12mm f/2 and no one here is talking about it?

[shadowfox]

If this were a Leica or Cosina lens, there will be a 50 pages thread about it already 🙂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMEcaGFC8OQ

That manual switching from AF to MF is so slick.
And the distance scale is very useful for street photography.

Sometimes I get the feeling that I'm in dpreview, not a *Rangefinder*-centric forum because most of us seem to echo their worries about high-ISO performance and AF-speed rather than how suitable a camera system is for people on the street -shots...

you know, something that a rangefinder (and rangefinder-like) system should be measured up against. 🙄

 

[Renzsu]

rangefinderforum.. kind of gives it away 😉
seriously though, it's quite a wide lens, which makes it more a specialty lens than a walkaround.. which may explain the lack of a frenzy here.

 

[semilog]

No joking. That and the new 25mm Summilux look like one helluva kit.

 

[saxshooter]

i've been eyeing this one... waiting to see if the price drops from $800. The price of the Panasonic 14mm 2.5 certainly did in the few weeks after its introduction.

 

[raid]

How sharp is this lens at 2.0?
Is the view angle like a 24mm on a 35mm camera or like a 12mm lens?

 

[Frank Petronio]

It's like a 24mm Raid.

It does look like a great lens. $800 is a lot compared to the fine Pany 14mm that is only ~$325 but it has a rectangular hood. Once somebody puts a sexy rectangular hood on a lens the price doubles.

Taking a wait-and-see attitude... the Oly m4/3 lenses have not been impressive so far but the announced 45/1.8 looks pretty interesting too.

I don't understand the 25/1.4 Pany-Leica? -- When they already have a respectable 20/1.7 for half the price. 5mm and half a stop for another plastic lens doesn't seem like that much of a difference to me.

Oh well, Canikon hardly have any inexpensive wide primes even though they sell millions of APS-sensored DSLRs... manufacturers just don't understand or care about what serious photographers want.

 

[jsrockit]

manufacturers just don't understand or care about what serious photographers want.

Seems that way at times...

 

[Warren T.]

I've been using and enjoying the micro 4/3 format for 1.5 years, and I had been wishing for wide primes like the 12mm f2.0. It would be ideal for me because that would the widest that I normally shoot with in other formats. I was probably naive to think that they would be affordable too :bang:. $800 is beyond reasonable for me, unfortunately. 🙂

--Warren

 

[raid]

It's like a 24mm Raid.

It does look like a great lens. $800 is a lot compared to the fine Pany 14mm that is only ~$325 but it has a rectangular hood. Once somebody puts a sexy rectangular hood on a lens the price doubles.

Taking a wait-and-see attitude... the Oly m4/3 lenses have not been impressive so far but the announced 45/1.8 looks pretty interesting too.

I don't understand the 25/1.4 Pany-Leica? -- When they already have a respectable 20/1.7 for half the price. 5mm and half a stop for another plastic lens doesn't seem like that much of a difference to me.

Oh well, Canikon hardly have any inexpensive wide primes even though they sell millions of APS-sensored DSLRs... manufacturers just don't understand or care about what serious photographers want.

Hi Frank,
I have only the Olympus 17/2.8, and I am not impressed by its performance. A 24mm/2 that is tack sharp and has great color fidelity and resistance to flare would be nice. Maybe the Panasonic 14mm lens will do at $325, as you have said above. If the 14/2.5 drops in price even more, then it may be worthwhile for me to get such a lens.

 

[dreilly]

The Panny 20mm is really a fine lens. I spent a lot of enjoyable time with one. I'd be tempted to get the 25/1.4, however, only because with 4/3 format it's hard to get a really shallow depth of field with anything but very close-up shots, so you need the widest aperture you can get for those kinds of shots. But I guess I'd get the 12mm before swapping out the 20 for the 25. That half or so stop advantage and bit wider angle between the 12mm and the 14mm would be worth it in my opinion. I'm using and enjoying the larger-sensored Ricoh GXR right now, but I'm watching m4/3 develop with interest. I'm waiting to see the "pro" pen Oly has promised, and the Panny model that might be like the L1, all manual and such. But I'm also eyeing the Ricoh M module!

Lots of options these days!

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Yeah, this lens may bring me back to the format, but I am waiting to see what new body Pana is going to announce. Lots of rumors about an L1-style pro camera. Come sept or so I will probably either go back to m4/3, get a GXR, or an X100 as my small AF digi.

 

[gavinlg]

zuiko 12mm review

Olympus JP samples

zuiko 12mm hands on and samples

The lens is already out - there are a few people already using it on flickr. The consensus is that it's made beautifully, the manual focus snap ring is great, and it's optically superb with high resolution across the frame wide open, almost no distortion and very low CA.

 

[gavinlg]

And I might add that the price of $800 is actually REALLY reasonable, when you consider it's competition. Lets look at the prices of the competitions fast 24's:

Sony/Zeiss ZA 24mm f2 - $1250
Canon/Nikon 24mm f1.4 - $1700ish
Nikon 24mm ais f2.8 - $500
Olympus OM 24mm f2 - $650 second hand (ebay)
Pentax DA* 15mm f4 (22mm equiv) - $850

So the only other f2 24mm lens available new is nearly twice the price, and the closest new equivalent lens price-wise is the slightly more expensive Pentax 15mm, which is an f4 lens.

I'm not sure what people expected price-wise but $800 is pretty reasonable for a tiny, metal, made in Japan (same factory as OM lenses), f2 lens with a true manual focus scale and super fast focussing.

 

[Matthieu]

And I might add that the price of $800 is actually REALLY reasonable, when you consider it's competition. Lets look at the prices of the competitions fast 24's:

Sony/Zeiss ZA 24mm f2 - $1250
Canon/Nikon 24mm f1.4 - $1700ish
Nikon 24mm ais f2.8 - $500
Olympus OM 24mm f2 - $650 second hand (ebay)
Pentax DA* 15mm f4 (22mm equiv) - $850

So the only other f2 24mm lens available new is nearly twice the price, and the closest new equivalent lens price-wise is the slightly more expensive Pentax 15mm, which is an f4 lens.

I'm not sure what people expected price-wise but $800 is pretty reasonable for a tiny, metal, made in Japan (same factory as OM lenses), f2 lens with a true manual focus scale and super fast focussing.

Well, there's the Sony E-mount 16/2.8 for 250$, not the sharpest lens in the buch, but it IS the closest competition to the Olympus.

What I'd really love to know is whether this lens still uses software correction for its distortion. For $800, I would like to assume they can make good optics.

 

[Bobbo]

And I might add that the price of $800 is actually REALLY reasonable, when you consider it's competition.

But I thought the whole point of m4/3rds, over a full-frame camera, is to make things smaller and cheaper. All the lenses you mentioned except the last one are for full-frame cameras, so they should be more expensive. I don't get the point of an $800 lens on a tiny sensor... call me old-fashioned...

Also, what the heck is the point of a vented hood on that lens? It's not like any of these cameras have external viewfinders...

 

[raid]

I bought into the m4/3 system for two reasons:
1. get a decent P&S digital camera
2. use my legacy lenses that require obsolete SLR systems.

Neither reason justifies large expenses.

I am seeing benefits each month. My "boring" Canon FC 7.5mm circular fisheye lens shows a 15mm view on the EP-2. This lens is not super sharp, and using the center half of the lens improves sharpness.

I will travel to Europe with the M6 and the EP-2. The EP-s is not just my back-up camera, but I can use a normal lens on it as a tele.

 

[Contarama]

What is the close focus range?

 

[gavinlg]

Well, there's the Sony E-mount 16/2.8 for 250$, not the sharpest lens in the buch, but it IS the closest competition to the Olympus.

What I'd really love to know is whether this lens still uses software correction for its distortion. For $800, I would like to assume they can make good optics.

Well, you're comparing a lens that is basically optically rubbish with a very high quality optic, and it's a stop slower. The Zuiko is sharper wide open at f2 in it's corners than the sony pancake is anywhere in it's range, at any f stop. You can compare the two on www.slrgear.com

But I thought the whole point of m4/3rds, over a full-frame camera, is to make things smaller and cheaper. All the lenses you mentioned except the last one are for full-frame cameras, so they should be more expensive. I don't get the point of an $800 lens on a tiny sensor... call me old-fashioned...

Also, what the heck is the point of a vented hood on that lens? It's not like any of these cameras have external viewfinders...

Well, it's probably 1/3rd of the size of the sony 24mm f2 - not small enough for you? And nobody said anything about m4/3 being cheaper. Besides, there's plenty of cheap m4/3 lenses - pretty much the entire current lineup is cheap and small. This 12mm is for people who want high quality optics in a small package.

Also I think you underestimate how difficult it is to make a 12mm f2 lens...

The hood in that hands on isn't the official Olympus hood - it's a cheap on the dude found on ebay.

 

[gavinlg]

Hi Frank,
I have only the Olympus 17/2.8, and I am not impressed by its performance.

Yep, the 17mm zuiko is cheap, and therefore optically average. It should be better for a relatively normal, slow prime, hence why it's so cheap.

 

[FrozenInTime]

With the X100 being made of unobtanium; not that wide nor great at manual focus, I though I would give µFT another chance.

It's quite nicely made - seems sharp and flare resistent, but not had time to do much more than walk around the block.

All AF lenses should have MF rings like this 😀

The viewfinder is spot on (24mm e135 4:3 aspect for the Dlux-4)