The official lens introduction video by Olympus.
There were so many announcement that it’s time to digg deep into every single product. One of the most popular new announcement is the Olympus 40-150mm PRO lens:
Note: Preorder the 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO lens at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus. In Europe at Wex UK.
1) MTF graph
The MTF graphs shows clearly this is the best tele lens ever made by Olympus. It scores higher than other lenses like the [shoplink 23304 ebay]Four Thirds 50-200mm[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 25119 ebay]Four Thirds 35-100mm[/shoplink] lenses.
2) Hands-on pictures
But how does the lens look for real?
German hands-on video on Youtube, Interview on Youtube, Conept movie on Youtube, Hands-on pics at DC.watch.
3) Matching simulation
The new Olympus PRO lens has been added to the Matching Simulation tool. Here is the lens on the GH4 and GM1:
4) Lens design graphs:
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Olympus preorders:
Silver E-M1 body at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus. In Europe at Wex UK.
40-150mm f/2.8 PRO lens at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus. In Europe at Wex UK.
LH-76 lens hood at Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus.
MC-14 1.4x teleconverter at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus.
PRF-ZD62 Z protection filter at Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus.
PRF-ZD72 Z protection filter at Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus.
General links to all new Olympus stuff at Adorama.
ALL new stuff announced at Photokina at Amazon.
Panasonic preorders:
LX100 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto. Europe at Panasonic Germany, WexUK, Panasonic Austria, Panasonic France, Panasonic Italy, Panasonic Spain, Panasonic Netherlands, Panasonic Belgium.
GM5 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto. Europe at Panasonic Germany, WexUK, Panasonic Austria, Panasonic France, Panasonic Italy, Panasonic Spain, Panasonic Netherlands, Panasonic Belgium.
GM5 in red at Adorama.
35-100mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto. Europe at Panasonic Germany, Panasonic Austria, Panasonic France, Panasonic Italy, Panasonic Spain, Panasonic Netherlands, Panasonic Belgium.
14mm at Panasonic Germany, Panasonic Austria, Panasonic Spain, Panasonic Netherlands, Panasonic Belgium.
65 Responses
Look at that MTF at 150!
Is that good? Can someone link the MFT for the other two 43 pro zooms mentioned?
Here’s you go. The new lens looks great on paper, but in actual use I doubt anyone would know the difference between the three.
http://www.getolympus.com/us/en/lenses/zuiko-lens-ed-50-200mm-f2-8-3-5-swd.html
http://www.getolympus.com/us/en/lenses/zuiko-lens-ed-35-100mm-f2-0.html
Even if the MFT lens is “only” on par with the old super lenses than that is quite a performance on itself.
This will be a superior lens undoubtedly though probably the wife acceptance factor would not allow me to purchase one 🙁
For the budget-minded, the 4/3 lineup offers some great choices. You can get a second hand, mint-condition 50-200mm SWD for half the money of this new lens. It will not disappoint in IQ, I promise you. 🙂 The only downside to the 4/3 lenses is the slower AF performance, but with manual pre-focus + AF it works fast enough.
I love mz 50-200 and think it’s an excellent zoom and the 35-100 is even better, so I’m quite happy if there is no difference.
I too own the 50-200mm SWD, it is very very good. I got it second hand for 700 euros, which is probably less than half what this new lens will cost. Besides, the new lens needs a TC to get to the same focal range and after that it will have a slower aperture.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the 40-150mm f/2.8 will be great, but I have zero interest to switch. Sure, the AF will be (much) better on the new lens, but the direct MF override on the SWD has worked wonders for me.
Thanks man, appreciate it.
Shut up and take my Money!!
I’m with you zuiking, This looks to be an amazing lens. Sharp, with Contrast, close to macro, wide aperture , with extras (function button on lens), controls. Wow.
Nice. And it comes with a stylish lens cap. Oh wait. It’s the GM1 😉
LOL!!!! I was thinking the same thing..The GM1 looks like a bauble, an adornment…
Don’t worry…the GM5 is bigger!!!! LOL!
All kidding aside..the lens stats look impressive…but I doubt that I would be buying this lens..I will reach for my FF if I am going out to do this kind of shooting.
If you have made full commitment to MFT I could see this lens being a must!
Yes MTF is sharper than my old 35-100mm I sel for a nokton 42.5mm, I want this !
Voigtländer releases 10mm 0,95 Prime for MFT!!!
What!?!? Link please? =D
http://www.photoscala.de/Artikel/photokina-2014-Neue-Objektive-von-Voigtlaender It is german and sorry for wrong info it should read “announce” not release 😉
Nice. I wish they would update all their m4/3 lenses with electronic contacts, so that we could get the EXIF data correct. It would also work better with IBIS, now you have to manually enter the focal length for it to work correctly.
A cool thing to add in a future fw update: the possibility to record MF lens profile somewhere, so you just have to select the profile when you change your MF lens…
0.95 for a lens this wide is unheard of, no?
Hey…Rich mis-spoke. He said that with those two lenses (12-40mm and 40-150mm) and the TC1.4X that you have covered (equivalent) 28-420mm. I think he meant to say 24-420mm. oops.
Yeah, notice that. Pretty dumb for the “Official Olympus Release Video” . . .
+1000
Missing a basic fact is unacceptable
Looking at the pics in DC.watch the 7-14 PRO will weight around 600g and the 300 PRO will be 1.5kg (assuming 40-150 PRO weights 880g).
“It [Olympus 40-150] scores higher than other lenses like the Four Thirds 50-200mm and the Four Thirds 35-100mm lenses”.
Really? Who said that? And how do we know if it’s true or not? Were the measurements of the two FT lenses mentioned above made on the old sensor? If this is the case, the conclusion is flawed.
My personal experience is that the old FT sensor(s) and the Sony mFT sensor are so different that they yield completely different results with one and the same lens, advantage being scored by the Sony sensor, of course.
This personal observation is easily corroborated by DXoMark results. Have a look, for example, at the Pentax APS-C system. One and the same lens gives not only completely different results with the Pentax 20D (old and weak sensor) and the Pentax K-5 (new and powerful sensor). There is, surprisingly, even a difference between Pentax K-5 and Pentax K-30, both of which have the same generation of sensor, and the advantage, again surprisingly, is with the Pentax K-30. Therefore, I do not believe the above statement is true, and I will not believe it, until I see results from tests made with FT and mFT lenses on THE SAME sensor and body (e.g. the Sony sensor on E-M5).
MTF charts for a lens do not account for the sensor or film at all. They are just theoretical calculations for the lens alone.
So you go to the mountain and shoot a picture of a bird with the lens alone ….
Huh? Is it that hard to imagine how a lens can be tested in a lab without mounting it on a camera?
Stop reading that crap, it really means nothing. dxo is not scientific, it is a joke. if you get out and shoot brick walls, it will be much more scientific already – and still useless.
Optics is complex!
This clown opens with the typical “pro” buzzword. A classic.
Then some “sharpness”, so important to all the very best
fauxtographers.
Then, our beardie goes on to talk equivalences, and stresses the low weight
(“half as much as comparable zooms”).
What are comparable zooms Mr Funny Beard? Two pounds is not light for an 80-300
F5.6, or for a tiny-sensor-covering 40-150 F 2.8. It is average.
This dodgy guy is out to con you. He wants your money and tells you misleading
stories to get it.
This could be a case for consumer associations.
I can’t get past how bad these marketing videos are. They basically made somebody read out the tech specs for 5 minutes. How does that make anybody want to buy anything? How about some inspiration, maybe show us what the product can do in actual use, damn it! Maybe show those “comparable” zooms too, what ever that is supposed to mean. To my knowledge the closest thing is the Zuiko 50-200 f/2.8-f/3.5, and for sure, this new lens weighs less, but not “half as much”.
True. I cannot imagine buying this stuff after those lies, but the lack of inspiration is actually even worse. That funny guy was made to read the specs. LOL.
That talking gorilla could show us how the kit fares against the light. Now, that would be interesting. Instead, we get “pro”, “sharpness” and other bs LOL. Even computer-simulated charts…
My money is not going to the funny guy…
This is an Olympus guy and it is his job to flaunt the thing around – but I agree that the talk is about money, not about the possible technical achievement (the thing is not yet proved to be one).
This thing better than the similar FT lenses? I doubt it.
But the guy knows what he is doing – who cares what results will come out later from DXoMark, DPReview, photozone, lenstip etc.? Oly fanboy vanity will have already covered the primary expenses ….
One thing is sure; this beardie, clown, mr funny beard, dodgy guy, talking gorilla won’t do the next promo, i guess !
Your criticism of this video is even worse than the video. You harp on the guy for mentioning “sharpness” which is a perfectly valid property of lenses that can be objectively compared, and yet you put down the guy repeatedly, calling him “clown”, “beardie”, “dodgy guy”, and “Mr. Funny Beard”. I guarantee you the lens wouldn’t be any better (or worse) if they had brought out the senior lens designer to give the overview. If you want to be taken seriously then write a serious criticism.
And by the way, the closest comparison to true focal length is the 50-150 f/2.8 from Sigma, which weighs over 1.5x that of this new lens. The exposure value variables (shutter speed, ISO values) will be the same on both of the lenses at 150mm and f/2.8. Yes, the Sigma has about a stop shallower depth of field. I’m much more concerned with having a fast shutter speed (since this is a sports and wildlife lens for me) and low ISO value than a slightly shallower dof.
He is a troller pur sang, spewing his nonesense for a long time under different names on this website. His patterns are quite obvious. The more aggression the more fear this troller has for the subject.
If fast shutter and low ISO are your concern, you are on the wrong system… By the way, that guy is a proper clown.
Huh? How am I on the wrong system if those are my concerns? To get the equiv field of view, shutter speed, and ISO of this Oly at 150mm and f/2.8 on a full-frame system I’d need a 300mm f/2.8 lens that weighs over 6 lbs.
ISO 200 on M43 is no better than ISO 800 on 135. A 300 mm 5.6 (if it existed) would suit you just fine. But if you want to shoot at a certain ISO because the doctor ordered it, suit yourself.
And then, of course, you have the well-know magnification advantage.
Wait, I just actually watched the video. This seems like a superb lens.
Once again I appear to have earned my nic.
If this lens is superb, you are a good photog and an intelligent person… Allow me to doubt that.
No, no it’s not. It’s not on the “Matching” website. No Olympus 40-150 2.8 there. But, thanks for posting the wrong info.
Yes, yes it is, unless the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 40-150mm F2.8 PRO is a different lens. But thanks for being an obnoxious asshole for no reason.
Please shave the sideburns.
The only way I can rationalize some of the comments is that the authors must be auditioning for standup comedy. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t last long at the mike.
I happened to like the idea of a longer reach than the equivalent 70-200mm lens. With an equivalent of 420mm with the extender, I can probably leave the 100 to 300mm (200mm to 600mm equivalent) at home most of the time.
.A reasonable comparison would be the full frame Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L, which I owned before I sold all my Canon stuff and went to four-thirds and then micro four thirds. The new Olympus lens is about half the weight of the Canon.
I may have to keep the smaller and 1/2 the weight Pany 35-100mm (70-200mm equivalent) lens because some places don’t like to admit folks with a PRO lens of any kind. I love that lens. It is incredibly sharp. Oh well. Nice to be alive and able to have such choices.
So you used to shoot Canon and owned a 70-200 2.8, and you wonder why the new lens is half the weight? I can tell you why: because it is a completely different thing, vastly less capable. An 80-300 F5.6 would be the equivalent on 135, or a 70-200 F4 on APS. As if by magic, image, weight et al falls back in place.
We must stop believing these marketing trolls when they tell us that something is as good as something else, breaking basic physics principles. Otherwise, let’s all buy a compact with a fast zoom: it is the same…
It is not vastly less capable. I believe that my E-M1 photos are the equivalent to the Canon Mark 2 photos I shot before, without the dust on the sensor problems. Others have borne this out many times.
The reason the lenses are smaller and lighter has to do with physics. The four-thirds lenses were smaller due to the smaller sensor. The micro four-thirds lenses are smaller still because of the closer distance to the sensor. For light sensitivity, f2.8 is still f2.8. The f5.6 mentioned above only relates to depth of field. For my work, having longer depth of field is a benefit 90% of the time.
The only miracle here is that Olympus/Panasonic placed a bet years ago that the sensor technology would improve to such an extent that a four-thirds sensor would be as effective as a full-frame sensor for all but the largest prints. Thank goodness they placed that bet and won. To be able to put the equivalent of lenses from 14mm to 600mm in a small bag is a wonderful thing.
It’s not magic, it’s physics.
If you mean that a EM1 is as good as a 5D2, here is an idea: try a good compact. You will see it is surprisingly close to E-M1, or even “the same minus the dust”.
Many people just don’t need so much camera and/or cannot carry it, and this is OK.
Feel free to call it physics, but it ain’t.
A good compact doesn’t have interchangeable lenses. I have one, BTW. It fits in my pocket. It takes wonderful photos, particular when compared with the camera in the trunk of my car. It cannot take ultra wide or telephoto shots. So, I can’t use it all the time.
Why don’t you take a look at Luminous Landscape, where the photographers there agree that the micro four thirds works as well as full frame up except when enlarged a great deal. It’s physics.
LL has some good pics, has some contrasting opinions and certainly do not support “M43 = 135”. A while back, they had an article where some guy advocated a Canon G over a Leica M.
But really, leave physics alone. She will be angry.
Which is why Michael Reichman just ordered a 40-150 lens. He must hate M43 a lot. He also has a Sony full frame mirror less. Point is that they are not mutually exclusive.
Wait a minute, this borders on disinformation. You can see the difference in small formats too, *with certain types of photography*. In some cases, a larger format will get you the shot where a small one won’t – but never the opposite.
Sure, go to the park / on holiday / around, shoot your family, 43 is enough; in fact, more than enough. A compact will do. But there are many more things you can do with a larger sensor, for less money. This the crux: for less money.
Some “trolls” (what does that mean in English by the way?) are better prepared and aware of the products and prices; surely more than some “reviewers” or the funny guy running the presentation above.
To me, the real “trolls” are the coy salespersons who try to sell cr_ap for gold. Many infest forums, pretending to be ordinary consumers.
I don’t know this Reichman and he is probably a very decent person, but this does not change simple physics facts.
Obviously you don’t have a clue about the REAL use of these cameras.
How about stop hiding behind your cowardice and anonymity and stand behind your stupid trolling?
Teach us sweet boy…
It is beyond belief how many people post negative comments while they knew it was a manufacturers video. Of course they present it as the “best”.
That so many people fall for the trap is incredible.
Looks like many peeps left their brains in bed… c’mon.
And for the obvious trollers among us: your efforts are in vein..the more you fight the more you give us the impression that the product is of remarkable quality. If its not you would not react. All basic psychology.
Go ahead and buy as much cr_ap as you wish, nobody is standing in your way, except bankruptcy.
Mister Beard knows his lenses… Not.
people are being harsh on this lens and the guy presenting, lame. let’s wait for a bunch of good tests and examples before talking trash.
Wow, lots of harshness. How does what the guy looks like have anything to do with the lens. I think this is going to be a great lens and I’m sure Oly has some very sophisticated ways of testing their products. I’m not willing to say it’s the best lens ever, but it sure looks promising even if I will not be getting one. I look forward to the reviews. Obviously you take any marketing with a large dose of salt, but I’m willing to wait and see before I trash them.
Quite a few years ago, in an interview in I think Amateur Photographer magazine that guy said that in a few year’s time all future Olympus interchangeable lens cameras would have EVFs, and there would be no more OVFs. There was such a vicious backlash against the poor guy on places like the 4/3’s forum on Dpreview, that top Japanese Olympus executives were forced to disown his comments. Self-evidently was he said was true.
im super keen on this lens, looks like a gem
Admin, get rid of the trolls. Ban them by IP. We have been asking and pleading for TOO LONG!!!!
Or lose the people clicking on your links and ads and making you money. I am sick of it, and will be visiting less and less if it continues. I promise you this.
Poor boy. Why don’t you take the chance and learn something? Hearing different sides of the story beats hearing the salesman alone. Or are you a salesman yourself?
And what are you pushing? It certainly isn’t the truth
Rich got tired of playing the role of the guy who gets whacked in mafia dramas and thus got a job at Olympus 🙂