Olympus 12-200 Review

[jimr.pdx]

Personally I'd prefer something like a 15-75mm and carry a 12 prime. My use of 12mm is rare enough to be unsuitable for an 'all-purpose' zoom as my extra-wide shots are rare and of a different purpose than shooting 20-50mm. My 45-150 is as useful as my 12-60 for a walkaround. I don't doubt the talent/potential of the 14-1x0 or 12-200.

Of course I'd never call myself typical

As to speed - I still recall the days when f/4 zooms went to f/3.5-4.5, and pretty much every film lens got smaller. Minolta's 'Beercan' 70-210 got a lot smaller (lighter too but the v1 Maxxums wore metal jackets) and even 35-105mm types got smaller. I wish we'd see more 3.5-4.5 designs.

 

[Him-ch]

I just got my copy of this lens and for travel along with a 14-42 I think they will do very nicely along with the 12-40. The 14-42 will be on the Blackmagic 4K and the other two on an OM-D.

I do notice something on my copy of the 12-200. It feels very stiff from 70-200 at around 100, there is a definite resistance to moving further to the 200 mark. I wonder if this normal with this lens?

 

[Bytesmiths]

I just got my copy

Pictures, please!

 

[Him-ch]

TE="Bytesmiths, post: 1296386, member: 29352"]Pictures, please! [/QUOTE]

Here are two, the second of the mountain you should recognise from the first wide shot.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

One more using the small FL-LM-3 flash bounced to white ceiling

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[tkbslc]

Well, that's quite a zoom range!

 

[joerg218]

It seems like that not many Users got this Lens. There is still no sample Image Thread for this Lens.

 

[ibd]

I ordered this lens on e-infinity for about 600 dollars and will get it on Monday. Still no showcase thread about this lens though? Is anyone else using it at all?

 

[oldracer]

Yeah, the near-invisibility of this lens has been a puzzle to me as well. I have been watching for a used one for at least three months and finally scored with an Oly refurb and their 20%off sale. So $576 plus state tax.

I wanted to evaluate it as a tourist lens vs my old faithful Panny 14-140 Mk II. As the specs say, it is both heavier and larger but not by huge amounts. I shot a few resolution test targets with both lenses last night. At 140mm, the two lenses are very similar. The Oly seems to soften some more when it gets to 200, but I need to try some real pictures to see if that's significant. At the wide end I have to re-do my test with the camera closer to the target. That huge zoom range really makes for a tiny target when at full wide. Preliminary results say the Panny looks sharper at 14.

 

[ibd]

I also plan to make a shootout with the other superzooms I have. Pana 14-140 and Oly 12-100. If the new Oly is convincing, I might replace the Pana zoom with it.