Iteration

The ZD ED 12-60mm SWD f/2.8-4.0 Weather resistant lens - proven during rainy 4x4 challenge photography I bought this lens together with the Olympus E-3 in 2007. Since then the lens become my favourite with over 90% of the time usage. It covers from wide to moderate tele and also not forgetting macro capable. Overall, I'm very satisfied with this lens for its Super Grade, dust and weather resistant. However the lens eventually suffered with aperture stuck issue in early 2009. Having serviced by Olympus Malaysia, the lens is working perfectly until extreme usage of this lens during wet and muddy Borneo Safari 2011 where the SWD was totally out of order. The symptoms began with refuse to focus from 12mm and then all the zoom ranges where the lens does not response to focus at all. Manual focus helped a bit but there was a smearing effect in the photo. The lens is now at Olympus Service Centre since April 2012 because I still couldn't decide whether to bare the cost (...

The lens is finally dead. However if the SWD (Supersonic Wave Drive) motor is replaced, then it will be back but the cost to replace the SWD is RM900++. I'm still thinking if I want to proceed the SWD replacement or just get another lens. decision.. decision.. I bought the lens in 2005 together with the Olympus E-3 camera. The lens was used almost 99% of the time and works perfectly until the aperture stuck problem in 2009. After serviced by Olympus Malaysia, the lens back to normal again. Then, the lens was used mainly for 4x4 challenges photography works with dust, rain and mud during the event. I think more than 20 4x4 challenges where the lens keep working until  the last 4x4 event that the lens served, the wet and muddy 8-day Borneo Safari 2011 . After that, multiple problems started to show. First, the lens hesitate to or totally cannot focus from 12 to18mm and hunting focus after 18mm. Then I realized that every photos taken with the lens will have smearin...