In addition to daily use as a "pan-focus" lens featuring a wide angle, fixed f8 aperture and shallow depth of field, it is compatible with manual focusing using a lever and capable of close-up shooting as close as 30 cm.

ENGADGET: Olympus E-PL5 and E-PM2: Micro Four Thirds cameras with OM-D-like focusing, performance boosts (hands-on)

Shooting wide open, using aperture f2.8 on most lenses, gives you a shallow depth of field that emphasizes the part of the images you are focused on.

CNN: photojournalists share their tricks

Stopping down, using a smaller aperture like f11, or f16, will give you a maximum depth of field, which can help to show a wider scene like devastation from a tornado.

CNN: photojournalists share their tricks