The real deal

I use Panasonic micro 4/3 bodies, so for a long time, this lens lacked appear for me, due to the lack of in-body stabilization on the Panasonic cameras.  I upgraded to a G9 last year, however, and decided it was time to take the plunge.  I bought my copy of this lens used, so I don't have the original folding lens hood, but it's working fine with a knock-off Canon lens hood.

I used to shoot Canon crop bodies, and had the mighty Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM II lens.  The Olympus 40-150 f/2.8 feels every bit as serious as the Canon L.  Focus is fast, even though the G9 can't take advantage of depth from defocus; the zoom and focus rings are smooth and perfectly dampened, and the lens' construction is solid and reassuring in your hand.  Images taken with this lens are sharp, with great color and contrast.  Period.  Every time.  No noticeable defects in the images, sharp across the frame, even wide open.

I have the Panasonic G X Vario 35-100 f/2.8 OIS lens, and there's nothing wrong with that lens - it's also sharp, with good color, and very light weight in comparison.  But I find I use the Olympus instead, just because the extra 50mm of zoom makes a big difference in wildlife (plus I have the 1.4X Olympus teleconverter to get even more reach when I need it).  I do find the Panasonic lens to be more useful for shooting indoor video - e.g., kids' orchestra concerts - thanks to the slightly wider angle.

Gripes about the Olympus 40-150?  Just a few, but not too few to mention.  I like the idea of the focus clutch concept to switch from manual to autofocus, but it's left me on more than one occasion trying to figure out why the stupid camera isn't autofocusing.  It would be nice if there were a way to disable it for fumble-fingers like me.

Hello

the real question for me is why the heck didn’t you buy the PL 50-200 instead  to go with your G9 ?:-O

This is one lens that when judged on resolution charts is interesting but produces nevertheless really ugly looking images. Probably one of the lenses where this typical Olympus issue is more apparent

At least those that have it rave for it which is reassuring

Harold66 wrote:

Hello

the real question for me is why the heck didn’t you buy the PL 50-200 instead to go with your G9 ?:-O

To be honest, I wanted to see if it was really as good as people say.  Folks like Robin Wong have sung its praises and produced great photos with it (though on Olympus bodies) and I wanted to see what the excitement was about (even if I wanted to stick with Panasonic's menus).  I've really been quite pleased with it so far; I like the way it handles and I don't mind the weight (because the G9/40-150 rig is weightless compared to a Canon 70D + 70-200 F/2.8 IS USM).  In fairness, the fact that I could get it for about 1/2 the price of a 50-200 was also a factor.

Harold66 wrote:

Hello

the real question for me is why the heck didn’t you buy the PL 50-200 instead to go with your G9 ?:-O

I have both so my g9 gets whatever she feels like.

nextcube wrote:

Harold66 wrote:

Hello

the real question for me is why the heck didn’t you buy the PL 50-200 instead to go with your G9 ?:-O

To be honest, I wanted to see if it was really as good as people say. Folks like Robin Wong have sung its praises and produced great photos with it (though on Olympus bodies) and I wanted to see what the excitement was about (even if I wanted to stick with Panasonic's menus). I've really been quite pleased with it so far; I like the way it handles and I don't mind the weight (because the G9/40-150 rig is weightless compared to a Canon 70D + 70-200 F/2.8 IS USM). In fairness, the fact that I could get it for about 1/2 the price of a 50-200 was also a factor.

The lens is now a few years after the original release which was in 2014. The Panasonic 50-200mm has been released in 2018 so it is still fairly new.

So it is normal that you find some great deals on the 40-150mm that remains a very sharp lens. There is more to a lens than pure sharpness though and the comment on the out of focus area remains valid. The lens is known for its 'nervous bokeh'

it is also true that without discount the Olympus is 1099 and the Panaleica 1475 which is 34% more and at the end the lens is not sharper. So the majority of users will go for the Olympus and ignore the nuances of the background separation and put up with the weight like you have done

Have fun with your new lens

nextcube wrote:

Gripes about the Olympus 40-150? Just a few, but not too few to mention. I like the idea of the focus clutch concept to switch from manual to autofocus, but it's left me on more than one occasion trying to figure out why the stupid camera isn't autofocusing. It would be nice if there were a way to disable it for fumble-fingers like me.

You can on an Olympus body! 

nextcube wrote:

Harold66 wrote:

Hello

the real question for me is why the heck didn’t you buy the PL 50-200 instead to go with your G9 ?:-O

To be honest, I wanted to see if it was really as good as people say.

That does not make much sense imo. the same argument could be made for the PL 50-200 

Folks like Robin Wong have sung its praises and produced great photos with it (though on Olympus bodies) and I wanted to see what the excitement was about (even if I wanted to stick with Panasonic's menus). I've really been quite pleased with it so far; I like the way it handles and I don't mind the weight (because the G9/40-150 rig is weightless compared to a Canon 70D + 70-200 F/2.8 IS USM).

In fairness, the fact that I could get it for about 1/2 the price of a 50-200 was also a factor.

That makes waaayyy more sense 

I don t think that  there are many used PL50-200 on the market 

Here there is one on wex costs as much as the olympus new

Interceptor121 wrote:

nextcube wrote:

Harold66 wrote:

Hello

the real question for me is why the heck didn’t you buy the PL 50-200 instead to go with your G9 ?:-O

To be honest, I wanted to see if it was really as good as people say. Folks like Robin Wong have sung its praises and produced great photos with it (though on Olympus bodies) and I wanted to see what the excitement was about (even if I wanted to stick with Panasonic's menus). I've really been quite pleased with it so far; I like the way it handles and I don't mind the weight (because the G9/40-150 rig is weightless compared to a Canon 70D + 70-200 F/2.8 IS USM). In fairness, the fact that I could get it for about 1/2 the price of a 50-200 was also a factor.

The lens is now a few years after the original release which was in 2014. The Panasonic 50-200mm has been released in 2018 so it is still fairly new.

So it is normal that you find some great deals on the 40-150mm that remains a very sharp lens. There is more to a lens than pure sharpness though and the comment on the out of focus area remains valid. The lens is known for its 'nervous bokeh'

it is also true that without discount the Olympus is 1099 and the Panaleica 1475 which is 34% more and at the end the lens is not sharper. So the majority of users will go for the Olympus and ignore the nuances of the background separation and put up with the weight like you have done

Have fun with your new lens

The two lenses are very sharp and the Panasonic has a better rendering of the oof areas.

The build if the oly pro lens is unsurpassed, imo. I prefer by a large margin internal zooming mechanism that leaves unchanged the length of the lens throughout the range.

For me the extra 50mm provided by the Panasonic are the deal breaker over the oly 40-150. This margin is further amplified by the teleconverter.

Having both lenses i can say I'd like to have the pl50-200 in the oly 40-150 pro shell

Interceptor121 wrote:

nextcube wrote:

Harold66 wrote:

Hello

the real question for me is why the heck didn’t you buy the PL 50-200 instead to go with

it is also true that without discount the Olympus is 1099 and the Panaleica 1475 which is 34% more and at the end the lens is not sharper. So the majority of users will go for the Olympus and ignore the nuances of the background separation and put up with the weight like you have done

This is a very SHORTSIGHTED statement. First of all , the extra reach is VERY significant, especially for wildlife. I don’t have the opportunity to work wildlifephotography as much as i would like but the ability to go to 400 fov equivalent makes all the difference. In 2019 when i went to a Safari i did not even consider the olympus because i knew 300 mm would not be long enough , which i verified during the Safari

the other thing you forgot is that having top stabilization is key for long focal lenghts so photographers who have a Panasonic camera absolutely should favor the Panasonic zoom over the Olympus one

The smaller size of the Panasonic lens in the bag  is just icing on the cake 😉😌

Harold

My statement is factual look at the statistics here on dpreview many more people have the olympus because it is longer on the market and is cheaper

People have budgets and have to take compromises that is a fact for some getting a good deal and then perhaps adding a TC is a good solution

I have the 50-200mm so I don't need your lectures on what lens is best for who thank you

Interceptor121 wrote:

My statement is factual look at the statistics here on dpreview many more people have the olympus because it is longer on the market and is cheaper

I am pretty sure that I have never claimed that More people have this lens other the one

The statistics here on dpreview do not prove anything. I do not know which is the better seller and neither do you. Furthermore it is irrelevant to the point I was making

It is highly possible that , as you said , more people got the one lens that camer first and do not need to change

MY point is for m4/3 users who do want to choose between those two lenses . I was just pointing out the TWO categories of users who may , some would say should , choose the Panasonic over the

People have budgets and have to take compromises that is a fact for some getting a good deal and then perhaps adding a TC is a good solution

no argument there . again NOT my point

I have the 50-200mm so I don't need your lectures on what lens is best for who thank you

well `I am sure you don't.  You should not twist my words .I was simply commenting that there are reasons to choose one lens over the other one on BOTH sides

Harold

It means the 40-150mm will focus slower than a Panasonic lens on the G9

Denjw wrote:

nextcube wrote:

Gripes about the Olympus 40-150? Just a few, but not too few to mention. I like the idea of the focus clutch concept to switch from manual to autofocus, but it's left me on more than one occasion trying to figure out why the stupid camera isn't autofocusing. It would be nice if there were a way to disable it for fumble-fingers like me.

You can on an Olympus body!

Hmmm.  I wish I had known this when I rented two Oly pro primes (25mm and 45mm f1.2) to use on my em1.2.  I didn't even think to check if the clutch could be disabled.  Like many, I support the lens with my left hand and quite frequently shifted the clutch inadvertently.