The Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 Pro - my precious!

It's arrived - it's arrived - my precious - my precious (typing in my best Golem voice).

Just a couple of weeks after committing to sell all of my micro four thirds lenses to purchase the M.Zuiko 12-40mm f2.8 Pro - it's in my hot little hands! I'm so excited (can you tell?) and thrilled that it's worked out even better than I imagined. How so?

I'm not going to lie - I wavered in the middle of the process for a few days. Since I already had the Panasonic 25mm f1.7, I briefly considered going to a three prime lens kit - getting the 17mm f1.8 and the 45mm f1.8 to go with it. There was even a couple of reasonably priced 17mm f1.8's come up for auction on-line, so I was sorely tempted.

But I watched a few more glowing video reviews on Youtube for the 12-40mm f2.8, took a few deep breaths, and stuck to my original plan. And then, what sold it in the end, was the amazing deal I eventually got for the 12-40mm f2.8 Pro!

With three of my lenses already sold, I still didn't have quite enough to by the lens new (from Hong Kong via a Trademe - a NZ internet auction site). There weren't any coming up second-hand for auction, so I decided to use social media to see what I could find. I belong to a couple of New Zealand Photography Buy, Sell & Trade Facebook groups. I placed a WTB (wanted to buy) advert without really expecting anything much, but the next day I received a reply.

Cobden Beach Tiphead. OM-D E-M1 with M.Zuiko 12-40mm f2.8 Pro lens. 1/800th @ f5.6, ISO 200

A photographer in Invercargill (lower South Island) had one that he didn't use very often (he's more of a macro shooter), and was considering selling it. Excellent condition, hardly use, etc, etc. Long story short, we struck a deal and he sold it to me that evening! I had just enough money from the sale of my lenses thus far, and so ended up saving about a third of what it would have cost me for a brand new one! Ironically, I later found out that with the money I paid him for his lens, he purchased one of the 17mm f1.8 lenses I had been considering on Trademe.

Coal River Heritage Park. E-M1 with M.Zuiko 12-40mm f2.8 Pro. 1/640th @ f3.5, ISO 200

The 12-40mm arrived two days later and I finally had my first Pro f2.8 lens for my Olympus micro four thirds system. As described, the lens is in immaculate condition, and is indeed a perfect match for the E-M1, especially with the grip attached. It looks beautiful, feels solid, and oozes quality. I couldn't be happier.

Greymouth Crane. E-M1 with 12-40mm Pro f2.8. 1/800th @ f4.5, ISO 200

But it gets even better.... 😀  As well as sending me the lens, I also received a book dedicated to using the OM-D E-M1 and a variable ND filter and a polarizing filter! All for free! That's probably $200NZ worth of free stuff, and I'm very grateful to the seller for his amazing generosity. It's great to know that there are still some generous-hearted people in the world, especially when you are the recipient of that generosity. I'm especially looking forward to giving the variable ND a try - I've never used one before, but always been curious to try them out. And now I can. Thanks Paul!

Drill Sculpture. E-M1 with M.Zuiko 12-40mm f2.8 Pro. 1/640th @ f4.5. ISO 200

All the photos in this post (except for the product photo) where taken on my first outing with the E-M1 and 12-40mm f2.8 Pro combination. It was unfortunately a disappointingly drab morning, and the location I had originally intended to photograph was covered in so much thick fog that I had to turn back. So instead I wandered around in the freezing cold and took a few 'snaps'. Not my best work, and all pretty dull, but at least I got out and started building up some muscle-memory with the gear.

Of course the lens performed as expected. The zoom ring is smooth, but with a certain amount of 'resistance'. This means there's no hint of zoom-creep, with no wobbles or looseness on the lens. Even the hood and cap feel reassuringly solid. The range is just about perfect, with 12mm about as wide as I like to shoot landscapes (24mm field of view in 35mm terms), and 40 (80mm on a full-frame DLSR) hitting the sweet spot for portraiture. I don't do a lot of portraiture now that I don't shoot weddings, although that might all be about to change with the birth of my first grandchild early next year (2019)!

Now that the 12-40mm is literally my only lens (I've finally sold all the others), I've decided I would like some sort of telephoto - just for the times when one might come in handy. The 40-150mm is the obvious choice - and no, not the f2.8 version (although there's no denying that would be sweet). An Olympus 40-150mm f4/5.6 is on its way to me as I write this. But that's not all - it comes with some other goodies. More on that next time....