Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 MkI: Handling and features

The collapsible design harks back to the collapsible 50mm lenses that were commonplace on range finder cameras and makes this lens perfect for stowing in a small bag or case when not being used. Weighing only 150g, it is incredibly lightweight also and it balances well on the Olympus E-PL1 used for testing. The lens is collapsed by sliding a switch and turning the lens beyond 14mm, which is very easy to operate.

The lens barrel is constructed from decent quality plastics, as is the lens mount, which probably contributes to the light weight of the lens. The zoom mechanism doesn't suffer from zoom creep and is smooth through much of the range, although there is a definite click at 14mm.

Focusing is performed by the rotating front element moving back and forth. Compared to other similar lenses, focusing is performed quite slowly, and the lens seems to hunt, even on subjects with good contrast. As the filter thread rotates, it may be troublesome using graduated or polarising filters via the 40.5mm filter thread. The minimum focus distance is only 25cm, which will allow frame-filling close ups to be taken at maximum zoom.

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