Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO is an Auto Focus (AF)
Standard Zoom lens with FourThirds max sensor coverage and it is designed to be used with Micro Four Thirds mount cameras.Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO was replaced with OM System 12-40mm F2.8 PRO II. Follow the link to read our comparison of these lenses:
Compare Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO vs OM System 12-40mm F2.8 PRO II
Lenses in Micro Four Thirds Mount with Same Focal and Aperture Range
Lens Mount
Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO is compatible with cameras that have Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Micro Four Thirds lenses are Panasonic GH6, OM System OM-1 and Panasonic GH5 II.
Focal Range
Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO has a focal range of 12-40mm and 3.3X zoom ratio which has a 35mm equivalent focal range of 24-80mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.
Weather Sealings
Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO is a weather sealed lens which provides an extra protection to prevent water and dust get inside the lens and camera body under light rain, snow and wind. In order to have an effective protection, you have to pair the Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO with a weather sealed camera body such as Panasonic GH6, OM System OM-1 and Panasonic GH5 II.
Optical Image Stabilization
Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO doesn't have an optical image stabilization system so the only option to stabilize the image taken with this lens is to mount on a camera body with IBIS (sensor based In-body image stabilization).
Alternatively, you can check the Panasonic 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 OIS in Micro Four Thirds mount that have similar focal range but features Optical Image Stabilization.
Lenses Similar to Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO With Optical Image Stabilization
Zoom Method
Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO features Rotary (extending) zoom method where the length of the lens changes as you zoom in or out. This makes it possible to design the lens with a smaller minimum length ( generally when it is zoomed out) compared to internal zoom lenses. The disadvantages of this design are being harder to seal against dust and moisture, weight balance shifting while zooming and zoom creep in certain lenses.
Maximum Magnification Ratio
Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO has a Max Magnification Ratio of 0.3x and has a minimum focusing distance of 0.2m. For a non-macro lens, the 0.3x is considered a high magnification and will come handy for close-up shots.
Aperture
Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO is a fixed aperture lens with a constant max aperture of f2.8 from 12mm all the way to the 40mm .
Optical Formula
Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO's optical formula consists of 14 elements in 9 groups . Following special elements are used in this design:
- 1 aspherical element
- 1 dual-sided aspherical element
- 2 ED glass elements
- 2 HR glass elements
- 1 EDA glass element
- 1 HD glass element
Lens Hood
Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO comes with a removable lens hood which is handy to reduce lens flare and glare in your photos. The model number of the hood is LH66.
Body Colour
Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO is available in Black color.
Popular Comparisons of Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO
Here is the eight most popular comparisons of Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO amongst Camera Decision readers.