Travel Photographer’s Lens - Olympus 12-40mm 2.8 Review
Travel Photographer’s Lens - Olympus 12-40mm 2.8 Review
Prime lenses are awesome! They are faster (wider aperture) and cheaper than most other lenses. One of the issues of prime lenses, especially as a travel photographer, you can never get close or far enough away with the lens you are using. You could try changing lenses, but by the time you have finished switching lenses the subject has changed or is gone. That is why it’s very important to have a good zoom lens. For the longest time I relied on my prime lenses for my micro 4/3 set up, but like mentioned, zoom lenses are a travel photographers amazing tool. You will never know when a great opportunity for a shot will come and you do not have time to move in place and compose. For that reason is why I fell in love with the Olympus 12-40mm 2.8 lens. Here are some of my thoughts this month.
Specs
Here are the specs to the Olympus 12-40mm 2.8 Pro Lens
| Focal Length | 12-40mm |
| 35mm Equivalent Focal Length | 24-80mm |
| Lens Construction | 14 Elements in 9 Groups |
| (Aspherical ED lens, 2 Aspherical lenses, DSA lens, 2 ED lenses, HD lens, 2 HR lenses) | |
| Dust & Drip Proof | Yes |
| Focusing System | High-speed Imager AF (MSC) - Linear Motor Drive System |
| Angle of View | 84 - 30 Degree |
| Closest Focusing Distance | 7.87 inches |
| Maximum Image Magnification | 0.3x |
| 35mm Equivalent Max. Image Magnification | 0.6x |
| Minimum Field Size | 58 x 44 mm |
| Number of Blades | 7 (Circular Aperture Diaphragm) |
| Maximum Aperture | f2.8 |
| Minimum Aperture | f22 |
| Filter Size | Diameter 62mm |
| Dimensions | Diameter 2.7″ X 3.3″ |
| Weight | 13.47 oz. |
| Box Contents | Lens Cap(LC-62D), Lens Rear Cap(LR-2), Lens Hood(LH-66), Lens Case(LSC-0918) Instruction Manual, Olympus Worldwide Warranty Card |
| Related Accessories (Option) | Protection Filter (PRF-D62 PRO) |
The Build
This talk about the builds first. Build this lens is amazing. I really like the feel of this. The past Olympus lenses are made of plastic which make them lighter, they just don’t feel… industrial? Profession? Durable? The Olympus 12-40mm 2.8 was design with pros in mind that would need to use it in rugged situations and feel is important, Olympus successfully did just that with this lens. The drawback of this is that the lens is heavier than my other lenses and does add more weight and size to the camera. That is nothing compared to the Canon equivalent.
Olympus 12-40mm 2.8 Pro From Side
Other nice features of this lens is that the there is a built in customizable button that is perfect for OMD users. I have set my button for Aperture preview, although I don’t find it very useful. Taking suggestions on what else to program the button for. Antoher nice feature is that the focus ring is nice and smooth it also pops out for manual focus usage.
Singers On The Streets of Pereira, Colombia Example of Sharpness
Sharpness
Sharpness of was something that impressed me. I thought it would not live up the Canon equivalent, boy was I wrong. I was impressed with the sharpness factor. The main reason for this is the good depth of field it can handle. As you change the f-stop to a 5 or higher it tends to lose it’s sharpness. I also find that the sharpness on infinity lacking when set to 12mm but gets better as you come more to 20mm-ish. This is nothing that most people would worry about.
San Camilo Cemetery, Pereira, Colombia Distortion at 12mm
Distortion and Vignetting
Distortion at 12mm is definitely there, and expected at something that wide. There is little distortion as you start to zoom in more. I did not really notice a distortion at the max 40mm but I have read stats there is a slight distortion
On reading stats, I read that there is slight vignetting when using extreme wide and extreme zoom, but I found almost none, or if there was it was not noticeable to me. The only thing I can think of is that the OMD E-M5 is compensating for it it’s programming.
Chromatic Aberration on the lens is there, but not very much. I have mostly only seen it when shooting at 12mm but not so much when zoomed in more. The chromatic aberration is very slight compared to lenses I have owned, no lens is perfect.
Street Performer in Simon Bolivar Plaza, Pereira Colombia - Speed of the Lens
Speed
Speed on this is amazing. Focus speed is faster than my Canon equivalent but not as fast as the the prime lenses I have by Olympus. Speed of photography is great too. Due to the 2.8 constant aperture I can grab some fast subjects well, and do not need to stop it down to prevent to from too shallow depth of field. I was impressed with picking up moving people.
Cons
There are two drawbacks I would have to say about the lens. One of which is the price. For a micro 4/3 lens it is pretty expensive, but it is well worth the price. The other drawback being that it is not an inner focus lens. Meaning that when you focus the outer part of the lens extends and protracts. That is not a bad thing, the bad thing is that it does not have a lock on it. I have broken two lenses in the past by forgetting to lock them and when they were jostled when carrying around the pressure on the lens broke the bearings inside. I would hate that to happen to this lens too, since it is expensive.
Pros
- Great Range of Zoom
- Constant 2.8
- Great build and feel
- Very little Chromatic Aberration
Cons
- Expensive
- No zoom lock for transportation
Model In Front of Window - This lens also good for Model Photography
Conclusion
As a breakdown I would say that the 12-40mm 2.8 lens by Olympus is a great lens. It would say it is a must lens for anyone who wants a good carry around zoom lens. It fits perfect for a travel photographer as it gets good range as well as amazing quality.
What do you think? Does this review want to buy this lens? Perhaps it does not want you to buy the lens? Let me know what you think. Feel free to ask me questions. Leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know so I can help. Happy travels 
Erick Redcloud
A partially blind Graphic Designer, Freelance Travel Photographer, Artist, Buddhist and Vegetarian who loves to travel. Erick loves traveling by being with the locals and going off the beaten path. He is the founder and owner of Pathlesstravels and loves inspiring others to follow their dreams, whether it is to travel or something completely different. He started Pathlesstravels to hone is photography skills and to meet amazing people, and to help a friend break into journalism. Check out his photography at his link.
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2 comments on “Travel Photographer’s Lens - Olympus 12-40mm 2.8 Review”
Great review.
I also have this lens for my OM-D E-M1 and it works great with it. I’ve actually decided to replace all of my primes ( I didn’t have that many) that fell within this 12-40mm range with just this zoom lens. It’s not as fast as the other primes I’ve owned, but the f/2.8 constant aperture is fast enough for most photos I would take. The sheer convenience of having a high quality zoom lens that has all of the most commonly used focal lengths available at a turn of the lens barrel with that constant aperture is awesome.. no need to compensate exposure settings and also lose options for lower light conditions and depth of field effect. One of these days I may get some more primes that have faster aperture if I foresee needing the extra light gathering capabilities or want a bit more shallow DOF, but until then, I think the 12-40mm is great general purpose lens that can do a lot of things really well.
This lens has become my go to lens for just about everything. I when walking around, shooting video and just don’t know what I will need to photograph, this lens does the trick. The DOF is not as great as some of the 1.8 primes, but you can not beat the 2.8 constant that you were mentioning.