Is Olympus 12mm f2.0 still a good buy?

I'm thinking of returning to Olympus for street photography. I'll be getting an E-P5 (which surprisingly is still in stock) with a wide prime.

I could also get these;

- Panasonic 14mm pancake (my first fav, but sells for more than it deserves in the 2nd hand market)

- Oly 17mm 1.8 (i want wider than this)

- PL 15mm 1.7 (or its "DJI" variant) (the DJI variant sells for a rather good price)

The PL 12mm f1.4 is a no-go due to its price and size+weight.

During my m43 days I always wanted to use this 12mm, but could not because it commanded a very premium price back then. Now its prices seem to have cooled off a little, and I've found a black one for a good-ish price. But I'm not sure what's driving me is normal or just GAS The lens also seems to have fallen off the popularity radar (or it never made it there due to its premium price anyway)

Are there folks here still using the 12mm and what is general opinion on this lens?

Thanks in advance.

It's a great lens if you want a tiny 12mm f/2 with AF.

Not so great if you don't need f/2 -> plenty of f/3.5 kit zooms with great quality

Not so great if you don't need AF -> Samyang 12 f/2 for half the price, bit bulkier tho

Other than that, I believe most people wouldn't be very comfortable shooting that wide for street photography. 15 is the widest I'd go personally. The oly 17 f/1.8 (or 2.8 if it's for daylight shooting) would be my pick.

I have both the Olympus 12mm f2 and the Panasonic 12mm f1.4. The Olympus is just as good as the Panasonic at f2 but then the Panasonic at f1.4 is just 😚😚😚😚. The only reason I brought the Panasonic was to do milkyway shots later this year. I would never sell my Olympus 12mm.

I had one and sold it since I had 12mm covered with two zooms - the 7-14 f4 and the 12-35 f2.8, But I missed it a lot and bought another. It a tad sharper than the zooms, goes to f2, is small and light and just delivers very nice images. With the clutch focussing it's great for street photography too.  It handles beautifully on the Pens too.

So  think it is a viable choice, stopped down at f2.8 or so it is as sharp as the 12 mm f1.4 so that is not too bad.

Having said that, since I already have pretty good 12 mm f2.8 on my 12-35 mm I'd prefer a wider lens at that speed. The Laowa f2.0 7,5 mm rectaineair may just be what I want depending on the price.

It's one of my most used lenses for indoor shots.

That said I will probably eventually replace it with Lumix 12/1.4 and I don't like that it is silver. Black was not available when I bought it.

Great little jewel of a lens. Lovey rendering, whatever that is.....:-)

If you want a 12mm lens, the one from Olympus is the smallest one (and probably the most stylish looking). And I would say this is its most appealing trait compared to all other 12mm options. For street kind of shooting and with a body like one of PENs, this should be a very fitting combo.

The 15mm Leica is a very nice lens as well. Unlike Oly 12mm, I actually own this one and enjoy shooting with it (although it gets the back seat to the 20mm Panasonic). The bummer is that its aperture ring will not function with an Olympus camera.

So yeah, Olympus 12mm is still a good buy if it is what you are looking for.

There were some complaints about image quality, though. If I remember correctly, there was a lot of talk about serious sample variation. So if you do get it, test for signs of de-centering and such. Well, you should be doing that anyway with any lens, it is no different in this case.

Sener wrote:

I'm thinking of returning to Olympus for street photography. (...)

Are there folks here still using the 12mm and what is general opinion on this lens?

When I’ve bought the M.Zuiko 12-40mm, my plan was to sell the M.Zuiko 12mm F/2,0 to finance that purchasing.

But things didn’t go as expected.

For some very special tasks, the M.Zuiko 12mm F/2,0 is invaluable.

When I must hold my camera for long periods of time (to shoot long video clips ), that prime is a lot lighter than the M.Zuiko 12-40mm.

Moreover, the M.Zuiko + my OM-D make a small and discreet combo for street photography:
http://jpmartel.quebec/2012/10/31/voyage-a-la-havane-deuxieme-jour/ (skip the French text)

Like many other lenses in my lens collection, the M.Zuiko 12mm F/2,0 transforms my camera into a very specialized tool needed to realize specific tasks.

I don't use it very often but it's like an old friend: I'm always happy to return to it when I need it to help me to do tasks it's good at.

Sener wrote:

I'm thinking of returning to Olympus for street photography. I'll be getting an E-P5 (which surprisingly is still in stock) with a wide prime.

I could also get these;

- Panasonic 14mm pancake (my first fav, but sells for more than it deserves in the 2nd hand market)

- Oly 17mm 1.8 (i want wider than this)

- PL 15mm 1.7 (or its "DJI" variant) (the DJI variant sells for a rather good price)

The PL 12mm f1.4 is a no-go due to its price and size+weight.

During my m43 days I always wanted to use this 12mm, but could not because it commanded a very premium price back then. Now its prices seem to have cooled off a little, and I've found a black one for a good-ish price. But I'm not sure what's driving me is normal or just GAS The lens also seems to have fallen off the popularity radar (or it never made it there due to its premium price anyway)

Are there folks here still using the 12mm and what is general opinion on this lens?

Thanks in advance.

Here are some pics with the 12/2. I enjoy using it in restaurants where light is often challenging. It's been a great lens for many years. I find the 12-40/2.8 a little heavy, big, and not as discreet as the 12/2 in these situations.