Problem with AF-100 and Olympus Zuiko f2.8 12-40mm

ryangschultz

ryangschultz

Active member
Hey guys,

So I was totally thrilled when Olympus came out with their new Zuiko f2.8 12-40mm MFT lens. I just got one for my AF100, put it on, and was extremely disappointed. Beautiful lens, but I seem to be having this focus issue that I noticed right away. There is a short test clip below so you can see what I mean. Now I am familiar with lens float, but while rack focusing at longer focal lengths, the picture appears to abruptly expand/contract whether you are focusing far or near at certain points in the rings rotation.

I feel no resistance or jitter while turning the focus ring, but the picture just pops in. I don't notice it at all before 29mm, as you'll see an example of in the test clip, but anything past about 29mm the issue is very apparent, making the lens unusable for rack focusing. Is this a manufacturer defect or does it have something to do with my AF100? I don't have another camera I can test this lens on. I purchased the lens brand new from a reputable eBay seller and I have 14 days to return, so I need to figure this out asap.

Specifications
Lens firmware: v1.0
Camera firmware: v1.15
Lens set to manual focus
Camera set to manual focus
Issue occurs from ~29mm-40mm
Issue occurs whether or not focus ring is pushed in manual-only focus mode


Thanks for the help guys, any advice is appreciated.

Ryan
 
For real? Ugh. I'm wondering if I should even get another in case it's an issue specific to the AF100. Might just go for the f2.8 12-35.
 
Hi Ryan - did you solve this issue? Annoyingly I have just bought a 14-40 Olympus lens for my AF100 and I'm experiencing exactly the same problem. Did you return the lens? If so did you get any feedback? I also own a GH2 - tried it on this camera and its absolutely fine so it looks like its an AF100 specific problem...

Thanks
Rob
 
This effect looks very similar to the ac160 , when zooming to close up, it hits a point where it jumps from normal to close up mode, and focus point changes abruptly.. Guru Barry Green explained it in detail somewhere on the 160 forum. Have you tried this with a different lens?
 
rob@fifthframe.co.uk said:
Hi Ryan - did you solve this issue? Annoyingly I have just bought a 14-40 Olympus lens for my AF100 and I'm experiencing exactly the same problem. Did you return the lens? If so did you get any feedback? I also own a GH2 - tried it on this camera and its absolutely fine so it looks like its an AF100 specific problem...

Thanks
Rob
Click to expand...

Hey Rob,

I solved the issue by returning the lens, ha! Sorry I couldn't be of more help than that, but it's interesting to hear that someone else had the same problem. Makes me feel kind of bad now because the seller probably thought he had a faulty lens when it could just be our AF-100s...unless of course you managed to buy the exact same lens I did off a guy on eBay!

I still shoot personal work with my AF-100, but I ultimately purchased a used electronic canon adapter (keep an eye out on eBay) and now use canon only. The focus ring is just so much smoother on those L lenses, something the M4/3 lenses can't seem to match. And being able to control the canon lens iris with the electronic adapter on my AF100 is a dream. And I only own one L lens, I usually just rent to save money since they're so damn expensive. Although if you dropped $800+ on that lens, go find yourself an adapter for $200-300 and look for a canon L 24-105 f4. Not exactly f2.8, but a great, sharp, workhorse lens. Hope this was helpful.
 
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