Advice on possible zoom lens purchase

traveler_101 wrote:

I am looking for a lens for wife's birthday. I don't use zoom lenses with my E-P5 and am not that familiar with the options. She has a E-M10 and started with the kit zoom (14-42 R) which is no longer acceptable to her critical eye. She has been using the 40-150/4.0-5.6 which she likes, but it leaves her without a normal range lens.

I suppose the best solution would be the 12-40 PRO but it's a little too costly. I am in Norway right now so I have to deal with prices here. Anything mail ordered from abroad will be taxed at 25% in addition to other fees.

What about a 14-150 II? Is that an improvement on the 14-42 and as good as the 40-150 in their respective ranges?

If you can think of another solution please let me know.

Summing up this thread. When back in the U.S. last month, I bought a new in the box Panasonic 14-45/3.5-5.6. My wife will be getting it for Christmas. If she likes it, it will supplement the Olympus 40-150/4-5.6 she already uses on her E-M10. I also sold the unused Olympus 14-42R II. I got $47 on E-Bay. It sold easily.

I thought long and hard about which lens to get. Here is what seems to me to be a fair representation of the collective wisdom from this thread:

1) An all in one zoom is convenient and pretty good, but probably would not improve picture quality as compared to the 14-42. So I x-ed that option.

2) The Olympus 12-40 was very tempting. I would have happily paid for it, but opinions were mixed about the size and especially weight of that lens on an E-M10. My wife is slight woman with small hands and wrists. Would she lug a heavy lens around on our holiday trips? It just seemed like too big a risk. Tough decision to make though . . .

3) I looked into the Panasonic 12-32, but was just not convinced of the quality of its output. In addition it has a very limited range. My wife is not a wide shooter and 32mm at the upper end is inadequate.

4) The 14-45 has been around for a long time. It has earned very good reviews. I searched threads and found that there were many testimonials to its quality, confirming what I remember about its reputation. I remember one post by Ben Hermann that I found convincing. Plus it seems to fit well on the camera as shown on the matching simulation site.

Now . . . to see if she is satisfied! Thanks again to all.