bought a 12-60

[Atomic2]

just ordered it. Amazon is giving them away right now for 826 or something ludicrously low like that. and if you sign up for a free trial of Amazon prime, theyll 2 day ship it for free!!

i will give you a full write up when i get it!!




also someone pat my head and say it will be ok [i just spent ALL that money :cryin: ]

[Greg McCary]

just ordered it. Amazon is giving them away right now for 826 or something ludicrously low like that. and if you sign up for a free trial of Amazon prime, theyll 2 day ship it for free!!

i will give you a full write up when i get it!!




also someone pat my head and say it will be ok [i just spent ALL that money :cryin: ]

Sweet deal. I want to know all.LOL I am saving for the E3 right now so lens purchases are on hold. I can't wait to read your write up. We need all of the Zuiko reviews we can get.

[Atomic2]

god i wish i could afford the E-3, but sadly I have no plans of upgrading my 510 in the foreseeable future. i mean i barely got the guy a month ago i think.

[albot976]

The best review for the 12-60 I have found is at dpreview here

I have a 12-60, and would write a detailed review - but dpreview says everything I would say but better and then some. Great review.

I'll say this though: it's an excellent lens. Although the 14-54 is more bang for the buck, the 12-60 is worth the cash, and is probably preferred if you ever plan on upgrading to the e-3.

The image quality is fantastic (though I feel the 14-54 is right up there with it), the focus is snappy (even on the e510) and silent, and having that extra couple mm at the wide and long end was more handy to me than expected. Like all my other zuiko lenses, flare and chromatic aberrations have never been problematic or noticeable. The focus ring is very tactile and smooth, unlike some of my other zuiko lenses.

Also, even though it is decent sized lens, it feels well balanced on my e-510.

My only real gripe is the distortion at the wide end which presents itself in a trough-like shape. It's usually not an issue, but when it is - it is difficult to correct in pp. Particularly pesky in my architecture and landscape photography, or when i'm doing close ups wides of certain shapes (rectangular objects for example). The 14-54 performs better in this aspect in my experience.

One more thing: on my 12-60, and some others I have heard, the zoom ring required some breaking in. It was initially uneven, stiff, and hit a "bump" at around 45mm where resistance picked up. After putting the lens through its paces for a week or two though, the action evened itself out dramatically. Also, the stiffness either loosened up a bit or i quickly got used to it. Either way, it's all good now.

[Atomic2]

sweet, thanks for reassuring me on the focus ring, it seemed really stiff to me when i tried it out

[Sushigaijin]

awesome! Can't wait to see some samples from it...

I think I'll be giving the 14-54 a workout today, do I hear shootout??

[Atomic2]

Ok so my 12-60 arrived today. before i do any serous reviewing lemme throw out some preliminary observations

firstly, its huge. compared to the kit at least.

the images are all flawless, as can be expected with a lens of this nature. i heard reports of some distortion when shooting at either extreme, but I have yet to notice any. maybe you really need to shoot at a grid to see it.

The focus ring is different from the other zuiko lenses so far, i dont think its digital at all because you can adjust it even when the camera is off and the lens is off the body. this gives a better feel to the focus i think, though i didnt mind the focus on the kit either.

the zoom ring is a bit stiff, but i heard it smooths out after a bit of usage.

and now the autofocus. yes its quite incredible. its honestly the only reason i bought this lens.
ok so its not 100% perfect ALL the time, but its close. very snappy focus, with very little to no seeking.
i find it works better when its zooming down to something closer than up to something further away, but the difference is marginal.

another thing id like to note is that its a great macro lens, it focuses even closer than the stated 25cm. heres some stuff i snapped today:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3178/...196cc884_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2222/...4dac9795_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3148/...a6b9f0d6_b.jpg

[Atomic2]

what part of chi are you from sushi?

[Greg McCary]

OUTSTANDING, The images are very nice. I am very interested in the distortion at both ends if you get the time. I have a 15mm Heliar on my M6 and have gotten pretty good at fixing the distortion in PPing. I am looking at going real wide with the 7-14mm. I am almost tempted to swing for it before the E3. It hard to get even on the used market because it is so good no one wants to let go of it. There are some rebates going on with some of the lenses as well. Look for a sticky once I do the research.
http://www.adorama.com/IOM714.html

[Atomic2]

distortion eh? should i print out a grid or something?

ill give it a shot

[Atomic2]

ok this is at 12mm
http://flickr.com/photos/25906258@N0...57611/sizes/o/

and this is at 60mm
http://flickr.com/photos/25906258@N0...76072/sizes/o/

and this is shooting wide open for both, as you can see there does seem to be distortion at 12mm, but ive never noticed it except for when shooting at the grid

[Greg McCary]

Thanks for taking the time to share this info. Remember to write a review as well. Maybe come back and post a link so we don't miss it. We need all of the Zuiko Reviews we can get. Thanks again for sharing.

[Sushigaijin]

awesome, looks like a winner to me! Now it's time to get out and shoot with it!

And, I live in lincoln square. Always up for talking shop or hitting the zoo, etc. Once the flowers and bugs show up I pretty much live at north pond; there is a nice section of native plants on the west side of it...but to be honest, now that I am shooting with a DSLR I am finding it hard to get the image quality that I was getting out of my sony P&S - with that camera I was getting good quality 3x magnification at 10 inches from the lens, whereas now I am getting about 1.2x at two inches. Bummer!!

I did order the ex-25 though, should arrive tomorrow

[Atomic2]

ahh, lincoln square? im from skokie myself.

i really do recommend you stop by at helix camera for any purchases, they have much better prices than calumet. the 70-300mm is 340 there and thats cheaper than anywhere else ive seen, even online, BEFORE shipping. and you still can go there and try everything out and have it THAT day