Given the size of the 40-150mm, Olympus also includes a tripod ring mount to achieve a better balance when using a tripod. The mount can of course be removed (you will have to unmount the lens from the camera to remove it). Both focusing and zooming are fully internal, meaning the lens' optics adjust within the constraints of its outer barrel, so the length of the lens remains the same regardless of zoom and focus settings. The zoom and the focus rings are smooth in action without being loose.

The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro lens accepts 72mm screw-in filters. The thread does not rotate on focus, making the use of polarisers that much easier. Offering long reach with an advanced feature-set and optical design, the M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO from Olympus is a versatile 80-300mm equivalent telephoto zoom for Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras. As part of the PRO series of advanced lenses, this zoom distinguishes itself with a bright f/2.8 constant maximum aperture for consistent illumination throughout the zoom range to suit working in a variety of lighting conditions. Its optical design makes use of a series of aspherical and low dispersion glass elements to suppress chromatic and spherical aberrations for notable sharpness and clarity, and a ZERO coating is also used to reduce flare and ghosting for high contrast, color-accurate imaging. 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. The focusing was swift and quiet, the optical stabilisation achieved up to six stops in my tests, and like all of Panasonic and Leica’s collaborations, the build quality is excellent with smooth mechanics and a weather-sealed body; and once again, that relatively compact barrel means it’ll squeeze into bags or pouches that other telephotos may struggle with.Of course the caveat, as with any teleconverter on any format, is a reduced maximum aperture of a given lens. A 2x converter results in a 2-stop reduction, meaning that the 40-150mm f/2.8 becomes an 80-300mm f/5.6, and so on. The lens gives excellent results in terms of sharpness, bokeh and versatility. It is certainly the biggest lens for MFT but don’t be fooled by its appearance. It is actually not that big for what it delivers. Bokeh is a word used for the out-of-focus areas of a photograph, and is usually described in qualitative terms, such as smooth / creamy / harsh etc. In the M.ZUIKO Digital Pro 40-150mm f/2.8 ED, Olympus employed an iris diaphragm with 9 rounded blades, which has resulted in a pretty decent, albeit not outstanding, bokeh for a zoom lens - at least in our opinion. However, recognising that bokeh evaluation is subjective, we have provided a few examples for your perusal. Place both of the telephoto zooms side-by-side and there’s significant physical differences to literally weigh-up. The Leica is noticeably more compact, shorter and lighter. I could squeeze it into my bag standing up whereas the Olympus always had to lay down and occupied much more space. That said, the Olympus enjoys the benefits of internal zooming (less chance of dust or moisture entering the barrel) and a tripod foot for greater stability (which also sports an Arca Swiss dovetail base). Both lenses may feature lens hoods that can fold over the end of the barrel for transportation, but the Leica hood must be reversed and re-mounted, whereas the Olympus hood simply pulls-out. There’s no doubt the Olympus feels more confident and has more physical features (including a programmable function button for Olympus bodies), but again it’s much larger. 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!

Double the focal length of the M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F2.8 PRO or M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO with the 2x teleconverter MC-20. Maintain outstanding image quality, High speed AF, and Image Stabilization performance while carrying a minimal amount of additional gear. Compatible with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F2.8 PRO and M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO lenses. Compatibility information as of January 2020. As you’d expect there’s a rotating tripod collar, and that collar can be removed if you’re going to handhold the lens. Unlike some tripod collars (I’m looking at you, Nikon), the foot extension is about as solid as they come; I couldn’t detect any flex in it, and considering the light overall weight of a setup you’d be using with it in place, I can’t imagine that the tripod collar itself would be a source of vibration or ringing of other vibrations. 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.Corner-to-corner sharpness is also tremendously good, with almost no change in sharpness from center softness at every focal length. The blur characteristics are very flat. For all intents and purposes, this lens is sharp, everywhere, all the time from ƒ/2.8 to around ƒ/11-ƒ/16, where we see minor diffraction softness coming into play. Finally, the Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 Pro is one of the few lenses compatible with the OM-1’s 50 FPS mode. A pair of Oystercatchers Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 Pro image quality Beyond this, prices increase significantly as you enter the realm of professional zooms with higher quality, tougher build and brighter apertures. My favourite pair are the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 40-150mm f2.8 PRO (boasting a constant f2.8 aperture but without optical stabilisation), and the Panasonic Leica DG 50-200mm f2.8-4 (which sacrifices the constant aperture for a slightly longer range and a much smaller body for greater portability, and also includes optical stabilisation). Both lenses also make ideal pairings with the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 and Panasonic Leica DG 12-60mm f2.8-4 respectively.

There is of course an interesting alternative for those who don’t need that extra 50mm reach and want a smaller lens that won’t unbalance the kit too much: the Lumix 35-100mm f/2.8. And this is another positive aspect about the new zoom: Olympus has released something different from everything else out there to bring the MFT system a step closer to completion. 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. Finally in terms of quality, both companies divide their lens ranges into various categories. Olympus divides its range into three groups: its basic lenses are labelled M.Zuiko, its mid-range ones M.Zuiko Premium, and its high-end ones M.Zuiko Pro. Panasonic brands all its mirrorless cameras and lenses as Lumix G, but co-develops a series of high-end lenses with Leica, labeled Leica DG; these are designed by Leica, but manufactured by Panasonic. The Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 is a sharp lens with excellent contrast and color rendition. Put simply, the Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 Pro’s image quality is limited only by your ability to acquire focus and set a sufficiently fast shutter speed.But when I say carry, I mean leave at home. In contrast, I was happy to carry the Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 all weekend. Teleconverter The most obvious alternative to the Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 is the Olympus 40-150mm F4 Pro. While the Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 Pro is more capable thanks to its faster F2.8 aperture and dual AF motors, the much lighter and cheaper Olympus 40-150mm F4 does, broadly speaking, the same thing. When it gets it right the 40-150mm f2.8 produces stunningly sharp detail. This time set to S-AF mode with the light fading, but still bright enough to shoot wide open at 200 ISO with the stabilisation enabled.

I don's have a Pana body, but I have kept me about informed on what is happening - some day I need to get a new body - but not this year, I hope. My Em1.1 has some 150000 shots taken, and EM1.2 gets closer to 70000... I would not worry too much about 35000 shutter count. Regulars to Cameralabs will know I’m very fond of putting together groups of prime lenses rather than relying on one or two zooms, and if you’re after shallow depth-of-field effects, this is definitely the way to go on Micro Four Thirds due to the sensor size. A great combo on a budget are the Panasonic Lumix G 25mm f1.7 and the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f1.8, giving you a standard 50mm and short telephoto 90mm at an affordable price. If you have more to spend, consider adding a wider option with the Panasonic Leica DG 15mm f1.7 or the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f1.8, and if you love the standard 50mm length, you may want to swap the budget Lumix G 25mm f1.7 for something nicer like the Panasonic Leica DG 25mm f1.4 or one of the higher-end models. Speaking of which, those with much bigger budgets and higher expectations would be delighted with the Olympus triplet of f1.2 primes: the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f1.2 PRO, Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 25mm f1.2 PRO and Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f1.2 PRO. If you’re not worried about having an all-Olympus f1.2 collection, remember the Panasonic Leica DG 42.5mm f1.2 Nocticron too which also has optical stabilisation. Before everyone goes out and sells their Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8, I should note that the Panasonic lens is significantly smaller and lighter. There are purposes that it serves quite well. The Panasonic is two-thirds the length, and less than half the weight of the Olympus 40-150mm. Even more important for Panasonic m4/3 body owners is that the 35-100mm has optical image stabilization built in. So not everyone should switch as I will be. Moreover, the Panasonic is an optically excellent lens, too, so every m4/3 user needing a fast telephoto zoom should consider it. Combined with a teleconverter, it provides a high quality and high performance 112-420mm*1 telephoto zoom.

Product Specification

But if you’d still prefer a premium zoom lens with an upgrade in range, brightness, build or overall quality over a kit model, or are perhaps choosing a first zoom for a higher-end body, there are plenty of compelling options available. Remember if you have a Panasonic body without built-in stabilisation, then you’ll need a lens with optical stabilisation to iron-out the wobbles. 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. We understand this can sometimes be difficult with work commitments, but we will do our best to accommodateyour needs. But the real game changer comes when you screw on the tiny Olympus 1.4x teleconverter – thus converting the Olympus into a 56-210mm F4 lens or 112-420mm F8 lens in full-frame terms. To have so much reach in such a high-performance compact lens is very unusual and damn enjoyable. What I don’t like about the Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 Pro