Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150 mm F2.8 PRO Lens, Telephoto Zoom, Suitable for All MFT Cameras (Olympus OM-D & PEN Models, Panasonic G Series), Black

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While used in conjunction with the companion tele-converter, it still gives fabulous, sharp images, I find the focus misses are compounded. Weighing in at 760 grams without the included tripod adapter, the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro telezoom is exactly as heavy – or lightweight, depending on where you stand – as the widely-known Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens, while covering a wider angle-of-view range and offering a full-stop brighter relative maximum aperture. With the lens set to its maximum aperture, you can see some light fall-off in the corners but it will not be overly noticeable in your real-life photos. The only other control is a lens function button to which you can assign one of many functions, such as one-shot white balance, focus peaking, and a focus limiter. However, the functions available depend on your camera, not the lens.

In addition, the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm lens has a so-called L-Fn button, which allows users to temporarily suspend continuous auto focus when something suddenly comes between the lens and your intended subject. This is mostly useful when shooting a movie clip with C-AF enabled, but the feature can also be used when photographing action. But, while many manufacturers will label a lens as weather-sealed but not say exactly how much weather is too much, OM System has added an official IP rating to this lens. With an IP53, the optic is tested to withstand most dust, as well as jets of water up to a 60-degree angle.The lens hood, which can make the lens look bigger than it actually is, has a smart mechanism–it retracts without the need to unmount and reverse it like on other lenses. All you need to do is slightly turn the dedicated ring on the hood and retract it. While it is a very sensible mechanism, when you take it out of your bag you might find the hood has extended of its own accord. As a result, the Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 Pro is a hugely versatile lens. Paired with Olympus 12-40mm F2.8 Pro, you’ll have a 2-lens kit suitable for almost any kind of photography. That’s close enough. Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 Build and ergonomics.

At 40mm sharpness is already outstanding in the cen Size isn’t the only innovation here. While weather-sealing is common, few lenses go through the tests to gain an IP rating that specifies just how much abuse it can withstand. The OM 40-150mm f4 has an IP53 rating. That means it’s tested for dust without harmful deposits and tested against water sprays up to 60 degrees from a vertical spray. OM Solutions also says it’s freeze-proof as well. Tech Specs It's a really good lens. And there are some nice innovations in it, that make gear heads like me go nuts. Dual element focus (two groups each with linear motors). There seem to be some improvements in autofocus speed but primary a really, really close focus distance. This is great! The lens is even better at 70mm f/2.8. It shows 2,411 lines on the center-weighted test, with edges that are just shy of 2,200 lines—that's very even detail across the frame. There's only a modest improvement gained by stopping down; the lens peaks at 2,503 lines at f/8. At 100mm performance is just as good wide open, and even crisper when stopped down; the lens peaks at 2,557 lines at f/5.6.In the comparison with the Lumix lens, I did some basic test shots but I think that images taken in real situations, like the ones you’ll see below, are actually more interesting to share. E-M1, 1/200, f/ 2.8, ISO 1600 – 150mm E-M1, 1/160, f/ 2.8, ISO 1600 E-M1, 1/160, f/ 2.8, ISO 200 At the 150mm end, the angle of view narrows to 8.2°, equivalent to that of a 300mm lens mounted to a 35mm full-frame camera.

A lens like this is useful only if its autofocus is 100% reliable autofocus when paired with your camera of choice, and here again there is very little to complain about. Following an initial day of testing at the Cheltenham horse races with Ken McMahon, Gordon sourced a second sample of the lens and tested it for a month in a wide variety of portrait, landscape and action environments. He also retested the lens with the Olympus ODM EM1 updated to firmware 2.2 which claims to deliver superior AF precision with the 40-150mm. Read on to find out if this is the telephoto zoom Micro Four Thirds owners have been waiting for. Olympus 40-150mm f2.8 Pro design and build quality As you read through this review, keep in mind that in m4/3, we have a 2x crop factor. So when you see EFL, this means equivalent focal length on full-frame cameras. As for the “equivalency” goofiness regarding aperture, it is indeed a goofy stretch whereby “Fool Frame Fanatics” manage to convince people that you have to double the ƒ ratio of µ4/3rds lenses.When you zoom, you should note that the Olympus 40-150 F4 Pro will expand to roughly the same length as the F2.8 Pro. Nonetheless, the Olympus 40-150mm F4 remains a more convenient traveling partner. Anyway, welcome to µ4/3rds, and please don’t apologize for the “slights” that the full-frame crowd mistakenly throw at our preferred format! Explain them, don’t apologize for them!

I’ve mentioned how well balanced the M.Zuiko 40-150mm f2.8 Pro feels when attached to the OMD EM1, the internal zoom mechanism means the the front of the lens doesn’t extend when you turn the zoom ring, maintaining the same overall length and balance. The front element doesn’t rotate when focusing so you can use a circular polarizer with ease. The lens has a 72mm filter thread. Similar to vignetting, geometric distortion is practically nonexistent on this lens. At all focal lengths, the level of barrel distortion sits just a hair above the zero mark. If you're looking for a distortion-free zoom lens for portraiture, for example, or don't want to stretch or crop your images with distortion correction post-processing, the 40-150mm ƒ/2.8 is a clear winner.The Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 is a brilliant lens. Very sharp, reasonably compact and light for the aperture and focal length and has the fabulous Olympus push-pull manual focus collar. I was particularly interested to see how the Leica DG 50-200mm f2.8-4 compared to the Olympus 40-150mm f2.8 PRO zoom. In terms of sharpness across the frame in my tests, the Olympus visibly out-performed the Leica in the corners between 50 and 100mm at large apertures, while being a tad crisper in the middle too. At 150mm though the Leica pulled ahead a little in the corners, at least until stopped-down, and of course it keeps zooming on to a longer length of 200mm. But if you’re mostly shooting between 50 and 100mm, the Olympus delivered sharper results in my tests, particularly in the corners. Like the Tamron, the Olympus 40-150mm Zoom ring is located toward the front of the lens. But unlike the Tamron, the Olympus’s zoom ring is much too tight to roll with my outstretched index finger. Lens construction: 15 elements in 9 groups (2 ED lens, 1 super ED lens, 1 HR lens, 2 aspherical lens) The focusing system relies on a dual linear voice coil motor design (VCM) to deliver a quiet and fast performance, and with a minimum focus distance of 70cm and an inner zoom mechanism that allows it to be no longer than 160mm, it looks set to be one of the most impressive Micro Four Thirds lenses going, or at least it does on paper. Olympus 40-150mm First Look – The Function Button and Hood