Customer Reviews

Olympus 11-22mm f/2.8-3.5 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens for E1, E300 & E500 Cameras

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This lens is simply a must have for landscape work. Optically it is better than the 14-54 and 50-200 that completes olympus mid-end pro glass. Focus is silent and fast. Only wish it could be wider as the 2x crop factor makes it a 22-44mm in 35mm terms, 90 degree FOV. For architecture I would recommend the 7-14mm, but at $700 it is still a best buy.

I bought an Olympus 11-22mm lens from Cameta Camera earlier this spring and found I use it much more frequently than my 14-54mm. The 11-22mm is essentially a near-super wide to normal lens that is both sharp across the image (sharper than the 14-54mm) and displays very very little distortion across its entire zoom range. An added plus--an exposure set at one zoom setting is good for any other, so you can lock an exposure and just focus between zoom settings. Auto focus is very fast. Images show very little CA at extreme edges. It takes a lens filter without signs of vignetting (dark image edges).

The lens works well on my E-510 and E-330. In fact, it works so well on the E-330 that it stays on this camera.

This is simply a superb lens for landscape and makes the Olympus 4:3 system unique for its overall small size and image quality. Images from the 11-22mm easily print full-size onto 13x19 papers with sharp resolution of detail (using Epson 2200 and 2400 printers). What a keeper. I highly recommend the 11-22mm.

I posted a photo above you can look at to see the objective glass element on this lens - it has some severe curvature to obtain the near 90 degreee field of view without distortion. I also plan to mount it in my linearity tester when finished using it for a customer and will post a photo of its overall resolution.

This lens would be IDEAL for a realator who takes "curb apeal" shots of homes, and interior shots where it is difficult to see floor to ceiling and wall to wall. At 11 MM there is no fisheye effect and all lines are straight. Unfortunately, even though this can focus down to about 11 inches, it can not mount the flash ring because it has a 72mm filter size instead of the 67 mm on the other lenses which can use the ring flash. This is really a shame too, because at close distances, the wide field of view of this lens will cast a shadow from the built in flash on the camera that may take up 1/8 of the picture. Using a flash off the camera for closeup work is one option, a bounce flash and a card is another option, but direct lighting will alsmost certainly show up in the picture due to the wide viewing angle.

Outside during daylight the lens really shines. I used it to take a photo of my house from the curb and got the entire lot (75' wide) from 50 feet away on the sidewalk, with the grass in front in focus, as well as the sky above, and parts of my neighbor's homes. This would give a realator alot of flexibility to either zoom in or crop the picture in photoshop for a front on view for flyers.

Let me start by saying that I am not a pro, I just jumped into the DSLR world about 4 months ago. That being said, this lens is a must for your collection. The lens is pricey at about $700 but it is in Olympus's mid level range ( Quality wise). The pictures from this lens are out of this world, great color and detail. Even the limited distortion you might get at its widest settings can be used as creative or just cropped out. I have taken dozens of pictures with it already at all of its range with no bothersome distortion. For outdoor shots it's a must have, you simply get sooo much more. So if you looking at it and your undecided let me say it is worth at least giving it a try. I hope this review helped you out.

First off the 14mm-54 and 50mm to 200mm are must haves. This lens at 11mm to 22mm is just a little wider on on the wide end than a 14mm. So what does 11mm get you that 14mm won't? For me, when I am in a room and I want to get ambiance of the entire room, those few extra mm are great. When I am out doors and I want to get an entire building rather than just the first few floors it is very useful.

This lens spends about 10% of the time on my camera. When I know I am going to need it it goes on. Otherwise 14-54mm covers 80% of everything.

Some quick FYIs: This lens will take regular screw on filters, but not the same as 14-54 or 50-200. Unlike the 14-54 and 50-200, this lens is the longest at its widest. It is its shortest at around 20mm. On the 14-54 and 50-200, you tend to want to zoom into the subject. This one tends to cover a particular are and you move the lens to cover yet more of the surroundings

In short this is NOT a general purpose lens, but it does have a nice range that it is useful. If you find that you want a little more panorama, this may be for you

As a former SLR user for the past thirty years, I recently decided to step up to the plate for a digital SLR.

Having owned a Nikon F2as, Olympus OM1 and a Minolta, I decided to purchase the 10 megapixal Olympus E-510. Knowing that the lenses are the key to photography, I purchsaed the body only without the kit lenses.

I purchased the Olympus 11-22 f2.8, along with the Sigma 1.4 for a "standard" lens.

The Olympus lens has proven exceptional. The 11 - 22 perspective is ideal in capturing Colorado landscapes. The photographs have been crisp with amazing color. In addition, the lens is dust and splash resistant making it ideal for outside work.

Due to the large number of elements and relative fast speed of the lens, it shows its weight. Despite the weight, the lens is well balanced with the E-510 body making it easy to work with.

If your focus is on great photography- this combination of body and lens is a great value.

I have had this lens a short time now, and the weather has not permitted much in the way of outdoor use. The shots that I have been able to take, including some indoor available light and flash, have been superb. Extremely sharp optics with excellent FOV. This lens will probably stay on my L1 body for all-around use.

While my 12-60mm is more versatile, the slightly wider aperture of the 11-22mm makes more difference than I thought. First, it is better corrected geometrically. If you are not into shooting buildings or straight lines, then this is of little consequence. Secondly, it is my lens for shooting interiors.

While there may be wider options available from Olympus and other vendors, this lens is quite flexible in shooting architecture, landscapes, nigthscapes, streets, museums, insides of low-lit cathedrals and even portraits (at tele-end of 44mm eFoV). I also have Canon EFS 10-22m which though wider, is not as flexible in variety of scenarios as 11-22. Image quality rivals primes.

With an aperture of F2.8 and image stabilized body, this lens can take some incredible handheld lowlight shots. On E520 and other bodies with IS, it is possible to take handheld shots as slow as 1/2~1/5 seconds at 11mm. Neither Canon nor Nikkon offers anything similar.

Highly recommended and extremely under appreciated among non-Zuikoholics.

A current and future collectible.

I had this lens in my old office for 4 years.
now i finally bought it for myself and here's my review (since i'm not a native english speaker i apologize in advance for my mistakes).

this lens is fast, weather sealed, sharper then the 14-54 and IMO sharp as the 50mm f2. if you're photographing architecture, i'll suggest you will have it in your camera bag.

photographing architecture you need to choose from four Olympus lenses. the cheap and wide 9-18 , the sharp and very expensive 7-14, the versatile, excellent 12-60 and the 11-22.

5 years ago when i had to choose a wide angle lens for my old work. i had two choices, the 11-22 an the 7-14. the budget and the inability to place filter on the 7-14 solved it in favor of the 11-22.

now when i got to buying it for myself i already knew that the 11-22 is a lens designed and build for architecture and wide angle landscape shots. as a result the optics were designed to be as distortion free as possible and i must say that the distortion, if existing, is negligible. so i had to also inspect the 12-60 and the 9-18.

since a distortion free image is what i need the most, together with weather sealing and sharpness the 9-18 was off my list. the 12-60 although a bit sharper, and with a great zoom range, offers a noticeable distortion on it's wide end (plus the 1mm extra is sometimes what you need). so my choice eventually was to go with the 14-54, 11-22 combo (i don't mind changing lenses) on my e-30.

using nikon (D-200) gear on my new work, i must say that i couldn't find a lens equivalent the 11-22 for nikon.