Is Olympus 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 any good?

sanath444 wrote:

This lens may make the camera to cumbersome. I got the EPM2 because it was small and easy to carry around compared to Canon DSLR. I am concerned that if I get this lens it would defeat the purpose of getting EPM2. I have thought about Olympus WCON-P01 to go with my Oly 14-42 but not sure about the image quality of the converter. Is it as good as the Panasonic or Sony Nex converters (which requires buying Panny 14mm)?

If all you need is the super wide focal length and you don't need the other additional features in the 12-50mm lens (compared to the 14-42mm), then just get the 14-42mm and the WCON-P01 converter, which is pretty good for a converter. It actually would give you a slightly wider FOV than the 12-50mm but it is fairly big in diameter and not as convenient in use. You will have to mount it every time you want to shoot something wide or get very close to the subject. Also, it would be very difficult to use a filter or hood with this converter. I think the total weight, bulk and cost would be quite similar. You gain flexibility by not having to carry the converter when you are not planning to shoot anything very wide, but you could lose some pictures when you do need to do it and do not have it with you.

You are right, this lens, or any zoom lens with a 24mm equiv at the wide end would be too big for the E-PM2. There is only so much you can do about the size of such a lens. No way around it. Maybe you should get a camera with a smaller sensor and less image quality, if you still want a general purpose zoom that is super wide and also small.