As I reported in several earlier blog posts (starting here), the first thing I like to do with a new lens is to test it out to be sure it's working correctly. Since I live a short walking distance from a brick building, a brick wall becomes a good place to check out sharpness, distortion, and vignetting. But mostly I look for consistency. For example, if the right side of an image looks fuzzy and the left side looks sharp, then it might make sense to return the lens within the 30 day return period and to order another one.
In this case, my testing was with the newly minted Olympus 12-100 that arrived just before Christmas. In the brick wall test, I compared it to my older 12-40. The 12-40 is already known to be a very sharp lens, and my copy has been more than satisfactory over the three years I have owned it.
If you have read the earlier post(s), you will know that the 12-100 passed with flying colors!
Once I've decided that a lens is a "keeper", the second thing I do is spend about $2 on eBay for a generic pinch style lens cap with which to replace the often expensive branded cap. Actually, at that price I usually buy two.
I just hate the thought of damaging the original lens cap (I can't tell you the number of times I have dropped lens caps on pavement), ... or losing it. This is especially true with the beautiful caps found on the Olympus PRO model lenses.
The 12-100 takes a relatively large 72mm lens cap. That's not large for folks using larger format cameras like APS-C or full frame. But for me, the previous largest filter size was on the 14-54mm Olympus zoom I bought alongside my first dSLR, the Olympus E-520. It measured 67mm.
[Unfortunately, at 72mm, this also means I have currently no polarizing filter for the 12-100 and will need to buy one. This is unfortunate. In hindsight I should have bought a 72mm polarizer and step up rings years ago, and used it on all my lenses.]
In this case, my testing was with the newly minted Olympus 12-100 that arrived just before Christmas. In the brick wall test, I compared it to my older 12-40. The 12-40 is already known to be a very sharp lens, and my copy has been more than satisfactory over the three years I have owned it.
If you have read the earlier post(s), you will know that the 12-100 passed with flying colors!
Once I've decided that a lens is a "keeper", the second thing I do is spend about $2 on eBay for a generic pinch style lens cap with which to replace the often expensive branded cap. Actually, at that price I usually buy two.
 |
| This was my order on eBay. With postage it worked out to be $6 for two. |
I just hate the thought of damaging the original lens cap (I can't tell you the number of times I have dropped lens caps on pavement), ... or losing it. This is especially true with the beautiful caps found on the Olympus PRO model lenses.
 |
| $15 versus $3 |
The 12-100 takes a relatively large 72mm lens cap. That's not large for folks using larger format cameras like APS-C or full frame. But for me, the previous largest filter size was on the 14-54mm Olympus zoom I bought alongside my first dSLR, the Olympus E-520. It measured 67mm.
[Unfortunately, at 72mm, this also means I have currently no polarizing filter for the 12-100 and will need to buy one. This is unfortunate. In hindsight I should have bought a 72mm polarizer and step up rings years ago, and used it on all my lenses.]
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