Creator, 2 SOOC jpeg (WB auto, Red/A -2, Sharpness -1, Contrast -1, Saturation +1, Gradation Normal). Two of the most logical competitors within the Micro Four Thirds lens range are the Olympus M.Zuiko 12mm f/2 and Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 due to the fact that they share the exact same field of view. The former, released in 2011, has been around almost as long as the system itself whereas the latter arrived on the market in mid-2016. We tested this lens in combination with the new flagship of the digital PEN fleet; the Olympus PEN E-P3. As you can see, the M.Zuiko 12mm f2 is a perfect fit for that body in terms of size and proportions (and styling as well, if you can get hold of an E-P3 with a silver finish).

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. Auto focus performance with both lenses is very impressive. Even in low light, each lens snaps into focus in less than a second. One thing that aids in the speed of these lenses is there are no external moving parts meaning the front element does not move. The Panasonic 20mm f/1.7’s front element does move which means slower AF speed when compared to the 14mm. In addition to slower AF speeds, moving front elements make lenses more prone to dust and gunk into your lens.

Olympus M.Zuiko 12mm f/2 Review: the best - MirrorLessons Olympus M.Zuiko 12mm f/2 Review: the best - MirrorLessons

Although they work perfectly fine for landscapes, they might be too narrow for interiors, astro-photography or architecture if your priority is to capture the entire scene. If you concentrate on specific portions of the frame however, they can work well because they all offer excellent optical quality. These lenses are also very popular for street photography, weddings, reportage and environmental portraits. Our favourite: Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 ASPH.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’! f/2.8 at 12mm is a bit too slow. But the lens is excellent at 12mm, with well corrected coma, manageable vignetting and very low chromatic aberration. If you have a really dark sky you should be able to get something usable. But post-processing is as important as the lens.