Olympus m.ZD 60mm f/2.8 macro lens

see also:

• Micro Four Thirds system
• macrophotography
• macrophotography for Micro Four Thirds cameras
• TTL flash for Micro Four Thirds cameras
• my blog posts:
  • the 60mm macro lens for rainforest bushwalks

• a nice weatherproofed 1:1 macro lens for Micro Four Thirds system matches the weatherproofed Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera with its 5axis 5EV IS very nicely indeed and makes macrophotography so much easier for at least we can do away with a tripod and the light camera and lens with flash will not make your muscles tremble as much under the weight as they would with a dSLR, plus the AF is very fast even for macro work.
• traditional macrophotographers using manual focus may at last consider AF as a viable option.
• the image quality is awesome - check out the reviews at the bottom
• introduced late 2012
• see also:
  • Olympus ZD 50mm f/2.0 macro lens
  • Panasonic Leica-DG 45mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens
• compared with the Olympus ZD 50mm f/2.0 macro lens:
  • much faster AF
  • less CA
  • less flare - presumably thanks to the improved ZERO coatings and the smaller aperture
  • internal focus
  • focus limiter switch
  • 1:1 macro not just 1:2
  • apparently even sharper than the incredibly sharp 50mm at wider apertures which can introduce some moire issues
  • thinner, longer and lighter
  • BUT less good at blurring the background, and less good in low light as it is only f/2.8 not f/2.0, and not as sharp in the corners at non-macro distances

• 60mm f/2.8 (= 120mm fov in 35mm terms)
• weatherproofed but plastic build
• 13 elements in 10 groups, with one ED element, two HR elements and one E-HR element
• Three of the groups float and perform focusing functions
• 4 focus settings via dial on lens:
  • 0.4m - infinity
  • 0.19m - infinity
  • 0.19m - 0.4m
  • 1:1 macro
• closest focus 0.19m (1:1 macro) giving a working distance from the front of the lens to subject of 7-8cm
• wide manual focus ring
• no focus markings other than for 1:1 (0.19m); 1.1.3 (0.20m), 1:2 (0.23m) and 1:4 (0.34m) and infinity
• no DOF markings
• 46mm filter
• 185g
• fast MSC AF not as fast as the 12mm f/2.0 or 45mm f/1.8 but comparable to the 75mm f/1.8
• optional LH-49 bayonet mount, telescoping lens hood
• RRP $599

• sneak peak via precision camera
• Robin Wong's review Part 1
• Robin Wong's review Part 2
• Robin Wong's review using the lens for insects with the E-P5 and VF-4 EVF
• Zuikoholics review
• Ming Thein's review
  • “a ‘truly outstanding’ lens … it’s amongst the best lenses I’ve ever seen”
  • “has an even more impressive MTF chart than its highly-regarded predecessor, the ZD 50/2 macro for Four Thirds”
  • “bokeh is smooth and pleasant, with very minimal bright edges on defocused highlights”
  • “Chromatic aberration was nonexistent laterally, and more commendably, almost completely absent longitudinally, too, even wide open. I have not seen this level of CA performance in any macro lens I’ve used to date, even the Leica 120/2.5 APO-Summarit-S”
  • “this is the new reference lens for Micro Four Thirds. It’s that good”
• Ming Thein's macro shootout: 60mm f/2.8 vs Panaleica 45mm 2.8 vs Carl Zeiss ZF 50mm f/2.0 Makro-Planar vs Nikon AFS 60/2.8 G Micro on an OM-D camera and the clear winner is the Olympus 60mm f/2.8 macro!
  • “the ZD60 simply has far fewer optical shortcomings than the PL45, and a transparency about it that makes it look as though the other lenses have a veil or film or something pulled over them”
• Admiring Light's macro battle: Olympus 60mm f/2.8 vs Panasonic 45mm f/2.8
• Admiring Light review
• Pekka Potka's review
  • a great lens, especially for macro work, where it is sharper than the ZD 50mm macro, or a film scanner, or a Canon 5D Mark II macro kit, but it is softer in the corners for general work at normal focus distances than the Olympus ZD 50mm macro, mZD 45mm f/1.8 or the mZD 75mm f/1.8.
  • sharper than any Olympus MFT zoom lens at same focal length
• photoreview.com.au review
• DxOMark lens test
• ephotozine.com review
  • provides a great combination of great optical performance, lightweight, compact design and value for money