Is the 12-50 really 'one lens to rule them all'

[Ardy]

I am thinking of upgrading to an EM5 and would love to use just one lens for my (mostly) macro shots and the occasional wide(ish) angle and of course fish shots.

In looking at this lens it seems to do a pretty good job at macro and with a wet lens should handle everything I want.

Can the 12-50 do 1:1 or is it more like 1:2? How good are wet lenses? I have not used them since my Nikonos 3 in the 70's when they were rubbish.

What are your experiences with this lens is it sharp or just a standard lens? I am currently using a 50mm macro as my main lens on my E-520.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

Short answer to the question is yes it rules in its dedicated port.

For your neds it is perfect. Image quality of the lens is very high.

You can fill the frame witb an object 24 x 35mm. Wet lens gets closer and they are very good.

I have photos and macro posted in the omd its heeeerrree thread

 

[jlyle]

Yes. Below are three shots of a nudibranch that I took to illustrate the versitility of the 12-50mm with the Nauticam port:

Nudibranch at 12mm

Nudibranch at 50mm

Nudibranch at 43mm(macro)

---------- Post added January 19th, 2013 at 11:43 AM ----------

More shots with the 12-50mm:

Garibaldi

Gopher rockfish

Painted greenling

Nudibranch

Rainbow seaperch

Curious rockfish

Spanish shawl nudibranch

Interesting kelp

Margaret on the wreck

Lobsters everywhere

Kissing lobsters

Lobster

Vermillion rockfish

 

[Ardy]

Thanks guys that will do me fine. All I have to do is get my new house built and assuming there are a couple of shekels left over I will reward myself with one of these.

Any recommendations for wet lenses.

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

For more information on how versatile the Olympus 12-50 zoom can be checkout Nauticamusa.com which includes some of my images with the lens.

Phil Rudin

 

[Ardy]

For more information on how versatile the Olympus 12-50 zoom can be checkout Nauticamusa.com which includes some of my images with the lens.

Phil Rudin

Thanks Phil it is very impressive don't you think?

This is what I was looking for when I first spoke to you about 3 years ago prior to buying my e-520 set up.

For me this is one lens and a diopter and it will do all I need. BTW do you know how close to 1:1 the 12-50 goes without a diopter?

regards

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

Guy answered your question regarding macro limits when you ask it at the top of this thread.

about the same as 35mm life size about 35 x 24mm.

 

[bullshark]

I only have a few hundred shots on it, but I have to agree with the consensus. It's a fine overall lens. After seeing the quality of the macro outcomes, I don't know if I will even bother with the 60mm I was planning on...The 60 is incredible but is cannot be dialed back to 12 when a whaleshark shows up.

I did of course opt for the 8mm FE just to stick it to the poor DSLR dinosaurs with their giant, heavy, FE dome ports. I used it all last week in Cocos and am starting to get a feel for it. One of the most surprising outcomes to me was the excellent close up sharpness and detail with very small subjects like Salps and pelagic tunicates floating by. Put them right on the (tiny)dome.

a 1:1 crop for details


Back to the 12-50...it was the tipping point for me (who has been studying/shopping/waiting M43 for years). Finally, a lens and camera with the ultimate utility to be chooseable as the "one & only" for any dive as opposed to being stuck with Macro or WA (the perennial pre-dive conundrum).

For those wanting the versatility of this set up for considerably less dollars, the Lumix LX5 or LX7 has approximately the same viewing angles, great macro and convenient 67mm port threading on the Nauticam housing.

 

[bullshark]

jlyle: how do you get your pics to post in-line? I've used the uploader in the past and it's definitely not nice to my pics. Really nice pics with great lighting.

 

[jlyle]

jlyle: how do you get your pics to post in-line? I've used the uploader in the past and it's definitely not nice to my pics. Really nice pics with great lighting.

My images are stored off site and I "point" to them using the URLs and image tags. I do not upload them to this board.