The Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12mm f/2.0: A first high-end micro 4.3 lens
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Lens Review
DxOMark continues with its series of reviews of micro 4/3 lenses.
Following our review of Panasonic’s very good kit lens, we present here the results for a bright wide-angle lens — the Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12mm f/2.0, announced in June 2011 and on the market now for several months. This 12mm wide-angle lens is the equivalent of a 24mm 24x36; its design is upscale, all-metal and with a very pleasant grip. This lens has another nice feature in terms of handling — users can quickly activate the manual control simply by sliding the focus ring toward the camera.
In the micro 4/3 world, this is a lens that is clearly aimed at serious and expert photographers, thus giving DxOMark an opportunity to take a closer look at the capabilities of these lenses specifically designed for 4/3 cameras.
Four-thirds cameras (and notably the Panasonic GH2) have sensors with a very small pixel pitch — in fact, 16Mpix on a 4/3 sensor means pixels that are only 3.75 µm! This very small pixel pitch likewise means that the Zuiko and Panasonic lenses will have to have excellent resolution to take full advantage of this type of 16-Mpix sensor.
Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12mm f/2.0 review
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Further readings for the The Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12mm f/2.0: A first high-end micro 4.3 lens
To provide photographers with a broader perspective about mobiles, lenses and cameras, here are links to articles, reviews, and analyses of photographic equipment produced by DxOMark, renown websites, magazines or blogs.
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In this review of micro 4/3 wide-angle lenses, we will cover both prime and zoom lenses to give you an good overview of how manufacturers managed to design good-quality lenses in a small form-factor for these focal ranges. |
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Not too long ago, people assumed that choosing a micro 4/3 camera was the same thing as choosing a more versatile compact camera. Then the happy owners would start thinking about getting a zoom lens for this small camera and discover that… the zooms were nowhere near as compact as their camera. What they ended up with was not as pocketable as they hoped, but unfortunately, there are scientific optical laws that can’t be changed. The lenses tested here are good examples of just how compact lenses with large focal ranges can be. |