too many (roughly) 14-42mm lenses for an omd e5.. which one?

Thaifood · 12 Apr 2016 at 01:05

morning all, just recently received an e5 with the 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 ii MSC but there are quite a few others as well:
Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-40mm f2.8 Pro Lens

Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm 1:3.5-6.3 EZ Lens

Olympus M.ZUIKO 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ Lens

Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 II R Lens
now i would like to upgrade my lens but unfortunately i can't afford the f2.8 pro!
is my lens decent enough or should i go get another one of these??
i have also just seen an olympus 14-54mm f2.8-3.5. now i gather this is an older lens but some good reviews of it and for second hand its £199.. is this lens worth it? which one would you recommend? stick with what i have?
it will be for general walk around and also some low light work..
hope you guys can help..

wez130 · 12 Apr 2016 at 08:56

The pro would be the only one i'd consider upgrading to (for the F/2.8) as the standard 14-42 is pretty good anyway, at least my EZ is.

D.P. · 12 Apr 2016 at 11:54

wez130 said:
The pro would be the only one i'd consider upgrading to (for the F/2.8) as the standard 14-42 is pretty good anyway, at least my EZ is.

This, get the f/2.8 or forget about it.

Thaifood · 12 Apr 2016 at 12:15

Afraid that was going to be the answer.. £700 is a bit hard to swallow

Thaifood · 12 Apr 2016 at 22:25

What about Panasonic lenses? Any of them decent and not too expensive ?

D.P. · 12 Apr 2016 at 22:37

Same deal really, if you want an upgrade then shell out for the Panasonic 12-35mm F2.8 ASPH, its about £650

What is the problem you have experienced with your current lens?

The problem with the other lenses you have listed is they are either identical, older version of the same lens, or wont even work on your camera (Olympus 14-54mm f2.8-3.5, is not an m43 lens for starters)

Thaifood · 12 Apr 2016 at 22:46

D.P. said:
Same deal really, if you want an upgrade then shell out for the Panasonic 12-35mm F2.8 ASPH, its about £650

What is the problem you have experienced with your current lens?

The problem with the other lenses you have listed is they are either identical, older version of the same lens, or wont even work on your camera (Olympus 14-54mm f2.8-3.5, is not an m43 lens for starters)

Yep just realise that. Was just in the 4/3 section on camera and lenses in the shop so just presumed wrongly.
Nothing wrong with my current lens yet that I can see (only had it for a couple of days). But as there are a lot of variance versions I was seeing if it was a decent one, and if I wanted something with better IQ, would I have to go to the f2.8 one

King4aDay · 13 Apr 2016 at 08:43

Without spending big money, the only options that are sufficiently different to be worth changing to are the 12-50 or one of the pancakes (panny 12-32 or 14-42 pz or oly 14-42 ez). The 12-50 is weather sealed with an extra function button and a useable semi-macro mode, at the cost of being a little larger. The pancakes are just smaller if pocketability is your thing.

Alternatively if you're not too worried about size then the 14-140 or 14-150 will give you a greater focal range to play with. They're a bit more expensive though unless you buy them with one of the occasional super special discounts with a body and sell the latter.

None of these will be dramatically different in terms of image quality or low light performance though, so only worth it if you particularly want any of the differences mentioned.

Otherwise you might be better off looking at some of the reasonably priced primes as a second lens.

Smeghead · 13 Apr 2016 at 08:52

I'm pretty sure you can get the 12-40mm f/2.8 for under £500 if you buy used. IIRC the price floats between £420-460 odd.