I have finished testing the three zooms with the ultrasonic (SWD) focus motor
14-35mm f/2 ED SWD, 12-60mm f/2.8-4 ED SWD and 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 ED SWD; to be published in Shutterbug magazine in the late fall of 2008.
A few comments in the meantime.
14-35mm f/2: includes an ED (extra low dispersion) element and two aspherical elements to correct aberrations as well as distortion. Overall build quality should satisfy even professional photojournalists who tend to subject their equipment to a lot of abuse.
Incredibly fast autofocus even in a dark theater.
This is the very finest short zoom that I have ever tested. Even at f/2, sharpness in the central 80% of the frame is remarkably high at all focal lengths, making this aperture suitable even for professional applications. But very few others can justify a $2200 (28-70mm equivalent) lens.
12-60mm f/2.8-4.0: includes a Super ED element, two pieces of ED glass and three aspherical elements to correct the different aberrations at wide angle and telephoto focal lengths.
Except in very dark locations where the f/2 zoom has an advantage, autofocus speed is also comparable: lightning fast particularly with the E-3 camera.
One of the best "standard" zooms (of any brand) that I have tested to date. A strong contender for professional status and very versatile re: focal lengths. A relative bargain at $900. Ideal focal lengths for travel AND portrait photography; actually "too sharp" for most portraiture; amazingly so.
50-200mm f/2.8-3.5: faster autofocus than the earlier version and a more rigid tripod mount. Optical elements and image quality are very similar. (Many Reviews of the earlier model have been published. Also, I had previously posted other comments about this lens here at fourthirdsphoto.)
Autofocus is fine for action photography with the E-420 and excellent with the E-3. Much faster focusing than the original 50-200mm which had a conventional micro motor AF.
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If I were buying one of the three, it would be the 12-60mm. A fabulous lens; not inexpensive but exceptional value considering the image quality and very fast autofocus, lightning fast with the E-3. This lens deserves to be a number 1 best seller for Olympus.
Peter Burian www.peterkburian.com
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