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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This first image above was taken with the 40-150mm f2.8 at its maximum telephoto focal length and with the aperture wide open at f2.8. The shooting mode was set to continuous low with the auto focus set to continuous. I selected the central AF point and tried to keep the rider in the red and blue silks in the center of the frame. This is the eighth frame of a ten-frame sequence, exactly half of which (the first frame and the final four) were sharp on the subject in the AF frame. The 40-150mm f2.8 Pro is the first Olympus lens to feature dual VCM auto focus. The idea is that AF performance can be improved by separating the focusing mechanism into two lens groups controlled by individual linear drive voice coil motors. This and the absence of gears, claims Olympus, makes the focussing performance lightning fast and very smooth. 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. Focus is very reliable and it follow-focuses fast (especially if you turn EYE focus off - more so with the mk 1) So, for me the 12-100 is easily much more used than the 12-40. As I said, I mostly use the 12-40/2.8 indoors, but often I even then prefer some faster primes, like the panasonic Leica 15/1.7 or Oly 45/1.8. If I want more subject isolation than any of the zooms can offer my preferred choice is the Oly 75/1.8.

But if you’re photographing portraits or landscapes, speed hardly matters. Therefore, you might as well save some money and carry a lighter more compact lens. 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. I'm seeing some artifacts and weirdness in places, but it's a pretty interesting result. It's nice to know it's there, but I'm not going to bank on using this very often at all. I can't stomach the storage requirements for something like this. If you only ever need 150mm, the 40-150/f2.8 will probably give you better results. It has a faster aperture, which gives you more flexibility, and when stopped down to f/4 is sharper at 150mm than the Panasonic-Leica is (79 lp/mm vs. ~61 lp/mm) as it's closer to wide open. The M.ZUIKO Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 is designed to meet the expectations of serious Micro Four Thirds users that demand a long zoom and the type of ruggedness you’d expect from a lens that comes with a four-figure price tag.If I had a G9, I would definitely lean towards the PL50-200mm, if only for the improvements in DFD autofocus and Dual IS image stabilization, as well as the smaller and lighter form factor (which is really quite remarkable, I think). As a telephoto zoom lens with a fast aperture of f2.8 for professional use, we have achieved a stable center of gravity and a total length that remains unchanged during zooming. It also offers strong splash & dust proof performance that permits photography even in the rain when used in combination with astonishing compact and lightweight E-M1, the flagship model of the OM-D series. With these outstanding mobility, this lens gives you the possibilities of photographing the way you like in any locations using the minimum amount of equipment. A collapsible circular hood is supplied with this lens, which does an excellent job of shading the lens from extraneous light that may cause issues with loss of contrast or flare. Even without the hood in place, this lens is very resistant to flare and contrast levels are retained well when shooting into the light. Storm clouds and drizzle early in the day looked like the perfect conditions for putting the lens’s weather sealing to the test, but the sun broke through in true British fashion so we’ll just have to wait until our final review sample arrives (hopefully in the next few weeks) before we can subject it to a soaking and see how it performs in this respect.

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! I've used the Oly 40-150 in the field this past week, and played with the Panasonic 50-200 in the camera store during a sales event with the Panasonic rep. Both are high quality build and each has unique features of their own. The Panasonic has a focus limiter for faster AF for the long range. The Oly has a custom fn button on the lens, and a cool lens hood that extends and retracts. The focus ring on both are very smooth and light enough for one finger operation. The Oly has a clutch switch for AF with distance markers and hard stop infinity, the Panasonic does not. Both are focus by wire and both are very smooth and easy to use with manual focus. 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 ComparedThis setup offers a 1200mm focal length with 5 stops of image stabilization Olympus MC-20 teleconverter: In the field