Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ Black Lens

The technical details behind this lens

Designed for Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras, this lens from Olympus is known for its slim and compact pancake build. The Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ Black Lens flaunts an advanced optical design with special aspherical, low dispersion and high refractive index elements. With this, you are ensured of excellent image quality with great sharpness and clarity throughout the zoom range.

The lens also features the Electronic Zoom control, which uses a linear motor to produce dramatic zooming effects that perfectly complement video recording. The special coating on the lens counters lens flare, allowing you to shoot effortlessly in varied lighting conditions. You no longer need to carry bulky lens gear around, thanks to this lens which comes power-packed with amazing features in a thin, lightweight body.

Top three reasons we think you will love this lens

• The lens features a retractable design, collapsing down to 22.5mm thickness when not in use. This makes the lens an ideal travel partner.
• The ZERO (Zuiko Extra-low Reflection Optical) coating on individual elements of the lens minimise lens flare and ghosting, delivering improved contrast and colour fidelity, especially when working in strong lighting conditions.
• With the Movie & Still compatible autofocus system, you now get a smooth, quiet and fast focus performance for both photos and videos.

Sharp and True Imaging

The lens offers a 28-84mm equivalent focal length range with a maximum aperture range of f/3.5 to 5.6. The minimum aperture range extends to f/22. With a solid lens construction of 8 elements in 7 groups, the lens also flaunts five rounded diaphragm blades. The presence of three aspherical elements and one S-HR (Super-High Refractive Index) element ensures the reduction in spherical aberrations and distortions throughout the zoom range. To control colour fringing and chromatic aberrations, you also have one extra-low dispersion element. These elements, in combination with the ZERO coating, contribute to delivering top-notch, vivid image quality.

Fast Autofocus

The lens is a ready-to-use model, and you can get started by simply turning on the camera. With the motorised electronic system, you can now zoom into your subject by merely twisting the zoom ring. For faster zoom movement, all you have to do is further twist the zoom ring. Focusing on this lens is performed internally, which means the 37mm filter doesn’t rotate. This makes the lens well-suited for usage with graduated and polarising filters.

Manual focusing is possible with the slim focus ring right at the front of the lens barrel. The lens offers a minimum focus distance of 20cm, making it suitable for detailed and clear close-up shots. The autofocus performance of the lens, too, is silent, quick and accurate.

Our experts opinion

The lens has a polycarbonate body, and despite being extremely lightweight, it has a fantastic build quality. The performance of this lens is consistent through a variety of shooting situations, thus enhancing your experience with the camera. Even though the lens does not come with a hood, it has an exceptional optical design, which is enough to resist flare in bright conditions.

All in all, the lens is not bulky but offers just as much as any other heavy-duty lens in its range would. Thus, the Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ Black Lens, without a doubt, is a perfect addition to your kit!