Field review: the olympus m.zuiko 12-100mm f4 is pro goes to oz
Scoring
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Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm F4.0 IS Pro Category: Superzoom Lens |
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Optical Quality Build Quality Autofocus Image Stabilization Ergonomics and Handling Value |
PoorExcellent |
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Conclusion The Olympus M.Zuiko 12-100mm F4 Pro IS is a solid option for travel and generalist photographers using the Micro Four Thirds system. It doesn’t grant you the blurriest backgrounds nor the most compact dimensions available among other Olympus lenses, but it’s well-built, offers excellent stabilization and gives a great zoom range to match almost any situation you find yourself in. |
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Описание
Максимальный комфорт и высочайшее качество – c самым компактным и легким объективом в мире
Новый объектив M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-45mm F4 PRO унаследовал оптическую схему от объектива 12-40mm F2.8 PRO, который хорошо известен своими высокими оптическими возможностями. Точнейшее расположение специальных линз в M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-45mm F4 позволяет создать самый компактный и легкий в мире объектив с фокусным расстоянием от 24 мм до 90 мм (эквивалент 35 мм). Маленькая и очень легкая фокусирующая линза обеспечивает высокоскоростную и точную автофокусировку для любого объекта съемки. Объектив имеет 9 уплотнителей, защищающих его от проникновения пыли, брызг и низких температур – пользователь может быть спокоен за свое оборудование практически в любых условиях съемки2.
Фиксированная диафрагма на всех фокусных расстояниях и высокое разрешение по всему полю кадра
Точнейшее расположение асферических линз и покрытие ZERO (Zuiko Extra-low Reflection Optical) обеспечивают четкие изображения и резко подавляют практически все типы аберраций, позволяя получать четкие и яркие изображения по всему полю кадра. Поскольку диафрагма фиксирована по всему фокусному расстоянию, пользователю легче и удобнее управлять экспозицией при зуммировании и видеосъемке.
Превосходные возможности макросъемки с максимальным увеличением 0,25x (эквивалент 35-мм — 0,5x)
Наслаждайтесь макросъемкой с максимальным увеличением 0,25x (35-мм эквив: 0,5x) на всех фокусных расстояниях. Минимальная дистанция фокусировки составляет всего 12 см при широкоугольном значении и 23 см — при телезначении. Это расширяет возможности макросъемки – от широкоугольных макроснимков, которые подчеркивают объект съемки, до телемакросъемки с невероятно привлекательным боке. Объектив совместим с режимом Focus Stacking, который объединяет несколько снимков с фокусом на разных областях сцены в одну фотографию с резкостью по всему кадру.
Для объектива 12-45mm F4 PRO и любых других продуктов Olympus доступны дополнительные бесплатные шесть месяцев гарантии3 при регистрации на MyOlympus: www.my.olympus.eu
1 На 12 февраля 2020 года. Самый компактный и легкий в мире стандартный зум-объектив с фиксированным значением диафрагмы.2 В сочетании с погодозащищенной камерой OM-D.3 Шесть месяцев сверх обязательного гарантийного периода в стране покупки.
Autofocus and stabilization
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| Autofocus on the Olympus 12-100mm F4 is extremely quick, whether you’re shooting close-up or far away. The bokeh isn’t half-bad either, considering that’s fencing in the background. A more in-depth look at bokeh is coming up later in the review.ISO 200 | 1/250 sec | F4 | 100mm |
The Olympus 12-100mm F4 racks through the entirety of its focus range really quickly. It’s perhaps not quite as quick as some Panasonic lenses designed to take advantage of those cameras’ Depth-from-Defocus technology, but it’s more than fast enough for any wildlife I encountered, both inside and outside the Australia zoo.
The rapid AF speeds also make it easy to use the lens when you’re near minimum focus distance, allowing for easy capture of close-ups without necessarily needing to resort to manual focus.
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| Great stabilization with slower shutter speeds helped to keep my ISO values low a lot of the time, even when working around the F4 max aperture.ISO 250 | 1/3 sec | F4.5 | 12mm |
The stabilization promised by the combination of the 12-100mm F4 and the E-M1 Mark II was part of the reason I could see past this lens’ F4 maximum aperture for general use. It wouldn’t be great for shooting fast action in failing light, but it was perfect for images like this travel snap of a crazy-colored hostel under warm sunset light.
And really, the nice thing about the M.Zuiko 12-100mm F4 is that unless you need to stop down for depth of field or another reason, the lens is more than sharp enough to just shoot wide-open all the time.
Conclusion
| What we like | What we don’t |
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And so, as happens occasionally on this site, I will be forced to eat some of my previously published words. I’ve said before that I don’t need a zoom on vacation. And I said I like cameras that are small and light, maybe even pocketable. Well, it turns out that I may have become a convert to zooms, depending on the destination.
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| If I myself was in the Olympus ecosystem, this is a lens I’d strongly consider. Also, this is the beach on which I got sunburned through my shirt. That Australian sun is no joke.ISO 200 | F9 | 1/320 sec | 20mm |
The M.Zuiko 12-100mm F4 provides such a versatile range in such a well-built package that I really did feel ready for anything. From dimly lit church interiors and landscapes to portraits and wildlife, the 12-100mm can handle pretty much anything. No, it won’t blur backgrounds to oblivion most of the time, and when you do get some subject isolation, the backgrounds will occasionally look a bit busy. Sunstars aren’t the best (nor the worst), and some people will have trouble accepting an F4 zoom on a Micro Four Thirds body.
On the other hand, the stabilization offered by this lens (when mounted to a compatible body) is pretty insane, which allowed me to keep my ISO values lower much of the time. I also love being able to hand-hold images at 1/10th of a second to get some motion into a scene while the surrounding environment stays tack sharp.
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| ISO 200 | 1/160 sec | F4 | 28mm |
I think the biggest knock against this lens is the price; with an MSRP of $1299, it’s a costly proposition. There are a few Olympus options that fall within this focal range that are less expensive and built similarly well, but that’s just the nature of this particular offering.
If you want solid image quality and don’t want to be fumbling around and changing lenses on a beach next to a sweltering Australian rainforest, the M.Zuiko 12-100mm F4 IS Pro is well worth considering.
Handling and design
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The M.Zuiko 12-100mm F4 joins Olympus’ Pro lineup of prime and zoom lenses, offering top-notch build quality, with claims of dust-proof, splash-proof and freeze-proof construction. It has a manual focus clutch mechanism, giving the feel and very nearly the response of a mechanical focus ring, even though it’s technically a focus-by-wire system. The large, metal-ribbed zoom ring has just the right amount of resistance to it.
| The manual focus clutch mechanism in its pulled-back position | The stabilization switch and customizable L-Fn button |
There’s no denying it, hold this lens in your hand and it just oozes quality. Nearly everything is metal, though even the plastic IS switch on the side of the lens doesn’t so much ‘snap’ into place as ‘thunk’.
What you get in exchange for this feeling of solidity, though, is some heft. At 561g (1.24 lb), it’s very nearly the weight of an Olympus E-M1 Mark III, and significantly weightier than the E-M5 Mark III and E-M10 Mark IV. That said, the larger grips of the E-M1 Mark III and E-M1X mean it actually balances quite well on those bodies.
