Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-150 mm F4-5.6 II Lens, Universal Zoom, Suitable for All MFT Cameras (Olympus OM-D & PEN Models, Panasonic G-Series), Black

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The Olympus M.Zuiko ED 14-150mm f/4-5.6 II Lens is one that is a lens that you can’t really complain about when it comes to image quality. At the price point, we can’t expect the image quality of Olympus’s Pro lenses or their premium offerings, but it’s still no slouch at all. Bokeh Shot at the 150mm end of the image at f5.6, which translates to 300mm at f11 I did not observe any chromatic aberration with this lens, even in shots featuring tree branches taken straight into the sun. Example of a photo taken into the sun – E-M1, 1/500, f/ 8, ISO 200 The lens is an external zoom offering, which means that it elongates quite a bit when zoomed all the way in. Still though, the lens also remains quite lightweight and not too terribly large overall.

Here’s an example of bokeh that is possible with an f0.95 aperture lens and Four Thirds sensors. This bokeh is nicer than Olympus’s, though not by much. Sharpness From Olympus lens literature) Olympus continues to grow its interchangeable-lens lineup with the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-150mm f/4.0-5.6 II (28-300mm, 35mm equivalent) lens. With a 10.7x zoom ratio, this versatile Micro Four Thirds lens features incredible zoom capabilities in a compact, lightweight body. A dustproof, splashproof construction makes this lens durable enough to withstand the toughest shooting conditions when paired with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 or OM-D E-M5 Mark II. With the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-150mm f/4.0-5.6 II included, the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL dustproof, splashproof lens lineup now offers five exceptional lenses for all of your professional shooting needs. While the E-M5 III comes with an autofocus system that shares its spec with higher-end models, we were a bit disappointed with its performance.MPB puts photo and video kit into more hands, more sustainably. Every month, visual storytellers sell more than 20,000 cameras and lenses to MPB. Choose used and get affordable access to kit that doesn’t cost the earth. It's the first in the E-M5 line to offer on-sensor phase detect autofocus, which includes both face and eye detection modes. The updated AF system is complemented by a 10 fps max burst rate in AF-C. The camera also gets a new image stabilization system, an updated EVF and some small ergonomic improvements. Key takeaways Like its predecessor, the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-150mm f/4-5.6 II is surprisingly small and light for a superzoom lens covering a 35mm equivalent focal range of 28-300mm. Zoomed out to the 14mm setting, the lens practically fits in the palm of your hand. Weighing in at 285 grams, the new lens is only 5 grams heavier than its forebear, which is hardly noticeable in actual use. (Incidentally, it's exactly the same weight as the Tamron 14-150mm f/3.5-5.8 Di III.) Am i missing something? Please let me know because i'm looking to buy this lens in the near future. Zooming is not internal – as you can see, the front extends considerably upon zooming to 150mm, at which point the lens cannot be considered tiny any more. Still, it's a pretty compact affair for a lens that spans such a vast focal range. The wide zoom ring's textured finish is markedly different to that of the first version, although this difference is essentially cosmetic in nature.

The long telephoto range also doesn't lend itself well to the less-stable shooting pose encouraged by these bodies: holding the camera out so you can see the LCD screen makes everything that bit more prone to shake, no matter how good your technique. This makes it advisable to use a clip-on EVF if you have one for a more stable pose, especially in less-than-perfect light. Zoom creep Examining the MTF readings from our Applied Imaging tests, we see that the lens gives sharp results in the centre of the frame at 14mm, although the corners are weak. Zoom in to 50mm and sharpness is still very acceptable, becoming more even across the frame. However, at 150mm, images are noticeably softer. Best results are generally obtained at f/5.6-8. Shading The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-150mm f/4-5.6 II is generally light on features (putting aside its huge zoom range, of course). There is no distance scale, focus limiter, function button or tripod collar. Apart from the focus and zoom rings, the lens barrel is entirely devoid of controls. The most attractive feature of the lens is its extensive weather sealing. Conventional wisdom tends to state that superzoom lenses of this type are all about convenience and give inferior results to pairing standard and telephoto zooms. But the reality is a bit more complicated than that. In fact, the 14-150mm is pretty sharp towards the wide end of its range (although it’s noticeably soft in the corners at 14mm), giving comparable or better results compared with the 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 kit zooms supplied with many Micro Four Thirds cameras. However, as you zoom beyond 50mm it gets progressively weaker, and at the long end it’s noticeably soft, rendering little in the way of really fine detail. But with careful shooting and processing it’s still good enough for a nice 12x8in print. For a lens offering a zoom range over 10x, this optic is incredibly compact and lightweight, weighing only 260g. The lens barrel is typical of Olympus' consumer and kit lenses although the lens mount is metal. As a result of its compact size and light weight this lens is a perfect companion for the Panasonic Lumix G3 body used for testing.We give the Olympus 14-150mm f4-5.6 II lens four out of five stars. Want one? B&H Photo has them right here for you. Recommended Cameras and Accessories It gets some dust behind its front-lens, but I haven't noticed so far any effect of it on the image quality There's some corner shading when using the Olympus 14-150mm ƒ/4-5.6 M.Zuiko, but it's not excessive; mostly when using the lens at ƒ/8 or below. There isn't any shading to be found between 25 and 45mm, otherwise the most you'll see is a case where the corners are two-thirds of a stop darker than the center, at 14mm and ƒ/4. The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-150mm f/4-5.6 II lens accepts 58mm screw-in filters. The thread does not rotate on focus, making the use of polarisers that much easier. The lens extends about 6cm on zooming, and not surprisingly the barrel has a slight degree of play at maximum extension.