Olympus Zuiko lens review
- Brand: Olympus
- Subject: SLR Lenses
- Category: Zoom Lenses
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Photokina report
Photokina 2010 Report : The new Olympus M Zuiko Digital 14-150mm F4-5.6 has a total range of 10.7x zoom (28-300 mm equiv. 35mm camera) and falls under the category all-round zoom lenses. It is a handy lens to combine with one of the Olympus PEN system cameras. There are currently four lenses available in the Olympus Micro Four Thirds Standard System, but there are undoubtedly more being planned. We thoroughly tested the Olympus PEN E-PL1, equipped with a Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-150mm lens. Our test conclusions are based on practice combined with technical tests that are performed in the DIWA lab that is managed by Kai Thon, test manager of DIWA Awards.
Olympus lens review
The Olympus M 14-150mm F4-5.6 zoom lens is made up of several parts: 15 lenses spread out over 11 groups, including 3 aspherical (including 1 ED lens) glass elements that are necessary to make up such a lens. Still, it is hardly noticeable in the Olympus 14-150mm lens’ weight. The size of this all-round zoom lens has also decreased, compared with an Olympus 10x Four Thirds lens (ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 18-180mm).
Micro Four Thirds system lens review
Olympus is not the only manufacturer of the Micro Four Thirds system, Panasonic is also actively participating in this relatively new camera system. In theory, this means that the Olympus lenses are interchangeable with the Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras. However, that does not occur seamlessly. The Olympus M Zuiko Digital 14-150mm F4-5.6 does not have a built-in image stabilizer because Olympus’ system cameras are already equipped with such a stabilization system. In practice, this means that this 10x zoom lens has to perform without any kind of stabilization when it is combined with a Panasonic. Panasonic offers its own Lumix 14-140mm lens, optimized for video recordings and equipped with an image stabilizer, but for a much higher suggested retail price.
Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-150mm lens
This lens’ AF is based on an internal focusing system. The AF works pretty quickly and noiselessly, which will be a relief for those that want to use a PEN camera as an alternative to the camcorder. Moreover, there are impressive developments being made in this area at Panasonic and Sony. Both manufacturers put sensors of their system cameras to produce a camcorder that has interchangeable lenses.
Olympus 14-150mm lens review
Zooming in by hand works pleasantly and fairly accurately. There is a bit of slack while zooming, but considering the construction and the synthetic material of the 14-150mm lens, that is not an exception. It is not bothersome in practice, in any case. The small focus ring is present, but it is not expected to be used all that often. The Olympus PL1 is fairly well-balanced together with the M Zuiko Digital 14-150mm, but because the camera is used a bit away from the body due to the display functioning as a viewfinder, it is important to watch for movement blur. Read the full Olympus lens review at LetsGoDigital.
