Review on 📸 Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm F4.0 Pro Lens: Perfect for Micro Four Thirds Cameras by Ben Jacobson

Updated 07/08/2019 After two years of use, my impression of the lens has not changed. I've since added Oly 12-40 f/2.8. I've found that sometimes I need f/2.8. But for travel, 12-100 is still the best option. Original rating: I am a dual system user. My m4/3 system was originally designed for travel and my main system is an APS-C DSLR. Past experience has shown me that zooming with a high zoom factor is a compromise at best, so I only considered zooming with a factor of typically =<3. In recent years I have relaxed this limit to =<5 as optical design has greatly improved. The downside is that decent high-ratio zooms are usually big, heavy, and require a big filter. It kind of negates the benefits of using the zoom. My APS-C system has come to the point that I no longer want to take it with me when I travel, especially abroad. For this reason the m4/3 system was developed. I started with e-pm1, changed it to e-pm2 shortly after and now added GX85. The bundled zoom is ok, but limited in the zoom range. I hate switching lenses when traveling. I changed the kit zoom to 12-60 which is a big improvement. I especially like the 12mm on the short end. However, I also found myself with a focal length of 60mm to 100mm at the 40-150 zoom. That was the reason why I chose this 12-100. This lens has a magnification of 8+, which should be out of my reach. The fact that so many people like it and have great reviews can't be bad, which is why I gave it a try. I think the smaller m4/3 form factor allows for high quality zoom lenses with higher zoom ratios. This lens is too big for the m4/3 platform. I can live with that because I now have a single lens travel solution. This lens is very well built, heavy and durable. The lens mount isn't as smooth as I'm used to, and neither is the zoom ring. The focus ring is very smooth (no drag) when using the wire focus and relatively stiff when using a mechanical linkage. These are not very good aspects of this lens. Autofocus is fast and accurate on both the e-pm2 and GX85. The close-up limit is excellent and can almost reach that of a macro lens. Optical performance is the strong point of this lens. My limited experience confirms the conclusions of the reviews. Despite being a heavy lens I don't find it unbalanced even when used on the e-pm2. This is now my travel lens. Highly recommended.