Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14 mm F2.8 PRO Lens, Wide Angle Zoom, Suitable for All MFT Cameras (Olympus OM-D & PEN Models, Panasonic G Series), Black

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The Olympus lens has some clear advantages in terms of flare resistance and also less chromatic aberration. The Lumix 7-14mm tends to produce bigger green and rainbow ghost flares while on the M.Zuiko 7-14mm they are less invasive. E-M5 II, 1/320, f/ 8, ISO 200 – M.Zuiko 7-14mm E-M5 II, 1/400, f/ 8, ISO 200 – Lumix 7-14mm E-M5 II, 1/400, f/ 8, ISO 200 – M.Zuiko 7-14mm E-M5 II, 1/400, f/ 8, ISO 200 – Lumix 7-14mm I mentioned when I wrote a review of my 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO that it suffered a little more than most when it came to chromatic aberration when you shoot toward a light source. The same can be said for the 7-14mm f/2.8 too. But this is as much to do with the distance between the sensor and the camera mounting point of the camera & lens ( the flange distance) as much as anything else. As you zoom in beyond 10mm, the Pana-Leica lens once again takes a small lead, providing a little more sharpness at all aperture values. The big problem with the flare on the Lumix G 7-14mm is it’s often hard to retouch-out and won’t go away when you stop the lens down either. So one of the biggest questions regarding the newer Olympus 7-14mm f2.8 lens is whether it suffers from the same flare issues.

As in all Pro lenses the manual focus ring is great but in autofocus I have had it wandering a bit. Easily fixed with bbf

OM System OM-5 Review

At the 14mm end, the angle of view is 75°, which is the same as that of a 28mm lens on a 35mm full-frame camera. Lens configuration: 14 elements in 11 groups (1 DSA lens, 1 ED lens, 2 aspherical ED lenses, 3 Super ED lenses, 2 HR lenses)

The bokeh is very pleasant which is is quite surprising considering that this is a wide-angle lens. If I ever get in a fight I know my heavyweight friend will help me out. I just hope I don't drop it. It'll probably kill someone There isn’t the option to attach a circular filter thread. Olympus won’t produce an optional filter holder so we will have to wait for a third party manufacturer to do it. LEE recently announced a filter holder designed especially for Super Wide angle lenses. For now only DSLR lenses are compatible but they should increase the list soon. Let’s hope that the 7-14mm f/2.8 will also be included. Immediately I like it and the images are quality. Don't see the distortion that some people claim (the Pana seemed worse). Of course at 7mm there is a bit of curve. The IQ is superb and corner to corner. I try to use Hires mode as much as possible and the lens copes brilliantly I guess if I had to be pressed on providing a subjective conclusion on the corners for the 7-14mm, I'd call them only good to very good, and then only if you've got the right subject, focus point, and depth of field. This isn't really a lens for in-city architecture.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm – Features

I haven’t noticed any relevant barrel distortion. The only distortion worth talking about is of course perspective distortion, which is the main characteristic of this type of lens. It can be of great use for architectural shots depending on how well the perspective distortion is contained. Some of it is tolerable but if distortion becomes too invasive, it can also be unpleasant. Finally in terms of quality, both companies divide their lens ranges into various categories. Olympus divides its range into three groups: its basic lenses are labelled M.Zuiko, its mid-range ones M.Zuiko Premium, and its high-end ones M.Zuiko Pro. Panasonic brands all its mirrorless cameras and lenses as Lumix G, but co-develops a series of high-end lenses with Leica, labeled Leica DG; these are designed by Leica, but manufactured by Panasonic. I took a few comparison shots downtown using the OM-D E-M5 mark II. Please note that I didn’t have time to perform an in-depth test so I concentrated on finding the most relevant differences in terms of distortion, sharpness and flare. The build quality of the M.Zuiko is certainly up there with the big boys as well. The lens body is made of metal, everything is tightly assembled, weather sealed and the control rings operate smoothly. Typical for such extreme lenses, you have to live without front filters simply because the massive front element is bulb-shaped. However, the vulnerable front element is not without protection because the there's a built-in petal-shaped lens hood which is deep enough to shield it from most accidents at least. The inner lens tube moves a little when zooming through the focal length range but the physical length remains constant due to the deep lens hood. Similar to the M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 ED, Olympus implemented a focus clutch mechanism which allows you to switch between AF and manual focusing. The lens is also dust- and splash-proof. With the launch of the much-anticipated and long awaited Olympus OM-D E-M1 mark 2, you’re now able to find lots of offers and bundles on Olympus PRO lenses too. Most notably a few of the larger and well known camera stores here in the U.K are promoting the E-M1 mark ii bundled with the 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO for example. But today, I want to emplore and encourage you to take a serious look at the wonderful Olympus 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO lens.

The zoom ring is on the stiff side, but smooth, exactly the way I like it. There's no zoom creep when you point the lens down. It's also easy to distinguish the zoom ring from the focus ring, even though the two are close together. With the Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO wide open at f/2.8, you can see some noticeable light fall-off in the corners. Stopping down helps, although to completely get rid of this phenomenon, you will need to use an f-stop of f/5.6 or smaller. There's also mild barrel distortion apparent at 7mm. There's a slight front-heaviness to it, but otherwise it feels great in the hand and balances pretty well on larger Micro Four Thirds cameras like Olympus E-M1. For smaller cameras, like our Panasonic GX1 test camera, it's a bit off-balance, but a two handed hold is comfortable. Even at 7mm the results are quite stunning like in the example below. E-M5 II, 1/320, f/ 2.8, ISO 200 – 7mm E-M5 II, 1/320, f/ 2.8, ISO 200 – 7mm – Crop At a close focus distance, the differences between the two lenses become a little more apparent. Reference image for close focus distanceThe autofocus is fast and silent when shooting video as far as the lens is concern. However in AF-C, the E-M5 mark II may hesitate a little more, just as it does with the 12-40mm. It was by taking architectural shots that I could really evaluate the performance of the M.Zuiko 7-14mm. E-M5 II, 1/10, f/ 5.6, ISO 200 – 7mm The Olympus lens has the obvious advantage of having a faster aperture. It performs well concerning sharpness at f/2.8 at the centre while the corners get better from f/4. Since the Olympus lens already offers good performance across the frame from f/4, that extra stop of light can make all the difference when shooting in low light. E-M5 II, 0.3s, 2.8, ISO 200 – M.Zuiko 7-14mm If you prefer something a little wider, perhaps for street photography, I can also highly recommend a 17mm prime or thereabouts and again there’s lots of options, albeit at a higher price than the 25mm above; I’m going to suggest either the Panasonic Leica DG 15mm f1.7 or the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f1.8, both in a similar ballpark price-wise; I personally prefer the Leica, but love the more compact size of the Olympus when mounted on a smaller body.

What is also interesting is that the composition slightly changes between one lens and the other even when set to the same focal length. I used a tripod to take all my images so I can assure you that I didn’t move the camera between shots. Yes it is heavy however it still is in keeping the the m43 philosophy... for instance the Nikon 14-24 weighs double what the Oly weighs. The thing is that if you need/want a UWA f2.8 its going to be bigger and heavier; fortunately m43 offers choices so you The intelligent design of the Pana-Leica has left room for a 67mm filter thread, which will please landscape photographers who often use ND filters. To use filters with the Olympus lens, you’ll require a third-party adapter that fits over the built-in lens hood, such adapter as the SW150 Adapter Ring from LEE Filters (available on B&H Photo).The 8-18mm plus 12-100mm are the “Dynamic Duo” for travel with my EM1ii, and there is still space in my bag for the 8mm f/1.8 FE for the occasional ultra-ultra-wide shots. The manual focus experience is good on both lenses as well, though you probably won’t feel the need to switch over to MF all that often unless you are doing astrophotography. Both rings offer a good resistance and the ribbed design makes them easy to grab onto. The lens is also capable of delivering excellent results with the 40/64mp High Res Shot function found on the OM-D E-M5 mark II. You can see an example below. E-M5 II, 1/640, f/ 5.6, ISO 200 – 7mm – HRS E-M5 II, 1/640, f/ 5.6, ISO 200 – 7mm – HRS – Crop The lens hood is physically part of the lens and cannot be removed. As with many wide angles the front element is very concave and protrudes outwards. As such use without a lens hood wouldn’t be advised anyway. The lens hood offers physical protection to the front element and is there not only for reducing flare and ghosting. It competes very well concerning sharpness and distortion and is even slightly sharper at the corners and in the centre at the mid-range aperture values. The relevant advantage of course is the size and weight. Those who prefer to keep their gear compact will lean towards the Panasonic lens. Its main disadvantage is ghost flares which are more invasive than those of the Olympus lens.