OLYMPUS M.Zuiko Digital 75-300mm F4.8-6.7 For Micro Four Thirds SYSTEM Camera, Compact Powerful Zoom lens, Outdoor

I wanted a long lens that would couple with my OM-D EM 5 mk II to shoot the 21 August eclipse. Given the budgetary facts of life, it was either this one or get a T-mount adapter and use a 40+ year old 400mm stovepipe tele I had in the closet. The stovepipe wouldn't couple and isn't so sharp. So I bought this. I am delighted that I did. The lens is reasonably sharp at long distances and all focal lengths. The corners soften wide open at 300mm, but stopping down to f/8.0 or f/11 pretty well mitigates the problem, and anyway with a long lens central sharpness is most important.At focal lengths up to about 250-275 mm I have no optical complaints whatever. To be sure it is not the famous Leica 400mm Visoflex lens of long ago, nor one of the Olympus PRO-Series lenses. Neither does it carry their price tags. It is slow, so the remedy is to up the camera's ISO value, an advantage of digital over any film ever made. Even stopped down the depth of field is shallow, so isolating the subject is not a problem. I haven't yet done any tests for /bokeh/, so I can't comment on that.The exposure, as corrected by the camera's firmware is even with little or no vignetting. Chromatic aberration is commendably low, given the price point.The lens is well built, given focal length range, aperture, and price. The plastic seems to be high quality industrial grade, and the whole thing feels solid on the camera (EM-5 mk II). The package is well balanced in the hand.Cons: the lens really should have some kind of bracket or foot to improve the way it balances on a tripod. The ergonomics are less than stellar, and it's awkward to reach the manual focus ring to tweak focus, necessary on tele shots.Real Life: I have attached an enlarged and cropped HAND HELD picture of the moon. As to post processing: very little. A bit of exposure correction and routine sharpening that all digital pictures benefit from. Note that the lunar color is pretty neutral, as it was that evening. No color corrections at all were applied.The Tycho crater stands out cleanly; the craters along the terminator came out much better than expected. If solar prominences are present at the eclipse, there should be no problem capturing them.Long distance landscape test shots were sharp, with excellent contrast and color.I really can recommend this to any micro-4/3 user who wants a very long lens for nature, scenery, and sports but who also has a budget that prevents acquiring a Pro-series lens.

Completes my camera kit. Perfect for close-up shots from a distance. Lens is OK, clean, and sharp.

If you’re a Micro Four Third (MFT) user and you’re thinking of getting into wildlife photography, get this lens to start with. This lens is usually around $500 and you can’t beat that price to get into wildlife photography. You can always go for better glass once you outgrow this lens. So why get this lens over the Panasonic 100-300mm? It starts wider at 75mm and it’s lighter. Get the Panasonic lens if you want weather proofing or if you’re using a Panasonic camera (for better IS and AF).My main wildlife setup is a Sony A7III with a Sony 200-600mm lens. While I have no issues handholding that setup, sometimes it’s just nicer to use a smaller and lighter setup. My Sony setup weighs 6lbs and 12oz. My Olympus M1 Mark II with this lens is 2lbs and 6oz. I like to hike in my local parks taking pictures and watching the local wildlife. I get less fatigue with this setup and I can enjoy my walks. The Field of View (FOV) of this lens is about the same as my Sony 200-600mm lens. Yes, there are differences between Full Frame and MFT but if you have enough light, it can be hard to tell the difference. I live in Florida, so I have plenty of light!This lens does feel kinda cheap and plasticky and a lens hood is not included (which I think is a must have). Due to the light weight of this lens, some people may not get sharp photos due to not using the correct technique. Remember you’re using a FOV of 600mm (full frame equivalent) lens! Any little movement you make can impact your image. It’s no different than using a 600mm lens on a full frame camera. This lens do not have Image stabilization so make sure your camera body has it or use a high enough shutter speed. While the autofocus on this lens isn’t the fastest, I feel it’s fine. My gripes are more with the camera bodies than this lens.As I stated, this is a wonderful lens for the money. It’s a great starting point for wildlife photography without breaking the bank. I love this lens and I’m able to take some wonderful wildlife photos that I’m extremely happy with.

I just received this lens today and I am glad I did. I took few pictures and I am already very impressed with the quality and sharpness of images. For this price and range you would be hard pressed to find another lens to compete with it. Build quality, compactness and focus speed is very good. It is slow a bit but for daylight shooting this is not a problem. Paired with my OMD EM1-ii the vibration is not a problem hence you can shoot at much slower shutters. The size of this lens is a phenomenal advantage over DSLR s. The effective 150-600mm range would require a hefty lens and camera combo if you were shooting a full frame DSLR.In short highly recommended. You will be very happy with it.