Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro Review

May 5, 2014 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Sharpness at 40mm

For these tests, the Olympus 12-40mm f3.5-6.3 lens was attached to an Olympus OM-D E-M1 compact system camera, which in turn was mounted on a sturdy tripod. The self-timer was used to avoid any vibrations from pressing the shutter release. Slight tonal changes are due to slight changes in natural light during the session.

The full frameThe full frame at 40mm

Centre sharpness is OK wide open at f/2.8, but peak performance is achieved until f/8. Diffraction kicks in at f/16 and gets worse at f/22. The corners are soft at f/2.8-f/5.6, with the best performance achieved at f/8.

Aperture Centre Crop edge Crop
f/2.8 f2_8.jpg f2_8.jpg
f/4 f4.jpg f4.jpg
f/5.6 f5_6.jpg f5_6.jpg
f/8 f8.jpg f8.jpg
f/11 f11.jpg f11.jpg
f/16 f16.jpg f16.jpg
f/22 f22.jpg f22.jpg