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

Product Information

I wish the zoom ring were a little lighter so I could rotate it with my outstretched index finger. It would be cool if the teleconverter were built in, but that’s asking a lot on a lens in this price range. Seriously, that’s all I can think of. Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 Compared Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 40-150mm f/2.8 PROThe Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 40-150mm 1:2.8 PRO Telephoto Lens delivers high quality imaging and durable construction to Micro Four Thirds cameras. With a 40-150mm focal length and a constant maximum aperture of f/2.8, this versatile lens is perfect for professionals looking for the absolute best performance from a telephoto lens. The constant f2.8 aperture is maintained throughout the focal range, a very useful feature and not just for shooting in low light. The physical aperture diaphragm construction is composed of 9 blades which produce a circular shaped aperture that should result in pretty circular blob highlights for out of focus elements. At the other end of the range the minimum aperture is f22.

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. Focus is very reliable and it follow-focuses fast (especially if you turn EYE focus off - more so with the mk 1) Be sure to have a fully charged battery in the camera and installed OM Workspace software. Follow the "Update Your Firmware" link above to obtain this software.I think that broadly referring to the MFT aperture of 2.8 as 5.6 on full frame is somewhat misleading. I’ve included this second image really just to show the shallowness of the depth of field with a reasonably close subject and the pleasant bokeh produced by the 40-150mm’s circular aperture diaphragm. This time the AF has nailed it with good sharp detail in the face. Within the Micro Four Thirds range, the closest rival is Panasonic’s 35-100mm f2.8 which measures 67mm in diameter 100mm in length and weighs 360g, significantly smaller and around half the weight of the Olympus. That difference is all the more remarkable when you consider the Panasonic lens is optically stabilised where the M.Zuiko 40-150mm relies on the built-in stabilisation of Olympus OMD and PEN bodies to iron-out any wobbles. That said, there is of course also a substantial difference in the respective zoom ranges of these two with the Panasonic lens’s ‘classic’ 70-200mm equivalent range starting slightly wider but stopping well short of the 80-300mm equivalent range of the Olympus lens. A single of the super small blossoms of Euphorbia (Wolfsmilch) is rather inconspicuous, but if many thousands cover the ground and shine in all shades of sunny colors, that's a gorgeous sight!

When mounted onto pro-level camera bodies such as the Olympus OMD EM1 X or the Olympus OMD EM1 II, this zoom lens autofocuses instantly even in low light. Of course, such a lens does come with some built-in downsides. While it’s absurdly light for a zoom of its capabilities, it’s still a big heavy lens by most other measures. Therefore, its leave-at-home factor is higher than the smaller, less capable Olympus 40-150mm F4 Pro. And, of course, the Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 is one of Olympus’s more expensive lenses. 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.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). 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. The lens weights about 760g without the tripod mount, which is heavier than the E-M1 or any other MFT camera. I decided to use it with the E-M1 without the HLD-7 battery grip, not only to keep the combo as small as possible but also to see how the extra weight and size would affect the usability of a system known to be more compact than this. After carrying it around every day for my daily work for two weeks, I can say that in the end that the weight and size don’t make a huge difference, as the lens still fits nicely inside my primary camera bag, the Lowerpro Event Messenger 150. Yes, the lens is big but still compact enough for the zoom range it covers.

This is a significant difference. Note however that while the older Four Thirds lens is essentially at its close-focus point here, the new professional Micro Four Thirds telezoom can focus down to 0.7m. Chromatic Aberrations It’s fair to say this has been a highly anticipated lens, seamlessly continuing where the 12-40mm stops, and delivering an 80-300mm equivalent range that’s desired by close-range action as well as street and portrait shooters. Now with two lenses, Olympus can take you from an equivalent of 24mm all the way to 300mm with a constant f2.8 focal ratio throughout, and while the 40-150mm is obviously one of the larger lenses in the catalogue, it remains compact for a lens for its class. As well as superior optics and performance, the Pro tag denotes high quality construction with an all metal body that is dust, splash and freeze-proof. The lens also comes with a removable lens collar for tripod mounting, as well as a collapsible lens hood.The lens features Olympus' MSC ("Movie & Still Compatible") designation, for full-time AF in both stills and video that's also very quiet so as not to introduce focusing noise in video recordings. The Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 Pro lens features the world’s first Dual VCM (voice coil motor) AF. With two individually controlled linear drive motors, autofocus is rapid, near-silent and smooth. With the bright, fixed f2.8 aperture you can carry on shooting as the sun goes down. Also featuring an L-Fn button which you can customise with your most used camera settings. 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 The M.Zuiko 40-150mm f2.8 Pro is environmentally sealed with 11 separate seals to keep out dust and moisture making it splash-proof and dust-proof as well as freeze-proof. I used the 40-150mm on the Olympus OMD EM1 – a weather-sealed combination – during steady drizzle without complaint from either.

The great build becomes especially noticeable when you start using the lens. First of all, the zoom and focus rings are both large, very smooth to turn and very precise to use. They are optimally placed on the lens body so that you can naturally reach one or the other with your hand. The focus ring is also great to use for manual focusing. Thanks to its clutch mechanism, you can instantaneously switch from auto to manual focus (like the 12-40mm f/2,8 and 12mm f/2). This features is very useful for shooting video. With stills, you might not find yourself using manual focus a lot because it can become difficult at the longest focal length, unless you are in an extreme low-light situation or using the lens in macro mode at its shortest focus distance. With video, while the AF works well on both Lumix and Olympus cameras, there are more situations where you might prefer to focus precisely with your hand, and to this end, the focus ring is very pleasant to use. We understand this can sometimes be difficult with work commitments, but we will do our best to accommodateyour needs. However, I began seeing internet reports, as well as one from a friend, of this lens hood suddenly disintegrating. Then one day, my hood also did the same.While used in conjunction with the companion tele-converter, it still gives fabulous, sharp images, I find the focus misses are compounded. OM SYSTEM may call depending on the nature of your inquiry. We have representatives available from 6am - 2pm ET (Monday - Friday). If you take the same lens with the same aperture and focal length and take the same photo with both full-frame and µ4/3rds cameras having the same pixel size, they will have identical depth of field! 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