I purchased this lens last October, and took a few shots back, then to verify that it was operating properly, and it was. Then in April, I took it on a Puget Sound cruise, where it worked very well. When I got home, however, and look through some of the later photos, I saw a “disc“ in the sky. Long story short, there was a speck of foreign matter on the inside of the rear lens, which required a trip back to OM Service for repair. That surprise me, and this is the first Olympus or OM lens that I’ve ever had any problem with. OM Service seems busy, but I got a fairly good turnaround from them with repair under warranty. I will be receiving it back in a couple of days, and I expect it to be in good shape, but will make a change here if it’s not. Based on my history with their lenses and the quick service time on this one, I definitely recommend it. I subtracted one star because the foreign matter inside the lens never should’ve occurred.

I’m very happy with this lens! It’s sharp across the entire zoom range, and its 16–50 mm equivalent range is surprisingly compact for it's range. I find it ideal for landscape and street photography — even at f/4 (equiv. f/8), everything is already nicely sharp, with good brightness and a well-balanced rendering. It’s not a lens for bokeh, but rather for clean, contrasty images with true-to-life colors. Very satisfied with the results.

The 8-25 F4 Pro turns out to be an excellent lens for all in one usable lens for travel and landscape. For party events and large group picture, it is a best alternative to the 12-40 F2.8 Pro due to ultra wide focal length. The 8-25 F4 unfortunately is 1-Stop slower so it poses a challenge for night sky astro photography. On the other hand, the distortion in the range from 8-14 mm is excellent, may be better than 12-14 on the 12-40 F2.8 lens.

The 8-25 F4 Pro turns out to be an excellent lens for all in one usable lens for travel and landscape. For party events and large group picture, it is a best alternative to the 12-40 F2.8 Pro due to ultra wide focal length. The 8-25 F4 unfortunately is 1-Stop slower so it poses a challenge for night sky astro photography. On the other hand, the distortion in the range from 8-14 mm is excellent, may be better than 12-14 on the 12-40 F2.8 lens.