Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)1. I recently purchased this lens for my EP-1 and will put forth some observations about this lens.
* Size: As most reviews of this lens have noted, it's obviously longer than the 14-42mm Olympus kit lens. However, the "how much longer" is only truly appreciated when you mount it on you camera; when you do so, you'll think silently "... hum, this is a bit longer than I thought it would be."But depending on your expectations / purposes for this lens, it may or may not matter. For myself, I knew ahead of time that this lens was going to be overtly longer than the kit lens and thus I was prepared for it. Furthermore, since the 14-42mm kit lens, although smaller, is not a very compact lens like the 17mm pancake, the EP-1 with the 14-42mm is never going to be a combo where I'm going to be able to put it in my large pockets etc... Thus, I would need to carry the EP-1 + 14-42mm in a case etc... If that's the case (and it is with me), having the EP-1 with the 14-150mm is no big deal because it's still compact enough to still fit in my case and it's certainly light weight.
* Build Quality: basically... decent enough--> translation--> overt plastics.Olympus is trying to keep costs down so as to attract as many folks into the micro 4/3 camp. However at some point, please--> make some lens that don't feel like a semi-toy. With that being said, the optics are good and in the end--> it's all about the pictures.
* Focus: One of the biggest reasons I transitioned to this lens from the kit 14-42mm was the annoying way the kit lens had to refocus each time and the in / out movements it had to go through. Everytime I would use the kit lens, it made me feel like I was using some first generation autofocus lens from the 1980s. This lens, although not lightening fast, definitely focuses smoother and quicker than the 14-42mm, which may not be saying much to some folks, but bottomline, it focuses quicker, quieter and "better" for whatever that means.If you have the new 9-18mm micro 4/3 lens, it focuses like that lens.
* Image quality: very good. As with all of the Olympus lens thus far (in the micro 4/3 line), this lens gives clear, sharp, nicely rendered color images etc... I won't and can't go into a technical analysis of the lens, but in general, when viewing the images taken with the camera, most will be very happy with the results. No surprises here.
* Speed: As everyone knows, you can't have everything in life. If you want a faster lens, you're going to end up with a bigger lens... and a more expensive lens... or a lens with a smaller focal length range (which is what I would argue for). I along with everyone else would have liked a faster lens, but this is basically a consumer grade all in one, does everything lens and thus f4 is in line with this kind of product.
2. In summary, this is a very good lens for all Olympus micro 4/3 users who understand and accept the limitations of this lens. Now as wish list to Olympus: please come out with some quality (optically and build quality) lens, esp prime lens.
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Olympus ED 14-150mm f/4.0-5.6 micro Four Thirds Lens for Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four Third Interchangeable Lens Digital CameraOLYMPUS 261504 Zuiko Digital 14–150mm f/4.0–5.6 ED Lens
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