Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 MZuiko Lens

 Last Updated:- 29th May 2022

I was interested in the 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 lens from the day it was first introduced. My wife has the 14-150mm f3.5-5.6 II which is almost permanently on her EM10 III. I tried the 14-150mm and while it's a fine lens, it's that extra reach and specification of the 12-200mm that kept me searching for a secondhand copy. What also kept me interested is the excellent images from this photographer.

The reason I prefer the more practical Standard and Premium MZuiko lenses is the size versus IQ ratio. Even though the 12-200mm reach a higher resale value, the general interest in this lens is high. I guess others like me saw the construction and specification of this lens are better than anything else in the 24-400mm zoom range. This made it easy to realize this is a serious lens.

Here are some of my thoughts after spending some time with this lens:-

• This lens has the potential to change my photography in terms of reach and framing
• It is a slowish "daylight" lens and it should be tucked away in my camera bag at night
• It's a great match for my Pen F or my  EM1 III, not too big, too heavy, or too obvious
• I tried ProCapture with our little dog and the AF system (AFC) was fast and accurate
• The lens is very sharp throughout its zoom range and its color, and definition is good
• This lens will definitely benefit from a fully saturated sensor, I need to work on this
• I like the close focusing distance as it's good for close-ups or distant framing options
• I like the unique 3D or spatial look you can achieve with this lens. This is interesting

As you see I have much to learn about this lens, and many more images to take before I can say I fully mastered the MZuiko 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 lens. 

I also thought the positive feedback from the German photography press is encouraging. You will find the original Olympus press release here. You know I don't trust supplier info, right?

You will see I have a wooden bottom plate for my EM1 III. This is the best option for my MKII and like so many other options, it's fully compatible with the MKIII. It's lightweight and extends the grip area just enough to make the camera and the 12-200mm lens a more comfortable combo.

I added a few images from my Pen F using this lens. I used the Olympus bottom plate to support the lens. It's not as comfortable as my EM1 III setup, but the Pen F more than makes up for that with its excellent color and image quality. You have to test it yourself, but from what I can see, the Pen F with the 12-200mm lens is one of those rare creative photography combinations.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 - ISO200, f7.1, 1/160, FL 200mm.

Another great combination is Workspace, the 12-200m lens, and the Enhanced Raw Format. The jpegs from this lens are sharp, the colors are strong, and the subject separation is excellent. No matter what, I found this lens is consistently sharp across the frame. I trust you are familiar with that one-dimensional image look from some lenses? I used to see that with Canon EFS lenses. The images from this lens are life-like and they have this kind of 3-dimensional look.

The Enhanced Raw Format also helped me to find the best camera settings for the 12-200mm. For example, it helped me to experiment with different Picture Modes and that's how I discovered the iEnhance Picture Mode is a good match for the 12-200mm. I use iEnhance "Low" for some of my lenses and Standard for others like the 12-200mm. The iEnhance "Standard" option helped me clean up the backgrounds and it also helps me create smoother backgrounds with great bokeh circles where possible. Let's allow Canon to explain bokeh...

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO200, f6.3, 1/160, -0.3EV, FL 200mm - Raw edited with WS - 3D look & great background.

I thought the 12-200mm will not be a low-light lens. This is a lens for daylight photography and I was more interested in the size benefit and the extra reach of this lens. In fact, I tried ISO200 with a fixed aperture of f7.1 for one full day and never had any issues with slow shutter speeds. 

This gave me the freedom to experiment with new focussing options and new framing angles. This lens could easily be the inspiration photographers are looking for. A good example is our little dog because I no longer need to go low down, all I do is take a few steps back and zoom in.

I think the above image is also interesting. The Panasonic LX1000 was made for general-purpose photography. The challenge with the LX1000 is its size and weight. I think the EM5 III with the 12-200mm lens is more flexible than any fixed lens camera like the Panasonic LX1000.

The 12-200mm has the same 400mm FL as the LX1000 plus we have the option to select smaller and faster lenses. If you study APC or full-frame cameras with the same FL range, then you will see there's no equivalent for the high specification of the 12-200mm lens.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO200, f7.1, 1/400, FL 100mm - Raw edited with Workspace.

It looks like Olympus did their homework when they planned and designed the 12-200mm. The design is good and the glass elements are some of the best. Add to that weather sealing, close focusing distances, and the more advanced autofocus mechanism and you are looking at a serious lens. It wouldn't surprise me to learn this lens is targeted in counter-marketing actions.

What are typical filters or so-called  "fact" statements one could expect to see?

• The lens is soft at this or that focal length
• For sharp results, up the aperture w 2 stops
• The manufacturing quality is not consistent...
• Example of cementing the "M43 diffraction issue"

Innocent forum discussions never give any proof or examples to support their "fact" statements. See the video in the article (link) below for more about these "grassroots" discussions.

If you're new to Counter-Marketing, any terminology, and how it's done, see this article.

Goto link1 and link2, to download two old brochures. See how real life is different from what we see in these "innocent" grassroots talks. See what camera settings (apertures) Olympus visionaries use when they photograph with the excellent and timeless MZuiko lenses...

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO200, f7.1, 1/500, FL 80mm - Raw edited with Workspace.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO200, f7.1, 1/125, FL 200mm - Raw edited with Workspace.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO200, f7.1, 1/400, FL 200mm - Raw edited with Workspace.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO1600, f6.3, 1/60, FL 200mm - Raw edited with PhotoLab 5.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO200, f6.3, 1/800, FL 200mm - Raw edited with Workspace.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO200, f7.1, 1/200, FL 90mm - Raw edited with Workspace.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO200, f6.3, 1/400, -0.3EV, FL 200mm - Raw edited with Workspace.

As you can see the 12-200mm has no problem with pointing it into the sun. I always use my lenses with a lens hood. I experimented with a few images like the one above and the extra reach of the 12-200mm made it possible to try new and different views using only the available light. I always found this kind of photography frustrating with shorter FL lenses.

Olympus 12-200mm lens - ISO200, f7.1, 1/320, FL 56mm - Raw edited in PhotoLab 5 and Photoshop.

I think the viewfinders on Olympus cameras are good. I tried the Panasonic G9 and found the view is just too big for my comfort. It felt like I had to step into the viewfinder to see it all. Comparing the EM1 III and the XT4 viewfinders are also interesting. The X-T4 is far better on paper but in normal use. I thought both the EM1 III and the X-T4 viewfinders are great and their visibility good.

The reason I think one needs a more capable viewfinder for the 12-200mm, is when pointing it into the sun or working with longer focal lengths. I think almost any EVF is good as long as you regularly use the camera. It's mostly a process of setting up the EVF and getting used to it.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO200, f7.1, 1/160, FL 200mm - Raw edited with PhotoLab 5.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO250, f6.3, 1/250, -0.3EV, FL 149mm - Raw edited with Workspace.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO200, f6.3, 1/100, FL 178mm - Raw edited with Workspace.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO1250, f6.3, 1/1600, FL 200mm - Raw edited with PhotoLab 5.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO1250, f7.1, 1/40, FL 149mm - Raw edited with PhotoLab 5.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO200, f6.3, 1/125, -0.3EV, FL 200mm - Raw edited with Workspace.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens - ISO1250, f7.1, 1/50, -0.3EV, FL 87mm - Raw edited in PhotoLab 5.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens, ISO1250, f7.1, 1/2500, -0.3EV, FL 200mm - Edited in PhotoLab 5.

The above image will benefit a saturated image sensor. As you can see I did the opposite by decreasing the exposure by -0.3EV. In fact, the EM1 MKII auto-exposure algorithm uses a bigger safety margin than the MKIII. It's safe to set a permanent "Exposure Shift" of +0.5EV for the MKII. This improves the tonal data and shadow details of the MKII. It does take a little more effort to check the histogram while photographing or correcting your 18% grey values in Workspace.

For more on the ISO versus SNR ratio or Saturating the image sensor go to this link.

Olympus 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens, ISO1250, f7.1, 1/1250, -0.3EV, FL 149mm - Jpeg out the camera.

Olympus 12-200mm lens - ISO200, f7.1, 1/400, FL 200mm - Raw edited with Workspace.

Olympus 12-200mm lens - ISO200, f7.1, 1/500, FL 12mm - Raw file edited with PhotoLab 5.

Olympus 12-200mm lens - ISO1250, f7.1, 1/125, FL 12mm - Raw edited with PhotoLab 5.

Olympus 12-200mm lens - ISO200, f6.3, 1/400, FL 200mm - Edited in PhotoLab 5 and replaced the sky with Luminar 4.