We and our partners use cookies to give you the best online experience, including to personalise advertising and content. Data about your interaction with this site and the ads shown to you may be shared with companies involved in the delivery and/or personalisation of ads on this site and elsewhere online.

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

PRO rating
How it works?
How it works?
  1. User ratingsUser ratingsratings of product added by Productz users
  2. Expert ratingsExpert ratingsexperts ratings from editorial reviews
  3. Consumer ratingsConsumer ratingsratings from the biggest online stores worldwide
Legend
  1. Excellent
  2. Good
  3. Poor
  4. Average
3.8
based on all reviews
User ratings:
3
3.3 out of 5
3 user ratings
5 stars
0 %
4 stars
33 %
3 stars
66 %
2 stars
0 %
1 stars
0 %
Editorial reviews:
6
  1. See more
4.2 out of 5
5 user ratings
5 stars
20 %
4 stars
80 %
3 stars
0 %
2 stars
0 %
1 stars
0 %
Read editorial reviews

Pros

  • fast
  • efficient and courteous
  • always find a friendly welcome

Cons

  • no buttons on the lens
  • the 37mm filter thread does not rotate on focus
  • The lens does not feature a distance scale

Key specs

  • 9
  • Extending front
  • yes
  • Four Thirds
  • 14, 42 mm
  • no
  • Telephoto

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 - Pros & Cons

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

Pros

  • fast
  • efficient and courteous
  • always find a friendly welcome
  • it fits perfectly
  • build quality is actually very decent
  • light
  • fast-focusing
  • This lens is perfectly capable of producing great shots
  • The zoom dial is very good
  • The zooming action is smooth and reasonably controllable
  • The build quality is remarkably high for such an affordable kit zoom lens

Cons

  • no buttons on the lens
  • the 37mm filter thread does not rotate on focus
  • The lens does not feature a distance scale
  • relies on a conventional micro motor for focusing
  • Edge sharpness leaves a lot to be desired
  • The front element does not rotate thanks to an inner focusing system
  • optical performance punches way above its weight
  • exhibits slightly uneven corner softness
  • the lack of a fast aperture setting becomes restrictive
  • Vignetting and distortion are also worse
  • you lose a half-stop of light in the corners of the image

Olympus - Video Reviews (1)

powered byYouTube

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

Icon
General
Lens typeTelephoto
Lens mountMicro Four Thirds
Icon
Aperture
Aperture max3.5-5.6
Aperture min22
Aperture ringno
Number of diaphragm blades7
Aperture featuresRounded diaphragm
Icon
Optics
Elements9
Groups8
Special elements / coatings2 Aspherical elements
Zoom methodExpanding
Icon
Dimensions
Weight5.29 oz
Diameter1.59 in
Length1.71 in
Rotates on focusing2.44 in
Icon
Image properties
Max Format sizeFour Thirds
Focal length14 - 42
Focal Length 35mm Equivalent28 - 84
Maximum magnification0.24 x
Image stabilisationno
Icon
Focus
Focus methodExtending front
Autofocusyes
Autofocus motor typeMicromotor
Full-time Manual focusingyes
Closest focusing distance0.25
Distance scaleno
Depth of field (DoF) scaleno
Icon
Design
Colour of product
  • Black
  • Silver
Tripod collarno
Hood suppliedno

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 - Q&A

  • Do you have a question about the product?

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Olympus - Editorial Reviews (6)

4.2
Based on 6 reviews
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Olympus M.Zuiko 14‑42mm f/3.5‑5.6 EZ review
digitalcameraworld logo
digitalcameraworld
Published: 28.02.2022
Olympus M.Zuiko 14‑42mm f/3.5‑5.6 EZ review
5.0

The best pancake zoom lens ever! Meet the must-have Olympus M.Zuiko 14‑42mm f/3.5‑5.6 EZ

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 ED Zuiko Digital Review
Imaging Resource logo
Imaging Resource
Published: 05.03.2007
Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 ED Zuiko Digital Review

Looking for a Olympus 14-42mm lens review? Read on to find out what we uncovered in our objective optical lab tests.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 III EZ
Photo Review logo
Photo Review
Published: 05.03.2014
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 III EZ
4.4

A new Olympus kit lens that is less than half the length and weight of the original kit lens but boasts a metal mounting plate and near-silent focusing and zooming.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 ED review
DPReview logo
DPReview
Published: 07.04.2008
Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 ED review
4.1

The Zuiko Digital 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 ED is the standard kit lens which Olympus supply with their lower-tier DSLRs, including the E-420 and E-510. Announced in September 2006 to accompany the launch of the E-400, it shares that camera's defining characteristic, being remarkably compact in size. Indeed it takes advantage of the relatively small size of the Four Thirds sensor to be comfortably the smallest and lightest DSLR zoom lens currently available, great for those users who wish their camera systems to be as portable as possible.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ Review | Photography Blog
photographyblog.com logo
photographyblog.com
Published: 27.03.2014
Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ Review | Photography Blog
4.0

The new Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ is no ordinary kit lens. Despite measuring just 22.5mm in depth and weighing less than 100g, the world's most compact pancake zoom lens still offers a 3x focal range of 28-84mm. But can it really score highly in the image quality stakes? Read our Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ review to find out...

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Olympus M.Zuiko ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ Review
PCMAG logo
PCMAG
Published: 07.02.2014
Olympus M.Zuiko ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ Review
3.5

The Olympus M.Zuiko ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ isn't a top-shelf optical performer, but it is impressively compact.

Other Lenses