Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm F4 IS Pro Lens, suitable for all MFT cameras (Olympus OM-D & PEN models, Panasonic G-series), black

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Though there are times I’d prefer the option for a shallower depth of field for people photography, I nevertheless enjoy the no-brainer ease of just shooting wide open at F4. For me that is usually candid family photography. @ 57mm @ 100mm (All images at ISO 200-800 except this one at 3200) The MSC AF motor is pretty fast and silent. As usual manual focusing works "by wire" but you barely notice the difference compared to a mechanically-coupled system. In fact precise manual focusing is probably easier than on most conventional lenses because the focus path is longer. A big zoom range is fun, but it won’t do much for you if the image quality of the shots is not good. Olympus has pulled out all the stops for this lens to perform as well as possible. It has 17 lens elements in 11 groups and a whole series of special glass types. And you see all that effort in the performance. Those are very good. In the RAW files, the sharpness in the wide-angle setting, at 12mm, is already optimal in the center at full aperture. The corners are reasonable then, but those become better after stopping down one stop, and then they are good as well. At f/5.6 and f/8, the center sharpness is a bit lower than at f/4, but the shots are truly sharp from corner to corner. At 18mm and 25mm, the center sharpness at f/4 and f/5.6 is maximal. The corners are already good at full aperture, but they get a bit better at f/5.6. If you zoom in further, then the quality of the lens slowly decreases at full aperture. It does not make much difference, but those who want maximum quality at 100mm are best off stopping down one stop. Not sure whether this is best asked here on in Native Lenses, so forgive me if it's in the wrong place!] There is only a minimum of light fall-off in the corners at f/4, which you will probably not even notice in your real-world photos, and distortion is commendably kept well under control too.

Field review: The Olympus M.Zuiko 12-100mm F4 IS Pro goes to Oz

In terms of features, the M.ZUIKO Digital 12-100mm f/2.8 Pro lens has quite a lot to offer. For starters, it has a so-called L-Fn button, which allows users to temporarily suspend continuous auto focus when something suddenly comes between the lens and your intended subject. This is mostly useful when shooting a movie clip with C-AF enabled, but the feature can also be used when photographing action.

Bokeh is a word used for the out-of-focus areas of a photograph, and is usually described in qualitative terms, such as smooth / creamy / harsh etc. In the M.ZUIKO Digital 12-100mm f/2.8 Pro, Olympus employed a seven circular-bladed diaphragm, which produces some very nice bokeh, at least in our opinion. However, recognising that bokeh evaluation is subjective, we have provided a few examples for your perusal. This capability has served me well for flower and food photography. I have owned the Olympus 60mm macro lens since its introduction, but now hardly need it for flowers and food. @ 70mm @ 100mm @ 34mm @ 100mm @ 100mm I've got all the Oly primes from 17mm to 75mm, so optical image quality isn't paramount. If time/weather permit me to stop for the perfect shot, I've got the kit – what I want is a weatherproof zoom that enables me to go from shooting my other half sat next to me in the car to getting a snap of that cool building I can see out of the window. Hence, across the board sharpness is great, but not paramount.

Olympus 12-100 f/4 PRO vs Panasonic-Leica 12-60 f/2.8-4 Olympus 12-100 f/4 PRO vs Panasonic-Leica 12-60 f/2.8-4

There's a chance that I may do some video blogging. This makes the Sync-IS of the 12-100 very appealing, but I don't know if the Sync-IS is as super duper when pairing with the E-M5ii as it is the E-M1ii. The Olympus 12-100mm F4 PRO zoom (24-200mm equivalent focal length) has been a well-used and well-loved lens for me this past year. I see that it has even relegated my Panasonic 14-140, a favorite from the prior year, to my lens drawer. Though the 14-140 is a “sharp enough” lens, the 12-100 is “more than sharp enough” and importantly has a few additional features, albeit at a significantly higher (2x) price point. In this case it might actually increase. At shorter end of the range of focal lengths the performance is splendid and it remains very good at the longer end too. What’s more even at the weakest focal length the MTFs at the maximum relative aperture are fully useful. Wydawc I'm also not convinced, having not used it, that the 12-50mm wouldn't serve me almost as well for video purposes, between the electronic zoom and the reduced size/weight arguably giving less need for the extra IS… though admittedly this does contradict the "one lens glued on it for the whole trip" thing.)

At the 100mm end, the angle of view is 12°, i.e. the same as that of a 200mm lens in a 35mm system.