Which lens for the Oly 5 MkII ?

[Antonio Correia]

Do you know this site ? Interesting...
Between these two lenses which would you get regardless the cost ?
This lens - one of these I mean - is to be used with an Oly 5 MkII, Oly 7-14 f/2.8 and Oly 14-40 f/2.8 when traveling or in any occasion... when I feel like
I am tempted by the f/2.8. But I am also tempted by the smaller size of the one on the left, the 12-100mm
I understand that the 12-100 doesn't go as far as the 40-150 which may have others purposes. But the reach of both doesn't bother me as I do not shoot birds...
My main concern is the quality of the final images.
Comments ? Anyone ? Thanks !

[rpcrowe]

Antonio,

I cannot comment on the image quality of these two lenses but, they seem to be quite different. My comments are based on the equivalent focal ranges and how I would use them with my crop and full frame DSLR cameras.

The 12-100mm f/4 lens could be used as a go everywhere and do everything lens since it is an equivalent 24-200mm on a full frame camera. That is a pretty wide focal range and, just considering the range, would be quite adequate for virtually all of my photography (wildlife and air shows excepted). The down side of this lens is its rather slow f/4 aperture. I really need at least an f/2.8 aperture for on my mid range zoom lens.

On the other hand, the 40-150mm lens is an 80-300mm equivalent and would suffice for most of my telephoto needs. The f/2.8 aperture is bright and would allow a narrow DOF. But, the 80mm short side would not be wide enough to allow me to use this lens alone. i would want to use it in conjunction with a lens of a wider focal length.

So, to make a long story short... Neither of these lenses would be my choice to use alone but, the 40-150mm "just might" produce a better IQ since the lens has a more narrow focal range of just slightly over 3:1.

However, if I were forced to pick one lens for general duty, it would have to be the 12-100mm despite the slower maximum aperture. I base that on the short side being wide enough for my general needs...

[Antonio Correia]

But Richard, that is a very interesting point of view ! Thank you !

Let's wait for some other replies to see if anyone uses both and perceive any real difference.

Cheers !

[Cogito]

Antonio, the lens that stays on my Olympus is the 12-60mm.

[Manfred M]

I have two lenses for my mFT Panasonic GX7; a 14-140mm lens and a 100-300mm lens (both are Panasonic Lumix lenses).

It is my "travel" camera, so small size and low overall weight were the deciding factors regarding the lenses. That gives me a FF equivalent of 28 - 600mm. A few more mm at the narrow end (thinking of the 7-14mm) might have been worth considering, but not when I factored in the extra weight and bulk associated with carrying 3 lenses. The long focal length range on the 14-140mm does mean some optical compromises have been made by the lens designers, but that is fine by me for the purposes I use the camera for.

As I make a lot of prints, the mFT format is not my preferred choice and I usually do not use it unless size and weight are the main considerations when I decide which camera gear to bring with me when travelling.