Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 40-150mm F4.0-5.6 R Black for Micro Four Thirds System Camera, 3.75x Zoom Lens, Portable Design

Great lens, good deal. Great for portraits especially.

The M Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 is everything the most reputable on-line reviewers say it is: a very light and small medium-length zoom with a remarkable performance for an incredible price. The lens is made of plastic but handling it gives a sense of a fine construction with tight tolerances and no looseness. Both rings operate quite smoothly and there is no zoom creep. Focusing on the EM5II is silent, quick, and assertive even indoors (with static subjects). I tested it for optical performance with a very detailed subject - one of my wife's jewelry creations - all open and closed down 1 and 2 stops at 40mm, 70mm and 150mm. I processed the Raw files in PS CS6 applying my typical white point, clarity and sharpening to all. The results are very statisfying. In conclusion, this is a budget lens that is definitively worth considering for its unique price/quality point. I will add a couple of lines of comments as soon as I take the lens out to photograph birds in action. A word of caution about this and other telephoto lenses negative reviews. The use of a 300mm lens is already demanding in terms of technique. Image stabilization takes only care of camera shake but moving subjects require very short exposures to avoid blur. If the writer does not specify if they are shooting Raw or jpegs there is little value in their conclusions. Additionally, you don't know if they know how to properly process the Raw files and/or what's the setting for in-camera sharpening in jpeg. Lastly, many people shoot on a tripod without turning off image stabilization (a must). 11/16/16 addendum: I am replacing the older pictures with new ones of Echo Bay in New Rochelle, NY, just before and with the latest super moon. All pics are from Raw files developed in PS 6 with the same treatment. Pic 1: 40mm (80mm eq), f/16, 1/320sec, ISO 800 Pic 2: 70 (140)mm, f/16, 1/32sec, ISO800, tripod Pic 3: 62 (124)mm, f/16, 1/6sec, ISO800, tripod

Light kit zoom that gives fairly good images. Equivalent to an 80 - 300mm on a standard 35mm/full-frame. Pros: Relatively inexpensive ($99), smooth focus and zoom controls. Fast focus on bright scenes. Good contrast and color rendition. Sharp enough for many applications with reasonable bokeh at low F. The more I use it the more I am happily surprised with the images. Overall I think the optics are first rate for a lens in this price range. Lightweight. Cons: Most of these are expected - slow or no focus in low contrast/dark shots. While < 80mm gave rapid focus (< 0.25 sec) focus was slow and often got confused at max focal lengths. The entire assembly is plastic - at the very least I would have expected the MFT mount that mates with the camera to be metal. This was probably the most disappointing feature for me as I question how many times the lens can be mounted /dismounted before something breaks. Finally, why is the filter ring 58mm (e.g. expensive) while the front optic is only 34mm? Other things to be aware of: At 150mm the lens physically extends out to about twice the length of the 40mm setting, so with the lens hood on this lens is huge (I am used to small primes) - it is light but your camera will not be "compact" with this lens on it. Comments for future improvements: I hope Oly is listening :). This would be an extremely good lens as a straight F4 (maybe 40-120mm F4). Would be REALLY REALLY nice if it were in a metal body - or at the very least, a metal baseplate/mount (weather sealed would be even better). Finally if the filter ring could be made smaller it would keep costs low. Perhaps an RII for a little more $ will include these improvements? All photos below shot with lens in mostly in full zoom (150mm) on Oly EPL7 body. Note transformer shot is a 2x crop of an image to show detail of lens from center to edge.

Alright, how do I say this? This lens is a Five-Star item, but only if you get it on sale for $99. It's all plastic, has a zoom that is not very smooth, and one copy I tested made a little bit of a rattle. The lens also does not have the special optical coatings that it's more expensive "brothers," one of which runs more than four times the price (see it at Olympus 14-150mm f/4.0-5.6 II Lens for Micro Four Thirds Cameras (Black) ), and the other, the Olympus Zuiko edition (which runs at over ten times the price: see it Olympus M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 Interchangeable PRO Lens for Olympus/Panasonic Micro 4/3 Cameras ) and has a simpler lens element construction than either of those more expensive lenses. But if you can deal with all that, it is a remarkably sharp lens, and can actually turn out some very nice photos. To boot, it is so light that you almost don't notice it is on the camera. Its truly a remarkable deal, particularly when on sale. It yields a pretty sharp image at most all lengths, and the colors are punchy but optically neutral. It's in some ways the perfect travel lens due to its long zoom and very light weight. But you just have to accept that this lens is just not going to feel like one of the "Pro" Olympus lenses because of its plastic build. But I must say that I was really surprised at the quality of the images, which are certainly not class-leading, but are actually quite good, very sharp, and respond well to post-processing. When you add its very light weight and very inexpensive price, it really is a great choice. So, this is a matter of understanding what you are getting. If you want a top-of-the-line lens, go for the 12-100mm Pro Olympus lens, which has a very different feel and much more sophisticated optics, and will cost about $1,300. But if you are looking for an inexpensive, light lens that does duty for short trips, impromptu shots, etc., that is sharp and yields photos perhaps about 70-80% of the level of the most expensive lenses, this is the one. It's, without doubt, an overperformer that punches way beyond its weight (no pun intended). And when you feel that non-smooth zoom mechanism, just remind yourself you're getting great shots for almost free. Five Stars.

This affordable lens is definitely worth it. Yes is all made of plastic so the construction feels somewhat fragile but good enough to work with if you’re careful working with it. The images are clear and for what it is, I can’t believe I get this quality for this price. I’m a self-taught Photographer, learned from Internet research and books from the local library. So I’m far from a professional but, I can defend myself. I have a Panasonic Lumix G85 and it’s a great budget camera as well. I love taking Pictures around plus I have a Reef tank and it takes nice pictures of my Coral. Take a look at the pics and you’ll see what I mean. (The Corals and Moon are edited and cropped, the rest are pure RAW files) For the price you just can’t go wrong with this affordable lens. But as stated, it’s all made of plastic and I assume it’s not water resistant so if you want it to last, take care of it, and it shall last you years. I also purchased an Olympus Hood to go with it. (ASIN B009GFY786) and fits perfectly. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

I've been learning to shoot with a camera body and lenses. I'm using an Olympus Pen Lite e-pl6, micro four thirds camera. While the kit lens was fine, I though that I needed a zoom lens, at a budget price. After some research, I settled on the M.Zuiko Digital 40-150mm. It took me a little while to find the right settings on the camera to get off Auto and make use of the manual focus. Once I did, I think that I got some pretty good shots. The camera's stabilization worked well, as the lens itself isn't stabilized. I was able to shoot hand-held for photos and video. The lens itself is fairly light and didn't add much weight to my camera bag or neck strap. A great lens for the price. I recommend it.

This was my first telephoto lens, and I wasn't too sure about what to expect. The first thing that struck me was how small it is. At it's shortest length, it is only about the thickness of the lens cap longer than the kit 14-42 lens when it's extended. It is also the same size in diameter. I also have the panasonic leica 25mm lens and the leica lens is fatter, and with the hood attatched, it is longer as well. This lens is very lightweight, by feel the same as the kit lens, but does not feel cheap like the kit lens does. My kit lens has spots where it will creak if you squeeze it a certian way on the zoom ring, and the focus ring has a slight gritty feel to it. This zoom lens has none of those issues. The focus ring is nicely damped, and smooth. The zoom ring is the same. I was suprised at how much larger the lens gets when zoomed in; I would say it roughly doubles in length to extend about 5 & 3/4 inches from the camera body. In this state, with the lens fully extended, is the only time it looks a little cheap to me, I guess because of the smooth plastic body that is revealed. Now on to how the lens works. This is where I was truly impressed. I am using the lens on a cheap e-pl1 body, with image stabalization turned on. The lens is fast to focus, and is not noisy at all. I used it on a trip to the zoo, and was impressed with how many good pics I got with it. It is very sharp, even zoomed all the way in, and was'nt hard to use at all. All my pics were handheld, and more often than not were tac sharp. I even got a couple of shots of a helicopter passing buy that shocked me. I could see reflections of something on the back of the heli. I also liked how you could focus right through a cage, making it dissapear in most cases (probably can do that with any telephoto lens, but I'm new to them so was happy to learn that). Of course, lighting was good, and this lens won't compete with a faster one indoors, but used where it's designed to be used it is amazing. I did not notice any distortion or any other problems. If you zoom in on a close subject, you can blur the background very well for that 3D effect. Since I mentioned the Panasonic-Leica 25mm, I will give my thoughts on the two compared. In good light outdoors, the pictures can be very hard to tell apart. The Leica has the advantage for things that are close, because of the fov, but on my old body, the Olympus M.Zuiko 40-150mm focuses faster, and is much quieter than the 25mm panasonic, which makes lots of clicking noises. Of course, the telephoto lens is better for getting close to a distant subject. Outdoors, I prefer the olympus lens. Indoors, there is no contest, the 25mm is awesome in low light. Finally, there is the price difference. I probably paid too much for the olympus, but you can find it now for around two hundred, and at that price I think it is a steal. Now the panasonic is three times that price, but you do get a lens hood and carrying bag for it, and it's low light capabality. It does seem to be a much higher quality lens. If my shots were primairly outdoors, I would take the olympus over the panasonic for sure, but if you take pics indoors and don't want to use flash, then you should spend the extra for a fast lens made for it. I think they both are keepers, but the olympus is to me the better value.

I am an amateur, so take this review from that perspective. A more capable photographer might get different results, but this lens is priced for the amateur, so here goes. This is a good-priced and a lightweight lens. It has a good zoom for getting portrait-like shots within 15 feet, but on a PEN EP-5 it likes to give me grainy, pixelated images unless the light is ideal. This is disappointing because on the screen the image looks great until you get a chance to zoom in and see the pixels. Then, the images in any "just okay" lighting situations break down. I have had very little luck using this lens with most of the artistic effects built into the camera without the image breaking up, too. I do not like the bokkeh effects it delivers no matter how the camera is set. I did not expect to be able to use this lens in a dark room, but even in medium well-lit places, it easily goes grainy. This can happen inside with a flash, too. My advice for non-professionals is to use this lens in automatic mode and do not attempt to override any setting. If you do, you will not like the result. Use it outside on a sunny day, and you will will probably be okay.

Absolutamente imprescindible para tu micro 4/3 … la relación calidad de las fotos precio es imbatible

JUST BUY IT.

For the price, this Len is a 5 star. It zooms with enough light for daytime shooting. Putting price aside, the plastic is not of the highest grade - bought and returned a silver one as the poor plastic quality is pretty obvious e.g. plastic moulding weld lines and cheap looking silver colour. The black one, however, somehow hides some of these issues and looks decent enough. The zoom ring is a bit stiff but certainly functioning. Picture quality is good - yet to see any serious issue on my raws. Again, this rating is highly related to the currently superb Amazon price - for a hundred bucks there is very little to complain about.

A very compact lens that is very well made and gives superb results. Unbelievable price for such quality.

Por el precio que tiene, es un gran lente, tiene una excelente calidad de imagen y enfoca súper rápido, además no pesa nada! El paquete llegó antes de la fecha y en perfectas condiciones.