When I got the job with the paper, one of the things I felt I needed to address was my standard, workhorse mid range zoom with it’s “lumpy” zoom.
I had started to use lenses around this one and usually avoided it for anything other than video, where I appreciated its manual focus application (pull back ring) and the low need to zoom.
Recently I decided to just use it until it fell over as the replacement (a 12-60 f2.8-4 Leica) proved a magnificent performer, but was less easy to use for video, with less easy to apply MF and not a constant aperture (and it moves from f2.8 quite early in the range). As well as this the color balance I like with Pana cameras and Olympus lenses (and the opposite to the same extent). Panas have bright and light colours, Olympus are “meatier” and cooler, so the two mixed tend to hit a perfect neutral ground.
All shots taken from my day at work (A pump house re-development, a vigil for Cassius Turvey, tragically killed and a 70th wedding anniversary).
Always a well behaved lens, with excellent sharpness across the frame and pleasant, practical Bokeh.
It is very sharp, but also has a very pleasant rendering. Not hyper sharp, more smooth-sharp.
The funny thing is, the more I use it, the smoother the zoom action becomes. It is (touch wood) pretty much perfect at the moment, being used day in, day out.
Celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary, capturing this couple (combined age 186) in natural light at ISO 1600, the camera and lens combination is crisply sharp, but at the same time on a G9, delicate and gentle.
Now, every standard lens needs a longer partner.
The obvious choice and one I truly love, is the Oly f2.8 40-150 Pro. Hard to criticise this lens with a straight face, but it has one small issue. It is quite big and heavy for the MFT format. This lens requires a bag that is tall if the lens is mounted on a camera, ready to go. I have that bag, the f802 Domke, an and reliable friend, but sometimes the depth is too much for the rest of the kit on balance.
To fix this I bought the 40-150 f4. To be honest, most days I could get away with the 40-150 kit “junker”, but the IP53 weather sealing and constant f4 have been useful already. It also shares the same 62mm filter thread as the 12-40, for my many filters.
This is one of those lenses that makes you think creatively.
“Vigil”. Like the 12-40, it is sharp anywhere around the frame at any aperture and focal length, with pleasant Bokeh (the f2.8 can get nervous occassionally, the f4 less so), but leans slightly into the hard-sharp camp.
“Road to progress”. The longer lens is mounted on an Oly camera, but still retains a bright and pleasant feel.
The combination of the 12-40 on a G9 and 40-150 on an EM1 mk2 is nearly ideal. I have the 9, 17, 45 primes at hand, but the two zooms do the bulk of my day.
The Leica is proving to be the ideal all day lens for my school kit.