50-200 swd or not for mFT

Hi Jim,

I'm not touching the hypothetical new camera with a ten-foot pole, but can respond from the standpoint of a pdaf E-series body. The SWD edition focuses and locks faster than the older edition. This is easily demonstrated trying them side by side. The SWD has the added benefit of mechanical manual focus, just like a classic manual lens. I much prefer that to drive-by-wire MF.

Optically, they're nearly identical and it would be hard to pick one over the other in that regard. However, the SWD version has curved aperture blades and is considered to offer better (smoother) bokeh than the earlier edition, which can give "gritty" bokeh in certain settings. This is an aesthetic rather than a bench-test difference. Oh yes, the SWD lens hood is a gigantic dog dish of a thing that can't be stowed in a normal size camera bag. The other's is big, but quite slender.

I do use the earlier 50-200 on my E-M5 with pretty reliable results. It's bang-on with my E-series bodies, but certainly slower than the SWD and there are times I'd kill for a focus limiter, like the 150's.

Let's say I didn't own anything, today. Given a new camera with fast pdaf and top-drawer CAF, between the two lenses I'd pick the SWD in a heartbeat.

Cheers,

Rick