Olympus 12-200 f3.5-6.3


An drew

Senior Member
May 27, 2005
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I was going on a holiday trip recently and as always I look for a convenient zoom. Have been using interchangeably over the years for holidays, Panasonic 14-140 (on OMD EM1), Canon 24-105 f4 (on 5DSR), Nikon 24-70 f2.8 (on FX Body), Nikon 18-200 (on DX Body), Sigma 18-200 (on Canon APS-C Body).
Panasonic 14-140 - lens refuse to focus properly, little improvement after I updated the EM1 firmware.
Canon 24-105 f4 - body heavier and bulkier, files too big for casual travel shots
Nikon 24-70 f2.8 - too heavy and too bulky also it was non-VR so some blur
Nikon 18-200 - light setup but water entered my lens when I was shooting in the rain at the 3 Gorges
Sigma 18-200 - lens quality was so so.

So I just tried this new 12-200 for my recent trip.
- wide enough, 14-140 and 18-200 were not as wide (24mm equivalent)
- long enough, 400mm equivalent, can almost do birding
- close enough, 10cm close focus distance, could almost do "macro"
- weather sealed, but no chance to try shooting in the rain as weather was good
- good stabilisation from body, lens without stabilisation. Could get most low light shots. Can handhold 400mm.
- while image quality may not compare with the FF with shorter zooms, they are generally good enough for holiday shots
- focusing speed was ok but not as fast as my Canon or Nikon.
- light weight
- compact

Here is a review:
https://blog.mingthein.com/2019/02/27/review-the-2019-olympus-zd-12-200-f3-5-6-3/
 

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