Panasonic 12-32 on Olympus bodies

Hi,

I just ordered the 12-32 for my wife's E-PM2 - the 17/2.8 is out, tried it and sold it. It's ok, and quite decent in the centre, but I noticed it often missed focus with the touchscreen. She wants a zoom, and I like the 12mm of the Panasonic, and do NOT like the EZ only Oly 4-42EZ. By most accounts, the 12-32 matches the 14-42IIR pretty closely for IQ, which should be fine.

Can the OIS be disabled on an Oly camera, or is disabling the IBIS the only option? Any other feedback on this lens specifically on Olympus bodies?

Thanks.

Your answer is HERE

How is the purple with this lens on Olympus bodies? I know that the Panasonic UWA zoom has significant purple blobs. Does that show up with this lens?

I think this is about the 12-35mm. If so, no blobs of any color. Excellent lens.

No, it appears to be about the 12-32 (from the GM1).  I have that lens plus the 12-35 f 2.8 and they are both fine on the EM5 and EPL5.

bgalb wrote:

Your answer is HERE

Yes, those are the stabilisation rules as per Guy. Hey! That's me.

On E-PM2 use the Custom menu to turn on Lens IS Priority, then in the SCP turn on IS1 (IBIS), then the much preferred OIS works instead of the IBIS.

If you swap to a lens that has no OIS then the IBIS works, no need to fiddle with the Lens IS Priority setting at all, just leave it on.

If you want no stabilisation at all then just turn off IBIS in the SCP, it is the master switch for all stabilisation.

Regards..... Guy

Looking forward to trying this little guy.

Allan Brown wrote:

zuikowesty wrote:

Hi,

I just ordered the 12-32 for my wife's E-PM2 - the 17/2.8 is out, tried it and sold it. It's ok, and quite decent in the centre, but I noticed it often missed focus with the touchscreen. She wants a zoom, and I like the 12mm of the Panasonic, and do NOT like the EZ only Oly 4-42EZ. By most accounts, the 12-32 matches the 14-42IIR pretty closely for IQ, which should be fine.

Can the OIS be disabled on an Oly camera, or is disabling the IBIS the only option? Any other feedback on this lens specifically on Olympus bodies?

Thanks.

I think you will find that the OIS is superior to the IBIS on the EMP2.

I have this lens on my EPL5 and have it set for OIS rather than IBIS.

To use OIS, you must have an EPM2/EPL5 or newer. This will not work with the EM5 or older.

Allan

Really, it won't work with the E-M5? Is it that ancient already? Or is this just the first OIS lens without a physical switch?

Thanks

Thanks everyone for the feedback - much appreciated!

The OM-D E-M5 was the last Olympus camera released without the ability to switch on OIS from in camera. However, the Panasonic 12-32mm is not the first lens without a physical switch for OIS. For example, the Panasonic 14-42mm (original) and the 14-42mm PZ were released before the E-M5 and do not have physical switches for OIS either.

Panasonic's high end lenses (e.g. constant aperture zooms, 42.5mm f/1.2) and their earlier lenses (e.g. 14-45mm) have physical switches. Not sure which was the first lens to eschew the physical switch.

The 12-32 works amazingly well on an EM5 and EM1.  At f/4 I could barely tell it from the 12-40 at the wider end.  Even at 100% crop it really holds up to the corners.  MUCH sharper than my 9-18 in the overlap range.  It did have a little PF (12-40 is auto corrected) but it came out nicely using the LR5 tool.

The Panasonic 45-150 also has no switch. On the E-M5, the camera defaults to IBIS.

Perhaps my previous message was not clear. It was not meant to be an exhaustive list of lenses with no switch, hence the use of "e.g." Besides, the 45-150mm is newer than the E-M5 so I do not consider it to be an "earlier" lens and it is definitely not a "high end" lens. I guess I should emphasize I am satisfied with my copy of the 45-150mm.

ristar wrote:

The OM-D E-M5 was the last Olympus camera released without the ability to switch on OIS from in camera. However, the Panasonic 12-32mm is not the first lens without a physical switch for OIS. For example, the Panasonic 14-42mm (original) and the 14-42mm PZ were released before the E-M5 and do not have physical switches for OIS either.

Panasonic's high end lenses (e.g. constant aperture zooms, 42.5mm f/1.2) and their earlier lenses (e.g. 14-45mm) have physical switches. Not sure which was the first lens to eschew the physical switch.

Thanks for the info! I am not too familiar with Panasonic gear, but am looking forward to trying the 12-32 even more.

The 12-32 works amazingly well on an EM5 and EM1. At f/4 I could barely tell it from the 12-40 at the wider end. Even at 100% crop it really holds up to the corners. MUCH sharper than my 9-18 in the overlap range. It did have a little PF (12-40 is auto corrected) but it came out nicely using the LR5 tool.

I guess I must either have a poor 12-32 sample or an awesome 12-40.

My 12-40 is really tack sharp at all focal lenghts straight from f/2.8. Even in the extreme corners.  Truly amazing!

However, my 12-32 is nice and sharp in the center, but the corners never truly sharpen up, even closed down. I did some comparison tests at 12mm between it and the 12-40 and the difference is significant.

PDavis wrote:

The 12-32 works amazingly well on an EM5 and EM1. At f/4 I could barely tell it from the 12-40 at the wider end. Even at 100% crop it really holds up to the corners. MUCH sharper than my 9-18 in the overlap range. It did have a little PF (12-40 is auto corrected) but it came out nicely using the LR5 tool.

I have started carrying the 12-32 on my E-M5 to make it more pocketable, but I am not sure if I should turn IS off (which means both IBIS and OIS I believe), or leave it at IS-1 and let the two systems sort it out. I guess I will need to test it.

What have others found? Is dual IS better or worse than no IS? Does it depend on conditions? btw, I have switched to 1/4s anti-shock after seeing SS at 1/8s and 1/125s exposures. Not sure if this made worse by having two IS systems working at once.