A train departs from a snowy station in a frosty winter morning. Photograph created with the Olympus 12 - 40 mm 2.8 Pro lens.
Martin Mojzis / Fine Art Photography and Graphic Art Atelier.

OLYMPUS M. ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12 - 40 MM 1:2.8 PRO.

OLYMPUS PHOTOGRAPHIC GEAR REVIEW – PART 3.

March 6, 2018.
First sample images, lens specifications and how photographies has been created and edited you can find in ►part 1. In the ►second article about Olympus professional photographic gear we introduce next photographies created with M. Zuiko digital ED 12 - 40 mm 1:2.8 PRO lens. In this part, we will introduce some sample photographies and summarize the findings.

A passenger train departs from a snowy station on a frosty winter morning. Photograph created with the Olympus 12 - 40 mm 2.8 Pro lens.

Motion blurred front of moving train, falling snow. Photograph created with the Olympus 12 - 40 mm 2.8 Pro lens.

↑ WITH A MORNING TRAIN. Focal length: 15 (30) mm, exposure time 1/10 second, aperture f/3.2, ISO 1000.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
Straight tracks and overhead contact line columns due to optical error corrections. The 100% crop shows a very good detail drawing despite the lack of light and higher ISO sensitivity.


An electric locomotive at the head of a train carrying grain. Photograph created with the Olympus 12 - 40 mm 2.8 Pro lens.

Locomotive and wagon close up, falling snow. Photograph created with the Olympus 12 - 40 mm 2.8 Pro lens.

↑ GRAIN ON THE WAYS. Focal length: 15 (30) mm, exposure time 1/800 second, aperture f/4, ISO 400.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
What should be straight, straight is - very good.


A yellow excavator with an additional undercarriage, enabling driving and working in the railway yard. Photograph created with the Olympus 12 - 40 mm 2.8 Pro lens.

The excavator cabin, falling snow. Photograph created with the Olympus 12 - 40 mm 2.8 Pro lens.

↑ REST AFTER WORK. Focal length: 18 (36) mm, exposure time 1/125 second, aperture f/8, ISO 200.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.


 Photograph created with the Olympus 12 - 40 mm 2.8 Pro lens.

 Photograph created with the Olympus 12 - 40 mm 2.8 Pro lens.

↑ AROUND THE WORLD. Focal length: 22 (44) mm, exposure time 1/1000 second, aperture f/5.6, ISO 320.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.


Olympus M. Zuiko digital ED 12 - 40 mm 1:2.8 PRO lens is clearly one of the optics, that we should seriously consider if we are looking for a universal basic lens for the camera of Micro 4/3 system.

The sharpness is very good in the entire image area. As we have seen in ►first part, you can use it if you do not have a fixed focal length lens, take pictures of e.g. landscapes and you can print it in large format, even though sometimes you will need to increase the resolution slightly and thus reduce the size, if you do not want to resample. Of course, good prime lens will (not only) always draw in the landscape better, with higher nobility, microcontrast etc.

What we can not judge is geometrical deformation and chromatic aberration. These two common lens affections fix the camera directly, so there is no need to use Lens Correction in the Lightroom. On the one hand, it is an advantage. Repairs to geometrical deformations have been prepared very precisely by the manufacturer. The lines are beautifully straight using the shortest focal lengths, making composition very easy. We also can not find chromatic aberrations in the photographs, even longitudinal (bokeh), which, however, its removing via software is very difficult and their absence therefore reflects a very good optical quality of the lens. On the other hand, it's a shame, that geometric corrections can not be turned off in the camera, because many themes, such as in the nature, do not require them, and there is no unnecessary deterioration in the quality of the drawing in the corners.

As I have already explained in more detail in ►first part, the lens is almost all-metal, so working with it is very pleasant. Both rings rotate smoothly and with adequate resistance. About the funny button L-Fn I already ►wrote too. A great advantage is the resistance of the lens against frost, dust and splashing water.

Autofocus is extremely fast and almost inaudible. Manual focusing switch via focus ring shift is very handy. Who does not like it, for example, because of an unwanted switch, can turn off this feature in the camera.

For a good idea, on the contrary, I do not consider fastening the lens hood on the front, retractable part. The hood must be very shallow (adequately the shortest focal distance) and therefore less effective. The solution is to attach the hood directly to the body of the lens and let the retractable part to move inside. It is necessary to change the optical design, because the lens protrudes to longest size at the shortest focal length, a nice paradox. As a result, the hood may be deep enough to fit the longest focal length. For small focal lengths the front member is extended almost to the edge of hood, while at longer focal lengths its diving deeper into the hood and it so effectively protects it. Expect side light also against water or dust, as the sliding, movable part is always hidden in the hood. This excellent solution is now only used by Nikon on the AF-S NIKKOR 24 - 70 mm 1:2.8 E ED VR lens. Canon has left it wrong with the last version EF 24 - 70 mm 1:2.8 L USM, which is hardly justifiable due to a double increase of price compared to the previous version, that had a deep lens hood.

Olympus M. Zuiko digital ED 12 - 40 mm 1:2.8 PRO lens I can definitely recommend for professional photographic creation. It is very sharp fully open too, we can not find in photographs geometric deformations or chromatic aberrations due to correction algorithms. It is durable, almost all-metal and not only relatively lightweight (382 g), but also relatively affordable, 899 EUR incl. VAT. So if the Micro 4/3 system also suits you, do not hesitate.

Finally, I would like to emphasize, that this entire series of articles is in no way promoted or influenced by the Olympus. They only lent me the gear without any other claims or obligations.

And this is all for today. In the ►fourth part we will look at the another lens, for this time a little bit bigger.

© Martin Mojzis, 2018.
Photograpies: © Martin Mojzis, 2018.

►To the beginning of the article.
►Overview of all articles.
►Homepage.
►Site Map.