Olympus reveals optically stabilised m.Zuiko 300mm f/4 telephoto

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Olympus has revealed its long-expected 300mm f/4 m.Zuiko Micro Four Thirds telephoto lens and confirmed that it is optically stabilised.

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[Imageryone]

Finally here

[Ian]

£2199 - so what does everyone think of the price? Nice touch that there is an Arca Swiss adapter. I expect the lens is compatible with Panasonic bodies (regarding the OIS) so Olympus has instantly doubled its market

Ian

[rosco]

It certainly looks like a fantastic lens-looking forward to the reviews.

[Invicta]

List price of £2199.99. That 1p makes all the difference £2200 would have been too much.

[Mdb2]

Hi Ian, I use this focal length quite a lot in my dragonfly photography and I have the only 40-150 pro. We are all aware that the launch price will drop over the next 12 months, however Olympus has to look at the competition, IE take the canon 300 f4 is usm yes it's an older design, but I think this is the benchmark circa £975. The canon can produce fantastic images as to boot. You have asked about the price so I will not go into the Olympus being heavier. And full frame 600 f8 equivalent. Oops apologies I said it. When the price drops too about just over a grand I will look again. Maybe.
Kind regards mike

[IamFisheye]

I'm surprised at how heavy it is, 1.5kg, given the latest Nikon 300mm F4 PF is only 750g (and only cost me £1300). I'm sure the Olympus IQ is far superior.

I'll wait for some real life reviews as I still have my doubts over AF speed with m4/3. Hopefuly things can only get better and the EM-1 II must be just around the corner.

[byegad]

Gulp! Well the price rules it out for me for several years to come. The Canon, used at under £600 at the moment and a £325 METABONES Canon EF Lens to Micro Four Thirds Camera Smart Adapter looks a much better bet.

[Melaka]

It certainly looks impressive but at that price my credit card will be staying in my wallet. The focus limiter looks easier to use than the rotary one found on other lenses. I like the use of the word 'powerful' in the blurb. Just what does it mean?

[Wee man]

To high for my pocket would prefer a zoom, so will be looking closely at the new Panasonic zoom.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Mdb2

Hi Ian, I use this focal length quite a lot in my dragonfly photography and I have the only 40-150 pro. We are all aware that the launch price will drop over the next 12 months, however Olympus has to look at the competition, IE take the canon 300 f4 is usm yes it's an older design, but I think this is the benchmark circa £975. The canon can produce fantastic images as to boot. You have asked about the price so I will not go into the Olympus being heavier. And full frame 600 f8 equivalent. Oops apologies I said it. When the price drops too about just over a grand I will look again. Maybe.
Kind regards mike

You mean of course 600mm f/4 full frame equivalent (apart from DOF, which will be f/8 equivalent).

We will have to wait and see what the image quality is like. Weight is likely to be a factor of the quantity of glass used although the tripod mount/collar also contributes a fair bit. It's half the weight of the ZD 300mm f/4 and shorter as well.

USM on the Canon is, I doubt, any faster and it will be useless for video even with an appropriate AF-compatible adapter (or even on a Canon body for that matter).

Ian

[bilbo]

Originally Posted by Ian

£2199 - so what does everyone think of the price?

It's ~£500 more expensive than in the US. I think it's disgraceful TBH.

[Simon Bee]

£2k+ is what I was expecting and one has to factor in the development costs of bringing this optic to the market based against the likely 'relatively' low sales volume when looking at the RRP.

Having said that, if 'I' were in the market for such a lens 'I' would be looking at the Pana/Leica 100-400 instead, yes its slower at F6.3 but arguably more versatile, 2/3 the weight, smaller, and at £1349.00 some £850.00 cheaper.

It will be interesting to see how both the Oly 300 and the Pana/Leica 100-400 compare once both are available.

Kind regards, Simon

[Olybirder]

Too expensive and heavy for me but, as the press release indicates, it is aimed squarely at professionals who will have a different view on such matters. For that use the image quality will have to be pretty much perfect, so it will be interesting to see the reviews, especially those comparing it with the much lighter and cheaper Panasonic 100-400 zoom.

It should be a good test for the E-M1's strap lugs! I will be persisting with my 75-300 and 50-200 SWD plus EC-14.

Ron

[Simon Bee]

Originally Posted by bilbo

It's ~£500 more expensive than in the US. I think it's disgraceful TBH.

Nothing new there Brian,

Don't forget that U.S.prices do not show the 'Sales Tax' that will be added to 'in-state' transactions. I believe this varies from something like 4% to 12%, admittedly they still get a far better deal than us but as I have already said ..... 'nothing new there'.

Kind regards, Simon