Micro 4/3 Anti-climatic launch of the year, another slow zoom lens by Oly! 12-50/3.5-6.3

Everyone had hoped that this lens would be the equivalent of the 12-60mm lens in aperture and IQ. The aperture range is disappointing. It clearly states that this lens is optimized for video capture. But the addition of weather sealing, which bodes well for a weather-sealed body (a way for Olympus to differentiate itself), and macro are nice additions.

The weather sealing is "comparable to" the weather sealing in their SHG lenses. Might this imply that there are SHG m43 lenses on the way?

One would assume that there is no point in offering weather sealed lenses without at least one weather sealed camera. We shall see...
 
Disappointing is a kind word. Oly already has 3 or 4 variations of the collapsible 14-42, and a slow superzoom in the 14-150. This incremental improvement thing is getting ridiculous. Worse than Apple squeezing folks for the slow incremental improvements to the iPhone. Maybe my expectations became unrealistic after Oly gave us the excellent 12/2 and 45/1.8 ...
 
Disappointing is a kind word. Oly already has 3 or 4 variations of the collapsible 14-42, and a slow superzoom in the 14-150. This incremental improvement thing is getting ridiculous. Worse than Apple squeezing folks for the slow incremental improvements to the iPhone. Maybe my expectations became unrealistic after Oly gave us the excellent 12/2 and 45/1.8 ...

Agreed. It is somewhat underwhelming. And in Don's immortal words - Its an ugly little sucker.
 
I keep trying to like this lens. If it was a faster lens and there was a weather sealed body then I might be seriously interested. In the winter I do use my weather sealed E5, but dang, it's heavy.
 
I like it mainly because it's the first really solid sign that there will be a weather sealed m43, which is something I've been looking forward to for a long time. If they pair that with some weather sealed primes or a weather sealed proper wide angle zoom, that'd make me very happy :)
 
Finally - a WR micro 4/3 lens - BEST news of the last three years!

I owned an E-1 with a 14-54 which was brilliant for my fishing and outdoors photography except that the combo was far from compact or lightweight. Then last yer I had a k7 and 18-55 lens - definitely more compact and lighter - but still a pain to have around your neck while fishing or scrambling over rocks in the rain.
So the fact that Olympus have announced an M43 WR lens is exactly what I have been waiting for. I've found the E-P3 is a brilliant size, weight and quality sweet spot for taking along on outdoor activities. The big frustration has been trying to find a way to protect it from rain or splashes without using a diver's box - and of course no one is making one for it anyway.
 
Sealed against bad wheather yet slow as molasse and all coupled with a 3 year old sensor which is no high iso champ. Sounds almost like an oxymoron to me.
 
Sealed against bad wheather yet slow as molasse and all coupled with a 3 year old sensor which is no high iso champ. Sounds almost like an oxymoron to me.

Maybe this is an indication that a new body with a new sensor is coming. There were rumors of Olympus acquiring 4/3-sized version of Samsung's new sensor.
 
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