Taking the mirror out of the camera creates a smaller body, but with lenses, there’s nothing to get rid of to make smaller optics. While some brands are ready to shave off a couple of ounces, lenses still fall far behind in portability. The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-45mm F4.0 Pro, however, is both the foremost compact and lightest out of any lens during this class.
Part of that's because of the smaller Micro Four Thirds format, but this new 12-45mm remains impressively small. Olympus says there’s almost 190 precision-machined parts inside the lens’s 2.76-inch long body. But despite the dimensions , Olympus managed to pack in near-macro capabilities, excellent sharpness, and pro-level weather-sealing.
The question is, can the smaller size and lower cost structure for having a narrower aperture over Olympus’ existing f/2.8 option? We paired the lens with the new Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III to seek out out.
Design & features
While the lens is lightweight, Olympus didn’t skip out on the weather-sealing. My review sample survived an accidental dousing by an ocean wave and was no worse for wear.
The Olympus 12-45mm f/4 is made from 12 elements in nine groups, including Zuiko Extra-low Reflection Optical coating to fight flares and ghosting.
The lens features a metallic build and feels sturdy within the hands. The smaller size, however, leaves less room for controls, with just the zoom and focus ring. Both are smooth and straightforward to regulate .
Unlike many other Olympus lenses, the main target ring doesn’t retract to modify to manual focus. There’s also no room for attention scale.
The autofocus was ready to continue and locked on to subjects quickly and accurately. It didn’t seem to struggle or hunt back and forth in limited lighting, either, an honest sign for a comparatively slow lens.
Image quality & samples
Sharpness is superb throughout the zoom range, even when shooting wide open. There’s some subtle difference in f/4 to f/5, but at an amount so low, it’s likely inconsequential in real-world shooting.
The lens features a slight vignette on the corners at 12mm and 45mm. Both are minor enough to reverse in post-processing.
At 12mm, there’s some noticeable barrel distortion that decreases as you concentrate . The distortion isn’t outside of the norm for a wide-angle zoom, and may be corrected with a couple of tweaks in post. Once editing programs add support for the lens, a fast profile correction should be a good faster fix.
Flare is overall well controlled. At the incorrect angle, the sunshine will create a little green flare. Smaller light sources even have a bent to starburst.
Chromatic aberration was also tough to seek out . I spotted some slight purple and blue fringing along high contrast objects towards the sting of the frame, but had to actually search for it.
While image quality is solid, the f/4 aperture isn’t very bright for a professional lens. That, mixed with the Micro Four Thirds format, makes it harder to urge creamy smooth backgrounds. It also makes for a poor combination for low-light shooting. Given the lens’ specialist in portability, these are trade-offs that customers are likely to simply accept .
The smaller size does eliminate some common design elements, like easy switching from auto to manual focus and attention scale, however. The narrower f/4 aperture also isn’t ideal in every scenario.
How long will it last?
The metallic build and weather-sealing should help this lens deliver several years of use, and certain won’t get replaced for several years.
Is there a far better option?
Yes — if you've got a much bigger budget and a touch more room in your camera bag. The M.Zuiko ED 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro has an equivalent tough build and is additionally designed for high-end image quality. It is, however, 4.5 ounces heavier and about $350 more.
Should you buy it?
Yes. Buy the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-45mm F4.0 Pro if you would like a compact wide angle zoom that delivers excellent image quality, but you don’t need a good aperture.
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