Zuiko Digital (Olympus) 14-45mm f3.5-5.6 -Standard Grade

[craig]

Focal length 14-45
angle of view 75 to 27 degrees
Closet focusing distance: .38
max Aperture: f3.5 wide-5.6tele
min Aperture: f22
filter size: 58mm
Dimensions: 2.8D x 3.41L
Weight: 9.98 oz.
Price:
Olympus website
Note: This was a standard kit lens with the E-300 and E-500 this has been replaced with a smaller version, and some would say optically better 14-42mm 3.5-5.6 lens located here.
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Attachment 4191

[craig]

Our own mini review including pictures, and test.

[craig]

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/len...3556/index.htm

Post edited by: tspore, at: 2005/10/02 23:41

[craig]

In our poll in which 25 people voted, they gave this lens an average of a 3.04 out of 5 points.
Over all this is a very good lens for its class. I do not know if the 14-54mm is worth an additional $400 to upgrade. It is though 1 stop slower than the 14-54mm, and it is not water proof as the other lens is. This lens is commonly found bundled with cameras. Finally if weight is a consideration of yours then you may want to look at this lens over the 14-54mm. (Personally, I use the 14-54mm lens quite often, and this one stays in the bag.)


Post edited by: tspore, at: 2005/10/09 02:04

[craig]

Please use this format, or else you will be deleted!!!
Pros:
Cons:
price paid:
Other info:

[halfmac]

Pros: Included in kit. Sharp and well built. Comes with lens hood. Light weight. Metal mount. Better than most kit lenses.

Cons: Slow on the tele end. No focus scale.

price paid: in Kit

Other info:[/quote]

[rich007]

Pros: Cheap, very good quality lens, given its price. Light, perfect companion to a E-500 as a travel lens.

Cons: Slow, slight CA when wide open, and some vignetting when wide open @ 14mm (easily fixable with E-500 by enabling 'shading compensation')

Price paid: Included as a kit lens with E-500

Other info: I cannot really compare it to other Oly offerings, such as 14-54, but in my previous experience with Canon lenses, I can easily tell that as a entry level lens (or kit lens) it beats any such lens offered by Canon, in overall image quality and quality of manufacturing, and that by a lot...

[DLL_4ever]

Pros: Excellent colour, light, good price, good overall quality.

Cons: Shading compensation sometimes a big problem... turning the Shading Compensation setting on (on the E1) does not help one bit! The only way i can "remove" it, is with heavy post processing with Photoshop. Generally slow focus, especially in low light.

price paid: $306 CA (approx. $270 US)

Other info: N/A

[syntaxerr0r]

Pros: lightweight, good colours

Cons: slow, vignetting, sharpness (nowhere as good as the 40-150), lack of distance scale (infinity difficult to achieve manually), focus distance.

Price paid: in kit with E-330

Other: Better than many kit lenses but will buy the 14-54 whenever I can, for better low-light performance, sharpness, focus distance and that little extra reach I'm often craving for.

[dixeyk]

Pros:
Light weight

Cons:
Images all seem to be just a bit soft (although can be sharpened in Photoshop). Not at the same level of quality of the other kit lens (40-150) which I think is quite good.

I wouldn't shell out the money to buy this lens and if I was in the market for a lens I would opt for the 14-54 instead, but its not bad for a kit lens. It's better than the kit lens that coomes with the Rebel, but I wouldn't exactly call that a ringing endorsement.

[Steve Adams]

pro- image quality, good handling, good focus ring (not small),

Con - plastic feels cheap. ummm thats about it, a little slow..

its an inexpensive good lens, mops the floor with my moms canon 17-55mm, so far ahead of the canon kit lens........

[Blu-by-u]

Pros: Light and small. Good picture quality.
Cons: Zoom creep. noisy focusing.
price paid: Came with camera
Other info: Had to send it back 2 time before the zoom creep was rectified.Now no longer in use. replaced with the 14-54.

[cifcap]

Pros: Light weight, great range, and focuses close

Cons: f/5.6 is slow on the long end, not weather sealed

price paid: Came with the kit

Other info: This cam with my 2-lens E-300 kit and I like it a lot. Okay the 14-54, 12-60, and perhaps even the 14-42 will leave it behind, but it fills the bill. I use it equally along with the 40-150 and the 35mm macro. I know lots of folks that upgraded to fast glass and still take so-so photos. Just wish this were a 14-45 f/2.8 constant aperture lens! Oh well at least there's Sigma!

[er1kksen]

Pros: Cheap. Lightweight. Focusses close at the long end. Decent build.

Cons: Slow focus. Bigger than 14-42. Slow at long end. Very little dof control. Generally very soft compared to other zuikos, even in the same price range. Lots of CA. I see no reason to get it over the 14-42, and I would prefer that one if I had the financial freedom to get it.

Price paid: Kit with E-330, total $450.

Other: Like the 17-45, there's really no point for this lens anymore. Unless you're really strapped for cash and you can find a cheap used one. But you'd be better off with the 14-42, and much better off with the 14-54.