Stupid 12-50mm ED question

[ConchyJoe]

Does the minimum focus length change when you are at 50mm or when you change to Macro? It is listed at 7.87", but doesn't specify if there is any difference, so I am assuming not. I was fiddling with it and could not tell a difference.

 

[Hoag]

If anything, in general the closest focus distance is slightly longer when the lens is zoomed out to (or towards) its max focal length. It might be 7.87" at 12mm, but it could be a little further away at 50mm. I do not know the specific details of this lens, but I think that it would be at least 7.87"

 

[ConchyJoe]

My thinking as well. I will most likely switch back to 60mm and leave it in the manual mode and shoot closest ..

 

[Hoag]

Back when I was shooting M4/3, I took the Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro lens on a trip. There was a lot of surge, so it was hard to shoot well, but it was a spectacular lens.

 

[ConchyJoe]

I don't have a focus ring for the 60mm so generally I put it in manual and closest focus, and move to get stuff in focus. Seems to work best with diopters as well.

 

[tursiops]

I just played with my 12-50, to get some approximate numbers.
The 7.87 (20cm in the specs) appears to be at 50mm.
The 12mm is about 4 1/4 inches..
And the macro setting (43mm) is about 2 1/2 inches.
Pretty approximate, but clearly not the same at all focal lengths.
Also, thse are measurements to the front of the lens, not to the sensor plane.
Curiously, if you added the approx 4 inches from the lens to the sensor, the 12mm close-focus distance would be about the 20cm quoted in the specs, and of course the 50mm distance would be almost 4 inches more.

So, I don't know what the 20mm in the specs means.
But, without question, it does not hold across the focal lengths nor with macro.

 

[ConchyJoe]

Not sure I knew the macro setting fixed it at 43mm either. Interesting stuff, and written down in my notebook, thanks!

 

[BobW]

I don't have a focus ring for the 60mm so generally I put it in manual and closest focus, and move to get stuff in focus. Seems to work best with diopters as well.

I'm not sure what your point with this question and comments are. With the 12-50mm you ask about minimum focus distance, which implies how close you can get to the subject, at each end of the zoom, and still be able to focus properly. Then with the 60mm you mention not having a focus ring, putting it in manual, and focusing by moving the camera in and out. Why are you not using auto focus with both lenses? Using the minimum distance as a guide for each lens. With the 12-50mm, if you have a ring, it's to control the zoom. Depending on which model camera you have, you can do an electric zoom, or jump, from 12 to 50 and back. You would still use auto focus. When you switch the 12-50mm to macro mode, it locks the zoom at 43mm and enables the macro characteristics of the lens. You still use auto focus. Why would you want to lock the focus, by putting it in manual, and spend your dive moving the camera back and forth to focus to take your shots? Admittedly, a lot of people, myself included, do use lock and rock to take shots, using the rear focus button. But the process there is to use center focus, auto focus and lock (on the eye), recompose so the eye is not in the center (rule of thirds), rock until the eye is in focus, and shoot. But it's not the same as setting your focus to 6 inches and go around shooting everything at 6 inches.

 

[ConchyJoe]

I was making a broad assumption that everyone accepted that the 60mm autofocus stinks and the 12-50 ED has excellent autofocus. Sorry.

 

[tursiops]

I was making a broad assumption that everyone accepted that the 60mm autofocus stinks and the 12-50 ED has excellent autofocus. Sorry.

You may even have this backwards! But, maybe it is the kind of pictures we take....