Photography News 16

Kit reviews

OlympusM.Zuiko ED 40-150mmf/2.8 Pro £1299

SPECS

PRICE £1299 CONTACT

www.olympus.co.uk CONSTRUCTION 16 elements in 10 groups – 3 ED elements, a high refractive, 2 aspheric, 1 aspheric ED FOCAL RANGE (35MMEQUIVALENT) 80-300mm MINIMUM APERTURE f/22 APERTURE BLADES 9 CLOSEST FOCUSING DISTANCE 70cm FILTER SIZE 72mm DIMENSIONS (WXL) 160x79mm WEIGHT 880g with tripod adapter

With the launch of its NX1, Samsung has made it clear that it wants to target experienced photographers. The 50-150mm f/2.8 D is the second in the brand’s premium series, the first being the 16-500mm f/2-2.8 which is in the shops at £940. Its guide price is £1199 and with a 1.5x crop factor, that is equivalent to, according to Samsung’s website, a 77-231mm zoom in 35mm full-frame terms. The Samsung 50-150mm is about 50% lighter and significantly smaller than the 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses from Canon and Nikon, and much cheaper. As a package on the NX1 I thought the combination was well balanced and good to use. AF speed and responsiveness is impressive – and silent too. The internal zoom and focusing construction also means that the lens stays a constant size regardless of zoom setting and subject distance. Optically, the lens is a cracker and capable of very sharp images full of detail. I’d be happy to use the lens at maximum aperture for shallow depth-of- field. Stopping down does have quality benefits but not huge because it’s already so good wide open. Shooting directly towards a low sun did cause some flare despite the supplied lens hood but not worse than any rival telezoom, while the lens’s OIS multi-axis system did very well. Samsung claims a The Micro Four Thirds system has a 2x crop factor, so in 35mm format terms here we have the equivalent of an 80-300mm f/2.8 zoom. So while it is true that the lens is weighty and sizeable for a Micro Four Thirds format lens, considering what’s on offer, there is no denying that the Olympus lens designers have done a remarkable job and produced a really compact lens. It balances well on a grip-less OM-D E-M1 body and the combination is a pleasure to use. It’s not too back or front heavy so getting a stable shooting platform is no problem at all. A solid tripod mount is supplied as you would expect with a fast telezoom. Optically I found the lens very sharp as befits a top-end zoom. Optical sharpness at the 40mm end was good and perked up to very good one stop down and then sharpness stayed at a high plateau to f/16. At the 150mm end it was very sharp from f/2.8 onwards to f/11, beyond which diffraction caused some softening. Generally, with good technique this lens will deliver very sharp images and with portraits it might be even too revealing to the point of being unflattering to your subject. With a low sun there was evidence of some contrast loss shooting into the light. Autofocusing with the lens was very swift in most situations but it could hunt in scenes of poor contrast or when lighting levels were low and with

ABOVE This Olympus telezoomwas super-sharp and speedy in the autofocus stakes so a good lens for the action shooter, but it’s a dab hand at portraits and landscapes too.

The verdict A fine lens whatever subjects you enjoy, but probably has an extra special appeal to action and portrait shooters. It is, of course, a serious investment but for the price and the specification on offer, I think it’s a bargain. It’s a f/2.8 lens which, in 35mm terms, has a 80-300mm range, it comes from a marque brand and it’s an impressive performer. WC

moving subjects sometimes the camera/lens kept up, but not always. We can’t finish this test without a special mention for the supplied lens hood. We all know lens hoods should be used and that is especially true with telephotos, which are more susceptible to being affected by non-imaging light. Most of us carry the lens with the lens hood fitted but reversed and then the hood is refitted the right way round once in use. This hood can be carried facing the right way and then quickly unlocked and click-stopped in position. Ok, it’s not an earth-shattering innovation, but it is a neat piece of Olympus design and one which other brands should consider.

PROS

Optical quality, features, internal AF and zoom design, supplied hood, size

CONS

Servo AF inconsistent

Samsung 50-150mm f/2.8 S EDOIS £1199

SPECS

PRICE £1199 CONTACT

www.samsung.com CONSTRUCTION 20 elements in 13

groups – 4 ED and 1 XHR (eXtreme High Refractive) element FOCAL RANGE (35MMEQUIVALENT) 77-231mm MINIMUMAPERTURE f/22 APERTURE BLADES 9 CLOSEST FOCUSING DISTANCE 70cm at 50mm, 98cm at 150mm FILTER SIZE 72mm DIMENSIONS (WXL) 154x81mm WEIGHT 915g

Optical quality, OIS, size, internal zoom and focus design PROS The verdict Its specification and price tells you this Samsung zoom is a top-end lens, and that is further confirmed by its optical performance. It’s a very sharp lens but of course it needs careful use and when it all comes together, you can enjoy an excellent optical showing irrespective of aperture and focal length. WC

4.5EV benefit at 68mm. I tested it at 68mm, 50mm and 150mm. I was getting consistently sharp handheld shots at 1/10sec at 50mm and 68mm and 1/20sec at 150mm. Shooting at 1/20sec at 150mm is still an impressive 3EV benefit if you take the reciprocal, ie. 1/150sec, as the base shutter speed. Other features include a focus distance limiter and you can set the working range rather than having it predetermined. There is also Samsung’s i-Function button which can be programmed to alter key features such as aperture and white- balance when used with the rear command dial.

CONS Manual focus ring is slow to use

Photography News | Issue 16