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

I read many reviews about this lens and was very excited to try it, although I was afraid of the high price. I bought this lens last month and now use it almost every day in a variety of situations, from urban architecture to nature (trying to also take advantage of its weak "macro" account), indoors and at sporting events. Everything is fine with the lens - between average and good. A good zoom range of 12 to 100 mm and additional image stabilization inside the lens are positive. However, when shooting handheld low-light scenes with IS on or off on the lens barrel, I noticed very little difference in terms of usable photos at slower speeds compared to the already awesome 5-axis IS in the lens barrel. my Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II. Another plus is that it comes with a hood and a nice and elegant zipper. Another plus is the easy switching from auto to manual focus right on the lens barrel by moving the ring up or down. The lens is also weatherproof, which is a plus if you're shooting in the rain or bad weather. However, the disadvantages are extreme and for me they all have to do with the image quality. The purple border is TERRIBLE. Barrel distortion between 12-25mm focal length is TERRIBLE. City skylines look like tall buildings are at a 45 degree angle - yeah folks, that's a really bad lens in that regard. Of course you can fix it by mail, but for the money I don't need it. Images are very soft at the corners on all cameras except the F8 and F11, which isn't mentioned in any reviews I've read. Finally, its "macro" function is a joke. You can focus very close at the widest angle, which can produce some great photos on the F22, but when using the 100mm zoom as a macro it's average given the focus distance here. So when paying $1200 for a PRO lens, I want and expect a lot more bang for my buck. This is a very overpriced lens in my opinion and honestly I wish I had spent that much money on it rather than buying a 75MM F1.8 and another lens. It's visually beautiful, but unless you're shooting at 35-85mm in bright light it's definitely a disappointment in my opinion.