Mid-February, on a fairly decent afternoon. I attached the newly acquired M.ZUIKO 12-100mm PRO lens to my LUMIX G9PROII and headed out for a test shoot.
For some reason, test shoots always lead me here: Shinagawa Ward Park. I focused AF on the whale’s tail peeking out of the pond, starting at the wide-angle end of 12mm. Aperture set to F8.
Next, telephoto end 100mm, same F8.
Thanks to the tight framing, both the center and edges are beautifully sharp at both ends of the zoom range. I’m impressed by the detailed image that fully utilizes the G9 Pro II’s 24-megapixel sensor.
Focal length 35mm (35mm equivalent: 70mm), wide-open aperture F4, signboard at the edge of the pond.
The signboard’s focus plane is captured with a sharpness that couldn’t be any better, while the background blur is merely comforting. Still, the solid expression of three-dimensionality and perspective, making the signboard stand out in the foreground, is truly impressive.
It was still before the plum grove reached its peak.
I tend to take photos where you wonder “Where’s the focus on this one?”, but here I think I managed to capture each individual flower on the plum tree I wanted to photograph clearly. Hmm.
What happens when you try hard to force background blur with a lens that resists it? It’s not quite exquisite, beautiful bokeh, but it’s surprisingly not bad. It really is a gem of a lens with few weaknesses.
Changing locations, a flower bed glowing in the evening sun.
Its impressive close-up capability (half-macro at the wide-angle end and up to 0.42x magnification at the telephoto end) is a major plus, right?
Two things stood out during my test shots.
First, this lens’s resolution performance (as I experienced it) is the best I’ve ever seen. Plus, it’s easy to focus and surprisingly resistant to blur. Since I’m using an Olympus lens on a LUMIX body, there should be limitations to the image stabilization, but somehow it minimizes blur. Even for a perpetual beginner like me, who constantly struggles with soft focus and blur, it’s surprising how easily I can get razor-sharp, pin-sharp photos.
Second point. While the F4 aperture (equivalent to F8 on full-frame) is on the dark side, you can shoot at nearly half-macro levels. With some creativity, you can achieve reasonably nice background blur. Carrying a bright prime lens as backup might make you unbeatable.
Oh, and while I was worried about the weight—it’s about 560g, nearly matching the G9 Pro II body—it didn’t feel heavy enough to wear me down on this day. Considering that having this lens means you don’t need as many others, keeping the overall weight down, it’s definitely within acceptable limits.
So, as the reviews say, I’m convinced this is a top-tier high-power zoom lens. This is going to be fun!
