I had preordered the lens from Adorama in the beginning of December so that I could take advantage of a $200 rebate. Unexpectedly, it arrived just in time for some Christmas fun. Our celebration presented my first opportunity to use this new zoom.
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| F4, 1/60th, ISO 1600, flash |
Holy moly. The 12-40 is awesome. Our grandchildren, at ages 5 and 1.5 are moving faster now, even when indoors around the Christmas tree, so fast focusing is important for "getting the shot".
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| F2.8, 1/60th, ISO 1600, flash |
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| No flash, 1/13th, F2.8, ISO 1600 |
This was definitely low light focusing and the lens performed effortlessly. All shots shown here were at ISO 1600 and all but one was with flash. For the flash images shot at 1/60th, I was focusing in ambient light that would have required ISO 3200 or 6400! This would challenge almost any focusing system. I didn't use the LED focusing light. I also turned off the focus confirmation beep for a bit more stealth... stealth at least until the flash went off.
Two images below at
1/60th, F2.8 ISO1600 with Metz AF-1 50 flash
The pull-snap focus ring adds some nice functionality to manual focusing. Though the focus ring will work on a fly-by-wire basis like all the other Olympus lenses (I have my menu set for S-AF-M), when the pull-snap is engaged instead, the ring feels like a mechanical focus ring. With the pull-snap engaged, the ring will move over a 90 degree range only, with a hard stop at "0" when the ring is turned all the way one way, and infinity when the ring is turned all the way the other way.
As is the E-M1 this lens is weatherproof. I can't wait to try this kit outdoors this winter.
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