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

 Last Updated:- 1st August 2024

I was interested in the Olympus12-200mm f3.5-6.3 lens from the day it was launched. My wife uses the Olympus 14-150mm f3.5-5.6 II which is almost permanently on her Olympus EM10 III. I tried it and while it's a good lens, I was more interested in the small size and extra 50mm reach of the 12-200mm. What also kept me interested was when I saw the excellent images of this photographer.

The reason I prefer Standard and Premium Zuiko lenses from Olympus is their size versus IQ balance. Even though both these zoom lenses have good resale values, the general interest in the 12-200mm seems higher. I guess others like me noticed that the improved construction and specification of this lens are better than anything else in the 24-400mm zoom range. I couldn't wait to try this lens...

Here are some of my thoughts after spending a few days with this lens:-

• This lens has the potential to change my photography in terms of reach and framing
• It's a slow lens and needs a tripod for early morning, blue hour, and night photography
• The EM1 III and the 12-200mm is a small combo, it's not too big, too heavy, or 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 are good
• This lens will definitely benefit from a fully saturated sensor, I need to work on that
• I like the close focusing distance as it's good for close-ups or distant framing options
• I like the unique 3D or life-like one can achieve with this lens. This is interesting

See this article about the Olympus Zuiko 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 lens and wildlife photography. 

I also thought the positive feedback from the German photography press was encouraging. You will find the original Olympus press release here.

You will see I have a wooden bottom plate for my EM1 III. This is the best option from 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 with the 12-200mm lens. I use the standard Pen-F 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 color and image quality. You have to test this for yourself. 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 the 12-200mm are sharp, the colors are strong, and the subject separation is good. I found this lens is consistently sharp across the frame at different focal lengths and situations. I trust you are familiar with the one-dimensional image look of older lenses? I used to see that from Canon E-FS lenses. The images of the 12-200mm are true to life with a strong 3-dimensional look or character.

The Enhanced Raw Format also helped me to find better camera settings for my 12-200mm. For example, it helped to experiment with other Picture Modes and that's how I learned the iEnhance Picture Mode is a good match for the Zuiko 12-200mm. I prefer the iEnhance "Low" option for most of my lenses and the Standard option for lenses like the 12-200mm. The iEnhance "Standard" option helped me to soften the backgrounds and it also helped me with smoother backgrounds and 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 lens was not a good low-light lens. It's a lens for daylight photography and I was more interested in any size benefit and the reach of the 12-200mm lens. In fact, I tried ISO200 with a fixed aperture of f7.1 for one full day and never had any issues with slower shutter speeds. 

This gave me the freedom to experiment with different focusing options and 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 interesting. The Panasonic LX1000 is a general-purpose camera. The challenge with the LX1000 is size and weight. I think the EM5 III with the 12-200mm lens is a more flexible option than most fixed lens cameras like the Panasonic LX1000.

The 12-200mm lens has the same 400mm FL as an LX1000. We also have the option to use smaller and faster lenses with a camera/lens combination. 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 this 12-200mm Zuiko lens. The design is solid 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. Goto link1 and link2, to download two older brochures from Olympus. See how real life is different from what we see on photography forums. See what camera settings (apertures) Olympus visionaries use when they photograph with M43 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 lens has no problem with pointing it into the sun. I always have a lens hood on my lenses. I experimented with a few images like the above example and the extra reach of the 12-200mm made it possible to try new and different-looking images with the available light. I always find this kind of photography frustrating with lenses with shorter focal lengths.

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

I think the viewfinders of Olympus cameras are good. I tried the Panasonic G9 and thought the view was just too big for my comfort. It felt like I had to step into the viewfinder to see it all. A comparison between the EM1 III and Fuji XT4 was also interesting. The X-T4 is better on paper but with normal use, I thought both the EM1 III and the X-T4 viewfinders are adequate and their visibility good.

The reason I think one needs a more capable viewfinder for the 12-200mm, was when I pointed the lens into the sun or 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.