Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12 mm F2.0 Lens, Fast Fixed Focal Length, Suitable for All MFT Cameras (Olympus OM-D & PEN Models, Panasonic G Series), Black

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You will not have trouble from vignetting with this lens, whether you shoot in jpg or RAW. Even at full aperture, the vignetting is less half a stop. In comparison: For a standard lens on a camera with a full-frame sensor, one and a half stops, so three times as much, is not unusual. There isnt much more I can say. If you want a fast wide angle prime lens and if you like it to be small, lightweight and beautifully made, this is it! I even went so far as to buy Panny’s 24mm (equiv) OVF, the VF1, which they produced for the bottom end of the LX3’s zoom. I use an OVF (a rather expensive Voigtlander) with the Panny 14 — it’s magic! If you get the opportunity to get your hands on to the Panny OVF (or any other 24mm equiv accessory OVF) I recommend giving it a try. More fun that a lot of stuff that’s not even legal! 🙂

Olympus M.Zuiko 12mm f/2 ED - Review / Test Report Olympus M.Zuiko 12mm f/2 ED - Review / Test Report

That's a bit disappointing for a premium fixed-focal lens, although as seen above the automatic correction works well. (By the way if you happen to be a RawTherapee user, entering an amount of about -0.160 in the Distortion field on the Transformations tab has approximately the same effect as the in-camera processing.) Lens configuration:14 elements in 9 groups(2 high refractive elements, 1 DSA element, 1 aspherical glass element, 2 ED lens element, 2 Aspherical ED elements, 1 Super HR element)With the micro four thirds mount still relatively new on the camera scene, at the time of writing there's little in the way of alternatives. Kowa Prominar 8.5mm f2.8: I saw this lens at the Photography Show in Birmingham 5 years ago but never got the chance to test a full production sample. The 17mm equivalent field of view is interesting but now that the smaller Laowa 9mm is out, I see little reason to get this one, especially considering the high price. Below is the worst example of flare I was able to produce with the Olympus, even after actively searching for it in my images. GX85, 1/1000, f/9, ISO 200 – M.Zuiko 12mm Colours

Olympus 12mm f/2 Lens Review | Sans Mirror | Thom Hogan Olympus 12mm f/2 Lens Review | Sans Mirror | Thom Hogan

Meike 6.5mm f2 Fisheye: an interesting combination of fast aperture and very wide fisheye lens, but we haven’t tested it. There is also an 8mm f3.5 but it is designed for DSLRs, and is therefore larger. Inside are 11 elements in 8 groups, with all kinds of special elements (DSA, aspherical, ED, and Super HR). There are seven diaphragm blades. Close focus is around 8" (20cm). Because of the 84° diagonal angle of view you don't get much magnification at the close focus distance (1:12.5). The front element does not rotate during focus and has a 46mm filter thread. Stabilization Olympus style is done with the sensor, so there is no stabilization in the lens.The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution. The taller the column, the better the lens performance. Simple. Since the JPGs and RAW files of MFT cameras contain lens correction data, distortion doesn’t pose a problem with either of these wide-angle primes. I did notice that the Olympus lens suffers from a little more barrel distortion than the Panasonic but it isn’t a cause for concern. The first thing that’s immediately noticeable about the sharpness of this lens is the high, very even sharpness. Just as with the Olympus 25 mm f/1.8, which we reviewed a short time ago. Actually, the sharpness in the center is equal to the sharpness in the corners. And that’s starting at full aperture. That is a very good performance and expands the usability of this lens. Many bright lenses have clearly softer corners at full aperture. Where sharpness is concerned, with this lens you’re completely free to use every aperture between f/2 and f/11. The amount of sharpening is somewhat a matter of personal taste. For me, the standard jpg files of the Olympus OM-D E-M1 are a bit too sharp. But there are many photographers who find that perfect. View the image below at 100% and form your own opinion.

Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 12mm f/2 Review - Photography Blog

Being an all-metal lens, the M.Zuiko Digital 12mm f/2 naturally features a metal bayonet mount that allows it to be mounted to any Micro Four Thirds camera (but no “regular” Four Thirds DSLR, of course). Unlike the M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f/1.8, which we also reviewed recently, the Olympus 12mm f/2 is truly an all-metal lens that is reminiscent of the highest-quality rangefinder lenses of yore, both in terms of its tactile qualities and its overall aesthetics.

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While not offering as wide a field of view (28mm equivalent instead of 24mm), the Panasonic 14mm ƒ/2.5 is less than half the size, weight and price of the Olympus 12mm. However, its performance is almost equivalent - for sharpness, it's a hair softer in the corners wide open, but that's about it. However there is somewhat higher chromatic aberration and slightly more corner shading. Distortion appears the same. The only other difference is that the Olympus offers a slightly wider maximum aperture - ƒ/2, instead of ƒ/2.5.