It’s one of the most beautiful lens I’ve seen. I know it’s not something you say to a photographic tool every day. But seeing the lovely metallic sheen, the cool, smooth and sturdy feel in my hands and the very snappy mechanical zone-focus is really a joy to use. Yes, finally Olympus delivered on a High Grade lens for the Micro Four Thirds in the form of the all-metal Olympus M.Zuiko 12mm F2. I had the chance to take this baby in the streets, albeit short, I was able to see how it performs.
The M.Zuiko 12mm F2
The lens is very small for a wide angle 12mm lens (24mm in 35mm) yet very solid with its metal build. The ribbings are in the right places for proper contact on the lens and for the manual focus once the focus ring has been pulled back to enable manual focus. A feature I wish future M43rds lenses would have but that would of course raise the cost of the lens.
The M.Zuiko 12mm f2 only weighs 130gm and has a 0.2m close focus distance which I thought was pretty good. The lens really is an eye turner. Side-by-side with the stellar M.Zuiko 45mm f1.8 you could really see the difference from the 45mm f1.8 faux-metal finish.
Impressions
So I took the 12mm lens with the E-P3 and shot at the streets of Hidalgo. I know the short span of time won’t be enough to really gauge the capabilities of the lens but here are my initial impressions.
- Focus speed is fast and accurate
- The snap manual focus is really responsive making me use the feature once in awhile even if I’m used to Autofocus
- Noticed some slight distortions but can be corrected on post-process
Sample Photos
I had the lens for a week but with the lousy weather and lots of things to do I couldn’t take it out on the field. Here are some shots I took on the streets of Quiapo for an hour before I took the lens back. Light condition was gloomy.
The Olympus M.Zuiko 12mm f2 is now available in the Philippines for an SRP of P36,000
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