Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150 mm F4-5.6 Lens, Telephoto Zoom, Suitable for All MFT Cameras (Olympus OM-D & PEN Models, Panasonic G Series), Black

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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. Before I move on to talk about the optics and focusing, just to note that like several other lenses in the Olympus range the 40-150mm f2.8 Pro has a L-fn function button on the barrel that can be assigned to one of a number of functions from the custom menu on the camera. Olympus 40-150mm f2.8 Pro optics

OM System says the 40-150mm f4 Pro is the lightest, most compact 300mm equivalent zoom with a fixed aperture. It weighs just over 13 ounces and, when retracted, is less than four inches long. Indeed, it felt more like carrying a wide-angle prime than a 300mm lens. Of course, much of that weight savings comes from the narrower f4 aperture and the crop factor of Micro Four Thirds that pushes this lens to a 300mm equivalent. Olympus also offers a 1.4x teleconverter especially for the 40-150mm which extends the reach to an equivalent of 421mm with a maximum aperture of f4. I’ve provided three samples with it in my gallery, but here’s one as a preview. You can find the same shot taken without the teleconverter for comparison in my gallery and note the aperture selected delivered the best result in this instance. Olympus PEN-F + Olympus M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6 R (145mm, 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO200) (Image credit: James Artaius) Olympus M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6 R: Performance

Corner shading isn't a real problem with this lens; the most noteworthy lens setting that produces any light falloff at all would be 150mm at ƒ/5.6, where the extreme corners are 1/3EV darker than the center. At any other setting, the falloff is less than that. 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 40-150mm f/4-5.6 ED, Olympus employed an iris diaphragm with 7 rounded blades, which has resulted in a pretty decent 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.

Speaking of manual focus, it works in a focus-by-wire fashion. This should not put you off using it as it feels pretty natural in use, and actually enables the camera to display a magnified view of the subject automatically, i.e. without your having to press a dedicated button or enter the menu. The focus ring is slim but is adequate for the job. As with all Olympus M.Zuiko lenses, the 40-150mm F4.0 Pro does not offer image stabilisation. Instead this is provided by the camera body, in this instance the frankly amazing 5-axis system in the OM-1, which provides 7 stops of compensation when paired with this lens.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. If there's a price to be paid for the excellent sharpness results we've just seen, it might be in below-average performance in handling chromatic aberration. The lens appears to be optimized for use in the telephoto spectrum (>70mm): from 40mm to 70mm, chromatic aberration is evident at all apertures. Further than 70mm however, chromatic aberration becomes less of an issue (the lens grouping focusing on the more central portions of the glass). 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.