SLRgear posted the full Olympus 7-14mm PRO lens review:
Though it’s still a small collection of lenses at this point, Olympus’ Zuiko Pro line continues to impress with high quality performance and excellent build quality. The new Olympus 7-14mm ƒ/2.8 Pro lens steps in as the premiere ultra-wide zoom lens for the Micro Four Thirds system, offering performance and quality for advanced and professional shooters alike. The high cost of the lens — at around $1,300 — is certainly a discouraging factor for budget-conscious MFT shooters, but this is, at this point in time, a unique lens that offers a versatile ultra-wide focal length range, a bright ƒ/2.8 aperture, weather-sealing, great build quality, as well as excellent image quality.
7-14mm store links to Amazon US and Adorama (Click here).
15 Responses
This is an impressive lens. If you got the cash…
It appeals to me a lot but I got the Olympus 8mm f/1.8 fisheye and a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens for Nikon to do landscapes.
Now that the 7-14mm f/2.8 lens is US$200 off…
Funny…I was planning on picking up the tokina 11-16mm 2.8 for my Sony A77II. I just bought the 7.5 fisheye for the Oly. I’ve seen a couple of reviews in which it outperforms the 9-18mm easily after being de-fished and is still wider.
The Nikon version of the Tokina is very good, but the Canon version wasn’t upgraded with a new focusing motor. Between the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 and the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8, both for Nikon, I’ve got the wide angles covered fairly well, plus the Olympus fisheye lens.
I’ve always wanted a wide angle, and I finally got one of these for Christmas, figuring if I’m going to get one, might as well get the best.
And man, this thing is built like a tank. I’m admittedly anything but a pro shooter, so the only really high-quality lenses I’m familiar with are ancient Minolta glass, but the build quality is incredible. Makes everything else in my camera bag (with the possible exception of the 30-year-old Minolta lens) look and feel cheesy.
It also of course weighs more than everything else in my camera bag put together, too.
You need to buy yourself one of the Oly 40-150mm Pro lenses next. At least, you won’t complain about the 7-14’s weight any more if you do.
Hello, the review was posted a month ago. And sharpness in the corners wide open is not a landscape lens should have, let alone the one for $1300 (which is a ridiculous price for an m43 lens to begin with).
You sound quite knowledgeable. How long have you been using this lens and what were you using to shoot landscapes before obtaining it?
I do not. I don’t like the value.
Corner sharpness appears to be related to field curvature, so it’s influence on a landscape photo will depend on the specific compositional elements.
In some cases it will make an image look sharper if the focal plane happens to curve.
I’d still pick the Panasonic 7-14 because it’s so much smaller, lighter, and cheaper, though.
At 950, it is not cheaper enough to compensate for the stop of light and lack of weather-sealing and purple reflections.
Landscape with f/2.8? LOL!
Even the 7mm with 4/3 sensor will have too shallow depth of field and requires to be stopped to around f/5.6-7.1 range to get everything in focus.
And do you know what happens then?
Don’t forget, it is not FF, f/2.8 on m43 is like f/5.6 on FF. Landscapes will not have shallow DoF at all. Focus at hyperfocal, and everything is in focus from 2.75ft to infinity. Meaning if you take the shot from the human height or even half of it, no part of the earth under your feet is OOF.
Be careful judging lens quality from reviews that don’t test under real world conditions, and especially a UWA lens without regard to flare which is typically the achilles heel.
I agree John. I own this lens and it’s a true performer under real world use. Prior, I had the Zukio 7-14 f4. My 2.8 clearly outperforms the old 4.0, even in the corners. I am also one who is extremely critical of all my gear, especially lens performance. The 2.8 UWA performs as I would expect it to. There is nothing wrong with it. It’s definitely a keeper.