Zoom lenses offer the versatility of being able to take many types of different photos without having to attach a new lens each time. They are much more desirable than a standard kit lens and can produce some fantastic results.
We’ve done some research and came up with a list of the best zoom lenses for your micro four-thirds camera. If you are not sure what type of lens will work best on your camera, check out our guide on m43 lenses that go into more detail about the different types of lenses available.
There are many factors to consider when looking for the right zoom lens such as focal length, aperture, weight, filter size and price. The first thing that you need to figure out is what type of photography you want to shoot. Are you looking for something wide angle with a large aperture for low light conditions? Or would you prefer something versatile for general purpose use?
The next thing to consider is how much money you want to spend. This is important because good quality zoom lenses can be quite expensive but there are cheaper options that perform just as well if you know where to look.
If you’re still not sure what type of zoom lens will work best on your camera then check out our guide on m43 lenses which goes into.
I have had the original 75-300 for about 10 years. I bought the original version in about 2007 for my Olympus E510 system. It has been a good lens, but in recent years it has not been as sharp as it once was. So I was looking at this new version to see if it would be an upgrade, or even replacement.
I tried both lenses on my E-M1 Mark II using an adapter and compared them side by side with the same settings, etc. The new lens is sharper at all focal lengths, including 300mm where I thought there might not be much difference.
The pictures above were taken with the E-M1 Mark II and both lenses, with a focus bracket of 5 pictures with focus step set to 1 (this is so the camera does not have to move the lens very far for each picture). Then I used Helicon Focus software to combine them into a single image, which improves sharpness. The software worked very well, and you can see that the new lens is much sharper than the old one and shows better focus detail.
The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 25mm f1.8 Lens is a 25mm prime lens that is made for all Micro Four Thirds cameras, but has a 35mm equivalent focal length of 50mm and a fast maximum aperture of f/1.8. This 50mm equivalent focal length makes this lens a perfect standard length lens, great for portraits with the ability to create shallow depth of fields and smooth bokeh (background blur).
The large maximum aperture also allows for faster shutter speeds in low light situations and shallower depth of fields. With its compact design and low weight, you will hardly notice this lens on your camera. It is ideal for street photography, travel photography or any other time when you don’t want to carry around heavy gear. The MSC (Movie & Still Compatible) autofocus technology provides fast and quiet focusing performance in both photo and video modes.
The 25mm f1.8 Lens is constructed with 7 elements in 6 groups, including 2 aspherical lenses and 1 ED lens. Aspherical elements reduce size and weight while providing superior contrast and resolution compared to alternative designs. Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass provides higher resolution, greater sharpness and less color bleeding than other types of glass due.
The Olympus Zuiko 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 Digital ED SWD Lens provides the most versatile focal range in a single lens (24-120mm in 35mm photography). The lens is optimized specifically for use with Four Thirds System digital SLRs and features a Supersonic Wave Drive (SWD) to achieve quiet, ultra-fast autofocus speeds. It is also weatherproof and features Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements to correct various aberrations.
The 12-60mm zoom lens covers a wide range of shooting conditions from wide angle to telephoto and is ideal as an all around standard lens for photography and video applications. The Zuiko Digital lenses are designed specifically for digital photography and feature 100% digital design to provide high definition performance that can not be matched by conventional SLR lenses.
This includes the use of optics that minimize light scatter, multi-coating technology that minimizes ghosting and flare, and special optical glass elements to correct various types of aberrations such as chromatic aberration, distortion, spherical aberration and field curvature.
This is an excellent lens, a true all purpose lens. I use it on my E-3 and it can be used with the E-1, E-300 and E-500 bodies with the use of a 4/3 to OM adapter. The lens comes with a nice hood and a well made case.
The range is excellent and the ability to shoot at 200 mm equivalent helps make this an excellent travel lens. It covers all the bases with its 27-120mm equivalent focal range. It’s very fast focusing and has excellent image stabilization to help make up for low light conditions.
I recently compared this lens to my Oly 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 SWD Lens (with built in IS) on the E3 body using RAW capture and some fine tuned settings like noise reduction (off), sharpness (0), contrast (0), saturation (0), gradation (normal) WB(Auto or Sun depending on conditions) shot at ISO 100, 200.
With a maximum aperture of f2.8, the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F2.8 PRO Lens is an impressive telephoto zoom lens for the Micro Four Thirds system. It offers a 35mm-equivalent focal length range of 80-300mm, delivering a bright and versatile telephoto zoom that is ideal for sports, wildlife, and other fast-paced shooting situations. It also features an impressive build quality with dust-, splash-, and freeze-proof construction to better enable working in harsh climates or conditions.
The lens design incorporates two extra-low dispersion elements and one super extra-low dispersion element to reduce chromatic aberrations throughout the zoom range and achieve greater sharpness and clarity. A Z Coating Nano has also been applied to individual elements to limit ghosting and surface reflections for improved contrast when working in strong lighting conditions.
A Movie & Still Compatible (MSC) AF motor is used to provide quick, quiet, and smooth focusing performance that is well-suited to both stills shooting as well as video applications. The lens also features a manual focus clutch mechanism that allows you to quickly switch between autofocus and manual focus simply by snapping the focus ring forward or back.
The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F4.0-5.6 R Zoom Lens (Black) is a lightweight, versatile telephoto zoom lens with a 35mm equivalent focal length of 80 to 300mm that is ideal for portraits, sports and wildlife photography.
The 40-150mm lens features a Movie and Still Compatible (MSC) autofocus system that is near silent to benefit video recording and uses an inner focus mechanism to maintain the overall length during use. Additionally, the optic has been designed with a minimum focusing distance of 3.9′ at the longest end of the zoom range and 11″ at the widest to suit working with close-up subjects.
In order to achieve its compact form factor and light weight, this 40-150mm lens utilizes three aspherical elements within its construction that help reduce various aberrations and distortions throughout the zoom range for improved clarity and sharpness. A Super High Refractive index lens element is also integrated into the design to deliver notable contrast and resolution when working in difficult lighting conditions, such as backlighting.
The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-200mm f3.5-6.3 Lens is a versatile 16.6x zoom lens with a broad range from wide angle to super telephoto, covering 24 to 400mm equivalent focal lengths in 35mm format.
This makes it an ideal lens for wildlife, sports and travel photography, as well as general outdoor activities where having just one lens is preferable to changing lenses frequently or using multiple camera bodies.
Dustproof and splashproof construction makes it suitable for outdoor use in inclement conditions and its minimum focusing distance of 8.7″ throughout its entire focal length range enables shooting close-up subjects at any zoom setting.
The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-200mm F3.5-6.3 Lens is a versatile 16.6x zoom micro four thirds lens that’s equivalent to 24-400mm in 35mm format, making it an excellent choice for most everyday shooting scenarios. Its wide range of focal lengths makes this lens well-suited for travel, every day shooting and even sports and wildlife applications where reaching distant subjects is required.
A macro function allows for close-up focus as near as 8.7″ with a maximum magnification of 0.4x, and a stepping motor provides quick and quiet autofocus performance that is especially useful when capturing video.
The Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12 100mm f4.0 IS PRO lens is a compact, lightweight and weatherproof lens for all Micro Four Thirds shooters. Its range of 24 200mm (35mm equivalent) makes it ideal for travel, landscapes, portraits and even sports and wildlife photography. The 12 100mm offers the same high performance as other PRO lenses such as the M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO and the M.Zuiko Digital ED 40 150mm F2.8 PRO, with impressive image quality throughout its zoom range.
The dustproof, splashproof and freezeproof design of this lens allows you to shoot in any weather conditions, including light rain or snowfall. A high performance optical construction reduces chromatic aberration and ghosting while the ZERO coating minimizes reflections within the lens itself, producing clear images with high contrast even when shooting directly into light sources such as the sun or a studio lamp.
In addition to in lens VCM (voice coil motor), this lens also incorporates an inner focus mechanism that provides fast AF performance while maintaining the size of the lens to a minimum level during focusing operations. For enhanced stability when shooting handheld at slower shutter speeds, 5 axis.
This lens is an outstanding focal range for all kinds of photography, from street and travel to indoor and outdoor events. It produces sharp images and has great low light (f/2.8) capability. I think it’s the best value in the M.Zuiko PRO series.
I’ve used this lens on both my Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II and PEN-F cameras. The combination of this lens with either camera is easy to handhold, making them ideal for street photography and other situations that require fast movement.
Image stabilization is not needed when shooting with this lens on the E-M5 Mark II as the camera provides five-axis image stabilization. However, if you’re using this lens on a PEN or OM-D body that doesn’t provide in-body image stabilization, you’ll have to use a tripod or monopod to get sharp images at slower shutter speeds.
The 12mm wide angle setting on this lens is very useful for landscapes and architectural interiors, but the 40mm end of this focal range makes it difficult to capture small objects like flower buds or insects at close range when shooting outdoors without a tripod unless you use a macro lens.
The M. Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm F2. 8 PRO is the widest-angle lens in the Olympus Pro series. It captures 14-28mm field of view (35mm equivalent) with a constant F2. 8 aperture, making it an ideal lens for landscapes, cityscapes, indoor shots and astrophotography.
A fast maximum aperture of F2. 8 delivers ultra-sharp images even in low light conditions, while the focusing clutch mechanism allows for instant transition between auto and manual focus modes. The L-Fn button adds to its versatility as it can be used to assign functions for quick access and maximum efficiency.
The M. Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm F2. 8 PRO is weatherproof to withstand harsh conditions and features a dustproof, splashproof and freezeproof construction for a variety of shooting environments.
Key Features:
14 28 millimeter equivalent focal length (35 millimeter equivalent) with an angle of view of 114° 75°.
Closest focusing distance at just under 7. 5 centimeter, maximum image magnification: 0. 12x, focal length: 7 14 millimeter.
Manual focus Clutch Mechanism and l fan button for assignable functions.
3 Super ED Lens elements, 1 Ehttps://amzn.to/37yqLIiD Lens element, and 2 elements to diminish aberrations.
60 percentOf the weight of 35 millimeter full frame lens (with same angle of view and max. Aperture).
The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 25mm f/1.2 PRO Lens is an ultra-bright prime lens with a fast f/1.2 aperture that delivers superior image quality and excellent low-light performance. With a 35mm equivalent of 50mm, it’s ideal for everyday shooting and portraiture. The lens also features a dustproof, splashproof and freeze-proof design to go with you everywhere, even in harsh conditions.
The ED 25mm f/1.2 PRO Lens has 19 elements in 14 groups, including one extra-low dispersion element, two aspherical elements and two Super HR elements to correct chromatic aberration and produce sharp images with smooth bokeh effects throughout the entire frame. Its near circular aperture produces smooth bokeh effects at wider apertures, making it ideal for portraits of people or pets with dramatic background blur effects
The M.Zuiko Digital ED 25mm f/1.2 PRO Lens comes with a snap ring that allows you to switch between manual focusing (MF) and autofocusing (AF) without having to turn the focus ring around the barrel. When the focus ring is at the rear of the lens, it’s in AF mode; when you pull the focus.
