Olympus announces 40-150 f/2.8

Pro grade 4/3 lens (approx. 80-300 equivalent 135 format field of view)

Also a silver version of the O-MD EM-1 camera

as a convert to the "light side" we have been waiting for this and the 300 F4 for a while.  At constant F2.8 it does fill a gap F stop wise that I would use in a lot of my imagery. The added 1.4 x will add to the over all versatility of the lens.

we will see what is in the final version of their announced firmware update.. lots of rumors around that.

more to come from this week.

Another new 80-300 lens... we are spoilt for choice these days.

This lens is shipping in mid-Nov...not too bad. Hope it's as good as the other "pro" zoom.

I hope the TC 1.4 also works with the "planned" 300 f4.

Hard to tell the entire image quality on the web  but this link from Pekka Potka gives a good sampling of images taken with the OMD EM1 and the new 40-150 with 1.4 added.
As from his descriptive on his website

http://www.pekkapotka.com/latest-notes/

"Here´s another gallery containing some of my test shots with the new M.Zuiko 40-150mm PRO zoom lens. It contains images with various subject matter and shot in various light conditions. Just testing. As can be seen, I have shot a lot with lens wide open as such and with teleconverter (MC14) attached  Olympus is using some of this material at their Photokina booth".

and a little farther done the page a gallery from Payerne Airshow 2014 shot with the same combo.

http://www.pekkapotka.com/airshow-payerne-air-14/


Doug

Olympus knows how to make lenses! Always have!

Fortunately for my bank balance & for my kid's education I'm not interested in this lens. However, I want to know when their 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO lens will be released. Even B&H has a placeholder for it.

Cheers,

Jim

hullyjr wrote:Fortunately for my bank balance & for my kid's education I'm not interested in this lens.  However, I want to know when their 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO lens will be released.  Even B&H has a placeholder for it.

Cheers,

Jim

I'm afraid they might release the 7-14 first before the 300 f4

Pekka Potka's on the 40-150:

Hands On Preview: M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO zoom

I know there is not as much interest in these systems here at NSN as some other brands but for those that might be tempted there are more samples of mages from production models showing up now ...all looking pretty good

http://robinwong.blogspot.be/2014/10/ol ... -lens.html

All I can say is..."yes I did..happy November coming soon"

Doug

More samples from here as well:

http://pen3.de/40-150/40-150.htm

Scroll right to see the images (well at least on my screen )

Some could be 100% crops.

I think it's gonna be good for close up shot...I mean, 2.1 ft close with a perspective of a 300mm !?

It's tempting

I was expecting it would match or improve on the decent close focusing performance of its 12-40mm sibling. But 0.21x is not that impressive. The slower 40-150mm is not far behind at 0.16x. Pretty much every 70-200mm or 300mm from Canon & Nikon offer better close focusing (maybe not Nikon's 300/2.8?). Olympus (or Panasonic) need to come out with a longer macro than the 60mm. Maybe the Olympus 300/4, slated for next year, will offer pseudo-macro performance (to me that means 0.3x or better).

Cheers,

Jim

Yeah, that 12-40 can get you crazy close.

FWIW, the minimum focus distance for the Nikon's 300 f2.8 is 7.5 ft, the 200-400 is 6.6, 300 f4 4.8ft, 70-200 f2.8 4.6 ft, and 70-200 f4 3.28 ft. And this Olympus 40-150 f2.8 is 2.3ft as per Olympus's spec.

That lens is crazy sharp.
http://slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct. ... 741/cat/15

May be Olympus don't want to sell any of its prime lenses anymore now that it has made some pro zooms that are as sharp if not sharper than those prime lenses

The primes are a lot faster so if you need lowlight or shallow DOF, they will be more than happy to sell you primes.

E.J. Peiker wrote:The primes are a lot faster so if you need lowlight or shallow DOF, they will be more than happy to sell you primes.

I know, since I own some of them.

So, my friendly local camera shop called last night, and said they had the 40-150 in.  Busy most of today, but ran by and checked it out this afternoon for size, balance, focusing, etc.  Not a small lens, but not nearly as huge as I thought when I saw the box.  Appears very solid and well finished.  Didn't have my body, but put it on a body at store, and it felt fine, and popped into focus very quickly.  No images, and got the shop to agree to hold it until Monday to let me think about it (there are several people on the waiting list).  Have the Panasonic 35-100 (which I like) and the Oly 75-300 II lens (which is just OK for my uses).  

Have read the few reviews out there, but wondered if anyone on the board has yet had any hands-on experience.  Trying to decide how/whether it fits in with what I have and my uses, as well as the overall quality.

Thanks.

Buzz Bryson wrote:So, my friendly local camera shop called last night, and said they had the 40-150 in.  Busy most of today, but ran by and checked it out this afternoon for size, balance, focusing, etc.  Not a small lens, but not nearly as huge as I thought when I saw the box.  Appears very solid and well finished.  Didn't have my body, but put it on a body at store, and it felt fine, and popped into focus very quickly.  No images, and got the shop to agree to hold it until Monday to let me think about it (there are several people on the waiting list).  Have the Panasonic 35-100 (which I like) and the Oly 75-300 II lens (which is just OK for my uses).  

Have read the few reviews out there, but wondered if anyone on the board has yet had any hands-on experience.  Trying to decide how/whether it fits in with what I have and my uses, as well as the overall quality.

Thanks.

How about you bring your camera there tomorrow and take a few shots?

I don't have it and I have not ordered it. But looks like many people want it:

Stores order now will ship in February!

.

I have the lens ordered through Olympus Canada

It is a very nicely made lens for sure - clean lines, clear coat finish, slick hood

The lens size is what I expected. I own the 35-100 f 2.8 as well but see the 40-150 as a different use and thus the larger/bulkier size and extra reach will be nice. I will be using the lens on the EM1 with grip along with the 1.4 for the 400mm reach as my trekking gear as we ATV, snow machine across the tundra and for my hockey/sports shoots.  It fits in my Think Tank Digital Holster with chest harness nicely for quick access. In my mind the combo handles very similar to the Canon D series and 100-400 mm but at half the weight.  Without the grip the 40-150 does loose some of the balance with the camera.   I have had grips on all my cameras (Canon and others) as I also take a lot of vertical shoots.

 I see the 35-100 because of the size difference being used as I now do for interior /portrait/ street event imagery as it is not intrusive and you are hardly noticed taking images in a crowd. The 40-150 especially with the lens hood is that much larger and if you hold it up and shoot it in a crowd you will be noticed.

Most of the shots so far have been indoors mucking about - table glass, material on couch for fine details, and granddaughter… the immediate reaction from the wife from a quick 4x6 print of the GD was “wow is that ever sharp”. This is good as the purchase is now “officially approved”.

One of the key features that I really like on the lens and the 12-40 is the manual /auto focus clutch and the fact that both lenses have infinity stops when using the manual focus. I do a lot of night imagery (Aurora) so the infinity stop in manual focusing is important so I can adjust the focus when shooting in the dark. Weather sealed is also an advantage and freeze proof - ok maybe not the minus 30 C I was out in yesterday.

I’ll post some shots once I get out and about with it in the next days.
Doug