Olympus 14-54 MK I ( Any good )

There is a Olympus 14-54 MK I for sale here.
How much better is it than the 14-42 Kit lense ?
What is the difference from the MK I and MK II ?

It will be replacing my 14-42 on my E-520
I could use a faster walk around lense. (f2.8)

Thanks in advance

Seems to me the Mk2 has different aperture blades or something like that. It creates better bokeh and less CA. I think the Mk2 has rounded aperture blades. I think the diference would be very small unless you are a pixel peeper. How ever the 14-54mm is quite a jump from the kit lens. It is much faster to focus and weather sealed. It is also sharper than the kits. I have always felt you get more for your money with the 14-54mm lens than any other lens. It is also a heavy lens, probably weighing as much as the camera itself. But mounted up it feels more like a pro camera in your hands. If you can swing the 12-60mm I would recommend it, It is even sharper and faster than the 14-54mm. But you can't go wrong with the 14-54mm. Not at the price. The 14-54mm smokes the kit. No question.

My 14-54 MKI arrived on Monday.
I was hopeing for some nice weekend weather.
NO Luck, Heavy overcast Snow and Cold.
Here is the result from my E-520 14-54 lense indoors with a flash.
My Grandaughter
NO PP . just Re-sized

I had the 14-54mm for about 4 years and recently bought the 12-60mm, but after close evaluation of the two I reached a decision, and sold the 12-60mm and kept the 14-54mm and bought instead the 9-18mm. With all the respect to the 12-60mm IQ, sharpness, and speed, I think the 14-54mm is identical although a tad slower. The 12-60mm produced an "extreme/uneven" distortion at the wide angle that is very difficult if not at times impossible to correct. So if you shoot a lot of strait lines like I do, the 12-60 is not the right lens for you.
The above sample you posted is nice but too contrasty, and used too much flash. In my E-510 and E-30 the contrast is always at "–2".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Asmarlak

I had the 14-54mm for about 4 years and recently bought the 12-60mm, but after close evaluation of the two I reached a decision, and sold the 12-60mm and kept the 14-54mm and bought instead the 9-18mm. With all the respect to the 12-60mm IQ, sharpness, and speed, I think the 14-54mm is identical although a tad slower. The 12-60mm produced an "extreme/uneven" distortion at the wide angle that is very difficult if not at times impossible to correct. So if you shoot a lot of strait lines like I do, the 12-60 is not the right lens for you.
The above sample you posted is nice but too contrasty, and used too much flash. In my E-510 and E-30 the contrast is always at "–2".

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Yes I also see the distortion and have learned to correct for it. But there are times when the extra 2mm comes in handy. I have also thought about getting a 9-18mm. How is the speed of the 9-18mm?

Greg, The speed and sharpness are excellent, not to mention the small size and light weight, and most importantly with almost no distortion at all. The only down sides are soft corners and chromatic aberration in the corners as well at acceptable range which are common with wide angle lenses in this price range. Generally, it came as a nice surprise to me and I'm satisfied, it is definitely a keeper. I took nice images with it, one is ready to post in my gallery when the gallery section is back up.