The "heavy price" one pays for full frame

[pdk42]

The versatility of the 12-100 is unrivalled
It also makes a surprisingly good Motorsports lens ! View attachment 879697

That's a superb shot!

 

[PakkyT]

That's a superb shot!

Ya, not only a great example of that lens's quality, but even more a great example of @Robstar1963 's clearly superior panning skills.

 

[Robstar1963]

As I understand it, Olympus made the 8.33x zoom 12-100 as a 'statement product' - i.e. to show that they could make an essentially perfect lens with a zoom range from UWA to medium telephoto that was excellent across the frame at all FLs and apertures when no one else could.
Firmware correction is part of their formula.
They succeeded.
It is still unequalled IMNSHO.

I have to say that (despite currently using other systems) if I was ever in a position where I absolutely had to choose just one lens for all my needs the Olympus 12-100 is the only one I would be considering - it covers reasonably wide angle and goes all the way to the equivalent of 200mm on a FF 70-200 so to an extent is very useful for sports / motorsports (where long run off areas and subject distances are not an issue)
With a reasonably sized fixed aperture and the superb 5-6 stop Sync IS on Olympus bodies the lens is a do it all that is absolutely unrivalled elsewhere

If I also had to mate it with just one body and I could strictly only keep the one lens and the one body it would be the EM1X and the 12-100 - fantastic package - the EM1X is a little too big for general use imo but as I would have to cover Motorsports use it would have to be this combination
Despite the size of the EM1X - the combo still fits nicely into a medium sized bag
I’d say that for all round use including a bit of sports or other genres that require some telephoto ability this is probably the best single lens / body combination available on any system
For most users imo who ‘only’ want to shoot landscape, portraits and general walkabout etc - I’d say that the EM1 Mk3 with the 12-100 would be the better choice

 

[pdk42]

As I understand it, Olympus made the 8.33x zoom 12-100 as a 'statement product' - i.e. to show that they could make an essentially perfect lens with a zoom range from UWA to medium telephoto that was excellent across the frame at all FLs and apertures when no one else could.

Firmware correction is part of their formula.

They succeeded.

It is still unequalled IMNSHO.

I have to say that (despite currently using other systems) if I was ever in a position where I absolutely had to choose just one lens for all my needs the Olympus 12-100 is the only one I would be considering - it covers reasonably wide angle and goes all the way to the equivalent of 200mm on a FF 70-200 so to an extent is very useful for sports / motorsports (where long run off areas and subject distances are not an issue)
With a reasonably sized fixed aperture and the superb 5-6 stop Sync IS on Olympus bodies the lens is a do it all that is absolutely unrivalled elsewhere

If I also had to mate it with just one body and I could strictly only keep the one lens and the one body it would be the EM1X and the 12-100 - fantastic package - the EM1X is a little too big for general use imo but as I would have to cover Motorsports use it would have to be this combination
Despite the size of the EM1X - the combo still fits nicely into a medium sized bag
I’d say that for all round use including a bit of sports or other genres that require some telephoto ability this is probably the best single lens / body combination available on any system
For most users imo who ‘only’ want to shoot landscape, portraits and general walkabout etc - I’d say that the EM1 Mk3 with the 12-100 would be the better choice

Yeah, the 12-100 is quite the lens. I had a dalliance with Nikon Z last year and pre-ordered the 24-200 thinking it would replace the 12-100. When it eventually arrived, I was sorely disappointed. Nowhere near as nice a lens. Lots of purple fringing, esp at the long end, which I often found impossible to remove against a blue sky (quite important for trees !); and just lacking the clarity & contrast that the 12-100 has.

 

[Holoholo55]

I have to say that (despite currently using other systems) if I was ever in a position where I absolutely had to choose just one lens for all my needs the Olympus 12-100 is the only one I would be considering - it covers reasonably wide angle and goes all the way to the equivalent of 200mm on a FF 70-200 so to an extent is very useful for sports / motorsports (where long run off areas and subject distances are not an issue)
With a reasonably sized fixed aperture and the superb 5-6 stop Sync IS on Olympus bodies the lens is a do it all that is absolutely unrivalled elsewhere

If I also had to mate it with just one body and I could strictly only keep the one lens and the one body it would be the EM1X and the 12-100 - fantastic package - the EM1X is a little too big for general use imo but as I would have to cover Motorsports use it would have to be this combination
Despite the size of the EM1X - the combo still fits nicely into a medium sized bag
I’d say that for all round use including a bit of sports or other genres that require some telephoto ability this is probably the best single lens / body combination available on any system
For most users imo who ‘only’ want to shoot landscape, portraits and general walkabout etc - I’d say that the EM1 Mk3 with the 12-100 would be the better choice

That was a superb shot of the racing bike, BTW.

Did you use Motorsports AF on those shots? If you did, I just wonder what you thought of that vs using C-AF or S-AF to shoot motorsports. I figure that's one distinguishing characteristic of the EM1X that is not duplicated in the EM1 III and further differentiates it for that purpose. Thanks.

 

[Holoholo55]

I remember Dennis Mook posting back in the early days of the 16Mp m43 sensors and doing large (3ft wide) print comparisons between the EM5 and the Nikon D800. His conclusion was that he couldn’t tell the difference. I wonder why he’s gone and bought a Z7?

Dennis did get a Z7 camera primarily for copying photos and slides, but recently sold his Nikon and Olympus gear and is going only with Fujifilm.
https://www.thewanderinglensman.com/2021/05/time-for-some-changes.html
https://www.thewanderinglensman.com/2021/05/more-changes-carnage-continues.html

 

[Steveee]

The versatility of the 12-100 is unrivalled
It also makes a surprisingly good Motorsports lens ! View attachment 879697

I just wandered in to this thread looking for some light relief from the "deleting media" and "new owner" threads, and clicked on to a couple of the uplinks(?) to the photo taken by @Robstar1963 . I'm not particularly a motorsports fan and I don't have any experience photographing them, but I just wanted to say it made me laugh out loud (and then smile widely) at how outrageously good that picture is. Thanks for posting!

 

[Robstar1963]

I just wandered in to this thread looking for some light relief from the "deleting media" and "new owner" threads, and clicked on to a couple of the uplinks(?) to the photo taken by @Robstar1963 . I'm not particularly a motorsports fan and I don't have any experience photographing them, but I just wanted to say it made me laugh out loud (and then smile widely) at how outrageously good that picture is. Thanks for posting!

Thanks @Steveee
I really enjoyed using the 12-100 on the EM1X
That particular shot was quite a challenge
It was taken at Cadwell Park at a race meeting that my stepson was competing in
That particular viewpoint was in an area covered by trees and the bikes appeared very suddenly from my right at very high speed and underneath me leaving virtually no time to frame and focus
The light weight of the 12-100 f4.0 helped me to track and pan them as they travelled across my field of view in a split second and the EM1X did very well in grabbing focus on a few of the bikes - however the hit rate in these circumstances was extremely low and I only managed a few pleasing shots amongst what was probably a couple of hundred frames shot
I was relatively new to the AI focussing of the EM1X that day and was alternating between the AI Motorsports focussing and normal CAF ( no tracking) I couldn’t say which focussing mode captured this particular shot but I suspect that the AI worked very well when there were targets appearing very suddenly like this
I was very pleased with this shot due to how unlikely success was at that location ?

 

[Robstar1963]

My stepson Ryan caught at a similar spot using the same combination - EM1X + 12-100 f4.0.
I was very pleased with this one too

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

 

[pdk42]

Dennis did get a Z7 camera primarily for copying photos and slides, but recently sold his Nikon and Olympus gear and is going only with Fujifilm.
https://www.thewanderinglensman.com/2021/05/time-for-some-changes.html
https://www.thewanderinglensman.com/2021/05/more-changes-carnage-continues.html

Thanks for posting that. A very interesting read and I agree completely with everything he says. Having ran a Nikon Z7 for a few months and then sold it all off, I can totally equate with his lack of being completely happy with the camera's features or usability. Despite its incredible IQ, in many other areas it just doesn't deliver. I also totally understand why he ended up with Fuji given his desire for JPEG SOOC rendering and a "classic" control set with lens aperture rings. For me, I hardly ever shoot JPEG and much prefer the dual-dial type approach on Olympus cameras. For that reason, I'm sticking with it. I also totally agree with this little extract from his concluding remarks:

My thinking and selection process for buying digital cameras has changed over the years. For me, it used to be all about maximum pixels, maximum dynamic range, the latest and greatest technology. That is now secondary. All of today's interchangeable lens digital cameras is capable of excellent image quality. For me, the deciding factor in buying or keeping a camera is almost entirely about:

a) how the camera feels in my hand,
b) the placement, feel, number and customizability of buttons, dials and menus,
c) how the menu logically "clicks" with my brain and how easy it is for me to understand,
d) the type, focal length and image quality of the available lenses,
e) the features that I need and want for my kinds of photography, and
f) that unexplainable satisfying feeling that I get when I use certain things.

All those things take me to Olympus cameras. I totally understand that he's arrived at Fuji with the same process, and I totally respect that, even though I really don't like Fuji gear myself.

 

[Holoholo55]

Thanks for posting that. A very interesting read and I agree completely with everything he says. Having ran a Nikon Z7 for a few months and then sold it all off, I can totally equate with his lack of being completely happy with the camera's features or usability. Despite its incredible IQ, in many other areas it just doesn't deliver. I also totally understand why he ended up with Fuji given his desire for JPEG SOOC rendering and a "classic" control set with lens aperture rings. For me, I hardly ever shoot JPEG and much prefer the dual-dial type approach on Olympus cameras. For that reason, I'm sticking with it. I also totally agree with this little extract from his concluding remarks:



All those things take me to Olympus cameras. I totally understand that he's arrived at Fuji with the same process, and I totally respect that, even though I really don't like Fuji gear myself.

Ditto. I respect his choices. If I have interest in any other system, it would be Fuji. However, I don't want to give up what I have with Olympus and the nice collection of bodies and lenses I have. I'm at the point in life where I don't really want to start over with the cost and time it would take to build into a new system. Don't have an abundance of either. And, I'm not at all convinced that switching would yield better photos. What has to get better is what's behind the viewfinder.

 

[doady]

And I thought I was the one who overthought my camera and lens choices. The 4:3 aspect ratio sensor, weather-sealing, image stabilization, constant aperture zoom, dust reduction, mirrorless, that is what led me to buy E-M1 II and 12-100mm F4. The best "feel"? I'm not going to invest in so many bodies and lenses, especially from three different systems at once, just to be 100.00000% sure of that. Smaller sensor allows for smaller lenses, and I found the E-M5 III and 12-40mm F2.8 combination too front-heavy when I tried them in the store, that's all I really need to know about "feel". This is the first body and lens I have ever bought, I have bought one more lens so far, the 8-25mm F4, and maybe I might buy another lens or two. If I am so unsure, still trying to figure things out, I think spending less is a better solution than spending more, but maybe that's just me.

 

[Mack]

Heavy is an understatement of FF. My Nikon 50mm f/1.2 S lens is massive and heavy over my old Nikon 50mm f/1.4. I think Nikon bought some John Deere or Caterpillar cast iron engine for their AF system. I don't know why it is so fookin' big other than maybe their need for the lens exit optics to be larger since the Z camera throat is also larger. Might be they cannot make a smaller and lighter lens given the new larger throat size.

Along with the size comes a slower AF too. They missed up not including the Focus Range the Olympus has since the Z7 II hunts to infinity far too much. Setting a range of say 7 feet to 13.9 feet in the Olympus for nearby birds is much faster to find and get an AF lock-on than the infinity-hunting Nikon. AF speed isn't everything if they also do not control how far it spins off and where it looks.