photo:olympusmzd12-40pro
Olympus mZD 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro weatherproof lens
introduction
announced in 2013
a very useful 24-80mm field of view in 35mm full frame terms
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that said, optical performance is comparable to these primes and for many this one lens could replace them for most purposes
similar optical performance to the f/2.8 lenses for APS-C dSLRs and whilst you give up 1 stop shallow
depth of field (DOF) capability, the lens is around half the weight which makes for far more portability, plus you get very fast CD-AF and it is almost waterproof, while filters are smaller and thus less expensive.
specs
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if you put the ring in the MF position, set your distance, then push it back to AF and focus, it remembers the MF position. This means you can pull focus instantly between any two distances simply by pulling the ring backwards! Better still, the distance is held regardless of the zoom setting.
this is very useful for focus pulling in video mode!
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internal focus
“ZERO” lens coating
linear CD-AF motor
MSC silent AF mechanism
7 circular diaphragm blades
62mm filter thread
L-Fn button on lens
close focus 0.20m from sensor plane
weatherproof
382g
84mm long
similar MTF curves as the Olympus ZD 12-60mm but better at the edges at 40mm f/2.8 than the 12-60mm at 60mm at f/4
comparisons with other camera systems
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Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM for cropped sensor Canon dSLRs:
Sigma 17-60mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM for APS-C dSLRs:
27-96mm fov on a Canon; almost twice as heavy at 565g; 92mm long; expensive 77mm filters;
aperture blades are not rounded
IS is not as effective
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optical performance is similar
much slower CD-AF
not as “waterproof”
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II:
no IS
close focus not as good
not as sharp in the edges?
more than twice the price and 2.5x as heavy at 805g, and a massive, expensive 82mm filter
much slower CD-AF
not as “waterproof”
but you do get 2 stops more shallow
depth of field (DOF) - but if you really need this level of DOF control on
Micro Four Thirds system, you can resort to fast aperture primes such as a 42mm f/1.2 which will give even more shallow DOF
this is the better lens for wedding photographers and outdoor fashion work but for most other uses, the Olympus lens will suffice, especially when complimented with a fast prime or two.
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS:
IS not quite as effective
not as sharp
more expensive
close focus not as good
almost twice as heavy at 640g
77mm filter
not weather resistant
lots of distortion
much slower CD-AF
not as “waterproof”
but you do get 1 stop more DOF control
reviews
photo/olympusmzd12-40pro.txt · Last modified: 2020/02/13 07:39 by gary1