OM SYSTEM Olympus ED 14-150mm f/4.0-5.6 Micro Four Thirds Lens for Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four Third Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera

First, a note about some qualities ascribed to this lens by other reviewers. Focusing a lens is mainly the task of the contrast detection system of the body, not the lens. The part where the lens comes into play is the focus motor and focus elements. Complaints about slow focus are mainly the result of the contrast detection system (DSLRs use a phase detection system, which is faster). However, I find that for most shots, this is fast enough. If you want to shoot faster, aim the camera at the area of your subject, and push the shutter button half way down (this will cause it to focus). Then, when you think the subject is ready to shoot, press the button the remaining way down. It will be virtually instantaneous. With regard to the speed of the lens, it is in line with full-range zooms from Tamron, Tokina, and the like. The old axiom "quality, price, speed - pick 2," applies. In this case, Olympus chose a reasonable quality and price - if you want speed (a faster lens), be prepared to spend a lot more. However, the news is not all bad. The Olympus micro 4/3 cameras are capable of very good imaging up to 1600 ISO. So, set your camera to Auto ISO and it will bump the ISO in favor of lower aperture settings to let in more light. Shooting videos with this camera using long focal lengths requires a different technique than one would use with a normal video camera. If one tucks the elbows in against the chest, so that the forearms make an inverted V, the camera can be held steady enough to not have any difficulty with camera shake. As for my own experiences with the lens, I find it wholly acceptable for a full range zoom. Picture quality is better than expected, and the focus motor/elements move reasonably fast for working with contrast detection focus in the body. It is mainly high impact plastic in construction, but build quality is good, and if you're not giving it to apes to use, should last a long time. The actual lens elements are quite good, and for a full range zoom, have little trouble with either distortion or chromatic aberration. I am in Hawaii at the moment and have been very happy with using this as an everyday walkabout lens as I shoot landscapes, movies of my grand daughter playing in the pool, and local flora and fauna.

Description did not mention there is a scratch/crack on the lens as in the attached picture. Please check and have proper description(s) next time. Regards

I purchased this lens along with an Olympus PEN E-PL1 for a safari to Tanzania. While I loved my film SLR and my collection of lenses, it was inappropriate for this trip (changing film and lenses in dust clouds, airport X-rays, and nearly 2000 pictures), so I needed to move to digital with a single zoom lens. I opted to purchase a Micro Four Thirds system rather than a DSLR, hoping that the tradeoffs of sensor size vs. weight vs. price would be good ones. The total cost was about $1100 (~$500 for the camera (with a 14-32 lens), ~600 for the 14-150mm lens). With Micro 4/3, the effective focal length is twice the rated, so this lens is equivalent to a traditional 28-300mm zoom. I could have picked up an equivalent DSLR setup and lens for about the same price, but it would have weighed over 6 pounds. My combination was about 4 pounds. This was significant when much of the shooting was waiting for several minutes for an animal to "do" something and there was no place to set up even a monopod out the hatch of the safari truck. My big concern was going to be image quality. The 4/3 sensor is about 30% smaller than a DSLR sensor, but still 5-9 times the size of a compact digital. Fortunately, we were able to do some side-by-side comparisons with photos my daughters took. The larger sensor was clearly better all around - it blows away any of the compact cameras. For example, I was able to get some great shoots of a leopard in a shady tree from about 200 yards away. That was not possible with the compact cameras we had. Overall, I could not be happier. While the 4/3 sensor clearly will not match the quality possible with a DSLR, it is wonderfully capable and flexible for the serious amateur. This lens is our new travel companion.

I have to admit that this review should have been written couple years ago when I have purchased this lens. I have put it on my Olympus EPL-1 and it stays there all the time, unless I use my fish eye lens. I have 14-42mm kit zoom and 40-150mm zoom, but they do not give any advantage in image quality over the subject of this review. This is not a fast lens, but there is no fast super zoom in existence anyway. Overall this is an excellent travel zoom and it indeed traveled with me a lot and to many places. Light weight, good range, good image quality and no need to change lenses in dusty or windy or just uncomfortable environment. I have another super zoom - 18-250mm Pentax lens, and I love it also. It gives just so slightly better image quality with Pentax K01 or DSLR, but the whole alternative solution weighs a lot more compared to 14-150mm zoom. Many times decision on which system to pick went to Olympus ED 14-150mm I never regretted my decision. I highly recommend this lens.

I like the 14-150mm lens a lot even if its not the sharpest Oly lens around. In terms of overall IQ, I think the Panasonic 14-140 is better but it's a monster because of the need for built-in IS and would overwhelm most PEN cameras. Maybe there are some that can live with that but personally I hate having a lens attached that makes the camera feel out of balance. The 14-150 is as light-weight as they come for its zoom range. It feels well balanced on my EPL2. It's also relatively compact. The build quality is pretty good. It's mostly plastic and doesn't really have a "high-end" feel to it. But it doesn't feel flimsy. With the EPL2, photos are acceptably sharp at most focal lengths. Not tack sharp mind you, but not the worst I have seen on a lens with this focal range either. But anytime you have a lens like the 14-150, there will always be some comprimise in terms of sharpness. However, there's something to be said about being able to capture something some distance away vs. having to fumble with changing lenses and potentially missing the shot. And plus, if you shoot RAW, you can always bump up the sharpness post-processing. This lens is also kind of slow but there are really no zooms in this class that are very fast. It should be noted that this lens has no Image Stabilization, so while you can mount it on a Panasonic M 4/3rds camera, it will not be stabilized. Obviously with the Olympus you don't have to worry about that because the image stabilization is built into the body and will stabilize any lens you put on it. One reason why the Olys might be a smarter choice if stills photography is your main priority and you are considering their M 4/3rds cameras over Panasonic's. But overall, a good, very practical and useful lens for PEN cameras.

Comments: 3 Latest Apparently the cleaning and firmware update did the trick. I can happily say this lens now meets my expectations as a decent walkaround lens. Good for vacations and that sort of thing where you are not looking for super sharp images. I would recommend this lens for folks looking for a 10+X zoom for non-critical applications. It seems to perform as described in some of the notable internet review sites such as DPReview. You may want to consider shooting with ISO on auto or tweaking it up a bit. Comments: 2 One thing I should have noted in my original review was that I bought this lens as refurbished from Cameta Camera through Amazon and it has a full one year warranty. I have always been satisfied with refurb purchases from Cameta in the past. Both Cameta and Olympus have been very courteous, helpful and prompt trying to resolve the perceived problem. Working with an Olympus Customer Service representative he determined from 3 of my images JPG and ORF that the lens was 'defective', not performing to expectations, and I should send it in for service. I received the lens back from Olympus Customer Service in about 7 days with a note stating the lens meets the design specifications, (hmmmm?). The note also indicated that they upgraded the firmware and cleaned the lens, but did not indicate whether it was cleaned internally, externally or both. I plan to take it out this weekend to shoot the fall foliage, unfortunately it is now on the decline. I will update this review accordingly depending on the results. I truly hope the results are better since the lens was serviced though my expectations are not high. Comments: 1 Working with Olympus Customer Support I have since learned that there is a problem with my lens and have sent it to them for repair. I will update this review once I receive the repaired lens and have had an opportunity to test it. 1st Review I do not recommend this lens, even for snapshots. I should have kept my Zuiko 18-180mm, which in most circles is not known for great image quality, but performed much, much better than this lens. I transitioned my equipment from 4/3 to Micro 4/3 recently to take advantage of the smaller size and weight advantages. In most cases I have been extremely happy with the change with the exception of this lens. Along with the 14-150mm I also have the Panasonic 25mm 1.4, the Zuiko 12-50mm kit lens and the Zuiko 50mm 2.0 (with 4/3 adapter) which perform nicely on my EM-5. I purchased the 14-150mm for the potential of having a 10x walkaround lens for 'snapshots' after being very pleased with the 18-180mm (4/3) that I used for that purpose. I thought the 14-150mm would be a suitable replacement in micro 4/3 format. My expectations after reading the reviews was that this lens would provide acceptable results for non-critical shots and maybe some reasonably good images at times. Well, I was wrong. Mostly I shoot in Aperture mode with the ISO fixed at 200. When I found that my shots were either blurry or grainy I tried (hand-held) various combinations of aperture, ISO and shutter speed and white balance as well as manual focus to try to improve the results. Some combinations were better than others but, generally there was little improvement overall with the best results being the mid-focal lengths and mid apertures as one might expect. At 150mm there is heavy double imaging and nothing in the picture can be considered acceptable image quality even with low expectations. Possibly the lens is defective. I have been checking online for tests to determine if this is the case and will revise or remove this review should the results concur. The good points about this lens is that it focuses extremely fast and quiet. Unfortunately thats about it.

For what it is, I find it to be pleasantly sharp all around - wide & tele, wide open & stopped down. It captures great images, and this plus the fine Olympus 60mm macro are all I need for an excellent day in the backcountry. It's nice not having to swap lenses from wide to tele, and unless you're a super OCD pixel peeper or making poster sized enlargements, this lens gets it done. That being said, it is a long lens relatively speaking (4.25" or about the width of my E-M10) and so if I don't need telephoto, I do swap it for the 14-42mm IIR kit kens (and take off the accessory grip).

I purchased this lens at a discounted refurbished price, so based on that, I will give it a rating of maybe 3.5 stars. If I paid the full price for a new one, I would be less happy. The lens is handy if you're traveling and you want something lightweight with a 10X zoom, and you don't mind image quality not much better than a good point and shoot. In good light, stopped down to about f 5.6 on the wide end, and f 7-8 on the telephoto end, it is pretty decent. I use it on an Epl-2, so if you have a newer camera, such as the Epl-5, your results may be better. The lens is light, construction feels very plastic, but it does have a metal mount. Size wise, it is fairly compact when it's at 14mm, but will telescope to almost double it's length at 150mm, and though it's easy to carry, it will definitely not fit in your pocket if mounted to the camera. One caveat with lenses for micro four thirds....although the mounts are interchangeable between Panasonic and Olympus, I think Olympus lenses are optimized for Olympus bodies and Panasonic for Panasonic bodies, and not always because of built-in image stabilization in Olympus bodies. I have both Panasonic and Olympus, and I can tell the difference. I do not recommend using this lens on a Panasonic body.