Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150 mm F4-5.6 Lens, Telephoto Zoom, Suitable for All MFT Cameras (Olympus OM-D & PEN Models, Panasonic G Series), Black

As a primes-only photographer this was my first zoom lens purchase in years. The last zoom I bought was the Panny 100-300 when I first bought my OM-D EM5 Mark 1 some years ago and I sold it soon afterwards. Back then I was only shooting pictures but now I'm shooting video almost exclusively.I'd done some reading up on zooms for video because I found I was missing out on video opportunities whilst shooting with my wide-angle primes. I realised I needed something to swap over to quickly capture a passing moment in the distance, something that my primes couldn't reach. Living and recording footage on a boat meant I needed a zoom with a good reach and was quiet too.I didn't want to spend too much on my first zoom for video as I'm still uncertain it's the way forward for most of my stuff. I'll continue to shoot with primes in the main, but I've just done some test clips on this lens and I'm impressed. I mean, really impressed. I still can't get over how Olympus can pack in such quality in a lens this cheap. OK, it's all plastic, it doesn't have that pro lens feel, but with the EM5's in-body IS the balance is good. I can zoom in to the 150mm end (300mm equivalent) and get away with handheld footage. The IQ at the 300 end is good enough for me, and I'm quite discerning.For this price it's almost not worth talking about the negatives of the lens but for the sake of this review I'll just comment that the focus ring requires quite a turn if you're focusing manually, which I tend to do with video (if you're on AF, it's quick). It's not a parfocal zoom either so you have to readjust the focus once you've zoomed in, unless you're using C-AF, in which case the auto re-focus's speed is acceptable.Although I would recommend this for video I'd be inclined to recommend this for budget-conscious photographers too. Whilst this might not be up to a Canon L lens, for the price it is incredible. As a fussy photographer who likes to pixel-peep on occasion, I'm impressed. I can't see myself spending all those extra hundreds of notes to go up to a pro zoom any time soon. As someone who used to own a full-frame Canon 5Dii and a load of L lenses, that's saying something.

Like another reviewer here, I was lucky enough to pick this lens up new for £119 (October 2013). Presumably a dealer offloading split kits. To call it a bargain is an understatement. This little lens - and it's in 35mm terms an 80-300mm lens, we should keep that in mind - is a cracker. More than anything, it's the lenses that make MicroFourThirds the success it is. There are the obvious "must-haves" like the Olympus 12mm f2 and 45mm f1.8, the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 and 14-45mm, but you can virtually add this little baby to that list because it's cheap and light and - oh boy! - it punches way above its weight. I checked it out on the EM5 and G5. Wide open it's a tad soft, no surprise there, but take it down a stop or two and you will get crisp useable 20" x 16" pictures. I even shot f16 @ 1/125 hand-held at max. 150mm, with excellent result (though I'd suggest f8 most of the time). Mechanically, it performs well, decently smooth with no "stiction". Manual focus is possible but at full extension I'd suggest leave it to the AF. I long since ditched my bulky, heavy SLR cameras and lenses and don't regret it. So this lens is largely plastic - so what? Unless you plan to take it to a war zone, you'll get years of service from it. Buy this lens and buy into MFT, you will be getting the best tech available today and unlike that hefty SLR you'll always want to have the camera with you. Great lens.

I was very close to giving this lens five stars as it is very good quality for money. Still, when it comes to photography equipment, I would like to reserve the fifth star for things that are both good value as well as outstanding in quality.I have been very disappointed with telezooms ever since I got my first micro four thirds camera. Unlike the Canon 70-200 I used before that peaked at full extension, the Panasonic ones all started getting so fuzzy at the long end the last 50mm of range or so might as well have been digital zoom as opposed to optical. This kept annoying me so much I didn't keep any of them.Eventually, I went for this one that, unlike the Panasonic 45-200mm, for instance, didn't seem to overextend its range at the cost of image quality as much, as well as being light and cheap.Image quality isn't excellent at full extension, nor would I expect it to be, but it is usable. The lens is very light and therefore easy to bring along when your main shooting is done with a standard zoom or prime - as is often the case for me.I know this varies from lens to lens, even from copy to copy sometimes, so I can't generalise too much, but from my experience with it, it does seem to be optimised for infinity rather than close range, which I think is good for a long-reach telezoom as most of my photography done with it would be at mid-to long range and not at the close-focus limit.I ended up selling my M43 kit in the end, including this one, for reasons I won't go into here, but for the last year or so, this was my go-to telezoom, and I think it did a decent job of it. In fact, I think if you want something significantly better, you really have to go with the pro f/2.8 lenses. They cost several times a much, are bigger and heavier, but of course outstanding in image quality.If all you want is a bit longer range at a very affordable price, I don't think you can go wrong with this lens.

Having obtained the camera to accompany this lens, I now remember how light and useful this lens is, one multiples the focal length by two, and realise that this tiny lens is the equivalent of a 300 mm lens, yet it weighs very little, an excellent buy.