Review on 📷 Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II R Lens, Black, for Micro Four Thirds Cameras by Scott Snyder

It gets the job done. The imaging performance is at least what you would expect from a kit lens. The E-M10 corrects wide-angle barrel distortion in-camera (JPG), so it's cool. My minor complaints: - The stupid cheap plastic ring on the front comes off too easily. - it may be a trifle, but the aesthetics - ah. The proportions of this thing, when mounted on the camera and extended, don't tempt you to pick it up and play with it, as some lens/camera combos seem to do. You don't usually see photos of this thing in production; They always point it away. But if you put it away every time you're done with it, there's always an extra tedious step before you can shoot next time. Based on those two points, I probably won't even bother with the plastic cover. I bought for this item. If the plastic ring comes off that easily, I suspect the hood comes off even easier and causes more trouble than it's worth. Maybe someday I'll buy a bolt-on one. My only major complaint: The manual focus ring is VERY tight/firm. Switching to manual controls with this thing isn't fun; It's really difficult to make minor adjustments when you've applied enough force to get the ring to spin, it jerks where you wanted it to stop, and then stops just as abruptly. On the other hand, the zoom ring is nice and slim and just right. I think I'll keep my manual focus fun for my cheap vintage 50mm lens with adapter.