Micro 4/3 Panasonic 12-32 pancake zoom on Olympus body

swandy

Regular
i just picked up the Olympus Pen-F and I really would prefer not to either deal with switching primes all the time (just me though I do love walking around with a single lens) or the larger "pro" zooms which to me are better fitted for the larger OMD style bodies.

I have the Olympus 14-42 EZ zoom and while the style and size/weight perfectly compliment the Pen-F I just can't get out of my head that the optics of the lens won't do the new body justice as far as image quality.

Have read here numerous time of how must better optically the Panasonic 12-32 is and felt that would be a good compromise over a larger lens.

Any thoughts to those who have shoot with both pancake zooms?

And since the 12-32 from what I can see does not have a switch for the OIS what happens when you mount it on an Olympus body?

Thanks
 
I haven't shot with the 14-42mm EZ, but with the 14-42mm IIR which is said to be optically better - and the 12-32mm clearly beats it when it comes to colour and contrast and also (though not as thoroughly) to sharpness.

You can also prioritise I.B.I.S. by switching off "Lens I.S. Priority" via the expert menu (on the E-M10, it's in the "C" section). This way, I.B.I.S. is used under all circumstances.

M.
 
Ditto to everything Matt wrote. I would also add that on Panasonic bodies, when one adds a lens with no external stabilization switch, the option to control the function appears in the camera menu. Remove that lens and mount one with a stabilization on-off switch and the option disappears. This is the camera and lens talking to each other via software. Olympus bodies may function similarly but via the body or lens stabilization priority choice that Matt described. I also suspect that having the latest firmware in both body and lens is important in these situations.
 
You can check photozone review:
Panasonic Lumix G Vario 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH Mega O.I.S. - Review / Lens Test Report - Samples & Verdict

Here is a shot with e-pl5+12-32
original.jpg
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I picked up this lens a while back but only used it around the house to test it. Last week I went out with it as my only lens on my E-M10 (lens IS priority on). I was amazed at just how sharp this lens is. The sun was very bright, so I put a circular polarizer on it. Anyway, I applied my typical LR processing, and some of the images seem over sharpened and too contrasty. I don't use polarizers much at all and rarely use hoods, so I'm used to having to punch up often washed out images. I think I'll have to start using hoods or a polarizer and tone back my processing for photos taken outdoors in very bright sun. Anyway, so far very pleased with this lens!

26993900721_efb223b25a_b.jpg

Mama Goat
by Margaret Wilson, on Flickr
 
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