I'm in love - Olympus 40-150 2.8 PRO

I upgraded not too long ago from my trusty Four Thirds Sigma EX 70-200 DG APO Macro HSM II, and I was still worried I had made a mistake. Sure the Frame Rate was limited to only 3/4 per second, but with the versatility it offered it was tough to beat. Excellent range and the bright aperture made it a real workhorse... upgrading to the Micro Four Thirds 40-150 2.8 has been awesome.

I occasionally miss a little on the long end, but have the TC should I really need it. The real strength however is in the increased Frame Rate, Focus Speed and of course performance in its sweet spot.

The old Sigma was 'good enough', but get the 40-150 to around 100mm and it really shines.

After a short break away (holiday and work) I've fallen in love with photography again, and in no small part to Olympus. Once the house move is finished I'll be on the hunt for an EM-1X or EM-1.2... but thats for another time.

From a weekend covering Arena Eventing at the Dallas Burston Polo Club. (I have loads more if anyone wants me to share)

Skeeterbytes wrote:

It's a great all-around lens and the system's best mid-tele zoom. Underappreciated, I suspect, is the focus response, likely due to splitting focus between two smaller, lighter groups driven by voice-coil motors. Techie stuff aside, it just works. It and the 300 are my sports mainstays and if/when you upgrade to either the M1ii or M1X you'll wring a lot more from it.

Enjoy!

Rick

The focus response was the first thing I noticed after selling my Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 and purchasing the 40-150mm f/2.8. I used that Nikon lens since 2004 and it was fantastic in terms of optics. However it had two issues: The minimum focus distance was around 5 feet, and you really needed closer to 8 or 10 feet for autofocus to work reliably. It was an older Nikon design, so no stabilization and no internal focus motor. It was a "screwdriven" lens which limited how quickly it could make big changes in focus distance.

The 40-150mm f/2.8 focus speed amazes me, and I also appreciate how much closer it can focus. It really is a remarkable lens in just about every way. The only complaint I have heard is that the lens hood, while clever and convenient, has a tendency to fall apart. So far so good for mine. I hope the hood holds up, because I really enjoy the convenient of the design.

After a short break away (holiday and work) I've fallen in love with photography again,>>

Now THERE is a truly heartening comment!  SO much more meaningful than bickering about equipment details!  THANKS!!!! 

Skeeterbytes wrote:

sean000 wrote:

The focus response was the first thing I noticed after selling my Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 and purchasing the 40-150mm f/2.8. I used that Nikon lens since 2004 and it was fantastic in terms of optics. However it had two issues: The minimum focus distance was around 5 feet, and you really needed closer to 8 or 10 feet for autofocus to work reliably. It was an older Nikon design, so no stabilization and no internal focus motor. It was a "screwdriven" lens which limited how quickly it could make big changes in focus distance.

The 40-150mm f/2.8 focus speed amazes me, and I also appreciate how much closer it can focus. It really is a remarkable lens in just about every way. The only complaint I have heard is that the lens hood, while clever and convenient, has a tendency to fall apart. So far so good for mine. I hope the hood holds up, because I really enjoy the convenient of the design.

My Contax G system has a similar, weird screw-drive focus but it's not an issue because that was never a "performance" system, but peculiar and makes adapting the lenses a little...challenging.

Knock wood, my hood works fine after several years but the stories of flying springs and ball bearings are out there. Don't know of any preventive measures.

Agree the close focus is very much appreciated and it's worth noting that adding either teleconverter gives higher magnification, because minimum focus distance does not change. (I'm thinking about the MC20, because it seems very sharp.)

Cheers,

Rick

I have the MC20 at the top of my "next to buy" list. When I was shooting Nikon APS-C I had both the 80-200mm and the Nikon 300mm f/4 (which is an awesome lens), but I was always leaving one or the other at home since I rarely wanted to carry both. The 40-150mm f/2.8 with MC20 will be a kind of all-in-one telephoto solution for me. At least until I break down and buy the Olympus 300mm f/4 or something similar

Then again... the 40-150 with MC20 will keep me happy for a long time. I've gradually sold my Nikon gear to finance more m4/3 gear over the last 8 or 9 years, and I kind of like having less gear in my cabinet, but gear that I'm more excited to use.

This, along with the 12-40 were the first lenses I bought for my E-M1. In the early days, I thought long and hard about selling it due to the size.

I bought a Panasonic 35-100 pro ii, with the intention that I would probably sell the Olympus.

However, after shooting with both, I sold the Panny lens and never looked back. It is my most used and favourite of the system lenses.

I have used the 40-150 since 2016 and have had no probs with the hood. I do have the Canon hood which fits, but the operation of the Oly one is so much nicer so the Canon is in the loft.

I have bought and sold many lenses but the 12-40 and 40-150 along with the Panny 20 remain.

I now think I will add the 17 1.2 and call it a day!

I have borrowed a mate's 7-14 Panny for the occasional times I need wider. Hmm...maybe the Oly 7-14 pro as well and that's me done.

PistonPhotoUK wrote:

I upgraded not too long ago from my trusty Four Thirds Sigma EX 70-200 DG APO Macro HSM II, and I was still worried I had made a mistake. Sure the Frame Rate was limited to only 3/4 per second, but with the versatility it offered it was tough to beat. Excellent range and the bright aperture made it a real workhorse... upgrading to the Micro Four Thirds 40-150 2.8 has been awesome.

I occasionally miss a little on the long end, but have the TC should I really need it. The real strength however is in the increased Frame Rate, Focus Speed and of course performance in its sweet spot.

Used to have that lens, until it was lost.   Plan to get it again, it is amazing.   My all time favorite lens in 50+ years of photography.  Never used it with a tele-converter, but the results I have seen with both the 1.4x and 2x converters are also impressive.