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OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm f/5-6.3 IS For action and wildlife shooters, this super-long telephoto can pull in the most distant detail – and it’s remarkably compact for its range, too
of 1200mm. It’s compatible with OM System 1.4x and 2x teleconverters too, so this lens has great potential. Given its telephoto range, you won’t be surprised that the ED 150- 600mm is a chunky optic, weighing just a little over 2100g with the lens hood. As widely reported, this lens is essentially a Sigma 150-600mm re-engineered with the Micro Four Thirds mount. That produces an image circle large enough for the 35mm format, so odds are that if this zoom had been built for Micro Four Thirds from the ground up, it would probably be smaller and lighter or have a faster maximum aperture. For this test, I mostly used the OM-1 Mark II and the lens is certainly the dominant partner, but handling is still good with the whole zoom range covered in less than half a rotation of the zoom barrel, and the manual focus ring close by for when intervention is necessary. A camera support is essential on long shoots or if you’re using Pro Capture waiting for a bird to take flight. At its minimum extension, the lens measures around 26cm without the hood and extends to over 36cm at 600mm. The zoom ring can be fully locked in place at 150mm, while the T (tight) setting holds the barrel in place, but it can still be adjusted. With the S setting, the zoom barrel is free and fast to use but will slide down to 600mm when being carried.
TESTED BY WILL CHEUNG
OM SYSTEM, OR Olympus, users have a few options when it comes to long telephotos: the ED 100-400mm f/5-6.3 IS, which sells at £1169, and the remarkable – but expensive – ED 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25x IS Pro at £6699. Price-wise, the new M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm f/5-6.3 IS falls in between the two but has even more pulling power with its 600mm giving the 35mm equivalent SPECS › Price £2499 › In the box Lens, tripod collar, front and back caps, LH-115 hood, carry strap 25 elements in 15 groups › Special lens elements Two ED, four Super ED, six HR elements and one HD › Aperture range F/5-6.3 to f/22 › Diaphragm Nine blades › Magnification 0.35x at 150mm, 0.2x at 600mm › Autofocus Yes › Manual focusing ring Yes › Minimum focus 56cm at 150mm, 2.8m at 600mm › Image stabiliser Yes, two dimensional (vertical and horizontal). Up to 7EV benefit (five axis Sync IS) at 150mm, 6EV at 600mm. Lens IS 6EV at 150mm and 5EV at 600mm › Weather sealed Yes, dust and freeze proof › Other features Zoom lock at 150mm, tight option for other focal lengths, IS on/off, AF/MF switch, three focus range settings (full, 56cm-10m, 10m to infinity), three function buttons › Dimensions (dxl) 109x264mm › Weight 2065g without caps and hood › Contact explore.omsystem.com › Format Micro Four Thirds › Mount Micro Four Thirds › Filter size 95mm › Construction
SIDE BY SIDE The ED 100-400mm f/5- 6.3 IS (left) at its maximum extension compared with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm f/5-6.3 IS at 600mm (right) “CONSIDERING ITS TELEPHOTO RANGE, YOU WON’T BE SURPRISED THE ED 150-600MM IS A CHUNKY LENS”
TAKE CONTROL The zoom’s handling can be fine-tuned with various switches; three lens function buttons can be programmed from the camera body
42 Photography News | Issue 115
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