This super-zoom lens is designed for Micro
Four Thirds cameras offering 4x optical zoom (35mm equivalent: 150-600mm). For
a lens suggesting such shooting distance, its price is reasonable at $675
though you will only receive an aperture of f/4.8-6.7. This lens is labeled Movie
and Stills, resulting in a quiet focusing system.
Features and processing
This zooms is very lightweight (430g),
especially in terms of its shooting distance. The lens is made of hi-quality
plastic and the frame is metal-made. This lens perfectly fits the tested
Panasonic G3 though it may be a little bigger for Micro Four Thirds cameras in
existing compact systems.
Olympus
M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 II
Focusing points are processed inside and
the 58mm filter doesn’t rotate during operation, making this lens ideal for graduated
and polarizing filters. For good lighting, focusing speed is very fast and the
focus ring offers fine amount of resistance, assisting to make adjusting
process simple and easy. However, in low-lit, the lens must try hard to focus,
especially shooting at the farthest distance. The lens has a quiet focus system
labeled on of MSC lenses from Olympus, suitable for still images and movie.
The minimum focus distance is 90cm, only
available for lens set at 75mm and it increases when lens is zoomed, causing
trouble in macro shots. Notes which must be taken when using this lens is that
robust colors as well as maximum aperture makes it hard to create a proper
shutter speed for user’s grip. As Olympus camera has a long stability in the
body, this will prolong the device’s service life.
The
body of Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 II
Performance
The sharpness created by this lens at 75mm
and max aperture is excellent in the entire frame. Stopping at a lower aperture
leads to a decrease to image’s clarity due to the sensor’s noise limit. On-frame
performance is similar at 150mm though the clarity slightly falls when compared
to 75mm.
Finally, at 300mm, as you can expect from a
4x optical zoom, the overall sharpness decreases in comparison with the result
from shorter focus distance. At f/6.7, the sharpness is at the frame’s center
but it is just considered fair for the frame’s corners. High sharpness on frame
delivers such focus distance at f/8. Here, the sharpness in the frame’s center
is very good but those in the corners are not so.
Chromatic
aberration
How
to read our charts
The blue column shows figures from the
frame’s center at different apertures and the green one is for corners. Taking
the average from those two colored columns, we have the red column.
The scale on the left indicates real
resolutions. The higher it is, the hi-quality the lens gets.
In this article, the lens has been tested
with Panasonic Lumix DMC-G using Imatest.
Chromatic aberration for corners are well
controlled in the range of 75-150mm. There’s a significant rise in colored
fringes with corners at 300mm. Such increase at CA level may be a problem,
especially when shooting hi-contrast images with the frame’s corners.
Chromatic
aberration
Chromatic aberration identifies the
inability of focusing or the act of burring visible colors at the same point in
the lens. High CA provides remarkable fringing or a halo effect around the
image’s edges. It can be dealt by software.
The Apochromatic lenses has a special lens
(aspheric, extra-low dispersion) to reduce the above issues, thus they are
pricier.
In this article, the lens was tested on
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 using Imatest.
The falloff level towards the frame’s
corners are well control. The corners are just darker in some ranges than the
image’s center at the max aperture in zoom range and the visual illumination
was archived by f/8 at 75mm and f/11 at 300mm.
Distortion is well controlled and
appropriate during zoom levels. Imatest discovers pincushion distortion between
0.226% and 0.216%. This number is low thus we couldn’t see normal images. The
distortion sample is identical in the frame, leading to after-image editing in
apps.
There’s no lens cover to meet such
hi-quality of this lens but due to a ZERO optical layer of Olympus, this is
well against glare and contrast is kept still, even when exposed to light.
Sample
images
Sample
images from the products
Sample
images from the products
Value for money
This lens is surely not for everyone due to
its modest aperture and lack of optical stabilization. However, if you own an
Olympus Micro Four Thirds compatible with a built-in stability and able to shot
extremely-far images in good lighting, or with a single support, this lens can
fit the bill well.
In general, this lens is compact, well
built, lightweight and able to deliver excellent result in short focus
distance. It’s a pity that the result seems a bit dim when compared at 300mm.
Product
image
Conclusion
Pros
·
Compact size
·
Lightweight
·
Fast and quiet focusing
·
Anti-glare
·
Great resolution between 75mm and 150mm
Cons
·
Low sharpness and high CA at 300mm
·
No accompanied lens cover
Technical
specs
Overall
·
Lens mount: Panasonic Micro Four Thirds
Olympus Micro Four Thirds
Lens
·
Focus distance: 75mm - 300mm
·
Viewing angle: 4.1° - 16°
·
Max aperture: f/4.8 - f/6.7
·
Min aperture: f/22
·
Filter’s size: 58mm
·
35mm equivalent: 150mm - 600mm
·
Internal focusing: Yes
Focusing
·
Min Focus: 90cm
·
Stabilized: No
Construction
·
Blades: 7
·
Elements: 18
·
Groups: 13
Accessories
·
Micro Four Thirds lens cap (LC-58E)
·
Micro Four Thirds lens rear cap (LR-2)
·
Warranty Card
·
Operating Instructions
Size
·
Weight: 425 g
·
Height: 116 mm
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