Sorry could find thread on this but has anyone had success with this combo? I can get a good deal on used 12-60 (usd 500) and wanted to try. Is focus slow and will it be too heavy on omd??? Thoughts please :)

Don't know if it's any help, but here is a relevant video:


It seems to me that the 12-60 focuses quite reasonably fast.

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Thanks. Will check out. Don't know if a lot better than native 12-50 considering size.

The 12-60 (plus the needed adapter) will be quite larger/heavier than the native 12-50. Keep in mind that the 12-50 zooms internally, so its size doesn't change.

It really depends on what type of photography you do, i.e. how much size and weight may interfere with your shooting methodology. If e.g. you're doing studio work or shoot on a specific location, the modest size/weight increase shouldn't bother you. If, OTOH, you carry the camera around all day...

That said, there is currently no equivalent to the 12-60 in the native collection. Olympus is rumored to "port" this lens to but no timeline given. Speaking personally, I would hesitate spending $500 plus $165 for the adapter, if this was the only Four Thirds lens I would use. Now, if it also happened to have a couple other good FT lenses around, or found them in similar good prices (e.g. the 50-200 or the 50mm macro), I'd be tempted.

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Very useful. Thanks. There was a 50-200 on hand but was gone by day end:(. Maybe I will pass on this one. Didn't realize adapter cost that much. Size and weight always is factor for me since I moved from a 7d (which I still enjoy using - mainly for video now) thanks

In my experience the ZD 12-60 works pretty well on the E-M5, just make sure to select only one focus point when you use it. That way you can make the AF behave itself. It still hunts a bit, but it happens very fast due to the sheer speed of the SWD focus motor. Though, C-AF is a mess...

Compared to the mZD 12-50 it's obviously much bigger, a full 20mm wider in diameter, and it extends when you zoom in, but the payoff is better image quality. I find the 12-60 to be slightly sharper and much better corrected for chromatic aberrations and fringing.

I also use the ZD 50-200 quite a lot on the E-M5, and that too works well with just one focus point selected. That said you can still forget about C-AF with this lens... The 50-200 though is also so sharp you could literally cut yourself. Very nice lens for cruise ships for instance, as you capture all the small details...

I can post some pictures later of what these two looks like on the E-M5 if you like...

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Like Eirik said, I also have found my 12-60 SWD to work very well on my E-M5. The major down side is the size which actually isn't that bad, but compared to m4/3 lenses it is much larger and heavier. It focuses moderately quick and has been very accurate (all I use is single focus point). I am thinking about selling my 12-60, but I do love the IQ, sharpness, and focal range so it is hard to give up. I'm traveling to Europe for my honeymoon in a couple weeks and I'm debating bringing it. I love the compactness of the E-M5 with m4/3 lenses, but once you put the 12-60 on it, I end up carrying it by the lens since the grip is small. With the E-M5 accessory grip, I'm sure it would be easier to hold.

I'm surprised Eirik found the 50-200 to work well with the E-M5. I had the SWD version and it seemed about 90% of the images came out of focus. It would focus lock, but then it turned out most images had the focal plane in front of the subject. Even scenes where the subject had good contrast to distinguish from the background most often missed focus. I ended up selling it last week. It was an amazing lens on my 4/3 cameras, but I barely used it on my E-M5 due to it misfocusing and being so large.

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Buy an adapter off ebay from china for 60 bucks, its electronic so it works with AF. it wont be weathersealed however

Mine is the old non-SWD version... It usually never misses at all. You do get the occasional miss, mostly at 200mm or if you use it with the EC-20 teleconverter in particular.

Here are some (resized) examples of what it can do with the E-M5:

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Thanks for the photos Eirik. They really show the performance of the lens and E-M5. If I bought the non-SWD version originally for my E-3, maybe I would have kept it. Taking photos of boats was one of the reason I bought the 50-200 originally (big into sailing). I ended up buying the Olympus 40-150 lens for a telephoto and do like how tiny it is. I can keep it in my bag at all times unlike the 50-200, but it won't come close to the IQ.

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