Olympus M. Zuiko Digital 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 II Lens

Value For Money:Excellent value for money - this seller priced it at only slightly over $600 compared to over $800 by the OMDS distributor in Singapore!Performance:An excellent travel telephoto zoom lens - light, compact and excellent pictures in bright situations.The seller was very prompt - delivery to my door was much earlier than the estimated delivery date. Item was very well packed with protective padding and in the original Olympus lens box. More than satisfied with the seller's service!

A Pleasant Surprise!

My out-of-box experience with the 75-30mm mZuiko began with a size surprise. I expected a bigger gizmo. Truth is, the lens shares the same 58mm thread as the fantastic-bargain 40-150mm f4.0–5.6 lens, and though the barrel is bigger and roughly an inch longer, the feel and operation is otherwise identical. In both cases you have a comparatively small, lightweight options with apertures that work well in daylight. Theres nothing pretentious here. Top shelf can only be had at f4.0 with OIS at 5x cost, weather-sealing and all.The boots-on photo-shoot was all about a test drive up in the mountains. I have never had super-telephoto magnification before, same as 600mm, so once I got going I had to adjust my habits and start at 75mm end in the viewfinder, and extend the ... MoreMy out-of-box experience with the 75-30mm mZuiko began with a size surprise. I expected a bigger gizmo. Truth is, the lens shares the same 58mm thread as the fantastic-bargain 40-150mm f4.0–5.6 lens, and though the barrel is bigger and roughly an inch longer, the feel and operation is otherwise identical. In both cases you have a comparatively small, lightweight options with apertures that work well in daylight. Theres nothing pretentious here. Top shelf can only be had at f4.0 with OIS at 5x cost, weather-sealing and all.The boots-on photo-shoot was all about a test drive up in the mountains. I have never had super-telephoto magnification before, same as 600mm, so once I got going I had to adjust my habits and start at 75mm end in the viewfinder, and extend the zoom. Otherwise, I tended to wave the front around with difficulty locating the subject. I had no trouble with the aperture range and because I was outdoors in normal light I only had to set 400 ISO in order to get the shutter speed up high enough to give the IBIS a break and sharply freeze the image. More ISO will be needed on gray days.The take away: I dont know where else you have this kind of super-telephoto fun on any ILC bigger than an OM-D. The low cost and convenience stand out. (If you can afford it, more power to you.) Excellent optical quality delivers plenty.

Best entry to wildlife photography

This lens has been paired with my E-M5 MK3 and the OM1.Small size, light weight, reasonable price = 5 starsImage quality = 5 starsBuild quality = 4 stars (zoom is not smooth)I have been shooting with this lens extensively for bird photography. Here are my observations.Many say this lens is slightly softer at the 300mm end. This maybe caused by shooting technique, distance from the subject and/or atmosphere qualities.If any 300mm lens (600mm equivalent reach) is used on a warm to hot day - where there are air temperature variations between the lens and the subject especially over a distance, the image will look softer due to atmospheric distortions. This will be pronounced if the image contains highlights. My copy gives me tack sharp shots wide open at ... MoreThis lens has been paired with my E-M5 MK3 and the OM1.Small size, light weight, reasonable price = 5 starsImage quality = 5 starsBuild quality = 4 stars (zoom is not smooth)I have been shooting with this lens extensively for bird photography. Here are my observations.Many say this lens is slightly softer at the 300mm end. This maybe caused by shooting technique, distance from the subject and/or atmosphere qualities.If any 300mm lens (600mm equivalent reach) is used on a warm to hot day - where there are air temperature variations between the lens and the subject especially over a distance, the image will look softer due to atmospheric distortions. This will be pronounced if the image contains highlights. My copy gives me tack sharp shots wide open at 300mm if the air is cool and undisturbed and I'm using good extreme telephoto lens technique. To prove this - the closer the subject is to the lens wide open at 300mm on a warm day, the sharper the image becomes.I got this lens to use it wide open f6.7 at 300mm with the ability to zoom. Some say they get better results at f7.1 or f8. It may be true but I haven't seen this and anyway, f6.7 seems to give me fantastic results.I was curious and tried the Nikkor AF-S 200-500mm f5.6 on my Nikon Z6. The images were slightly better not because of the lens but because the z6 has lower noise and better dynamic range.To prove this, I tried the 75-300mm lens on an OM1. The results were better than my E-M5 MK3 but mostly because the OM1 recognises birds and focuses on the eye, has better high ISO noise and dynamic range than the older E-M5 MK3.I highly recommend this lens. I also highly recommend BHPhoto. I have been buying from BHPhoto for many years and have never been disappointed. They are trustworthy and have fantastic customer service.

Exactly what I wanted

I broke all my favorite lenses on my SLR and I do the occasional paid wedding or portrait shoot semi-pro. I have a superzoom P&S that I like when I want zoom better than my smartphone and need a pocket camera, but the quality is only good enough for snapshots, not paid work. It's slow, produces too much blur and has bad sharpness at the zoom end.. So I bought an Olympus m43 camera with a few lenses for a trip to Europe and to be my paid work camera.What I found I was doing is pairing the Olympus with my smartphone and switching back and forth but I wanted a lot more reach. On the Olympus the wide end of the lens I got was close to the phone, 77mm vs 80mm equiv. I wanted much closer to the zoom the P&S has.Now with this lens I get through 77mm equivalent on my ... MoreI broke all my favorite lenses on my SLR and I do the occasional paid wedding or portrait shoot semi-pro. I have a superzoom P&S that I like when I want zoom better than my smartphone and need a pocket camera, but the quality is only good enough for snapshots, not paid work. It's slow, produces too much blur and has bad sharpness at the zoom end.. So I bought an Olympus m43 camera with a few lenses for a trip to Europe and to be my paid work camera.What I found I was doing is pairing the Olympus with my smartphone and switching back and forth but I wanted a lot more reach. On the Olympus the wide end of the lens I got was close to the phone, 77mm vs 80mm equiv. I wanted much closer to the zoom the P&S has.Now with this lens I get through 77mm equivalent on my phone and 150-600 on this lens so the pairing works great for my day to day shooting style and I already have a good lens for events.I tested it and the quality is better vs the P&S. It's fast. I can handhold at 600mm and get great photos. The built in IS and high ISO is a great combo with it. It’s sharper, better color and a lot less blur.I highly recommend it.So I said it was exactly what I wanted. I want more zoom and wider equal like 18-800mm equiv in one lens in the $500 range, but it doesn't exist. So it's exactly what I wanted, in my price range.

GX9 vs. GX85

Wanted a smaller, lighter camera for travel photos than my large, heavy full frame camera, so bought the GX85. Traded in my GX85 for the GX9 because ---20 megapixels - noticeably better cropping ability.Power saving mode - used to get slightly over 100 photos with GX85 before changing battery. Can go all day with the GX9 in power saving modeExposure compensation dial - manual, like the old days. Fast and easy to use and can immediately see settings and resultsSlightly increased dynamic range noticeable to meRotating viewfinder - useful when the sun washes out the touch screenLoved the gx85 In-Body Image Stabilizer (IBIS) - can use less expensive non-image stabilized zoom telephoto lenses from Olympus and benefit from IBIS. I purchased the 40-150 and the ... MoreWanted a smaller, lighter camera for travel photos than my large, heavy full frame camera, so bought the GX85. Traded in my GX85 for the GX9 because ---20 megapixels - noticeably better cropping ability.Power saving mode - used to get slightly over 100 photos with GX85 before changing battery. Can go all day with the GX9 in power saving modeExposure compensation dial - manual, like the old days. Fast and easy to use and can immediately see settings and resultsSlightly increased dynamic range noticeable to meRotating viewfinder - useful when the sun washes out the touch screenLoved the gx85 In-Body Image Stabilizer (IBIS) - can use less expensive non-image stabilized zoom telephoto lenses from Olympus and benefit from IBIS. I purchased the 40-150 and the 75-300 Olympus lenses and IBIS works great. GX9 also has this feature.BUT - both cameras are so small that I kept pushing buttons when I didn't mean to. Got an after-market grip and all was better. Modified the grip to fit the GX9 and it's so much easier to hold and use. The GX9 has after-market grips you can also buy.And all of this, including the 12-60mm lens plus an extra zoom-telephoto lens, fit in a small shoulder bag. What more could you ask?

Good value in a long zoom lens for Micro 4/3 cameras.

This is a fairly sharp lens once you get it focused. As others have noticed there is a tendency to hunt for the right focus point, once it finds it, it is very sharp, provided you keep your shutter speed up. It is important to keep your shutter speed up, from my experience at least 1/200 of a second or higher. This lens works best in full daylight, not as forgiving in early mornings, evenings, or, dark overcast days. I definitely recommend you use a mono-pod or tripod with this lens. No lens stabilization or vibration reduction. My take on this lens: 1. Don't bother stopping down, shoot wide-open, your pics will benefit more from the higher shutter speed than any increase in depth of field. 2. This lens is very sharp wide open. There is a caveat though, it is a ... MoreThis is a fairly sharp lens once you get it focused. As others have noticed there is a tendency to hunt for the right focus point, once it finds it, it is very sharp, provided you keep your shutter speed up. It is important to keep your shutter speed up, from my experience at least 1/200 of a second or higher. This lens works best in full daylight, not as forgiving in early mornings, evenings, or, dark overcast days. I definitely recommend you use a mono-pod or tripod with this lens. No lens stabilization or vibration reduction. My take on this lens: 1. Don't bother stopping down, shoot wide-open, your pics will benefit more from the higher shutter speed than any increase in depth of field. 2. This lens is very sharp wide open. There is a caveat though, it is a shallow depth of field when fully extended to 300mm. 3. Spend the money, buy the lens hood. 4. It's easy to get spoiled with the ability to get close to your subject, I don't spend much time on intermediate focal lengths, I am almost always zoomed in to 300mm. 5. This is a plastic lens, surprisingly light for its focal length and zoom range. No way to gauge how durable this lens will be. 6. f:6.7 maximum aperture at 300mm means you don't always get that subject separation you often get with longer focal length lenses. Don't expect great separation in crowded settings, scenes like birds perched in a tree behind some leaves. Don't expect to be able to shoot through intervening objects like twigs and leaves without manually focusing. 7. Manual focus is fairly easy,, you will definitely appreciate the steadiness of a tripod or monopod when trying manual focus. Manual focus with this lens has no infinity stop and no distance markings. I think Olympus over-engineered the design of this lens, should have limited the zoom range to boost the aperture and make the lens faster.

Great Little Lens

Small, handy lens with huge power. In M4/3, it's the equivalent of a 140-600mm zoom! Lens is sharp %26 has good contrast, takes great pictures. I've read others say it's not sharp at the 300mm end, but didn't find this to be completely true. At f/8, great images are achievable at the top range of this lens. The only downside is it doesn't have In-Lens Image Stabilization, so has to rely on In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS), which Olympus cameras have, and works well with this lens. Sorry, early Panasonic owners if you don't have IBIS, it's not for you unless you have a very steady hand or use a tripod.

Great Travel Companion, Great Lens

First got the panasonic 100-300 for the extra stop and weather proofing (first non-Oly lens I've tried). However, it crashed my Oly M-1 mkii autofocus system requiring complete reset and losing all settings. This occurred twice and the third go seemed to work ok, but just couldn't risk with trip to Galapagos in a few days. Returned and got this Oly. This is a great lens. Yes, it's slow - f4.8-6.7. But if you're a newbie, learn about Aperture-shutter speed - ISO and you'll overcome any limitations - especially in good daylight. Just not a big problem for everyday and travel shooting. For wildlife use shutter priority and push the iso a bit. Anyway, tested in my backyard and WOW. Incredibly sharp, lightweight, and incredible definition. Wish it were weatherproof, but ... MoreFirst got the panasonic 100-300 for the extra stop and weather proofing (first non-Oly lens I've tried). However, it crashed my Oly M-1 mkii autofocus system requiring complete reset and losing all settings. This occurred twice and the third go seemed to work ok, but just couldn't risk with trip to Galapagos in a few days. Returned and got this Oly. This is a great lens. Yes, it's slow - f4.8-6.7. But if you're a newbie, learn about Aperture-shutter speed - ISO and you'll overcome any limitations - especially in good daylight. Just not a big problem for everyday and travel shooting. For wildlife use shutter priority and push the iso a bit. Anyway, tested in my backyard and WOW. Incredibly sharp, lightweight, and incredible definition. Wish it were weatherproof, but with my weatherproof 14-150 this is the only other lens I need for my trip - will leave my heavy Oly pro lenses at home, no problem. Oh yeah, also have the Oly Tough TG-5 for snorkeling and diving..... A former Canon guy with 66 year old shoulders, I just have fallen in love with Olympus. The shot I uploaded is ISO 1500, at 300mm and cropped some.

Huge zoom range in a very lightweight package

Excellent lens for the MFT system. I use it with my small Olympus PEN epl9 so it does look quite big on that camera. However, it is still incredibly light weight considering its' focal length. I haven't had much change to use it due to a foot injury, but I did manage to get a nice shot of the last supermoon with it. The shot was handheld so probably could have been lot sharper with a tripod. Just want to try it out with birds / wildlife now, once I can walk properly! The lens does extend out when you zoom, with a very slight rotation of the front glass. But, even fully zoomed it is still very manageable due to the light weight. It is a plastic lens but still feels solid and I have no issues with the construction quality. If it was made of metal it would be a lot ... MoreExcellent lens for the MFT system. I use it with my small Olympus PEN epl9 so it does look quite big on that camera. However, it is still incredibly light weight considering its' focal length. I haven't had much change to use it due to a foot injury, but I did manage to get a nice shot of the last supermoon with it. The shot was handheld so probably could have been lot sharper with a tripod. Just want to try it out with birds / wildlife now, once I can walk properly! The lens does extend out when you zoom, with a very slight rotation of the front glass. But, even fully zoomed it is still very manageable due to the light weight. It is a plastic lens but still feels solid and I have no issues with the construction quality. If it was made of metal it would be a lot heavier and difficult to manage on the small MFT body. It doesn't come with a lens hood but got the JJC compatible one (Olympus one was stupid money!) and this fits well (although makes it look even bigger). Bought via SRS Microsystems - excellent next day delivery which I wasn't expecting.

Terrific Travel Lens - Learn to Use It!!

I took this lens to the Galapagos and fell in love with it. But, you must understand photography and learn to use it. The major complaints you'll see have to do with it being "slow". What that means is not that it focuses slow, but rather its aperture range is 4.8-6.7 which limits maximum light entry. So to effectively use it you need to understand the relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO (which I'm not going to explain). But first, its best quality: focal length range (75-300) and sharpness. Used correctly it will give you razor sharp images. It's only negative from my perspective is that the zoom function is not the smoothest - so when shooting video, if you're zooming during filming, you may get some jerkiness.When I was shooting landscapes and ... MoreI took this lens to the Galapagos and fell in love with it. But, you must understand photography and learn to use it. The major complaints you'll see have to do with it being "slow". What that means is not that it focuses slow, but rather its aperture range is 4.8-6.7 which limits maximum light entry. So to effectively use it you need to understand the relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO (which I'm not going to explain). But first, its best quality: focal length range (75-300) and sharpness. Used correctly it will give you razor sharp images. It's only negative from my perspective is that the zoom function is not the smoothest - so when shooting video, if you're zooming during filming, you may get some jerkiness.When I was shooting landscapes and wildlife in the galapagos, I had to be cognizant of the shutter speed I wanted - especially wildlife - and adjust iso respectively. Note that one way - which I tended to use, was shoot in shutter priority and let the camera bump the iso as needed. Occasionally I'd set the iso myself - especially if I wanted to go beyond 6400 which for some reason is the max the OMD EM1 mkii allows it to go to. Note, that yes - you may do a bit of artful noise reduction in post processing, but the results can be absolutely outstanding. I've attached 2 images that represent each extreme. The owl, was so far away, it was barely a spec in the distance. The image was taken at 300mm and then cropped at about 1/10 of the original. Iso was 2500. I did use lightroom for some minimal adjustments from the raw image and then Noiseless pro to reduce noise. The other image is at iso 200 and 75mm. Incredibly sharp. I have other images at all sorts of settings in between and beyond that would blow you away, but alas, B&H only allows me to upload 2 images. One other tip: I also had with me the Olympus Tough TG-5. My intention was to use this only for snorkeling, but it turned out to be my "wide to 75mm equivalent" camera and my EM-1 with this lens my 75-300. NO lens changing. What a difference in enjoyment of my trip!! (PS: The TG-5 takes great images, including RAW, both under the water and on land).