REVIEW: Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 12-60mm f/2.8-4 SWD

Handling and features Gary Wolstenholme takes a close look at this standard zoom for Four thirds SLRs from Olympus. This 12-60mm lens offers a field of view equivalent to a 24-120mm lens on a 35mm camera, with a relatively bright maximum aperture of f/2.8-4.

Excellent build quality; Good optical performance; Fast focusing; Useful minimum focus distance

Barrel distortion at 12mm

Lens Test: Olympus Zuiko Digital 12-60mm f/2.8-4 SWD AF

Introduced with the Olympus E-3, this 24-120mm equivalent is the first Zuiko lens available in the U.S. that incorporates the company's Supersonic Wave Drive (SWD) autofocus motor. Similar in concept to the USM and SWM motors from Canon and Nikon respectively, this system has not one but two motors,...

Great lens. If you need one all-rounder, this is it! 12@24 mm is great for wide end and 60@120 gives you a bit more edge compared to other basic-zooms. If you are running on tight budget, you should consider 14-54 f2.8-3.5 if the extra millimeters aren't your thing.

Great focal length IQ and contrast/color handling is well balanced with the focal length, but compared to 50-200, it feels a bit lame; Amazing all-rounder Weather sealing Well balanced with E-3 and E-5 Works almost as a macro lens, focuses almost to the front lens in 60mm Fast focusing Haven't...

A bit dark in the tele end A bit expensive Would need a bit more contrast/color capabilities compared to 50-200

Olympus 12-60mm f/2.8-4 ED SWD Zuiko Digital review by dda

I sold my Olympus gear and went over to the Nikon side - two things I miss however : my 12-60 and my 50-200. Both lenses were perfect ... If it wasn't for their SLRs, I would still be with Olympus. The lens quality is just ... awesome.

Sharp - extremely sharp / build quality

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