GX7 (or other Panny camera) plus 12-50mm Olympus zoom

Some advice, please. I own the GX7 and am very happy with it. I have a good selection of lenses but am missing a 12mm length (though I do have the 9-18mm) and a macro. I had the opportunity to buy the 12-50mm zoom which covers both gaps last night on eBay for an astonishingly low price as it was slightly damaged, and it's on its way to me now. I'm a sucker for a bargain.

I've read that although this lens performs well on an Olympus camera for which it was designed, it may not perform as well on a Panasonic one. Can anyone give me the benefit of their experience, please, with this lens on a Panny camera? Just so I know what to expect. I do know the lens is not going to perform as well as the 12-40mm, but how about against the Panasonic 14-45mm?

Many thanks - Maggie

I suspect that the price is low because that lens is the one which is supposed to be less sharp and has as a result lost popularity.

If the damage doesnt affect picture quality you've got a bargain for £35 - that's the one isn't it?

I may have put a bid on myself if I had been at home. I was put off by the poor quality of the images of the lens which really didn't show the severity of the damage.

You have to wonder why someone who is obviously a photographer would produce such unclear images unless he/she was trying to hide something. Perhaps it's my suspicious nature - fingers crossed it is as described.

I don't know the answer to your question but I'll take a guess - and I could be totally wrong. I suspect that both Oly and Panny tweek their firmware so their lenses perform optimally on their cameras - they're in a position to do so as they designed both the lens and the camera and have inside knowledge that the other does not. However I also think that the differences will only be noticed during lab measurements and in every day use the differences will not be noticed.

I don't agree with LMNCT that it's cheap because it is not sharp - it has some very good reviews, is supposed to be an excellent macro lens with great video capabilities - reviews say it is soft compared to primes but that goes without saying. It usually sells for around the £120 mark so you got it cheap because it is damaged - hopefully as the seller states, image quality is not affected.

eyespy wrote:

If the damage doesnt affect picture quality you've got a bargain for £35 - that's the one isn't it?

I may have put a bid on myself if I had been at home. I was put off by the poor quality of the images of the lens which really didn't show the severity of the damage.

You have to wonder why someone who is obviously a photographer would produce such unclear images unless he/she was trying to hide something. Perhaps it's my suspicious nature - fingers crossed it is as described.

I don't know the answer to your question but I'll take a guess - and I could be totally wrong. I suspect that both Oly and Panny tweek their firmware so their lenses perform optimally on their cameras - they're in a position to do so as they designed both the lens and the camera and have inside knowledge that the other does not. However I also think that the differences will only be noticed during lab measurements and in every day use the differences will not be noticed.

I don't agree with LMNCT that it's cheap because it is not sharp - it has some very good reviews, is supposed to be an excellent macro lens with great video capabilities - reviews say it is soft compared to primes but that goes without saying. It usually sells for around the £120 mark so you got it cheap because it is damaged - hopefully as the seller states, image quality is not affected.

Yep, that's the one, eyespy. I thought it was worth risking such a relatively small amount, and I will test the lens as soon as it arrives. The seller didn't say why he/she was selling, but I agree they could have done a better job in taking the photo which was going to sell it!

I'll hope you're right about differences between camera manufacturers only being noticed during lab tests - that could well be the case. I do like to check with this forum about real world results instead of lab tests!

Maggie