The BEST Micro Four Thirds Zoom (and some alternatives!) 

Definitely agree on this lens making sense of the system. Also, the elephant came out nicer imo. Sets it apart from the classic opening of the lion king type picture 👍

Have had this baby since 2021. From weddings, to nature it is an all round gem. Lovely review as always.

I’m just casually enjoying photography/camera content, not really gearing myself up for a new full-blown technical hobby just yet. I’ve been jumping around youtube creators about camera reviews and they’re all great. But the particular way you talk about photography/camera, it feels like a fun journey that doesn’t get too caught up in mainstream hype and is all about just enjoying the moment with your camera. Thanks for the great content!

The Lens is great and your pictures are AMAZING!!

This is also my favorite lens. I find I use the 12-100 f/4 pro more often, but that's because of its added versatility. The 40-150 though, it's amazing. Add the 2x tc and you've got more reach, and it's still fairly sharp.

Your pictures are great! Nice work.

Congratulations on the review! I love your videos and the way you present them!

My favourite zoom is the Lumix 35-100 f4-5.6. I know, it isn't weather sealed, it is a bit slow, but, it is tiny, it has IS, it is fab!

I was researching telephoto zooms a couple of hours ago. I eliminated the 40-150mm f/2.8 because it is heavy and expensive. But now I am going to go back and look at it again. Thanks!

Another great vid of the exact thing Im currently looking at getting 🤣 thanks for that!

I was expecting you that you compare this Olympus Lens to the Lumix 50-200mm.

Since I don’t photograph in jungles and my telephoto shots are in daylight my $99 Olympus plastic fantastic 40-150mm does remarkably well.

A great review, and some great shots from Africa too! I agree entirely. The 40-150 is a work of art itself. That and their 12-40 f2.8 Pro covers 99.5% of anything I need to shoot, both with superb sharpness and clarity. The awesome Olympus 12-100 f4 Pro is another impressive lens. It is image stabilized and even works in synergy with an Oly/OM camera's IBIS. It is sharp throughout the range in my experience, and weather sealed. That alone fills 85% of my shooting needs.

Lovely lens. The om-1 lets you disable the manual clutch on Oly lenses 👍 It's also compatible with the 1.4x and 2x teleconverters.

WoW! That’s Awesome!

I adore this lens, it's this lens and the Pany 25mm F1.4 are constantly in my bag.

I own the Olympus M43 zoom trifecta: 7-14mm f/2.8, 12-40mm f/2.8 and this 40-150mm f/2.8. I shot the eclipse in 2017 with the 40-150 + 1.4x teleconverter. I also have the Lumix 14mm f/2.5 and the Olympus 60mm f/2.8 macro, which I use for scanning negatives and slides (seemingly a never-ending project since I have them going back to the 80's). My lenses are why I stay with Olympus M43. To get a collection of lenses of this quality for a new FF kit would break the bank. Liked and subscribed :)

I don't even own that lens yet and I already know it's going to be my favorite. Thanks for sharing.

I use mine with a 1.4 Teleconverter - Barely any loss of sharpness, and the boost in range makes bird photography do-able. I might get the TC2.0 next, then I will have equivalent 160-600 F5.6!!

I own both the 40-150 f/2.8 and also the Panny 35-100 f/2.8--and I'm so happy with the picture quality of both! I use the Panny as my "all around" compact tele zoom, while my 40-150 is permanently paired with the MC20 teleconverter to make it my "super zoom" kit. I've dabbled with the thought of picking up the Panny (or Oly) 100-400, but can't quite justify the outlay for basically a 600 to 800mm bump.

I haven't checked your whole channel yet, but I'd love to see you do a comparison between the 40-140 F4 and F2.8! Thank you for your videos!

Thank you for this video. I have the Panasonic 45-200 lens. Almost never use it. I live between 35 and 85mm. While I have the 35-100 lens, I seldom use this lens either. My favorite zoom lens are the Panasonic & Panasonic Leica 12-60mm lenses. I’m sure longer lenses are valued by many photographers. I simply am not attracted to long lenses. It is good to know if I need these long lenses they are it there. Mask On Nurse Marty(Ret)

Love your videos Emily. Maybe I'm just a bit cack-handed but I've managed to break two lens hoods on the 40-150mm lens. The internal ball-bearings just seem to want to pop out!

40-150f2.8 is my dream lens tbh. I have an old f2.8 and just ordered a rokinon 135 to replace it. The wide aperture really helps with low light, and when a lens is sharp cropping helps a lot. The autofocus would be a godsend, one day I’ll have the money 😂

Yes love m4/3 for all that amazingly excellent lenses. Good video and great photos from Africa.

I picked up the 40-150 f4 pro and couldn't be happier. I struggled with the decision for a minute but the lighter weight and compatibility swayed me to the f4. However, I think the 2.8 would be the lens I would recommend to most people for its extra light gathering. I don't use that focal range too often and when I do I'm usually shooting around f8 anyway and I only use primes in low light situations. I think micro 4/3 has the best lens selection of any format and the 40-150 pro lenses both exemplify why the system is so darn good.

Some wonderful lenses! Really want to get the 14-140mm!

great shirt (love fit for a king) and great video (thinking to get this lens)😊

Love your channel Emily and you took some great wildlife shots on your safari. I'm planning on an African safari next year (Okavango Delta) and I'm thinking about best lens choices. I have a G9ii and for telephoto lenses: Panny 35-100 and Leica 100-400. What I don't have a good feel for is how far/close I will be to wildlife. Will the 100-400 be too long (in general) and should I therefore be looking at something like the Oly 40-150 or Leica 50-200? I'd prefer a faster lens so the Oly 40-150 F2.8 has me interested.

Here I am about to buy a Lunix G85😅, so this is nice to know!!!

The 40-150 and 300mm were my wildlife kit along with my EM1x and EM1.2. The 40-150 was my go to lens in the heavy forest shooting Elk here in the HOH Rainforest. I sold all my pro Oly gear when I switched to FF Nikon. But man sometimes I sure miss them. I still have my Pen F though :)

Oly 75-300mm ii and OM Systens 40-150f4 pro, all on an OM-5 cover my birding needs.

Nice video Emily - any thoughts on how the new OM System 40-150 f4 compares to the Oly 40-150 f2.8 in terms of IQ?

Nice video. I have the Oly 40-150 f2.8. Lovely lens. That Lumix 35-100 f2.8 looks intriguing.

Hi Emily, which one is sharper between the oly 40-150 and the Lumix 35-100? Thank you

I considered buying this lens; however, I do have the Panasonic 35-100 f2.8 so I bought the Leica 50-200 f2.8 - 4.

It's the lens that keeps me with MFT. Wildlife . Portraits. Sports. Event photo and video. I love it! I'm a big guy so it's small to me.

Hi Emily, have you ever used the PL 50-200mm? If so, do you consider it on par with the Oly 40-150mm f2.8 or worse? Last thing: do you have presets for Dxo in your store or do you only have them for LR? Thanks

I use the 40-150 for a lot of things. At the current time, I usually carry that lens and the 7-14. I may be using the wide zoom more just now. Both lenses are superb.

The Panasonic 35-100mm f2.8 is on my must have list. Have the PanaLeica 100-400mm almost welded to my G80 to capture all the wildlife around my home. The 12-35mm f2.8 is my go to lens for everything else.

I watched your video about the new Lumix Leica 12-35mm, but I can't find anything about the Leica 35-100mm. I'm looking for a zoom for sports events, and even I'll love that extra reach of the Olympus... But with the bulky size of the Olympus, in many events, if I'm not going as authorized media but as a regular person, they might not let me in with such a large lens. That's why I'm leaning towards the Panasonic ones... My problem is which one to choose... Mk I, II, or III. What would be your recommendation?

My most used lens. Sharp and durable. I often add the TC 1.4 which turns it into a 54-210 f4 with no loss IQ or focus speed/accuracy. Sweet! (PS I love the focus clutch and don’t miss the ILS due to the robust IBIS of OMD System…different strokes for different folks. All good 😊)

40-150 has been on my list for years. Sadly I would rather spend double that on some damp proofing and plastering because I'm an absolute rockstar 😂

I bought the Oly 40-150 f2.8, yes I found it very sharp, but the zoom ring being opposite direction the Panasonic slightly annoyed me, but worse was there was play between lens and my G9. Sold it on and prefer using PL100-400 and 14-140.

I would like to take the hands on the 35-150mm f2, What do you think? Love your reviews

Thanks for great video! I "shoot" mainly motor sports and birds with Olympus cameras. The 40-150 f2.8 and the Panasonic / Leica 200 f2.8 are my main lenses - one on each camera to save swapping lenses (both are superb). I started in M43 with the 40-150 and both teleconverters, but soon part exed them, putting them towards the cost of the 200 without its teleconverter (I hate the things!), from MPB of course! I also have the Lumix 45-175, which I use when going for a long walk and think I may want to photograph something - if I go out specifically to take photographs - either (or both) of the 2.8s go with me. The 200 (400 field of view full frame) can be a little short at times for birding, but then I use the digital zoom to give 800 efl which works very well, even for birds in flight - the same goes for the 40-150. With the two of them I'm covered from full frame 80-800, which can't be bad. Incidentally, a note here for MPB - The last two times I wanted to buy something from them, their system would not accept my plastic for some strange reason - maybe it is because I live in the Isle of Man? Until last year I never had a problem, so maybe they need to look into it as they are loosing out.

Terrific lens, pairs nicely with 1.4 extender. Hate the lens hood (replaced with 3rd party after it kept falling apart) and disabled the slip clutch for both my M-1 Mark III and E-MX.

The olympus 40-150 pro f/2.8 is just amazing.

I've had really good luck with the Panasonic 35-100 2.8, that plus the Olympus 12-40 make a great pair for a lot of touring uses, it's a great range and both lenses make very pleasant images.

Have you used lumix 14-140mm and what do you think of the lens

Ive got the non pro f5.something to f6.3 olympus lens. Yes its not ideal in low light, yes its not an internal zoom but damn its light and compact. It tend to use it quite often on a wander about as i like the versatility.

Hi Emily, do you find any mismatched feeling when using this lens on a Panasonic body like G9II? As I could imagine, the lens does not support linear focus mode like other PanaLeica lenses, and I'm not sure if the custom button on the lens could work on a Panasonic body? Also, how does the AF perform with G9II's pdaf? Panasonic has just released some firmware updates to certain lenses to help them get better AF performance with G9II, obviously, this Olympus could not get this kind of update, so what will we lose here? I'm asking because I'm very attempting to buy this lens to pair with G9II, I just keep thinking if it's really a good idea to mix Olympus with Panasonic. Thanks in advance. BTW, great review, as usual.

I have the cheapo panny 45-150 and it's definitely my favourite travel lens just for focal length. The wide end is great for portraits, and the long end is good enough for the inevitable seagull shots. I'd like the oly for the weather sealing and the aperture, but the panny does me OK, and the oly hasn't quite made it to the front of the budget queue yet.

Hi Emily! I'm glad you are enjoying your 40-150 :-) I really like my panasonic 50-200. I suspect it isn't as sharp since it is variable aperature, but it has been great so far. To be fair though, it is more expensive.

I love my 40-150. Though most of my images are taken with the 12-40, whenever I have an excuse to use the 40-150 I'm so happy to be able to do so :)

Agree, great lens and works well on my G9. With the MC14 1.4x teleconverter it gives you a sharp 210mm f4 lens (420mm full frame equivalent if you like).

I disable the clutch in a couple of custom modes on my 2 Pro OM lenses. The number of times it slipped on its own proved to be very annoying! I still leave it enabled in normal shutter priority as it comes in handy when trying to shoot birds in and around trees. I did try the 1.4 tele-converter, and I returned it, The Pana L 100-400 which I've owned forever, is much better than the 40-150, or the 300 f4 with the 1.4 added (OM-1 body) Believe it or not the old 50-200 Olympus from 2010 or so converted 4/3's to M4/3s is amazingly sharp and some of my best shots of birds have been while using it.

I own it. How nice to have a 90-300 vs a 70-200. Sadly used, it was missing the lens hood. I put on a cheap after market.

You are absolutely right that m4/3 is spoiled for choices. I always get paralysis when I go to my gear closet: 12-100? PL 100-400? PL 200mm? Olympus 40-150 f/2.8? Maybe go a little lighter with the PL 12-60 and another zoom or prime? At the end of the day, I usually end up with the 12-100 and 100-400 in my bag and then a prime to supplement.

Just sold my 40-150 to MPB (and my 12-40) and got a decent price. I'll miss it but needed the money right now. I'll probably replace them both with the 12-100 F/4 when finances allow. You are absolutely right about it being a superb lens and in the Oly camera you can turn off the manual clutch if I recall correctly.

Definitely looks like an excellent lens. Just would like to Know what is still on the om lens roadmap. Hope the missing lens would be something in between this 45-150 2.8 and the 70-300. Hopefully a smaller form factor

The Olympus 40-150/2.8 Pro and MC14 combo are my 'Go to" m43 tele glass...Cheers

what lens are you using to film yourself in this review the red bloom is a little distracting for it but I am interested in something like that for a project coming up

I love my GX85 as an easy walking camera to take with me every day, I have it in a 3L Peak Design sling, and thanks to MFT being so compact, I can carry four lenses in that kit, and not even notice it.

How does it compare in lowlight/dark surroundings?

When I drank the full frame Koolaid and sold most of my M43 stuff to fund the switch, the most painful loss was giving up my Olympus 40-150 2.8 Pro. It's such an amazing lens. I got some of my absolute best pictures and video with it. It even doubles as a semi macro . The closest thing on Sony is the 100-400 GM, but it's twice the weight and twice the price. I definitely need to reacquire it.

A beautiful, well-made zoom that is sharp right into the corners and also works well with the TC1.4. I had it on the OMD E-M1 and on the Lumix G81 and G9. The only real weakness, however, is the bokeh, which is very unattractive depending on the background.

I tend to like dramatic ultra wide shots. After agonizing over the price for a few months, I found a good deal on a used Olympus 12-100 Pro. Pixel peeping, I don't see much difference between this and the Tamron 14-150 I used before it. But the Pro has a level of clarity that I can't quite put my finger on. It's become my default lens on my EM5 when traveling for work. A little front heavy on that body, but it is often the only lens I need to take.

YES

I hired this lens last year to pair with a Panasonic G9. I'd been considering buying it as I liked the idea of a fast 300mm but whilst the optics are excellent, I found the AF very patchy, failing to move at random times even with a centre close-in subject? Maybe it was the hire lens or just a issue with Panasonic connectivity?

What about the PL 50-200mm? Could it be even better? Especially for a Pana body?

Emily - you have such a musical clear voice it is always a pleasure listening to your wise words. You are doing a great job.

I also bought this lens from MPB in excellent condition, for about $620 USD, which is a freaking steal! MPB has always been good to me.

I need a print of that elephant dump photo in my bathroom... for inspiration

I absolutely agree 100% with the your observations regarding the quality of the Oly 40-150 F/2.8. I've found it to be a bit on the bulky side for me personally (though not nearly as bulky as a FF equivalent). I also found I rarely needed the 150mm focal length in my photograhpy. And since I'm all about traveling light and fast (much prefer to take my E-M5 III over say my E-M1 III) I've found it a bit unbalanced/bulky when paired with the smaller type camera bodies I prefer. I figured, what good is a premium/pro grade lens when it's basically gathering dust on the shelf. So, I ended up trading it in for a Pana 35-100 F/2.8 II (through MPB mind you :) ) Has the reach I need in my photography, the faster aperture for lower light situations, weather sealing, and can be tossed into my Peak Design everyday sling 3L along with a small camera body and room to spare for a small prime or two. I'm a happy camper with that combination.

Hi! So you haven't found a reason to upgrade from the Panasonic 35-100 v1 to the v2? Is it because the advantages aren't worth the money or is it because there are none? Thanks!

5:31 manual clutch accidentally being engaged: at least on the OM System/Olympus bodies this can be disabled in the menu. I have my standard CF multiple exposure mode with the clutch disabled, and other modes geared toward single exposures with the clutch enabled.

I like your channel

Great video Emily! On the budget side of things I know a number of folks who love their 40-150 Oly f4-5.6. I know: Not nearly as bright, but very small and not that expensive. Weather sealing as well. And of course there is the 75-300, similar points. Have you used? It does seem that when it comes to telephoto zoom matching lens brands to cameras often a better fit too. Have you found that? Anyway, the only real question here… did you paint your OM1 lens cap red?

The manual focus clutch can be disabled in Olympus/OM System cameras. Most interesting competition in my opinion is the Pana-Leica 50-200mm. Have you tried that?

Yep, i love my olympus 40-150 f2.8, one of the sharpest most versatile telezoom ever

Awesome video! I own the 40-150mm f2.8 pro and i have to say that the f2.8 is really useful especially in my country all the way until about 7.30pm, where its quite dark. Please also do a review between the OM-system 150-400mm vs panasonic 100-400mm! I think might be quite an interesting discussion.

if a lens does not have stabilisation why not use an Olympus / O M version that does have excellent ibis , just a thought :)). Loving the images

Is anyone using the om 40-150 f2.8 on a G9ii body and found compatibility issues? I understand that the fxn button on the lens will not work but other than that, I’ve not read about any downsides, particularly related to focusing speed an reliability.

I leave the manual clutch on as standard and switch back only when I need to.

I know you say it's annoying that this lens isn't stabilised, but do you think it really needs it? The in body stabilisation of the OM-1 and 1.2 is so ridiculously good that the focus point barely moves when you're shooting a static subject, even at full reach. I'd say it's as good as the Fuji 50-140 f2.8 I'm trying that is stabilised (and also has the IBIS of the X-H2 body to go with it). That's my observations anyway. I find the most annoying thing about this lens is that the tripod mount doesn't support the camera horizontally when it's not on a tripod - it tilts backwards and rests on the bottom edge of the body. Yes I know it's a tripod mount so that shouldn't matter, but it just annoys me!

I love my panasonic leica 50-200, which is probably a better choice on my G9ii. And I recently got a 2 times teleconvertor, and I love the combo because of it's portability. It needs quite some light with the tc installed, but I don't need to carry my 100-400.

I have the 12-100 F4 Pro and the 100-400 from OM System. Some primes like the Sigma 56 F1.4, Pana 25mm F1.7, 60mm Makro F2.8 and now the Laowa 6mm F2.0 Zero-D. I wwas recently photographing an indoor comedy standup, using the 12-100 and the Sigma lens. I had to shoot between 4000-10000 ISO due to the bad lights. Images got out well thanks to the OM-1 and Lightroom noise reduction, but since then I am tempted to get the 40-150 F2.8, for less lens switching indoors and a good aperture.

Also, a couple of years ago I compared using the Lumix 35-100 f2.8 vs the Lumix 100-300 wondering if the larger aperture (but shorter focal length) would result in a better photograph. I was testing this with birds in the backyard. Hands down, the 100-300 at the long end won every time. Cropping into the 100mm of the f2.8 couldn't hold a candle to filling the frame (as much as possible) with the 100-300. In that case, I would use a longer lens on safari every time. I think the use case for the 40-150 f2.8 comes in for events and sports where one may be contracted to shoot. but for wildlife...unless it's past dusk and the subjects are very close I will always choose the longer lens.

Hard to beat the Oly 40-150/2.8 Pro in that zoom range category. Stellar lens in all regards.

My favorite all in one lens is the Zuiko 12-100mm/F4 pro. Very versatile reach, unique for MFT (there is no FF equivalent), stabilized with Sync IS. No support for teleconverters unfortunately, and for wildlife not long enough obviously. For that I would bring a second body with the 300mm/F4 and the tcs. I would have bought the Zuiko 100-400mm if it would have been pro and stabilized or the 150-400mm pro if it would have been affordable 😂

When I go to travel, a Leica FT 14-150 with an adapter mounted on my GX8 or EM-1III is enough. I like the old FT lenses, Leica Lumix and Olympus professional. They are the best lenses for MFT or FT systems.

I love the lens and use it with my Oly M10 Mark II and M1 Mark II camera bodies. Anyone considering purchasing the lens should know that it works with the OLY 1.4 and 2.0 teleconverters but the widest aperture is reduced to 5.6 (?) or so...can't remember the specific numbers. As to the focus clutch, with Olympus bodies, the clutch can be disabled in the menu settings. I love the lens and the only complaint I have is that in some situations, the bokeh can be very "busy". The new blur tool in Lightroom Classic has been a real blessing for some of my shots. The original lens hood is prone to fall apart, and mine did. I replaced it with the Oly LH-76D lens hood which is an alternative replacement and is just a basic one piece twist-on lens hood. Personally, I wouldn't spend the $$ to buy the original hood. I wish OM Systems would come out with a more durable version of it. After purchasing the 40-150mm f/2.8, I sold my Oly 75-300mm Mark II lens which I now regret. I find there are time when I want to keep the 40-150 pro lens on my M1 without a teleconverter and would like to have the 75-300 mounted on my M10 and ready to use when I need to use the 150-300mm range. Some of the shortcomings of the 75-300 can now be compensated for with the more advanced noise reduction programs that are available. So....I'm giving some serious thought about buying another 75-300mm lens as that lens was a lot of fun to use and captured some pretty good images.

big thick elastic band solves the Olympus Pro lens clutch issue (I've had one on my 7-14 since a few days after buying and discovering four fifths of the photos were out of focus (easy to do with an ultra wide - hard to see fine detail/focus in the viewfinder, particularly when thinking its on auto focus)

Fantastic video! I've been trying that lens out and its a really good lens, but i want the stabilizing so i can use dual IS on the G9II. I've been wanting to try the Panaleica 50-200 F2.8-4 because it has the dual IS and it's seams like a perfect fit between the 40-150 and 100-400. But i havent been able to try it out yet to see if it as awesome as the 40-150 F2.8 :(

Thinking about stabilization, the Fujifilm 50-140/2.8 is stabilized. It’s approximately the same length, but a little bit heavier. Roughly the same MSRP, too. Olympus probably could have added stabilization and not gotten that much bulkier.

mpb: great!

That lensmount and hood is very easy to tear/brake. Never trusted to use mine and sold it same price. Did not like to work on buzy backrounds either. Amazing it still exists and its olympus😂

I was sweating over the choice between this lens and the Panny 50-200 until I heard the rumours about the OM 50-200. Hope that doesn't go the way of the rumoured - what was it? - 50-250? If it does I'll probably pick up the 150, and in the meantime I've an Oly 4/3 50-200 and adapter combo filling in. The manual clutch has tripped me up on the 300mm once or twice. Hair-raising when your new OM-1 won't autofocus and you don't know what happened to it. 😅

What about the 12-140 or 14-140