Worth every penny

If you're really serious about capturing sports and wildlife, and you're a Micro Four Thirds shooter, you absolutely need this lens. And, if you need a little more reach than 300mm (full-frame equivalent), you can get more reach by adding the MC-14 teleconverter. Of course, like any 1.4X teleconverter, you lose one stop of brightness, but 420mm (full-frame equivalent) at f4 is nothing to sneeze at either.

It's so spectacularly sharp that it rivals my prime lenses for sharpness. And, with that extra focal length at f2.8, I can get more defocused backgrounds and subject isolation than I could even with a shorter, faster prime lens. So it even works extremely well for portraits!

The collapsible lens hood design is extremely clever so you can stow it in your bag without too much bulk.

It's lightning quick to focus, built like a tank, and just a joy to use. People complain about this lens too big for a mirrorless camera, but if you think about how big an 80-300mm f2.8 lens on a full-frame camera would be, this is nothing.

I agree 100%. It's the sharpest lens in my kit. And wonderful to use in every respect.  When purchased it was the dearest bit of camera gear I had ever ventured to buy, but from the moment I first used it I knew it had been the right decision. I am now totally sold on the quality of Oly lenses.

Nice review. This lens is on my wish list and expect it to be as good as my 12-40 Pro in its repective range.

The two lenses make a fantastic pair. Along with my E-M1, it is the finest setup I've used in 35 years.

Fantastic lens, gave it 5/5 as well.

There is one downside and it is that the lens hood is extremely fragile. If you have it out and you bumb it just lightly it can fall apart. I had it happen myself and if you google it, it's quite common. Thankfully Olympus repaired it quickly. The idea of how the lens hood works is great but I much prefer the lens hood of the 300mm f4, much more robust.

Lars101x wrote:

Fantastic lens, gave it 5/5 as well.

There is one downside and it is that the lens hood is extremely fragile. If you have it out and you bumb it just lightly it can fall apart. I had it happen myself and if you google it, it's quite common. Thankfully Olympus repaired it quickly. The idea of how the lens hood works is great but I much prefer the lens hood of the 300mm f4, much more robust.

I bought mine used, and there was a problem with the lens hood on mine as well. I had to spend $70 or so on a replacement. $70 - for a HOOD!