Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm 1:4-5.6

Opinion: Compared with some of the eye-wateringly expensive lenses being offered for M43 cameras, it is refreshing to find a budget option that punches above its weight.

At the time of writing, the M. Zuiko 40-150 costs less than the equivalent of US$300 in many countries and has been offered online in the United States for as little as $105. I think most photographers would consider those prices to be more than reasonable for a telephoto zoom.

So what do you get for those few dollars?

You get a sturdy plastic cylinder that is quite a bit smaller and lighter (190g) than a standard can of coke. It zooms in and out firmly (no lens creep), almost doubling its length in the process, and it does feel solid in the hand despite the all-plastic construction.

Most importantly, image quality is good throughout most of the range. At the extreme ends it loses a bit of sharpness, but I have been pleasantly surprised by the general quality of the images (it maintains sharpness in the centre quite well, with little to worry about in terms of distortion, chromatic aberration or vignetting).

Focusing is accurate, although noticeably slower than the 14-42 kit lens. It does tend to hunt in low light.

This lens should be your first consideration when thinking about telephoto for Olympus M43 cameras.

Photographers with Panasonic bodies might want to think twice, as this lens is not stabilised. Stabilisation is important for telephotos, because they tend to amplify camera shake at the long end. Olympus builds stabilisers into its camera bodies, but Panasonic cameras lack this feature.

Opinion: I have ended up using the 40-150mm WAY more than I expected. I've gotten used to seeing at the distance this lens is good for. A lot of special shots can be attributed from my photos to this lens now. It allows me to compose things that normally could not be placed together in a frame because I can do it from a distance. Great value too @ $160.00.