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40-150 f2.8

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Kiwisnap

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Took delivery of this lens today.

Pretty impressive lens based on just playing with it for a while.

Lens hood design is good.

Lens tripod foot design is bad. Heavy and seriously unforgivable not making it Arca compatible out of the box.

AF is excellent, build appears excellent and zoom ring very nice.

Balances very well on the EM1X. I tried it on a gripless EM1 Mk2 and it is not as comfortable or secure.
 
Excellent purchase I believe. I had that lands in rental for a week with it's its companion 12-40. I found them to be perfect on all accounts except a couple: the tripod collar and as you noted, on one hand and the very nervous and buzzy out of focus backgrounds whenever there are hard edges. Unfortunately that includes foliage, branches and flower stems. This for me can easily ruin a shut.
 
FourthHorse said:
on one hand and the very nervous and buzzy out of focus backgrounds whenever there are hard edges. Unfortunately that includes foliage, branches and flower stems. This for me can easily ruin a shut.
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It's not just the lens but it's 2x crop too. Lot of tele lenses can produce bussy backgrounds though these are masked by a thinner DOF of larger sensors.

If your background is not close to your subject 40-150 2.8 usually produces amazing stuff.

I have just sold it but the reason for selling it is that it's not long enough for me.

Cheers
 
juncction said:
Kiwisnap said:
Lens tripod foot design is bad. Heavy and seriously unforgivable not making it Arca compatible out of the box.
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Thankfully you can replace it with an OEM decorative ring.
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I sprang for one after keeping a silicone band on it for a year. No more annoying lugs. Have never used the tripod foot to be honest, always handhold it. The 300 sees time on a tripod and I agree the direct-mount foot is brilliant and presumably will also be on the super-tele zoom.

Cheers,

Rick
 
Kiwisnap said:
juncction said:
Kiwisnap said:
Lens tripod foot design is bad. Heavy and seriously unforgivable not making it Arca compatible out of the box.
Click to expand...
Thankfully you can replace it with an OEM decorative ring.
Click to expand...
Why the **** don't they put that in the box?!
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That and the A-S-engraved foot first appeared in the box with the 300. It was unfortunately never included with the 40-150, at least in the States (accessories sometimes vary with region).

Rick
 
Skeeterbytes said:
Kiwisnap said:
juncction said:
Kiwisnap said:
Lens tripod foot design is bad. Heavy and seriously unforgivable not making it Arca compatible out of the box.
Click to expand...
Thankfully you can replace it with an OEM decorative ring.
Click to expand...
Why the **** don't they put that in the box?!
Click to expand...
That and the A-S-engraved foot first appeared in the box with the 300. It was unfortunately never included with the 40-150, at least in the States (accessories sometimes vary with region).

Rick
Click to expand...
Is there an aftermarket AS foot or do we just have to kludge it with a plate on?
 
Kiwisnap said:
Took delivery of this lens today.
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congrats! It’s a great lens, and my next favorite tele option after the 300 F4z
Kiwisnap said:
Pretty impressive lens based on just playing with it for a while.

Lens hood design is good.
Click to expand...
just be careful with that hood. The design is super useful but it can be prone to breaking. Mine is glued together now, but I may replace it eventually.
Kiwisnap said:
Lens tripod foot design is bad. Heavy and seriously unforgivable not making it Arca compatible out of the box.
Click to expand...
I never considered it unforgivable, but it sure is nice. When oly made the 300mm Pro they did make the foot compatible, and it is great. As far as I know there aren’t many lenses from other manufacturers who did that.

the ring Olympus makes to cover the lugs was also something they did offer on the 300 but apparently did not think about on the 40-150 the first time around.
Kiwisnap said:
AF is excellent, build appears excellent and zoom ring very nice.

Balances very well on the EM1X. I tried it on a gripless EM1 Mk2 and it is not as comfortable or secure.
Click to expand...
 
Works well on the Panasonic GM5 ... :)

Be careful with the hood - I have had no issues (but) a slight low pressure left twist on the hood springs will release the catch before extending/retracting it. It can be push-pulled over the detent if required but I wonder if this is wise. Also it will deform against the springs if set down hood extended. Carrying it in a bag with hood extended might not be advisable.

Brilliant hood design but there have been tales of woe about the hoods falling apart and perhaps some sensible precautions when being used are worth taking.
 
Wallybipster said:
Kiwisnap said:
Took delivery of this lens today.
Click to expand...
congrats! It’s a great lens, and my next favorite tele option after the 300 F4z
Wallybipster said:
Pretty impressive lens based on just playing with it for a while.

Lens hood design is good.
Click to expand...
just be careful with that hood. The design is super useful but it can be prone to breaking. Mine is glued together now, but I may replace it eventually.
Wallybipster said:
Lens tripod foot design is bad. Heavy and seriously unforgivable not making it Arca compatible out of the box.
Click to expand...
I never considered it unforgivable, but it sure is nice. When oly made the 300mm Pro they did make the foot compatible, and it is great. As far as I know there aren’t many lenses from other manufacturers who did that.

the ring Olympus makes to cover the lugs was also something they did offer on the 300 but apparently did not think about on the 40-150 the first time around.
Click to expand...
The Olympus “Decorative Ring” to cover the lugs on the 40-150 is available from Adorama for about $23....very nice feeling with it on.
Wallybipster said:
Wallybipster said:
AF is excellent, build appears excellent and zoom ring very nice.

Balances very well on the EM1X. I tried it on a gripless EM1 Mk2 and it is not as comfortable or secure.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Tom Caldwell said:
Works well on the Panasonic GM5 ... :)

Be careful with the hood - I have had no issues (but) a slight low pressure left twist on the hood springs will release the catch before extending/retracting it. It can be push-pulled over the detent if required but I wonder if this is wise. Also it will deform against the springs if set down hood extended. Carrying it in a bag with hood extended might not be advisable.

Brilliant hood design but there have been tales of woe about the hoods falling apart and perhaps some sensible precautions when being used are worth taking.
Click to expand...
There is a simple after market Canon ET 78ii replacement hood from JJC that works on the 40-150 2.8 (about $14 on Amazon)
 
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I love mine, but my hood blew up once. It was hood down in my camera bag and when I took it out the hood got caught and sort of "exploded". Small ball bearings and copper springs all over. I'm pretty easy on my gear, so I was surprised. Bought a replacement on Amazon.
 
gary0319 said:
The Olympus “Decorative Ring” to cover the lugs on the 40-150 is available from Adorama for about $23....very nice feeling with it on.
Click to expand...
I mentioned the ring to my dealer contact this morning; he has never even heard of it, much less had one in stock!

I am heading to NOLA in a couple of months so may order one to pick up from my brother then.

The Nikon 70-200 equivalent lens has the foot part removable but the ring part remains part of the lens.

This made it easy for RRS to produce a foot with the AS grooves etc which just attaches in the same way as the original.
 
Tom Caldwell said:
Works well on the Panasonic GM5 ... :)

Be careful with the hood - I have had no issues (but) a slight low pressure left twist on the hood springs will release the catch before extending/retracting it. It can be push-pulled over the detent if required but I wonder if this is wise. Also it will deform against the springs if set down hood extended. Carrying it in a bag with hood extended might not be advisable.

Brilliant hood design but there have been tales of woe about the hoods falling apart and perhaps some sensible precautions when being used are worth taking.
Click to expand...
In some thread eons ago I mentioned that my replacement hood's rear retaining ring was made of plastic, where as the original hood's ring was some kind of metal with grooving that was fairly abrasive to the touch. My point being that the design may have been changed. Anyways...

While hiking yesterday I had a minor stumble, falling onto one knee. I was carrying the E-M1 II and 40-150 f/2.8 with the hood extended. In saving myself I spudded the hood into the soil. The main section of the hood wound up bent 10-20 degrees out of alignment from the hood-mount. The hood-mount's rear retaining ring stayed in place, there was no explosion of springs and ball bearings. Expecting the worse, I forced the hood barrel back into alignment. It then functioned normally and seemed no worse for the experience, I continued my hike.

Perhaps the newer hoods may be at a bit more robust.
 
Kiwisnap said:
Kiwisnap said:
The Olympus “Decorative Ring” to cover the lugs on the 40-150 is available from Adorama for about $23....very nice feeling with it on.
Click to expand...
I mentioned the ring to my dealer contact this morning; he has never even heard of it, much less had one in stock!
Click to expand...
I bought mine from B&H. The tripod mount hasn't been on my lens since the day I took it out of the box a few years ago and I was more than happy to get the ring and cover those lugs up.
 
Gregm61 said:
Kiwisnap said:
Gregm61 said:
The Olympus “Decorative Ring” to cover the lugs on the 40-150 is available from Adorama for about $23....very nice feeling with it on.
Click to expand...
I mentioned the ring to my dealer contact this morning; he has never even heard of it, much less had one in stock!
Click to expand...
I bought mine from B&H. The tripod mount hasn't been on my lens since the day I took it out of the box a few years ago and I was more than happy to get the ring and cover those lugs up.
Click to expand...
I found a new one for a good price on ebay a couple of years back. It came from Japan, but the box seemed to indicate it was originally packaged for Eastern Europe. Not being much of a fan of tripods, it's also on the lens most of the time.
 
Although it is no macro lens, it does focus pretty close!



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