The engine's answer
Best zoom lens for landscapes, under €1,000
OM System M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO II
92% match
The rainproof standard zoom
Why it wins here
The OM System M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO II takes this question at €900 — €100 under the €1,000 ceiling — with a 92% match against 65 current lenses. For landscapes the engine leans on sharpness and build & sealing: it scores 86/100 and 80/100, where the pool averages 82/100 and 68/100. At 382 g it is lighter than the average lens here (633 g). Asking for a zoom lens alone ruled out 28 of the 65 lenses before scoring began.
The dimensions where it beats the rest of the field by the most, for this question specifically.
- Budget
- Prime/zoom
- Use
What's good
- IP53-sealed with the right bodies
- Manual-focus clutch pros actually use
What to watch
- Equivalent depth of field is f/5.6-ish
- No optical IS of its own
What came close — and what each gave up
- OM System M.Zuiko 8-25mm f/4 PRO88%Ultra-wide to normal in one sealed tubeThe OM System M.Zuiko 8-25mm f/4 PRO (88% match) trails on sharpness — 82/100 against 86/100. Check price: B&H Photo Adorama MPB (used) eBay (used)
- Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 G287%Eighty percent of the GM for forty percent of the priceThe Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 G2 (87% match) trails on build & sealing — 62/100 against 80/100. Check price: B&H Photo Adorama MPB (used) eBay (used)
- Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 II87%The 70-200 look at a third of the weightThe Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 II (87% match) trails on build & sealing — 70/100 against 80/100. Check price: B&H Photo Adorama MPB (used) eBay (used)
Questions this answer raises
- Is the OM System M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO II within a €1,000 budget?
- Yes. At €900 it leaves €100 of the ceiling unspent; the OM System M.Zuiko 8-25mm f/4 PRO costs €900 and the Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 G2 costs €900.
- How good is the OM System M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO II for landscapes?
- On the use question it scores 78%, 15 points above the average of the 65 lenses ranked. Its strongest numbers for this use are sharpness (86/100) and build & sealing (80/100).
- Is the OM System M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO II a zoom lens?
- Yes — type: Zoom. 28 of the 65 lenses in the pool are not, and were never in contention here.
Change an assumption
This page answers one photographer's question. Yours is not that question — adjust the subject, the format or the budget and watch the whole field re-rank.
Answer for your own shooting