Olympus 40-150 R

I'm very taken with the small MFT lenses that can be bought used cheaply, for those times when size or the risk of loss outweigh absolute IQ.

Out on a photo trip today, I dropped into my local camera shop to see if my OM1 spare battery had arrived yet - sadly not. However they had a Plastic Fantastic used, so I tried it and bought it.

So far my tiny MFT lenses have been Panasonic, Samyang and Laowa, so this is the first Olympus. The 12-32 is my benchmark for punching above its weight and cost. The 35-100 kit is a bit disappointing by comparison, due to low contrast. It's still amazing for its size and cost, and the OIS is very useful on a GM1.

For whatever reason, I seem to go for either shooting envelope or size. It's great knowing the 12-45/4, 12-100/4 and 40-150/4 exist, but the 12-40/2.8 and 40-150/2.8 suit me better. The exception is the PL25/1.4, which is small, cheap and very good.

So how does the PLastic Fantastic compare, as between the Panasonic kit and the 40-150 Pro? Well, it was very cheap at £90 used with 12 months warranty. It's also very light.

Still just about pocketable and very light

All images were shot with the OM1 at the same aperture and ISO 200. RAWs were processed to taste in C1, with the adjustments for the 40-150 R being applied to the files from the other lenses.

The first three are at 100mm and f5.6.

P kit @ 100mm

R @ 100mm

Pro @ 100mm

The second comparison is between the R and Pro lenses at 150mm.

R @ 150mm

Pro @ 150mm

I'll leave everyone to make up their own minds.

Andrew