Product ReviewsOlympus Zuiko Digital II 14-54mm f/2.8-3. II Lens For Four Thirds

Weatherproofed Quality with better performance

I purchased the 14-54 lens as an upgrade to my camera kit. Other lenses that I use include the 14-42, 17.5-45, 40-150 and the 70-300, all being good lenses of standard build/grade. The 14-54 offers "weatherproof" construction that can stand up to splashes and dust. Living in a sea coast environment, I bought an E-1 for the same weatherproof qualities, hoping to overcome my reluctance to expose my other lenses(and my e-410) to beach sand, crashing waves, etc. I am not overly impressed by the actual improvement of image quality, compared to both the 14-42 and the 17.5-45. This lens is brighter/quicker, however. It's substantially bigger/heavier, as well.
I would recommend the purchase of this lens, but caution that the upgraded performance may relate mostly to it's better construction features.Read full review...

Not the best for PEN EP-2

I bought this lens to adapt onto my PEN EP-2. I think the image quality is very good, although, I mainly wanted to use the lens for making video. Unfortunately, the sound of the auto-focus gears can be heard with the camera's microphone. I use a Electronic viewfinder, so there's no other way to add a mic.

The lens auto-focus also jumps around a bit too much. I wish Olympus would make a high-quality ( perhaps zoom ) fast lens for the EP series. They are fun cameras, maybe one day good enough to use professionally. There would be a market for a smaller camera!Read full review...

Excellent weather sealed zoom

The Olympus 14-54mm f2.8-3.5 Zuiko II Lens is a sturdy, weather sealed zoom yielding very high quality images. While larger than many MFT lenses, the size is not so large as to be uncomfortable, particularly on the E-M1. With the MMF-3 adapter, it makes for a tightly sealed system. I recently had an accident while hiking, slipping on a wet rock and falling hard into a creek that was several inches deep. My E-M1 and 14-54 landed in the water with me. While I don't recommend dunking any camera, my E-M1 and lens were unharmed. Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: robertscamera

If bought new it is worth the money - better yet, if U get an ebay deal

Great option for the Panasonic GH3/micro 4/3. This is a great walk-around lens.
I use this with a micro 4/3'rds adapter on the GH3 (generic adapter was $59 online). Auto-focus works very well - it is slightly slower than the native micro 4/3 lenses, but good enough for me. This is larger and heavier than most micro 4/3rds lenses, but it balances well on the GH3, which prevents jerky motions while shooting video or stills. The image quality is very good. This lens focuses less than an inch to the subject, great for close up work. The large aperture is great for low light photos and video! I can get good performance even with the lack of lens stabilization.
Excellent build quality - Splash and Dust proof.
The only Micro 4/3rds lens I could compare this to is the Lumix 12-35mm f2.8. But that lens does not have the reach as this one, and costs more than twice as much.

I have not taken this lens off my camera since I bought it!

Cons: Since this lens was designed for stills, the focus noise will be picked up by the on camera microphone during video use. But - it is easy to shoot in manual focus, so this is not a problem for me. There is, under certain conditions (like moving the camera side to side quickly, or zooming) flickering during video. This may not be the best fit for the smaller cameras that lack a viewfinder.Read full review...

Great lens for micro four thirds especially the OM-D E-M5

I bought this lens to use with my OM-D E-M5. The Zuiko 14-54MM II lens has an outstanding reputation for wide open sharpness across the entire zoom range. It was originally developed for Olympus' pro SLR E5 cameras. This is the only 4/3 lens that supports contrast detect autofocus (MK II version). It is a bit slower to focus and noisier than the current crop of micro four thirds lenses but in practice it works very well. I have yet to have it fail to focus in any situation indoors or out. I don't use it for video as the camera will pick up the focusing motor noise. The fast 2.8 aperture at the wide end and 3.5 at the long end combine with the OM-D's 5 axis stabilization to provide bright sharp photos without a flash. It can focus as close as 22cm with very nice bokeh from the seven blade curved aperture. The lens is a bit heavy as it is big and made with a lot of glass and metal. On the OM-D with the built in EVF, it handles like a traditional SLR only smaller. It compares very well to the pictures I have taken with the Panasonic 12-35MM f/2.8 lens but at a quarter to a third of the price at the current auction prices for a lens in excellent condition. It is an outstanding value for an excellent lens.Read full review...

Almost as good as the Leica four-thirds 14-50mm f/2.8-3.5.....

A superb lens. I use nothing but the standard 4/3rd DSLR lenses on my Panasonic GX7 and GX8 bodies. Why? Well, first of all, they are overall better lenses, and often faster, than the micro 4/3rd lenses on the market today. Second, I don't give a ratz @$$ for auto-focus. If I did, these lenses would be a poor choice, because they use an older auto-focusing system that hunts back and forth for quite a while until focus is achieved. I am manual focus only; I don't take action shots. When I do, I use (believe it or not), a Panasonic Lumix FZ300 for wildlife pix.
This lens is not quite the lens the Olympus 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0, but it is very close. It also is not quite the Leica lens, which is disarming because the shots, esp. in RAW (which is all I shoot anyway), are so creamy that, for brief moment, you might think the lens isn't sharp. But the Leica lens is incredibly sharp. Take exactly the same picture with the Olympus 14-54mm and the Leica 14-50mm, blow them up 30 times, and you will see the sharper resolution of the Leica every time.
But, even used, the Leica costs too much, where this standard 4/3rds Olympus lens is relatively inexpensive on the used market and, as such, represents not only a much better value than the Leica, but also represents a much better value than ANY comparable micro 4/3rds lens.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: rochestertom

slow but sharp

Great for outdoor photography, however for indoor my e-500 was slow on focusing.

I got this lens to replace my 14-45mm. After playing with the 14-54mm a bit I can tell you that there is a significant improvement is the sharpness. Also, with indoor photography the extra /f helps. My next attempt to improve the focusing is the FL-36 or FL-50. Both of those flashes have Auto Photo assist.

I got this lenses for half the price of when it came out to the market. At the price range that this is sold now I think it’s a good price, I don’t think it’s work more – providing that the new lenses have more bells. If you don’t need the zoom I would recommend going for a prime with low /f, for indoor photography.Read full review...

Oldie but a Goodie

Pro-grade Zuiko lens. It can mount the Olympus TF-22 Twin Flash for macro photography. Though this is not a macro lens, it has a very close focusing distance (0.22m, 0.7 ft.). This mark II version can work well on a Micro Four Thirds camera with readily available adapters.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: cameraworks

The Perfect Upgrade Lens.

I bought this lens to upgrade from the 14-42mm 3.5-5.6 that came with my E-30. 2.8 wide open f/stop advantage gives me a much broader window with depth of field. This 15 element lens along with super fast focusing makes this lens perfect for portrait work as well as general use with exceptionaly clean crisp images. A must have in your camera bag.Read full review...

Amazing lense

I am a hobbyist that occasionally enjoys carrying my camera (Olympus E-520) around and shooting pictures. This lense actually makes my pictures look like I know what I am doing. It is amazing. I am so happy I bought it. I am one of those research people and everything I could find gave this lense high marks - even by the pros. I mostly take macros and portraits (of my pets especially) - the bokeh it produces is just beautiful. I would definetly recommend it.Read full review...