Olympus Zuiko Digital 70-300mm F4-5.6 ED Telephoto Zoom Lens
Well having recent posted about the Olympus ZD 25mm F2.8 pancake lens, this will be my second article about modern non-film gear. I guess the genie is out of the bottle. At some point I'll likely create a new digital gear section and move these pages there. But anyway, we have here a very nice telephoto zoom lens from Olympus for the 4/3 mount... the Oly ZD 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 ED, which was first introduced in 2007. I picked this up in beautiful used condition from a local camera shop (along with an E-500 and 40-150/3.5-4.5 lens). Read on for my impression of this lens along with sample photos...
Above: Olympus Zuiko Digital 70-300mm F4-5.6 ED lens, shown on an Olympus E-520 body.
[ Buy one here ]
I should confess first of all, that I'm not a big "telephoto zoom guy". I think they are cool from a photo gearhead point of view, but my shooting preference doesn't pull me toward the large zooms. I have no patience for the tedious process of trying to photograph birds! But I know many people who are great at it and this lens will no doubt meet the needs of such photographers. That disclaimer out of the way, my impression of this lens is very good. Like all modern zooms in the same price bracket, it's construction is mostly plastic, but of course is has a metal mount, and it feels very tightly made, with excellent fit and finish.
LIKES: Relatively light weight considering size and focal range (probably owed to slightly smaller 4/3 format); focus is relatively fast and accurate provided you point it at something with some contrast (true of all lenses though); images were nice and sharp throughout the range, and even quite sharp wide open!
DISLIKES: Focus seems a tad on the loud side to me, but only a tad; focus hunted at times if there wasn't anything contrasty in the center of your viewfinder.
Specifications:
- Focal length: 70-300mm (35mm equivalent: 140-600mm)
- Maximum Aperture: f/4-5.6
- Minimum Aperture: f/22
- Optical Construction: 14 elements in 10 groups
- Image Angle: 18 - 4.1 degrees
- Minimum focusing distance: 3.2' (0.96 m)
- Weight: 21.7 oz. (615 g) (excluding hood and caps)
- Length: 127.5 mm (5 in) (minimum w/o hood, max. approx. 10.75" extended w/hood)
- Lens hood: Included, bayonet mount, plastic (LH-61E)
- Filter mount thread diameter: 58mm
Above: Fiddleheads in Royal River Park; Photo taken with an Olympus Evolt E-520 and Zuiko Digital 70-300mm F4-5.6 ED telephoto zoom lens.
View a gallery of sample photos taken with this lens
[ Buy one here ]