Olympus’ Monster Telezoom Is Here!

It’s a lens that couldn’t be done – at least in practical terms – with a sensor any bigger than Micro Four Thirds, but Olympus had gone all-out to make the most of the 1.97x magnification factor. The much-awaited M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO supertelephoto zoom is still physically a big lens – measuring 31.4cm in length and weighing in at 1,875g – but this needs to be put into perspective because it’s equivalent to a 300-800mm with a constant aperture of f/4.5. If you then engage the built-in 1.25x teleconverter, you get 375-1000mm for the loss of two-thirds of a stop of speed… so the constant aperture is now f/5.6. That's some lens!

To add to the versatility, it has optical image stabilisation which, when matched with the five-axis in-body stabilisation of the OM-D E-M1X and the E-M1 Mark III, gives a massive eight stops of correction for camera shake at 300mm, and there’s still six stops of leeway at 1000mm. “Hand-held shooting is possible,” says Olympus and we believe them.

The optical construction comprises a total of 28 elements, arranged in 18 groups and including one large-diameter extra-low dispersion aspherical type (EDA for short, and an Olympus specialty) and four Super ED types which, collectively, minimise chromatic aberrations and optimise corner-to-corner sharpness. Olympus’ Z Coating Nano multicoating is designed to deal with internal reflections, while the zooming mechanism is internal so the lens doesn’t change length.

On the outside, the construction employs magnesium alloy barrel tubes with full weather protection, including for shooting in subzero temperatures. The off-white finish serves as a heat-resistant coating to help reduce temperature build-ups internally which can affect performance. There’s a fluorine coating on the exposed surface of the front element to help repel moisture and grease, and also make it easier to clean. The substantial lens hood is carbonfibre, so it’s lightweight enough not to upset the lens’ handling balance. The screwthread filter fitting, by the way, is 95mm.

The minimum focusing distance of 1.3 metres gives a maximum magnification of 1:1.75 at 800mm and 1:1.3 at 1000mm… which means this lens also has pretty handy close-up capabilities.

If 375-1000mm isn’t long enough for you, the M.Zuiko Digital Teleconverter MC-14 1.4x and MC-20 2.0x optional teleconverters are supported, giving focal ranges of 525-1400mm and 750-2000mm respectively.

Available at the end of January, the M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO is priced at $11,999.

For more information visit https://olympus.com.au