Couple of Issues with 12-50 lens in macro and normal mode

Wow, you really want to not like the 12-50 don't you?

 

Yes, a few images are not as crisp as I would like but that's not the fault of the lens.

 

This is just a lover lost that you are seeing here. I had such great hopes for this lens and now I am back to a macro/fish lens same as I had on the E520. I have spent a couple of grand on a new system but seem to have gained little.

It also grates that I own 2 x 1:1 lens due to me not seeing the issues. Had I known this I might have stayed with the E520 and 50mm macro which is no slouch in terms of image quality.

---------- Post added October 30th, 2014 at 03:33 PM ----------

No criticism from me Jim, I have a stack of them in my files as would everyone else here. I was really interested in the lens performance.

 

As Meikon housings are getting more and more respected - several Nauticam resellers in Europe has adopted them as "the cheap low-legue alternative" - I've bought one for my e-m5.

The Meikon housings are often described as "similar to a canon compact housing". The pricing is also similar - 200-250USD.
A few things are more convenient than Oly housings, M67 thread, double O-rings. But general feel is a little lower quality.
The housing is made for the 12-50, with built-in zoom gear. With my hacked lens, I of course have access to macro.
The lens port is fixed, flat port, suiting 12-50 (and 60mm). So there's no upgrade path to the MUCH better 12-40, which I hope to get for over water use at some point.

Aside from the first impressions of a little lower than Oly quality, I'll have to note that the buttons are very close together, and the program change rotary button doesn't work on my sample..The rubber wheel turning the button is too small diameter- and this is confirmed to be the case for all units in stock at my local importer - on my camera. All other push/rotary buttons are accessible, and work fine. No, the lens FN button is not accessible. The housing is a very new model, so the problem could be a start-up problem.

I'll make a review when I've tried it more.

 

I think the problem you have is that the Olympus housing isn't designed to allow you the full use of the 12 - 50mm. The only housing available that will allow it is the Nauticam housing with the M77 port which allows you to use the full range of zoom from 12 - 50mm and the macro mode but it is expensive.

I use this combination and find that the 12 - 50mm is an excellent lens to use and the macro at 43mm is great but this is also a compromise lens and I find my 60mm macro lens gives me far better results than the 12 - 50mm; however, I tend to use the 12 - 50mm more because of the conditions that I dive in here in WA and it allows me to reduce the amount of water between the camera and the subject because sometimes with the 60mm I have to move too far back and in water where the vis on average is about 4m this isn't always a good option.

I am off to Bali in about 10 days and will use both lenses there depending on the sites I am diving around Tulamben as some are more suited for the 12 - 50mm whereas others are dedicated macro sites.

I saw this YouTube video on a new housing from Meikon for the EM5 with the 12 - 50mm and allows you to use the zoom for that lens but does not allow you to engage macro - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMk33blqAMY&feature=youtu.be

As with everything there are compromises to be made and you have to buy within a budget and for me I am a macro man and rarely do wide angle but when I do get the chance the 12 - 50mm will do the job I want.

Karl

 

Interesting - I thought they were a leak waiting to happen. As I am retired all money is out of my superannuation so it impacts on how long I can live (well).

---------- Post added October 31st, 2014 at 06:57 PM ----------

Hi Karl you sound a lot like me but with more money. I would have loved the Nauticam + but the dollars did not stretch that far, particularly as I only do 2 dive trips a year and I rarely dive between trips. The 60mm will do me for 70% of my shots as they are macro, another 25% fish shots and the occasional WA, which I tend to look at, then get back to the real world of macro.

 

Just lucky - all but one of the kids have left home so I have a few dollars extra each week plus I have a secret bank account where I stash a few dollars away that SWMBO doesn't know about

I am the same with the wide angle - don't do that much here as the shore diving isn't the best for it due to low vis (about 4m on a good day) and I only manage to get to Bali once a year so a dedicated wide angle lens and port isn't on my list of wants and needs. I have a GoPro mount on top of my tray which I can use if anything big swims by when I am shooting macro.

I love the 60mm but I don't always get good opportunities to use it due to the poor vis so I end up with the 12 - 50mm in macro mode most of the time so I can get closer to the subject.

I don't think there will ever be the perfect set up as everything is always going to be a compromise.


These were taken with the 12 - 50mm in macro -

These were taken with the 60mm - (this is a dwarf cuttlefish about the size of my fist)

In both cases the vis was about 4m and very milky with lots of silt floating around - the cuttlefish was a harder shot because I had to be so much further back just to fit him in the frame even though he is small.

I dream of diving in conditions where the vis is 10m+

Karl

 

Karl - I do have access to the 43mm macro in my Meikon house, as I've hacked the lens, as described in my post about that. I can thus enable macro by placing a magnet at a certain place outside the housing. This makes it a very cheap solution.

 

Hi Ardy and Karl. You should have retired to North Queensland like I did I spent about half my life in the Northern Territory where 5 metres viz was a great day, but didn't encourage photography. That's a recent pursuit.

 

Sounds like up here in scandinavia.. Encourages macro (10cm from lens to subject preferred for clear pics)