A look at the Olympus M.ZD 15-150mm

[tgutgu]

Don't want. Defeat the purpose of m43.

Uuh? Are you kidding?

m4/3 is about small camera systems with interchangeable lenses. The design goal was to achieve smaller camera systems than current DSLRs and the 14-150 (as well as the 14-140 from Panasonic) is small compared to its DSLR alternatives!

If you need something pocketable, sell your m4/3 equipment and buy one of the gazillions P&S cameras!

--
Tools:
Olympus E-P1, 14-42mm, 17mm, VF-1
E-520, 14-42mm, 70-300mm

--
Thomas

 

[Skeeterbytes]

I think it also makes perfect sense from the standpoint of bringing "superzoom" digicam owners into the µ4/3 fold. No, it's not a 25x zoom but it's over 10x in a surprisingly small package.

Superzooms still sell quite well and moving over to µ4/3 makes a lot of sense for those frustrated with their small-chip results.

Smart, Oly.

Cheers,

Rick

 

[siminona]

Where did you find that info? According to DPR's review of the m.zd 9-18:

"The lenses employ a single element for internal focusing, promising faster speeds and silent operation for movie recording. The good news is that the 9-18mm substantially delivers - focus is practically silent, and a lot faster..."

They also said "It's still not quite as quick as the Panasonic 7-14mm F4 in direct side-by-side comparisons, but the difference simply won't matter in normal use." So I take it that the difference in speed between the two is negligible.

By the way, in the Japanese forum showing the 14-150, one of the guys said that the AF speed on the 14-150 is fast and very quiet.

According to DPRs latest test the Lumix 7-14 internal focusing lens has much faster AF compared to 9-18 Oly m4/3 lens

 

[Mingjai]

"The lenses employ a single element for internal focusing, promising faster speeds and silent operation for movie recording. The good news is that the 9-18mm substantially delivers - focus is practically silent, and a lot faster..."

They also said "It's still not quite as quick as the Panasonic 7-14mm F4 in direct side-by-side comparisons, but the difference simply won't matter in normal use." So I take it that the difference in speed between the two is negligible.

According to DPRs latest test the Lumix 7-14 internal focusing lens has much faster AF compared to 9-18 Oly m4/3 lens

On the other hand: "Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds zooms generally exhibit hugely impressive autofocus performance (placing the Lumix G system right at the head of its class in this regard), and the 7-14mm doesn't disappoint. Focus is near-silent and exceptionally fast - indeed noticeably faster even than the M ZD 9-18mm F4-5.6, which is Olympus's fastest focusing lens to date."

http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/panasonic_7-14_4_o20/page3.asp

Doesn't sound like the focus speed difference is negligible, but users may be willing to overlook the difference.

 

[siminona]

Thanks! I guess the difference is noticeable. Then again I'm willing to overlook it for the price. I could never afford the 7-14.

"The lenses employ a single element for internal focusing, promising faster speeds and silent operation for movie recording. The good news is that the 9-18mm substantially delivers - focus is practically silent, and a lot faster..."

They also said "It's still not quite as quick as the Panasonic 7-14mm F4 in direct side-by-side comparisons, but the difference simply won't matter in normal use." So I take it that the difference in speed between the two is negligible.

According to DPRs latest test the Lumix 7-14 internal focusing lens has much faster AF compared to 9-18 Oly m4/3 lens

On the other hand: "Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds zooms generally exhibit hugely impressive autofocus performance (placing the Lumix G system right at the head of its class in this regard), and the 7-14mm doesn't disappoint. Focus is near-silent and exceptionally fast - indeed noticeably faster even than the M ZD 9-18mm F4-5.6, which is Olympus's fastest focusing lens to date."

http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/panasonic_7-14_4_o20/page3.asp

Doesn't sound like the focus speed difference is negligible, but users may be willing to overlook the difference.