I still have this lens and other 4/3rds lenses in perfect condition, along with an E3 and E5. I have just bought the EM1 mark II so this video came at the perfect time.
I have this exact one and love it. Have the adapter and converters for my EM1-ii. Also have the 12-60, 11-22 and the 8mm fisheye. Don't use E5, E3 or E1 anymore but have them and cut my photography teeth on them. Thanks for your evaluation of the 50-200. Still one of my favorite lenses.
Thanks Peter, I have that lens and i’m very happy with it. It lives on my em-1 in my studio and I user for almost all my product photography. The image quality is very good and using it on a Salon-stand tethered to my computer with Olympus Image Capture the weight is actually just a bonus 😃👍
I have the SWD version and love it. I use it on my OM1 MKII and it always feels good in the hand - there is just something about it that compensates for the size. A great lens and quickly attaining a cult status.
I actually owned a few Four Thirds lenses and I currently still own a couple. I’ve never owned Four Thirds cameras and only use them with my em1s where they have worked beautifully!
Thanks for making this video I'm so incredibly pleased to see not only your comments and examples but the many that are listed in the comment section about positive experiences using this on a new micro four thirds camera.. I've been thinking about this for a few months and I was delighted to see that your video was only a couple months old so people are out there experimenting with this idea.. The Olympus lenses are so underrated and so high performing. Thanks again
Hi Peter, I normally use my EM1 mark I with 12-40 zoom. In winter, I use the same EM1 with MMF3 and 14-54 f2-8-3.5 zoom (mark 1- Non-SWD). SAF is just as fast with this 4:3 lens. On MF, Focus Peaking makes it a joy when using the 14-54 zoom. Please continue on your excellent work on UA-cam.
Peter....I still own the 35-100 2.0. 14-35 2.0. 50 2.0 macro. 50 200 SWD. and all shoot very well with my EM1MII and my new EM1MIII. I tried the m4/3rd 40-150 2.8 but returned it because the 50-200 has better range just as clear and have good success with BIF especially using cluster AF. Considering weight I have the battery grip on 99% of the time anyway so this lens is no BIG(heavy) deal...Stay Safe. John
Hi, thanks for your tests Peter! I've bought a few 4/3 lenses to pair with my em-1 + grip in 2015: 8mm fisheye, 50/2 macro, 12-60 and 50-200 swd with ec-14 and ec-20... Never regreet it: they're all gems with mmf3 converter! Oly fabulous IQ is there and compensate the more recent AF of the quite expensives new lenses... And for tele primes old Canon 100/2, 135/2 and 200/2.8 EF-L lenses with a Viltrox converter or speedbooster (alongside with a x1.4) make the job very efficiently! M4/3 is still the best system for my needs: so tiny with f/1.8 primes and so powerful with super teles!
I recently purchased a SWD version with the 1,4x teleconverter to fit in my E-M1 and U LOVE it! Image quality is suberb and it has a unique character compared to analogue manual vintage lenses. In now setting my sights on the F2 lenses. Yes, I'm hooked!
I still like the styling of the four thirds lenses. Really rugged looking. I used to look at this lens in the local camera shop and it was really expensive so it looks a good buy at that price.
@@ForsgardPeter I can really recommend it! On first glance, the detail contrast is not as crisp as with the 45/1.8, but looking close you will find more detail. In fact, the results are similar to the 45/1.2: not "crispy", but very detailed and with nice out-of-focus rendering. By "very detailed" I mean that you can almost fully utilize the highres mode! Only the horrible af with no focus limiter is a real downside. And with the adapter it's a bit bulky. I really wish OM Digital would create an mft version of it, that would find a very fixed place in my bag, replacing both the 60mm and the Sigma 56mm.
I love the 4/3 lenses, I use the 14-54 2.8 and the 75-300 and use them for photography on my em5 mkii and em1 mkii. They focus fast enough and I was surprised at the 75-300 I could lock on cars going 170mph and got excellent results for motorsports racing.
+1 on the macro lenses. When I sold my FT gear about a year ago, about the only things I kept were the 50/2, the 35/3.5, the TC-14, and the EX-25. Those pieces, plus the MFT 60/2.8 make a pretty complete macro setup. The 50/2 with and without the TC-14 is a wonderful portrait lens. I don't use it that way very often, but when I do I really like how it renders.
I have the second generation of the lens (the one with the SWD autofocus motor), and in combination with a first-gen E-M1 it is a great combo for the price... and with MMF-3, the whole setup is weather-sealed, too (or "beer-sealed"... I tend to shoot events, festivals and concerts, including punk ones... and that brings with itself some specific dangers :D )...
I was a late digital adopter from film, so Four-Thirds passed me by as a format. I recently looked into getting a 4/3 body, but prices for the professional Olympus DSLRs are still quite steep. The format obviously still has its fans.
I still use all three of my ageing collection of four thirds cameras and eight lenses along with my mft equipment. Regardless of sensor size and megapixel limitations, the results are invariably excellent and good enough for photo libraries and pictorial publications.
I use some old lenses too (for full frame even some '80's designs) with excellent results. New lenses are no doubt outstanding, but the old gear is fine too in most cases, in my experience, and often a great deal!
My SWD version is quite zippy on my EM1X, works amazing on my E-5. I even put on my "X" the OM Zuiko 300 f4, that made some rally good pics at 600mm equivalent :)
I have the swd lens on my E5 and now on the m1 mark3. It works great and i think that i don't neat a other telezoom lens
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As far as I am concerned I own the 14-54mm ED 2.8-3.5 mark ii (all weather), and the 50mm f2 ED macro lens, these are great lenses and thanks to Olympus Omd E-M1 markii, with the MMF-3 adapter, the auto focus has been improved substansefully. But I shall say that I appreciate your posting of this video for It does confirm what I have experienced. Thanks. If I can add something, that would be that the 50mm f2 lens appear to me as having reach even a better efficiency than the zoom, maybe because it's a fixed focal lenght.
I've had this lens since I first got an Olympus E-500, years ago. It certainly is big and heavy, and it sat in a cupboard for years. Although I now have the 40-150 2.8 Pro, this is still a good lens, and f3.5 for a 400mm (equivalent) FOV is pretty decent. Sure, AF is slow compared to modern lenses, but the optical quality is really good. I've tried it with the EM1 and EM5 Mk III which have contrast-detect AF and it is usable. The 35mm f3.5 macro 4/3 is another great one from that period, and I've continued to use that regularly.
I have owned this lens for a while and shot with E-520, OM-D Em-5, Em-1 & Em-5 III. I love the feel of this lens - the size is just perfect, and the image quality is good enough. And as you said also, in my opinion 50-200mm is a perfect reach for me and there is no such option in modern Zuiko line-up available. Interesting if there's one coming up!! Earlier I had many other FT lenses as well, but now I only have the 35-100mm f/2 left. But that is actually my favorite of all of my lenses!! It's simply amazingly sharp even compared to modern pro lenses and it's surprisingly fast as well in my opinion. Unfortunately it means that it's huge and weighs a lot and I'm worried if the MMF-3 lasts with this lens attached to it...
I have been using the 50-200mm since 2004, Still use it on the em1.2 and em1.3. I use the MMF-3. I also have the 7-14mm f4, and 14-54mm f2.8-3.5. I love them, and the image quality on them still works for my needs.
Sorry to ask this after so long, but how is the AF performance on E-M1 II and E-M1 III? Same as native m43 lenses, or significantly slower and it hunts?
I still have the 4/3 70-300mm telephoto as well as the 12-60mm SWD which was one of the last 4/3 lenses to come out in around 2011 or 2012. The former is big and bulky but produces some very nice images. As you said, Peter, this one isn't for fast action. I'm considering selling this when I get the m4/3 100-400 telephoto someday soon (I hope!). On the other hand, I will never give up the 12-60 SWD. When it was introduced, it was considered one of the finest lenses ever produced by many critics. It is one beautiful piece of glass. I would add that it's worth hunting down a used 4/3 teleconverter rather than using the m4/3 units. These big lenses are putting a lot of torque on the smaller elements of your m4/3 equipment when you install them. It's certainly not a setup for "run and gun" situations. You can leave the converter on your 4/3 lens all the time. It's not going anywhere else! Then you only have to be careful once when installing a very big lens on a small body.
Don't have any four thirds bodies, but bought the ed version because I wanted telephoto on the cheap. Works pretty well, don't mind the af because I shoot stationary subjects with it. Lens cost me $200, adapter $30.
Thanks Peter another very informative video. I am currently shooting with the OMD-1-2 and the X and I use the vintage 50-200 mm 4-3rd lens often. I love it. I love the compression this lens offers. I also use the 12-60, 11-22 and 50 mm 2.8 and with the combination of adapter 3 and 1.4 converter . The 12-60 goes great with the 1.4 converter. I have the 12-40 which is Olympus famous but find the additional extension of the 12-60 a great combination. Its a very fast focus lens with the OMD cameras. I purchased these lenses for the Olympus E 620 I had and when it died I purchased the OMD -EM-1 camera and stayed with the older lenses. As I didn't have the confidence the system was going to last long term. I think what OM are doing now is great. They have some fantastic glass on the market. I might just wait for the second hand market to allow me to buy the more modern longer lenses. I have the 17,25 and 45 mm primes. On your recommendation. The 60 mm Macro, the 70 mm 1.8 and the 8 mm Pancake. The combination works well in conjunction with the vintage lenses for everything I do. If anyone wants to recommend a cheap option to a student or someone starting out tell them to buy the OMD-1.2 second hand the adapter 3 with the 4 lenses I mention as vintage. They wont be disappointed. The 1.2 is an outstanding camera.
Nice video Peter! I don't have a FT objective, but I have some old OM manual lenses like the 50 mm 18, 100 mm 2.8 and 200 mm 4.0. Great lenses, superb quality and sharpness. And the 50 mm 1.8 (100 mm on MFT) for 35 euros and a good adapter for 30 euros. I love the slower workflow.
I used to have the SWD version and it performs very nicely on the EM1. While maybe just a hair less sharp than the 40-150 f2.8 pro, it renders better and has slightly better colours IMO.
I have the 50-200 SWD, 12-60 SWD, 70-300, 18-180, 25 f 2.8 and 40-150. Believe it or not, I use them with my M10 Mk II (except for the 18-180, too slow to focus) while I wait for the opportunity to get an M1 Mk II. The 25 and the 40-150 both focus fast enough for general use. The SWD lenses are a bit slower to focus, but usable, specially with good light. Both are very sharp, with great contrast. The 12-60 is a great landscape lens, tack sharp when slowed down a bit, I highly recommend it. The latest 4/3 lenses received a firmware update that improved their performance with contrast detect.
Thanks for the video Peter. That lens is easy to like even for you AF-ers. I have 5ii and I use with SAF + MF or MF as that big focus wheel is very exact. As you pointed out the drawbacks of the ZD lenses is their weight and it is right across the board. I have the 8mm, 14-54mm (the mark 1 is the most reasonably priced of the higher grade ZD’s) 50mm, 70-300mm, 50-200mm and EC14. The great thing about the EC14 is that it is pro quality but can be used on the consumer lenses. My 50200 is 918g but when I add the filter, adapter and bracket they add another 212g. The bracket really aids my focus technique. A beautiful lens but too heavy to be used daily. The EC14 weighs in at 175g! I have 2 copies of the 14-54. If you pm me on Instagram I’ll send you the 2nd copy. Gratis.
I have the SWD version. I'm impressed with the quality of the pictures, but you are right about autofocus. I have a Lumix G9 and use manual autofocus, as it is faster 😀
Non swd here single point is the way to go it hunts a bit but it’s more than useable for most situations ! I find it a bokeh beast I can still go to 98mm and hold f2.8 for $100 what a steal
I use this lence and the 7-14 f4 lence (bought for 350 Euro!!!) withe the MMF3 on my OMD EM1 MII and I’m very pleased with it. When I see the price for the new 7-14 f2.8 and my price of 350 Euro, which was 10 years ago 2.200 Euro (!) I’m happy and see no picture quality problems, also the focus at least for me is good enough. My tip: Buy!! Best regards Volker
I bought this lens about 4 years ago to use with my E-M1 mk 1 as an alternative to the excellent 40-150mm f2.8, because I wanted more reach and read reviews on how this edition (and the SWD version) compared very favourably when not for sports shooting, which I was not interested in doing as yet. With the 1.4x teleconverter this lens is an absolute steal in so many ways.
I recently bought the swd version of this lens to pair with a panasonic body. The AF, as you mentioned, is effectively unusable for most situations, but the manual focus on this lens is really nice. The image quality was amazing and I was so impressed with the quality of the lens that I ended up purchasing a EM-1 mk1 for the specific purpose of using this lens with AF. The AF is pretty quick considering it's a 15 year old lens with an 8 year old camera. I haven't pulled the trigger on a MMF-3, instead opting for a viltrox adapter that works, though not wonderfully. I would love the 40-150, don't get me wrong, but this lens AND the em-1 body AND the adapter cost me less than $600. If you already use an em-1... I'd say this lens is as close to a must buy as there is. I'm on the hunt for a 14-54 ii next. I've seen them as low as $175, if the quality is anywhere near what this one is, it may end up pushing me to sell the pass on lumix and get an em1 mk3.
Hi Trent--- Interesting that I just bought the non-SWD version for my Panasonic camera as well ,,, I too have found that auto focus is pretty much out of the question,, I'm embarrassed to ask, this,,but I have gone through the manual --(all 4 pages)..and I don't seem to be able to find a way to switch to manual focus,, I twist the ring side to side but the focus range does not move--stuck on infinity, I don't think it has a focus clutch like newer Olympus lenses,,,,,So ,,,I'm stuck--Any suggestions you might have for me would be great ,,Thanks
@@clintjohnson5914 Hi Clint, I use this on my g9 and I just use the MF lever on the back of the camera. I don't believe the 50-200 has a mf focus override on the lens for either model. The g9 makes the transition easy, the em-1 isn't quite as easy, but not too tough. Either way I have to go through the camera.
@@trevorhawks4577 Hi Trevor,,,Thanks for the idea--I will try that with the G9. I don't think I'm going to have much luck with the GX-8. I actually have been looking for a OM-1 MKII for awhile and I think I found a good deal. BUT..New G9 firmware update announced today puts the S5 focusing system in .. so we have that to look forward to as well. Again thanks for the reply and all the best with your photography!
@@clintjohnson5914I read the SDW version actually has a true manual focus mechincal whereas the non SDW version is focus by wire. If that is case, that explains the issue.
I needed several lenses for a variety of focal lengths to work, mostly portraits. After moving to m4/3 I have only kept this 50-200 lens. But I did have the 14-54, 50 macro, 8mm Fisheye, and the 150 f2. I regret selling the 150 since it was remarkable but I found I just wasn't using it. I used the 40-150 2.8 instead. All the 4/3 lenses were wonderful.
You had the same lenses that I currently own. They are all excellent lenses. I use a tripod, my 150 f2 with my E-5 and my EM1 for photographing birds through my living room window out to the bird feeder. Seeing crystal clear images of birds with peanuts in their beaks makes for incredible photos for wall hanging. The glass is world class in my opinion.
Hi, same here, I still use all the 4/3 zooms, 7-14 mm , 11-22 mm , 14-54 mm, 50-200 mm rev l and even a Sigma 50-500 , all with my em1 mark ll. They all provide very good image quality and a chance to operate your arm muscles at the same time. They might be intimidating due to their size, so in order to blend better I did mange to gather a few primes, trying not to fall too deep into Gear Acquisition Syndrome My feeling is the old 4/3rds are high level lenses and I continue to use them for they really do the job
I use this lens all the time on one of 3 cameras, E-5, EM-1MII and my EM-1X I find it to be a great lens when I need more reach. The AF is slower but not by much. I also have quite a few other 4/3 lens. One of my favorite combos is the 9-18 MM F4.0-5.6 with any of the above cameras For my EM-10 MIII I use a number of old OM lens. Those give me stunning images. The options with adaptors is so great these days. The reason why mirrorless cameras are fantastic. Whether it is the 4/3 lens or the OM lens, you just need to imagine what you want to do, then shoot it.
A year ago I bought a 50-250 (non-SWD) + EC14, both in excellent condition, for € 250. Together with E-M1.2 and MMF-3 you have a pro-combo and (!) weather sealed. For me a very good alternative for the MFT 40-150 Pro, as I mostly do landscape photography where speed isn't an issue (though I do not regard the combo as being slow!). Another great 4/3 lens is the 50mm F2.0 macro lens, which I also have. Great optical quality and quite cheap on the 2nd hand market. I also have an E-1 with 11-22mm on it. I still haven't found the time to test this lens on my E-M1.2 ;-)
I own 4 4/3rds used lenses because I had bought a used Panasonic Leica clone. Not always much cheaper. I have 2 off-brand mount adapters for my Olympus mft cameras. I own a Leica kit lens from the Panasonic, a Tamron 100mm macro - which is very touchy for focusing, a Sigma similar to this lens, and a 9-18 Olympus lens. You are so correct on focusing speeds!
I bought this same lens used for my E3. It worked beautifully. I did not mind the size. And I really liked the focal length range between 100 mm and 400 mm full frame equivalent. It is a hugely useful range for travel pictures which I like. The lower end is fine for pictures of people and a lot of landscapes and the top end range is great for different kinds of landscapes. The lens works well on my OMD Mark 1 and Mark 2. However I wound up buying the 40 150 pro, just because and I found it relatively inexpensively. I can't say the pictures on it are any better but it is a lot more compact and faster focusing. I miss though having the 400 mm equivalent upper end of the range. The 50 mm macro also works quite well on the mirrorless cameras although again it doesn't focus quite as quickly. The 14 to 54 is a fabulous little lens for a very good price that I highly recommend even on the mirrorless cameras. Finally I have the 12 to 60 mm which worked really well on the e3. However maybe it's just the lens but the auto exposure and to some degree autofocus just don't work well on the mirrorless cameras. At least the mark 2.
Re your question about what other lenses we use- I bought the Olympus 14-150 1:4-5.6 II ED MSC several years ago and have never taken it off. Camera body is the 4/3 OMD E-M10 II. I shoot mostly outdoors. Wildlife, occasional portrait, close-ups for insects, flowers, and other interesting features. Even shoot clouds with it, thunderheads, stormfronts, especially sunrise and sunsets. The focus is “iffy” on cloud features but I’m mainly interested in color and blue-greys of shadow. Just a hobbyist- regards and thank you for your valuable expertise.
As an old Olympus fan, since OM-2, I started with the FT cameras when released, I still have my E-3, and still use it at least twice a month because I love how it performs, especially ... in low light, it'd be strange but its noise is very good, close to 800-1000 ISO film grain, but anyway, I also kept all my FT lenses, 7-14 f4, 14-54 f2.8-3.5, 18-180 f3.5-6.3, , 35mm f3.5 macro, 40-150 f4-5.6, 50-200 f2.8-3.5, Sigma 150mm f2.8, and I still use them on my OM-1, and they are quite good, some not great as the 18-180 but all work fine on the OMD-1II and III , not great on the OMD other than "1". My favorite is the 7-14, what a great lens, may be too heavy but imha, one of the best wide angle I ever tested, far better than the Canon 8-15 F4L I use on my EF cameras. For those who wants to extend their lenses collections, there is also EF/AF adapter to use Canon EF/EFS lenses on MFT, it works great except for stabilisation, you must either use the body IS or the lens IS but not both, personally, I use the lens stab for tele (>150mm) and IBIS for shorter lenses. Some EF lenses, even very old perform great on MFT, the 100-300 f5.6L is extremely good and compact for a EF pro, but no IS.
Thank you for this interesting and informative video! I bought the original 50-200 in 2004 for my E-1 from late 2003. I never used it much but now it has got a new life with E-M1 Mk II which I bought when it was on Black Weekend sale at the Olympus Shop last year (the 12-40 kit). Thanks to Olympus Sweden (@PB: Tack!) I also got hold of an MMF-3, which is not that easy to find. I am really glad that I kept my 50-200 all these years and when trying it with the E-M1 II, I have been surprised over how relatively well the AF performs. I always knew that this is a fine lens. Now I can finally use it handheld at longer focal lengths thanks to E-M1 II:s stabilization which I never could with my E-1 other than under ideal lighting conditions. Conclusion: SEK 11.990, which this lens once costed, has not been wasted. And the OM-D system's backward compatibility is rather amazing. This is a proof of just that.
Would love to see more reviews about older lenses on mft bodies; there is such a big market for them for beginners, budget, or curious photographers who are just wanting to try out older lenses. Lenses I would love to see tested are the 4/3s 11-22mm f2.8-4, 12-60mm f2.8-4, and 40-150mm f3.5-4.5. Would also be good to see a shoot out of the om 300mm f4.5, the 300mm f4.0, and the new 100-400mm (used at 300mm) would be cool to see images from these three compared and to hear your thoughts on how the photos came out.
@@ForsgardPeter I can send you mine 12-60mm f2.8-4 on a loan if you like. I want to buy a used EM1 MkII and I was thinking about keeping this glass cause it is a good one. So I would be most interested to see what this specific combination can do.
Hi Peter, I still use a few of my 4/3 lenses on my EM-1 mk ii (as well as getting out the old E1&E3 occasionally) - mainly the 9-18 F4.0-5.6 and especially the 70 - 300 F4.0 - 5.6 which i picked up for about £200.
Very usefull review, Peter. The main issue related to this lens is that Olympus does not make service anymore for this lens. If you have an issue with it (like aperture stucked), you can't repair it. Another issue related to this version of lens is the rubber ring which ensure weather sealing. The inner tube goes out when you zoom. It gathers humidity, dust and gets cold. The inside rubber ring can be affected and can come out, compromising the WS. It happenned to me, also happened to other users. The SWD version does not have this issue, but for the SWD lens I had to replace two times the aperture in Olympus service. At least the SWD version is still serviced by Olympus. Both versions are nice, but for me the SWD version was sharper wide open and the only one really usable with TC-20. The 2 versions have only medium performance in C-AF compared to the new m4/3 lenses.
I am from Vietnam, and I have this lens and also Zuiko 12-60mm with mmf2 mmf3. The Focus of this lens is much better than 12-60mm on EM1ii. The new FIRMWARE on EM1ii, it is better focus with C-AF for these lenses. I found the image quality of these lenses are really good when compare with 40-150mm f2.8 pro and Pana-Leica 12-60mm (m43 lens). If possible, please make a review of the Zuiko 12-60mm, as i found it maybe a little better than the Pana-Leica. Thank you
I have the 11-22mm f 2.8-3.5, and it is a great sharp lens for landscape. Since I have E-M5II with contrast AF, the AF is slow as hell, but I shoot with MF anyway 🙏🙏🙏
Hi Peter...Thanks for this wonderful video on my ‘old/alltime’ favourite lens. I’ve used it occasionally on my Panasonic G85, but as you mentioned...the AF is very slow, but I use manual focus and focus peaking works fine. I also have the 14-54 Mark I and this is a gem as well. Still I am thinking of buying a used Olympus Em-1 mark 1 for faster use of this 4/3 lenses which ar on par with the newer ones. I also sometimes take them out on my favourite 4/3 camera the E-1, which I favour over my E-3. Works like a dream and so simple to operate without all those bells and whistles on newer camera’s and pictures have a special feel to them thanks to the Kodak sensor of only 3mp. Incredible but true. Well...Peter thanks again for your support and belief in ‘old’ gear. Have a nice weekend🍀🤙j
I come from an E-30 and I keep the 50-20mm SWD, 50 2.0 and 12-60mm lenses. All three are perfect on the E-M1 and better on the current E-M1 MkIII. I will not sell any because I use them and I really like them.
I use the 4/3 lenses on original Oly DSLR's and MFT bodies. I probably have about a dozen, including all six of the 'SHQ' lenses. The pick of them all would be the 150 f/2, 14-35 f/2 and the 35-100 f2... probably in that order and all of them superb in every respect. That said, i do use the 90-250 f/2.8 a lot as well. From the 'HQ' range, the 50-200 SWD and the 12-60 are great (i use them as a light-weight option if i'm flying somewhere) along with the 50 f/2. A really handy lens from the 'Standard' range is the 18-180... great as a casual walkaround. The 25 f/2.8 is also good, but there are better MFT in that sort of focal length. The great strength of the SHQ lenses in particular is just that - their great strength. They are big, heavy and superbly well built. On the 1X they feel fine, but with the smaller E-M1 models it's a bit like attaching the camera to the lens rather than the other way around. I won't give up on these lenses for two reasons - their super-robust build quality and (with the SHQs) their speed - both of which are necessary for the sort of environments a shoot in. Both of these virtues, however, come with a price: size and weight. Good and fair review Peter - you've said nothing that discourages me! Cheers.
I have the 12-60 2.8-4 SWD with the olympus 3rd adapter. Coast together about €500. Now I had a 3rd party adapter that almost damaged the lens mount. So I sent it back and got an original Olympus one that works perfectly. Focus is kind of slow, but what makes me rarely use the lens is size and weight. I read the 50mm f2.0 macro is one of the finest olympus lenses. So I‘m tempted. Also the 50-200. But it doesn‘t make a lot of sense when you have the mft versions.
I am thinking on picking one up. The only hitch is the one I am looking at does not have the hood. I use the 50mm f2.0 macro with my E-M1, this is a very nice lens which I would highly recommend, beautiful character and sharp.
I have the HG Zuikos 11-22, 14-54, 50-200, 50 and coming from the E-3 I have no issues using them on the E-M1. The AF is faster than on the E-3 so this is a win in my book. The 4/3 stable had some amazing glass available. Not to mention the SHG lenses, that are so out of my budget, but also out of my needs, since I'm no pro, just a hobbyist. All of the HG Zuikos I have are really sharp and have beautiful color rendition. By having them I really see no need investing in M.Zuikos for my E-M1 (except maybe the 12-100 Pro). I still use them on my E-3 and even the E-1 (the Kodak CCD is just fabulous and the ergonomics of the body is unmatched to this day). So 4/3 glass is still relevant
I had this lens on my e3 but it was hard to hit focus, but when it did, it made a beautiful portrait lens even at 200mm The when i used it in lower light is when it really struggled Im sure it would be fine on the em1 mark ii or iii My 35-100mm focuses very fast even on my em1 mark i
I bought the 4/3 12-60 and 50-200 lenses many years ago. They have served so well with reproduced images as large as institutional posters, that I have never been tempted to buy newer equipment. Perhaps this is partially because I have been shooting seriously since 1960 and compensating for shortcomings in the latest technical crutches is part of my natural procedure. But there's also something to be said for letting your equipment teach you to react and compensate, rather than expecting to chase reality by spending more and more for automatic response. YOU are the one making the image. I do not see myself "upgrading" from either of these fine old affordable lenses.
I still use an e300 dSLR and own a small stable of lenses. Adapting to my GH4 and EPL7 restricts me to manual focus. However focusing focusing aids in the newer bodies makes this easier. I don't own the 50-200 but I (still) use the 14-54mm standard zoom. I now have a Panasonic 12-35 lens on the way to replace as a mainstay on the m4/3 bodies. I agree with you and other commenters that the 4/3 lenses are excellent (albeit larger) alternatives to lower end m4/3 lenses if you have a body with PDAF.
I tried three different brands of adapters, from Ebay Fotga and Viltrox, and second hand Olympus MMf3. Fotga has no contact at all with the camera, Viltrox works with some lenses and some do not, MMF works fine. I have three lenses in the 4/3 system. Zuiko 14-54mm f2.8-3.5 MII, Zuiko 40-150mm f3.5-4.5 and Sigma 70-200mm f2.8. Everything works fine, although the old 40-150mm is slow to focus. The camera is an OMD M5 Mark III
I have the 12-60 f2.6-4 and love it. It lives on my em1.2. I just can't justify getting the 12-40 when I have this lens already. I also have the 70-300. It is a fun lens, not as good as the 50-200 but certainly loads of fun. Just wish it had a tripod collar because it is quite heavy.
Good of you to take up 4/3 lenses. Yes I have the 50-200 2.8-3.5 SWD, also 12-60 SWD and the 150/2. Theese lenses made the decision easy to switch back to Olympus and specialy to the M1X. However the adapter MMF-3 from Olympus is discontued sometimes during 2020. EC-14/EC20 works alright with 50-200, but MC14 shouldn't be suited for any 4/3 lens. By the way, Pro capture doesn't work with 4/3 lenses. Overall 4/3 lenses work good, but I think they seems to darken in the EVF a little bit.
I brought this lens SH (with the weather sealed adapter) with my first E-M1 cos i couldn't afford the 40-150mm at that time . I have the E-M1 Mk III now and I am not considering replacing it. I love the quality of glass and the rendering of colours and often get smooth bokeh. The extra 50mm also comes in useful. Great value for your money! 👍
Good question Peter. My feeling is that if someone is already deep into 4/3rds, then it doesn’t hurt to invest more, as long as it’s understood that OM Digital may not make it, and service may be difficult to come by in later years. Remember that even going concerns discontinue service for older models after some time. Then parts disappear. If the quality of 4/3rds is fine for what someone is doing, then that’s great. But they have to understand that they may never get another sensor, despite the info that’s come out about a sensor that not intended for general photography, and so may never become available.
Hi Peter. It's me again. Back in 2012 when I bought the OMD EM5 mark I, I also bought a new four thirds Olympus Zuiko lens 70-300 mm 1:4-5.6 ED with a hood. I connected it to the camera with the same adapter MMF-3 you refer to in your video above. It didn't work well though with AF and was difficult to hold still in MF but worked all-right on a tripod. So I haven't used it very much until now. Using it with the EM1 mark ii (I've just updated the firmware to 3.6) it's a totally different story. Apart for the weight it's suddenly for me a very good budget tele zoom lens that focuses where you point at plus like the above lens it can be combined with the EC 14 or EC 20 giving me a focal length up to the equivalent of 1200mm. I think it is weather sealed? A tripod is still a good idea I think for video.
My first FT lens was the 70-300mm, which I bought for budget reasons. I used it with my E-M5 and a Commlite adapter, which is much cheaper than those from Olympus or Panasonic and worked very well in this combination. The AF was slow, but usable for anything except moving animals. I still use this lens, sometimes with the Pen-F, which also does not have phase detect af. My current telephoto setup is the 50-200mm SWD with MMC-3 and E-M1 II. This is very recommendable! The af of the swd lens is almost as fast as with mft lenses and still good with contrast-only cameras. I've read that the swd lenses where made for use with live view, which was new at the time and required contrast af. AF speed with the E-M1 Mark I is quite good (while not as good as with the Mark II), but not always precise. The Commlite adapter does works well with the 70-300 and the 50mm macro, but not with the 12-60mm swd and 50-200mm swd, which often loose contact. I find the 50-200 mm range perfect for my needs. Only with birds I'd like to have something longer. Currently I use the tele converter EC-14 with the 50-200mm, but that's not perfect. The image quality isn't as good on the long end, because the tele converter doesn't help for the already slightly decreased sharpness at 200mm. Image stabilization at 280mm could be better, but for birds I need fast shutter speeds anyway. Maybe I'll get the 100-400mm for that, but currently wait for the new telephoto lenses to be announced.
Thanks for reviewing this Peter. I look forward to more 4/3 lens reviews. But you say the MC14 and MC20 teleconverters are "compatible" with this lens, yet you couldn't get yours to fit? Hmmmm......
I have this 50-200mm non-SWD version, 12-60mm, and E3. I love these 2 lenses. I don’t have the em1, but use it on em5 MK II using MF most of the time( em5ii doesn’t have phase detection). I owned Samyang 135mm T2.2, but find this 50-200mm is almost as good as the Samyang. In the end I sold off the Samyang. May get em1 mki or MK II that can use the phase detection for the 43 lenses.
hi i do have swd $$$ at time 10 years ago, i have it on 5 mkii its slow focus , that was at friend wedding nice shots before i got 1 mkii . then i have it on 1mkii lot better faster. i bought 3 adapters for 12-60 swd. and other for micro 50mm its great lens amazing shots. and third on 50-200. as soon i got some $$ i will get 12-100 . but im very happy with all of them . i do have 45 m 1.8 ,i just keep it for video .video i took at wedding was on 5mk ii looked realy good . it also good on 1mkii.
I have 12-60, 50 macro, 50-200 SWD and 150/f2. I can say that 150/f2 are the best Oly lens. Also 50-200 + 1.4 works perfect. Wnen I asked opticallimits why they have no review for 150/f2 which are Top Pro Olympus lens, they told me that were expensive and could not find them. I bought my with scratched front lens and not working manual focus ring, but managed to send to Olympus Europe center for repairing (just before to be discounted the model). So my advice to Peter review 12-60 - they are really good lens and very - very sharp :) 150/f2 if you come to Bulgaria I will land for test.
I might get the 12-60mm lens if I can get a hold of one that is in good condition and not too expensive. It would be great to test the 150mm f2.0 lens.
I've used several Oly FT lenses / bodies for a decade & regard them very highly. Still regularly using the 50 macro, 50-200 SWD &12-60 SWD lenses on both EM-1 Mk i & MK ii bodies with an MMF- 3 adapter; also with the EC -14 which also works just fine. I'm more than satisfied with AF speed on my MFT bodies, even using the EC-14. AF speed of native MFT lenses is faster, particularly faster than the 50 macro (which has always tended to hunt) but the IQ performance of the three FT lenses is truly excellent in my experience. Slower AF of the 50 macro is more than compensated by IQ performance of this remarkable lens (all in I would rank it among Oly's finest FT lens values, although I never tried the 150 F:2 macro or the 35-100 F:2). The 50-200 SWD hardly hunts at all (AF speed with it on the EM-1 bodies is just fine and at least as fast as on any of the old FT bodies). Peter, I'm glad you made this review on the 50-200 as it's a very good thing to have your opinion as a professional photographer. I've written before calling for you to review one of the adapted Oly FT lenses (it was the 12-60 SWD), as it seems fine optics like this have been a bit left behind with all the, well, focus on native MFT lens offerings. Current pricing of (most of) the FT lenses provides excellent value - as you point out. Hope to see more reviews along this line. MFT as a system is better than FT overall, with improved AF and sensor performance among many other features. However all the FT glass was of a high standard (my opinion) and the 50-200 was / is a standout. Most happily, the glass is still around (mostly) and is totally usable on higher-end MFT bodies. Added cost of the MFT/FT adapter is small compared to typical costs of moving to a different system. While excellent the 50-200 IS BIG and with hood in place looks enormous! I stopped packing it and switched to the much smaller / lighter 70-300 which, while very nice, was of course slower, less sharp and not weather sealed. I have switched since, to the MFT Lumix 100-300 II, given this is a weather sealed lens, although it costs a lot more. With the EC-14 the 50-200 has nearly 300 mm reach but is not convenient to carry around. Besides its too-large size the 50-200 has also some amount of mustache distortion (at 50 mm) that can be difficult to correct in PP. Otherwise, it's still a great choice - Thank you for this review!
I have had this lens for years. The image quality is good, and I have taken some lovely pictures with it, but it is *very* heavy and slow to focus, especially with the E-M1 mk. 1, which is my camera. I am thinking of trading up to a dedicated Micro Four Thirds lens.
I use the 30mm macro and the 14-54mm FT with a 3rd-party adapter, that replaces the mmf-3. The adapter cost 30€ and works fine. And I use a Viltrox nf-m1 adapter to adapt my Nikon lenses incl. af to my m43 cam, e.g. sigma 70-200mm HSM OS or Sigma 150-600mm HSM OS. It works good, I shot also birds and of cause in flight. It is not as fast as a Olympus lens, but it works. 600mm is equivalent to 1200mm!!!
I have this lens (the 50-200) with the 1.4 teleconverter. I thought it worked great! I don't do wildlife photography, so the weight and autofocus speed weren't an issue for me. If I remember correctly, I got for use with an E-5, the last pro-level 4/3rds body. On an E-M1 mk1, the biggest I had was using it with a smaller ball head than I usually used. I was in Iceland and tried to save weight by bringing a lighter ball head. It did work; it was a good Kirk ball head, but maybe not optimally. Another photographer had an Olympus kit and let me use his 40-150 native M43 lens. This was in early March. By May I'd purchased my own copy of that lens. As you said, Peter, for what it is, it's just fine! I was always happy with the image quality of 4/3rds lenses.
Hi Peter, I have Olympus four thirds adapter MMF-1 and a couple olympus 4/3 ED lines the 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 and the 4/3 ED 40-150mm f 4-5.6 the lenses were reasonable priced, but the adapter was expensive. Glad to know that the focus will work better on my OM-D 1M 1 cause i do notice that the focus is slightly slower compared to a micro 4/3 native lenses, the photos still seem to compare with the ones I take with the micro 4/3.
I have used this lens with my E-M1 II and I think it produces the best images of all my Olympus zoom lenses at the long end (the only PRO lenses I own are the 12-40mm f/2.8 and the 12-100mm f4). I just got the EC-20 teleconverter but have not yet had a chance to test it with this lens.
The four thirds 35-100 f2 is the one to own followed by the 50-250 f2.8 zoom. These are still very expensive though. The best inexpensive four thirds is the 50mm f2 Macro lens - which has image quality well beyond its price. Just keep in mind it works best using manual focus- but I have managed shooting ice hockey pics with ok results.
I have 4, 4/3 thirds lenses that I use with my EM5, the 9-18, 14-42, 18-180 and the 70-300. I got the 14-42 and the 70-300 with an E510 Olympus 4/3 camera in a package deal for $250, all in almost brand new condition. I bought the 9-18and the 18-180 from Ebay for $200 each. I use a Commlite adapter that cost about $48, way cheaper than the Olympus ones which are about $200 second hand. I also have a FOTGA adapter because it has a tripod mount built in so the 70-300 is a little more stable. All 3 lenses operate and match the image quality of the M43thirds lens that I have, which are 2 kit lenses and 2 primes. The 18-180 is a fantastic walk around lens with it's reach and image quality is great. The 9-18 is also great, although it gets a bit too 'fish eyey' at the edges at 9 mm. The 70-300 is fantastic, much better that I expected. The 14-42 is as good as the kit 14-42, can't see any difference. The other thing is they look and so much better than the puny, plasticy kit lenses, and seem to be much more rugged, although they are a little on the large side, they still are very compact relative to other brands of the same focal length. All in all, if, like me, your budget is a bit tight to shell out for the Pro lenses, these 4/3 thirds lenses are a great addition. Getting hard to find though, especially the fast ones.
@@ForsgardPeter Thanks Peter. I forgot to add that the auto focus is a bit problematic with these lenses, it's fine if you are shooting still life with not too many distractions in frame, but if there's a lot going on they tend to hunt a bit. I generally prefer manual focusing, I mainly do nature photo's when I'm hiking, so don't need fast AF, so it's not a big deal to me. Thanks for the info on the later, improved AF. Hopefully I will be upgrading to a EM1 mark ii soon, and I'll see a difference. Cheers.
Really liked the 9-18mm mft lens but because of budget i bought the zuiko 9-18mm four thirds with a commlite adaptor. Very slow,but is ok for landscapes and other wide angle shoots.
![Olympus 40-150mm f2.8 vs. 50-200mm f2.8-3.5 [Is an OLD lens a match to a NEW lens?]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bfZXUPl6bO8/mqdefault.jpg)
![Olympus 40-150mm f2.8 vs. 50-200mm f2.8-3.5 [Is an OLD lens a match to a NEW lens?]](/img/tr.png)
I still have this lens and other 4/3rds lenses in perfect condition, along with an E3 and E5. I have just bought the EM1 mark II so this video came at the perfect time.
I have the same, and E520, E400 ... all works well. Now plus EM1mll and EM1x... and I have only two hands... 🤣🙄😏
I also have this lens. Bought it when I bough the E-1. Also have the 300 f2.8 which also works good on my M1X.
I've been hanging on to my 15-54mm f2.8-3.5 for when I get an EM1 M2. It dates back to to the first 4/3's SLR's but it's still an excellent lens.
I have this exact one and love it. Have the adapter and converters for my EM1-ii. Also have the 12-60, 11-22 and the 8mm fisheye. Don't use E5, E3 or E1 anymore but have them and cut my photography teeth on them. Thanks for your evaluation of the 50-200. Still one of my favorite lenses.
Thanks, Peter
Thanks Peter, I have that lens and i’m very happy with it. It lives on my em-1 in my studio and I user for almost all my product photography. The image quality is very good and using it on a Salon-stand tethered to my computer with Olympus Image Capture the weight is actually just a bonus 😃👍
Thanks for sharing! It is a very good option when you do not need really fast autofocus.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING THIS LENS!
I have the SWD version and love it. I use it on my OM1 MKII and it always feels good in the hand - there is just something about it that compensates for the size. A great lens and quickly attaining a cult status.
I actually owned a few Four Thirds lenses and I currently still own a couple. I’ve never owned Four Thirds cameras and only use them with my em1s where they have worked beautifully!
Thanks for making this video I'm so incredibly pleased to see not only your comments and examples but the many that are listed in the comment section about positive experiences using this on a new micro four thirds camera.. I've been thinking about this for a few months and I was delighted to see that your video was only a couple months old so people are out there experimenting with this idea.. The Olympus lenses are so underrated and so high performing. Thanks again
Glad it was helpful!
I had the SWD version with my E-420. It sat in a bag until I got my EM1-II. Great for photographing animals in the zoo.
I have the SWD version with the EM1-II too. I am curious if it focuses faster on the original four thirds E-420?
The 4/3 Zuiko 50mm macro is an amazing lens on any em1 series body.
I too have it on my em-1. An excellent lens for portraits!
@@A.P.1821 I had one, it had excellent image quality, but it the focussing motor was so loud!
Hi Peter, I normally use my EM1 mark I with 12-40 zoom. In winter, I use the same EM1 with MMF3 and 14-54 f2-8-3.5 zoom (mark 1- Non-SWD). SAF is just as fast with this 4:3 lens. On MF, Focus Peaking makes it a joy when using the 14-54 zoom. Please continue on your excellent work on UA-cam.
Thanks, I will try to do my best!
I have the SWD version along with the 12-60 f2.8-4.0 and 9-18 4/3rd lenses that are my go to lenses on my EM1.1.
Peter....I still own the 35-100 2.0. 14-35 2.0. 50 2.0 macro. 50 200 SWD. and all shoot very well with my EM1MII and my new EM1MIII. I tried the m4/3rd 40-150 2.8 but returned it because the 50-200 has better range just as clear and have good success with BIF especially using cluster AF. Considering weight I have the battery grip on 99% of the time anyway so this lens is no BIG(heavy) deal...Stay Safe. John
Good to hear that you are able to do BIF with the 50-200mm SWD lens.
Hi, thanks for your tests Peter!
I've bought a few 4/3 lenses to pair with my em-1 + grip in 2015: 8mm fisheye, 50/2 macro, 12-60 and 50-200 swd with ec-14 and ec-20... Never regreet it: they're all gems with mmf3 converter! Oly fabulous IQ is there and compensate the more recent AF of the quite expensives new lenses... And for tele primes old Canon 100/2, 135/2 and 200/2.8 EF-L lenses with a Viltrox converter or speedbooster (alongside with a x1.4) make the job very efficiently!
M4/3 is still the best system for my needs: so tiny with f/1.8 primes and so powerful with super teles!
Thanks for sharing.
My 50mm 2.0 4/3 is fantastically sharp and I would say even better than the 45mm 1.8. Downside is it tends to hunt for focus in lower light.
Mine too. Iove it.
Quite agree - superb optically but a bit of a hunter. It likes to think about its subject before going in for the kill (as it were!)
I recently purchased a SWD version with the 1,4x teleconverter to fit in my E-M1 and U LOVE it! Image quality is suberb and it has a unique character compared to analogue manual vintage lenses. In now setting my sights on the F2 lenses. Yes, I'm hooked!
Thank you Peter you help me a lot of times
You are welcome.
I still like the styling of the four thirds lenses. Really rugged looking. I used to look at this lens in the local camera shop and it was really expensive so it looks a good buy at that price.
@@AbdulAbulbulAmir surely you mean where your wife leaves you so that she can do the shopping in peace; a bit like a kindergarten
one of the best original 4/3 lend is original 50mm/f2,0. I have new 50-200 SWD and at EM1 bodies works very nice.
I might look into that 50mm f2.0. Lets see if I can find one that is in good shape and is not expensive.
@@ForsgardPeter I can really recommend it! On first glance, the detail contrast is not as crisp as with the 45/1.8, but looking close you will find more detail. In fact, the results are similar to the 45/1.2: not "crispy", but very detailed and with nice out-of-focus rendering. By "very detailed" I mean that you can almost fully utilize the highres mode! Only the horrible af with no focus limiter is a real downside. And with the adapter it's a bit bulky. I really wish OM Digital would create an mft version of it, that would find a very fixed place in my bag, replacing both the 60mm and the Sigma 56mm.
Had one before ,sold to fund another purchase at the time ,but just bought another one as I missed it .super cheap pro level lens
I love the 4/3 lenses, I use the 14-54 2.8 and the 75-300 and use them for photography on my em5 mkii and em1 mkii. They focus fast enough and I was surprised at the 75-300 I could lock on cars going 170mph and got excellent results for motorsports racing.
50mm/f2 and 35mm/3.5 macros are very nice four thirds lenses. 14-54MM/2.8-3.5 is also ok. Better kit lens.
+1 on the macro lenses. When I sold my FT gear about a year ago, about the only things I kept were the 50/2, the 35/3.5, the TC-14, and the EX-25. Those pieces, plus the MFT 60/2.8 make a pretty complete macro setup. The 50/2 with and without the TC-14 is a wonderful portrait lens. I don't use it that way very often, but when I do I really like how it renders.
I have the second generation of the lens (the one with the SWD autofocus motor), and in combination with a first-gen E-M1 it is a great combo for the price... and with MMF-3, the whole setup is weather-sealed, too (or "beer-sealed"... I tend to shoot events, festivals and concerts, including punk ones... and that brings with itself some specific dangers :D )...
I got both 50-200 ones, I don't find SWD faster focusing but it's much better built. My copy of the SWD one is soft , bit the cheaper one is sharper,
Thanks for sharing.
I was a late digital adopter from film, so Four-Thirds passed me by as a format. I recently looked into getting a 4/3 body, but prices for the professional Olympus DSLRs are still quite steep. The format obviously still has its fans.
I still use all three of my ageing collection of four thirds cameras and eight lenses along with my mft equipment. Regardless of sensor size and megapixel limitations, the results are invariably excellent and good enough for photo libraries and pictorial publications.
I use some old lenses too (for full frame even some '80's designs) with excellent results. New lenses are no doubt outstanding, but the old gear is fine too in most cases, in my experience, and often a great deal!
My SWD version is quite zippy on my EM1X, works amazing on my E-5. I even put on my "X" the OM Zuiko 300 f4, that made some rally good pics at 600mm equivalent :)
I have the swd lens on my E5 and now on the m1 mark3. It works great and i think that i don't neat a other telezoom lens
As far as I am concerned I own the 14-54mm ED 2.8-3.5 mark ii (all weather), and the 50mm f2 ED macro lens, these are great lenses and thanks to Olympus Omd E-M1 markii, with the MMF-3 adapter, the auto focus has been improved substansefully. But I shall say that I appreciate your posting of this video for It does confirm what I have experienced. Thanks. If I can add something, that would be that the 50mm f2 lens appear to me as having reach even a better efficiency than the zoom, maybe because it's a fixed focal lenght.
I've had this lens since I first got an Olympus E-500, years ago. It certainly is big and heavy, and it sat in a cupboard for years. Although I now have the 40-150 2.8 Pro, this is still a good lens, and f3.5 for a 400mm (equivalent) FOV is pretty decent. Sure, AF is slow compared to modern lenses, but the optical quality is really good. I've tried it with the EM1 and EM5 Mk III which have contrast-detect AF and it is usable. The 35mm f3.5 macro 4/3 is another great one from that period, and I've continued to use that regularly.
I have owned this lens for a while and shot with E-520, OM-D Em-5, Em-1 & Em-5 III. I love the feel of this lens - the size is just perfect, and the image quality is good enough. And as you said also, in my opinion 50-200mm is a perfect reach for me and there is no such option in modern Zuiko line-up available. Interesting if there's one coming up!!
Earlier I had many other FT lenses as well, but now I only have the 35-100mm f/2 left. But that is actually my favorite of all of my lenses!! It's simply amazingly sharp even compared to modern pro lenses and it's surprisingly fast as well in my opinion. Unfortunately it means that it's huge and weighs a lot and I'm worried if the MMF-3 lasts with this lens attached to it...
I have been using the 50-200mm since 2004, Still use it on the em1.2 and em1.3. I use the MMF-3. I also have the 7-14mm f4, and 14-54mm f2.8-3.5. I love them, and the image quality on them still works for my needs.
Sorry to ask this after so long, but how is the AF performance on E-M1 II and E-M1 III? Same as native m43 lenses, or significantly slower and it hunts?
I still have the 4/3 70-300mm telephoto as well as the 12-60mm SWD which was one of the last 4/3 lenses to come out in around 2011 or 2012.
The former is big and bulky but produces some very nice images.
As you said, Peter, this one isn't for fast action. I'm considering selling this when I get the m4/3 100-400 telephoto someday soon (I hope!).
On the other hand, I will never give up the 12-60 SWD. When it was introduced, it was considered one of the finest lenses ever produced by many critics.
It is one beautiful piece of glass.
I would add that it's worth hunting down a used 4/3 teleconverter rather than using the m4/3 units. These big lenses are putting a lot of torque on the smaller elements of your m4/3 equipment when you install them. It's certainly not a setup for "run and gun" situations.
You can leave the converter on your 4/3 lens all the time. It's not going anywhere else!
Then you only have to be careful once when installing a very big lens on a small body.
Good points.
Don't have any four thirds bodies, but bought the ed version because I wanted telephoto on the cheap. Works pretty well, don't mind the af because I shoot stationary subjects with it.
Lens cost me $200, adapter $30.
Thanks Peter another very informative video. I am currently shooting with the OMD-1-2 and the X and I use the vintage 50-200 mm 4-3rd lens often. I love it. I love the compression this lens offers. I also use the 12-60, 11-22 and 50 mm 2.8 and with the combination of adapter 3 and 1.4 converter . The 12-60 goes great with the 1.4 converter. I have the 12-40 which is Olympus famous but find the additional extension of the 12-60 a great combination. Its a very fast focus lens with the OMD cameras. I purchased these lenses for the Olympus E 620 I had and when it died I purchased the OMD -EM-1 camera and stayed with the older lenses. As I didn't have the confidence the system was going to last long term. I think what OM are doing now is great. They have some fantastic glass on the market. I might just wait for the second hand market to allow me to buy the more modern longer lenses. I have the 17,25 and 45 mm primes. On your recommendation. The 60 mm Macro, the 70 mm 1.8 and the 8 mm Pancake. The combination works well in conjunction with the vintage lenses for everything I do. If anyone wants to recommend a cheap option to a student or someone starting out tell them to buy the OMD-1.2 second hand the adapter 3 with the 4 lenses I mention as vintage. They wont be disappointed. The 1.2 is an outstanding camera.
Thanks for sharing!
Nice video Peter! I don't have a FT objective, but I have some old OM manual lenses like the 50 mm 18, 100 mm 2.8 and 200 mm 4.0. Great lenses, superb quality and sharpness. And the 50 mm 1.8 (100 mm on MFT) for 35 euros and a good adapter for 30 euros. I love the slower workflow.
I just got the SWD with MMF3 too and I'm stunned with the sharpness, also n had a lot of success with BIF on EM1.2.
I used to have the SWD version and it performs very nicely on the EM1. While maybe just a hair less sharp than the 40-150 f2.8 pro, it renders better and has slightly better colours IMO.
I have the 50-200 SWD, 12-60 SWD, 70-300, 18-180, 25 f 2.8 and 40-150. Believe it or not, I use them with my M10 Mk II (except for the 18-180, too slow to focus) while I wait for the opportunity to get an M1 Mk II. The 25 and the 40-150 both focus fast enough for general use. The SWD lenses are a bit slower to focus, but usable, specially with good light. Both are very sharp, with great contrast. The 12-60 is a great landscape lens, tack sharp when slowed down a bit, I highly recommend it. The latest 4/3 lenses received a firmware update that improved their performance with contrast detect.
Good point about the firmware. I need to check if my lens has a newer firmware.
Thanks for the video Peter. That lens is easy to like even for you AF-ers. I have 5ii and I use with SAF + MF or MF as that big focus wheel is very exact.
As you pointed out the drawbacks of the ZD lenses is their weight and it is right across the board.
I have the 8mm, 14-54mm (the mark 1 is the most reasonably priced of the higher grade ZD’s) 50mm, 70-300mm, 50-200mm and EC14.
The great thing about the EC14 is that it is pro quality but can be used on the consumer lenses.
My 50200 is 918g but when I add the filter, adapter and bracket they add another 212g. The bracket really aids my focus technique. A beautiful lens but too heavy to be used daily.
The EC14 weighs in at 175g!
I have 2 copies of the 14-54. If you pm me on Instagram I’ll send you the 2nd copy. Gratis.
I have 150mm f2 and I use it with em10 miii. The lens is extremly sharp but the AF is not the best. Still amazing lens glad to have it.
I have the SWD version. I'm impressed with the quality of the pictures, but you are right about autofocus. I have a Lumix G9 and use manual autofocus, as it is faster 😀
It is a good lens, but yes the AF is not the best. I am glad you found a solution.
Non swd here single point is the way to go it hunts a bit but it’s more than useable for most situations ! I find it a bokeh beast I can still go to 98mm and hold f2.8 for $100 what a steal
@@zanisgardening123-The SWD version change aperture sooner?
I have the 4/3 50mm f2 macro. It is extremely sharp, and I prefer it over the MFT 60mm macro and its finicky focus-range switch!
I also have it and also prefer it over the MFT 60mm macro
I too have both and prefer the 50 f/2.0
I use this on my only camera, the Olympus e-3, and it works great!
I use this lence and the 7-14 f4 lence (bought for 350 Euro!!!) withe the MMF3 on my OMD EM1 MII and I’m very pleased with it. When I see the price for the new 7-14 f2.8 and my price of 350 Euro, which was 10 years ago 2.200 Euro (!) I’m happy and see no picture quality problems, also the focus at least for me is good enough. My tip: Buy!! Best regards Volker
Thanks for the tip.
I bought this lens about 4 years ago to use with my E-M1 mk 1 as an alternative to the excellent 40-150mm f2.8, because I wanted more reach and read reviews on how this edition (and the SWD version) compared very favourably when not for sports shooting, which I was not interested in doing as yet. With the 1.4x teleconverter this lens is an absolute steal in so many ways.
I recently bought the swd version of this lens to pair with a panasonic body. The AF, as you mentioned, is effectively unusable for most situations, but the manual focus on this lens is really nice. The image quality was amazing and I was so impressed with the quality of the lens that I ended up purchasing a EM-1 mk1 for the specific purpose of using this lens with AF. The AF is pretty quick considering it's a 15 year old lens with an 8 year old camera. I haven't pulled the trigger on a MMF-3, instead opting for a viltrox adapter that works, though not wonderfully.
I would love the 40-150, don't get me wrong, but this lens AND the em-1 body AND the adapter cost me less than $600. If you already use an em-1... I'd say this lens is as close to a must buy as there is.
I'm on the hunt for a 14-54 ii next. I've seen them as low as $175, if the quality is anywhere near what this one is, it may end up pushing me to sell the pass on lumix and get an em1 mk3.
Hi Trent--- Interesting that I just bought the non-SWD version for my Panasonic camera as well ,,, I too have found that auto focus is pretty much out of the question,, I'm embarrassed to ask, this,,but I have gone through the manual --(all 4 pages)..and I don't seem to be able to find a way to switch to manual focus,, I twist the ring side to side but the focus range does not move--stuck on infinity, I don't think it has a focus clutch like newer Olympus lenses,,,,,So ,,,I'm stuck--Any suggestions you might have for me would be great ,,Thanks
@@clintjohnson5914 Hi Clint, I use this on my g9 and I just use the MF lever on the back of the camera. I don't believe the 50-200 has a mf focus override on the lens for either model. The g9 makes the transition easy, the em-1 isn't quite as easy, but not too tough. Either way I have to go through the camera.
@@trevorhawks4577 Hi Trevor,,,Thanks for the idea--I will try that with the G9. I don't think I'm going to have much luck with the GX-8. I actually have been looking for a OM-1 MKII for awhile and I think I found a good deal. BUT..New G9 firmware update announced today puts the S5 focusing system in .. so we have that to look forward to as well. Again thanks for the reply and all the best with your photography!
@@clintjohnson5914 you too! The EM-1 mkii will af the 50-200 really well. Might be worth trying it out if you can.
@@clintjohnson5914I read the SDW version actually has a true manual focus mechincal whereas the non SDW version is focus by wire. If that is case, that explains the issue.
I needed several lenses for a variety of focal lengths to work, mostly portraits. After moving to m4/3 I have only kept this 50-200 lens. But I did have the 14-54, 50 macro, 8mm Fisheye, and the 150 f2. I regret selling the 150 since it was remarkable but I found I just wasn't using it. I used the 40-150 2.8 instead. All the 4/3 lenses were wonderful.
Thanks for sharing.
You had the same lenses that I currently own. They are all excellent lenses. I use a tripod, my 150 f2 with my E-5 and my EM1 for photographing birds through my living room window out to the bird feeder. Seeing crystal clear images of birds with peanuts in their beaks makes for incredible photos for wall hanging. The glass is world class in my opinion.
Hi, same here, I still use all the 4/3 zooms, 7-14 mm , 11-22 mm , 14-54 mm, 50-200 mm rev l and even a Sigma 50-500 , all with my em1 mark ll. They all provide very good image quality and a chance to operate your arm muscles at the same time. They might be intimidating due to their size, so in order to blend better I did mange to gather a few primes, trying not to fall too deep into Gear Acquisition Syndrome
My feeling is the old 4/3rds are high level lenses and I continue to use them for they really do the job
I use this lens all the time on one of 3 cameras, E-5, EM-1MII and my EM-1X I find it to be a great lens when I need more reach. The AF is slower but not by much.
I also have quite a few other 4/3 lens. One of my favorite combos is the 9-18 MM F4.0-5.6 with any of the above cameras
For my EM-10 MIII I use a number of old OM lens. Those give me stunning images.
The options with adaptors is so great these days. The reason why mirrorless cameras are fantastic. Whether it is the 4/3 lens or the OM lens, you just need to imagine what you want to do, then shoot it.
I agree that m4/3 is a wonderful system in many ways.
A year ago I bought a 50-250 (non-SWD) + EC14, both in excellent condition, for € 250. Together with E-M1.2 and MMF-3 you have a pro-combo and (!) weather sealed. For me a very good alternative for the MFT 40-150 Pro, as I mostly do landscape photography where speed isn't an issue (though I do not regard the combo as being slow!).
Another great 4/3 lens is the 50mm F2.0 macro lens, which I also have. Great optical quality and quite cheap on the 2nd hand market.
I also have an E-1 with 11-22mm on it. I still haven't found the time to test this lens on my E-M1.2 ;-)
Thanks for sharing. Many have said that the 50mm f2.0 is a great lens.
Excellent review and your pics were outstanding! Bokeh was beautiful!
Thanks so much!
I have 4/3 Olympus lens 40-150mm on my Panasonic Lumix G85 is working great
I own 4 4/3rds used lenses because I had bought a used Panasonic Leica clone. Not always much cheaper. I have 2 off-brand mount adapters for my Olympus mft cameras. I own a Leica kit lens from the Panasonic, a Tamron 100mm macro - which is very touchy for focusing, a Sigma similar to this lens, and a 9-18 Olympus lens. You are so correct on focusing speeds!
I bought this same lens used for my E3. It worked beautifully. I did not mind the size. And I really liked the focal length range between 100 mm and 400 mm full frame equivalent. It is a hugely useful range for travel pictures which I like. The lower end is fine for pictures of people and a lot of landscapes and the top end range is great for different kinds of landscapes. The lens works well on my OMD Mark 1 and Mark 2. However I wound up buying the 40 150 pro, just because and I found it relatively inexpensively. I can't say the pictures on it are any better but it is a lot more compact and faster focusing. I miss though having the 400 mm equivalent upper end of the range. The 50 mm macro also works quite well on the mirrorless cameras although again it doesn't focus quite as quickly. The 14 to 54 is a fabulous little lens for a very good price that I highly recommend even on the mirrorless cameras. Finally I have the 12 to 60 mm which worked really well on the e3. However maybe it's just the lens but the auto exposure and to some degree autofocus just don't work well on the mirrorless cameras. At least the mark 2.
I own the mZuiko 75-300 mk.1. AF is really slow with my older cameras, but improved quite a bit when I got cameras with Phase Detection.
Re your question about what other lenses we use- I bought the Olympus 14-150 1:4-5.6 II ED MSC several years ago and have never taken it off. Camera body is the 4/3 OMD E-M10 II. I shoot mostly outdoors. Wildlife, occasional portrait, close-ups for insects, flowers, and other interesting features. Even shoot clouds with it, thunderheads, stormfronts, especially sunrise and sunsets. The focus is “iffy” on cloud features but I’m mainly interested in color and blue-greys of shadow. Just a hobbyist- regards and thank you for your valuable expertise.
As an old Olympus fan, since OM-2, I started with the FT cameras when released, I still have my E-3, and still use it at least twice a month because I love how it performs, especially ... in low light, it'd be strange but its noise is very good, close to 800-1000 ISO film grain, but anyway, I also kept all my FT lenses, 7-14 f4, 14-54 f2.8-3.5, 18-180 f3.5-6.3, , 35mm f3.5 macro, 40-150 f4-5.6, 50-200 f2.8-3.5, Sigma 150mm f2.8, and I still use them on my OM-1, and they are quite good, some not great as the 18-180 but all work fine on the OMD-1II and III , not great on the OMD other than "1".
My favorite is the 7-14, what a great lens, may be too heavy but imha, one of the best wide angle I ever tested, far better than the Canon 8-15 F4L I use on my EF cameras.
For those who wants to extend their lenses collections, there is also EF/AF adapter to use Canon EF/EFS lenses on MFT, it works great except for stabilisation, you must either use the body IS or the lens IS but not both, personally, I use the lens stab for tele (>150mm) and IBIS for shorter lenses. Some EF lenses, even very old perform great on MFT, the 100-300 f5.6L is extremely good and compact for a EF pro, but no IS.
Thank you for this interesting and informative video! I bought the original 50-200 in 2004 for my E-1 from late 2003. I never used it much but now it has got a new life with E-M1 Mk II which I bought when it was on Black Weekend sale at the Olympus Shop last year (the 12-40 kit). Thanks to Olympus Sweden (@PB: Tack!) I also got hold of an MMF-3, which is not that easy to find. I am really glad that I kept my 50-200 all these years and when trying it with the E-M1 II, I have been surprised over how relatively well the AF performs. I always knew that this is a fine lens. Now I can finally use it handheld at longer focal lengths thanks to E-M1 II:s stabilization which I never could with my E-1 other than under ideal lighting conditions. Conclusion: SEK 11.990, which this lens once costed, has not been wasted. And the OM-D system's backward compatibility is rather amazing. This is a proof of just that.
Thanks for sharing and yes I really like that these old lenses can be used with newer bodies.
Would love to see more reviews about older lenses on mft bodies; there is such a big market for them for beginners, budget, or curious photographers who are just wanting to try out older lenses. Lenses I would love to see tested are the 4/3s 11-22mm f2.8-4, 12-60mm f2.8-4, and 40-150mm f3.5-4.5. Would also be good to see a shoot out of the om 300mm f4.5, the 300mm f4.0, and the new 100-400mm (used at 300mm) would be cool to see images from these three compared and to hear your thoughts on how the photos came out.
I will if I can get a hold of any of those lenses.
@@ForsgardPeter I can send you mine 12-60mm f2.8-4 on a loan if you like. I want to buy a used EM1 MkII and I was thinking about keeping this glass cause it is a good one. So I would be most interested to see what this specific combination can do.
Hi Peter, I still use a few of my 4/3 lenses on my EM-1 mk ii (as well as getting out the old E1&E3 occasionally) - mainly the 9-18 F4.0-5.6 and especially the 70 - 300 F4.0 - 5.6 which i picked up for about £200.
Very usefull review, Peter. The main issue related to this lens is that Olympus does not make service anymore for this lens. If you have an issue with it (like aperture stucked), you can't repair it.
Another issue related to this version of lens is the rubber ring which ensure weather sealing. The inner tube goes out when you zoom. It gathers humidity, dust and gets cold. The inside rubber ring can be affected and can come out, compromising the WS. It happenned to me, also happened to other users.
The SWD version does not have this issue, but for the SWD lens I had to replace two times the aperture in Olympus service. At least the SWD version is still serviced by Olympus.
Both versions are nice, but for me the SWD version was sharper wide open and the only one really usable with TC-20.
The 2 versions have only medium performance in C-AF compared to the new m4/3 lenses.
Good point about the repairs.
I am from Vietnam, and I have this lens and also Zuiko 12-60mm with mmf2 mmf3. The Focus of this lens is much better than 12-60mm on EM1ii. The new FIRMWARE on EM1ii, it is better focus with C-AF for these lenses. I found the image quality of these lenses are really good when compare with 40-150mm f2.8 pro and Pana-Leica 12-60mm (m43 lens). If possible, please make a review of the Zuiko 12-60mm, as i found it maybe a little better than the Pana-Leica. Thank you
Lets see if I can get a hold of one.
I have the 11-22mm f 2.8-3.5, and it is a great sharp lens for landscape. Since I have E-M5II with contrast AF, the AF is slow as hell, but I shoot with MF anyway 🙏🙏🙏
Hi Peter...Thanks for this wonderful video on my ‘old/alltime’ favourite lens. I’ve used it occasionally on my Panasonic G85, but as you mentioned...the AF is very slow, but I use manual focus and focus peaking works fine. I also have the 14-54 Mark I and this is a gem as well. Still I am thinking of buying a used Olympus Em-1 mark 1 for faster use of this 4/3 lenses which ar on par with the newer ones. I also sometimes take them out on my favourite 4/3 camera the E-1, which I favour over my E-3. Works like a dream and so simple to operate without all those bells and whistles on newer camera’s and pictures have a special feel to them thanks to the Kodak sensor of only 3mp. Incredible but true. Well...Peter thanks again for your support and belief in ‘old’ gear. Have a nice weekend🍀🤙j
I come from an E-30 and I keep the 50-20mm SWD, 50 2.0 and 12-60mm lenses. All three are perfect on the E-M1 and better on the current E-M1 MkIII. I will not sell any because I use them and I really like them.
I use the 4/3 lenses on original Oly DSLR's and MFT bodies. I probably have about a dozen, including all six of the 'SHQ' lenses. The pick of them all would be the 150 f/2, 14-35 f/2 and the 35-100 f2... probably in that order and all of them superb in every respect. That said, i do use the 90-250 f/2.8 a lot as well. From the 'HQ' range, the 50-200 SWD and the 12-60 are great (i use them as a light-weight option if i'm flying somewhere) along with the 50 f/2. A really handy lens from the 'Standard' range is the 18-180... great as a casual walkaround. The 25 f/2.8 is also good, but there are better MFT in that sort of focal length. The great strength of the SHQ lenses in particular is just that - their great strength. They are big, heavy and superbly well built. On the 1X they feel fine, but with the smaller E-M1 models it's a bit like attaching the camera to the lens rather than the other way around. I won't give up on these lenses for two reasons - their super-robust build quality and (with the SHQs) their speed - both of which are necessary for the sort of environments a shoot in. Both of these virtues, however, come with a price: size and weight. Good and fair review Peter - you've said nothing that discourages me! Cheers.
I have the 12-60 2.8-4 SWD with the olympus 3rd adapter. Coast together about €500. Now I had a 3rd party adapter that almost damaged the lens mount. So I sent it back and got an original Olympus one that works perfectly. Focus is kind of slow, but what makes me rarely use the lens is size and weight.
I read the 50mm f2.0 macro is one of the finest olympus lenses. So I‘m tempted. Also the 50-200. But it doesn‘t make a lot of sense when you have the mft versions.
I am thinking on picking one up. The only hitch is the one I am looking at does not have the hood. I use the 50mm f2.0 macro with my E-M1, this is a very nice lens which I would highly recommend, beautiful character and sharp.
I have the HG Zuikos 11-22, 14-54, 50-200, 50 and coming from the E-3 I have no issues using them on the E-M1. The AF is faster than on the E-3 so this is a win in my book. The 4/3 stable had some amazing glass available. Not to mention the SHG lenses, that are so out of my budget, but also out of my needs, since I'm no pro, just a hobbyist. All of the HG Zuikos I have are really sharp and have beautiful color rendition. By having them I really see no need investing in M.Zuikos for my E-M1 (except maybe the 12-100 Pro). I still use them on my E-3 and even the E-1 (the Kodak CCD is just fabulous and the ergonomics of the body is unmatched to this day). So 4/3 glass is still relevant
I had this lens on my e3 but it was hard to hit focus, but when it did, it made a beautiful portrait lens even at 200mm
The when i used it in lower light is when it really struggled
Im sure it would be fine on the em1 mark ii or iii
My 35-100mm focuses very fast even on my em1 mark i
The 35-100mm is a very interesting lens. You still use it?
@@ForsgardPeter big mistake need some money for an investment and sold it now its 3x the price.
can i try this lens 35-1100 , i heard its amazing lens. luck you
I bought the 4/3 12-60 and 50-200 lenses many years ago. They have served so well with reproduced images as large as institutional posters, that I have never been tempted to buy newer equipment. Perhaps this is partially because I have been shooting seriously since 1960 and compensating for shortcomings in the latest technical crutches is part of my natural procedure. But there's also something to be said for letting your equipment teach you to react and compensate, rather than expecting to chase reality by spending more and more for automatic response. YOU are the one making the image. I do not see myself "upgrading" from either of these fine old affordable lenses.
Great video. I would love to try some of these lenses.
I still use an e300 dSLR and own a small stable of lenses. Adapting to my GH4 and EPL7 restricts me to manual focus. However focusing focusing aids in the newer bodies makes this easier. I don't own the 50-200 but I (still) use the 14-54mm standard zoom. I now have a Panasonic 12-35 lens on the way to replace as a mainstay on the m4/3 bodies. I agree with you and other commenters that the 4/3 lenses are excellent (albeit larger) alternatives to lower end m4/3 lenses if you have a body with PDAF.
I tried three different brands of adapters, from Ebay Fotga and Viltrox, and second hand Olympus MMf3. Fotga has no contact at all with the camera, Viltrox works with some lenses and some do not, MMF works fine.
I have three lenses in the 4/3 system. Zuiko 14-54mm f2.8-3.5 MII, Zuiko 40-150mm f3.5-4.5 and Sigma 70-200mm f2.8.
Everything works fine, although the old 40-150mm is slow to focus. The camera is an OMD M5 Mark III
Thanks for sharing.
I have the 12-60 f2.6-4 and love it. It lives on my em1.2. I just can't justify getting the 12-40 when I have this lens already. I also have the 70-300. It is a fun lens, not as good as the 50-200 but certainly loads of fun. Just wish it had a tripod collar because it is quite heavy.
Great vid! Thanks Peter!
Glad you enjoyed it
Hi Peter I have the four thirds 70-300 with 1.4 teleconverter. It’s excellent for stills on a tripod or mono pod. I paid $ 200.00 Canadian. Thanks
Thanks for the info!
Pretty sure you mean 70-300mm, not 75-300mm -- correct?
@@gregm6894 Hi Greg, good catch you are correct it is a 70 - 300. Now revised Thanks.
Good of you to take up 4/3 lenses.
Yes I have the 50-200 2.8-3.5 SWD, also 12-60 SWD and the 150/2. Theese lenses made the decision easy to switch back to Olympus and specialy to the M1X.
However the adapter MMF-3 from Olympus is discontued sometimes during 2020. EC-14/EC20 works alright with 50-200, but MC14 shouldn't be suited for any 4/3 lens. By the way, Pro capture doesn't work with 4/3 lenses. Overall 4/3 lenses work good, but I think they seems to darken in the EVF a little bit.
Yes the ProCapture did work on the E-M1 MKIII.
@@ForsgardPeter I checked, but not in C-AF + M mode the Pro Capture Low will be dimmed out. This is on my E-M1 MKIII
A daily workhorse for me (the 50-200mm). Fast & very sharp (even on an E-M1 with MMF3).
I brought this lens SH (with the weather sealed adapter) with my first E-M1 cos i couldn't afford the 40-150mm at that time . I have the E-M1 Mk III now and I am not considering replacing it. I love the quality of glass and the rendering of colours and often get smooth bokeh. The extra 50mm also comes in useful. Great value for your money! 👍
Yes, it is a very good value for money.
Good question Peter. My feeling is that if someone is already deep into 4/3rds, then it doesn’t hurt to invest more, as long as it’s understood that OM Digital may not make it, and service may be difficult to come by in later years. Remember that even going concerns discontinue service for older models after some time. Then parts disappear.
If the quality of 4/3rds is fine for what someone is doing, then that’s great. But they have to understand that they may never get another sensor, despite the info that’s come out about a sensor that not intended for general photography, and so may never become available.
Hi Peter. It's me again. Back in 2012 when I bought the OMD EM5 mark I, I also bought a new four thirds Olympus Zuiko lens 70-300 mm 1:4-5.6 ED with a hood. I connected it to the camera with the same adapter MMF-3 you refer to in your video above. It didn't work well though with AF and was difficult to hold still in MF but worked all-right on a tripod. So I haven't used it very much until now. Using it with the EM1 mark ii (I've just updated the firmware to 3.6) it's a totally different story. Apart for the weight it's suddenly for me a very good budget tele zoom lens that focuses where you point at plus like the above lens it can be combined with the EC 14 or EC 20 giving me a focal length up to the equivalent of 1200mm. I think it is weather sealed? A tripod is still a good idea I think for video.
My first FT lens was the 70-300mm, which I bought for budget reasons. I used it with my E-M5 and a Commlite adapter, which is much cheaper than those from Olympus or Panasonic and worked very well in this combination. The AF was slow, but usable for anything except moving animals. I still use this lens, sometimes with the Pen-F, which also does not have phase detect af. My current telephoto setup is the 50-200mm SWD with MMC-3 and E-M1 II. This is very recommendable! The af of the swd lens is almost as fast as with mft lenses and still good with contrast-only cameras. I've read that the swd lenses where made for use with live view, which was new at the time and required contrast af.
AF speed with the E-M1 Mark I is quite good (while not as good as with the Mark II), but not always precise. The Commlite adapter does works well with the 70-300 and the 50mm macro, but not with the 12-60mm swd and 50-200mm swd, which often loose contact.
I find the 50-200 mm range perfect for my needs. Only with birds I'd like to have something longer. Currently I use the tele converter EC-14 with the 50-200mm, but that's not perfect. The image quality isn't as good on the long end, because the tele converter doesn't help for the already slightly decreased sharpness at 200mm. Image stabilization at 280mm could be better, but for birds I need fast shutter speeds anyway. Maybe I'll get the 100-400mm for that, but currently wait for the new telephoto lenses to be announced.
Thank you for sharing.
i used many years ago 11-22 2,8-3,5 what amazzing lens im thinking about re buying this now... for my pocket 4k
Thanks for reviewing this Peter. I look forward to more 4/3 lens reviews. But you say the MC14 and MC20 teleconverters are "compatible" with this lens, yet you couldn't get yours to fit? Hmmmm......
Did I make a mistake and say MC? I hope I did not. I was talking about EC converters. Those are for this lens.
I have this 50-200mm non-SWD version, 12-60mm, and E3. I love these 2 lenses. I don’t have the em1, but use it on em5 MK II using MF most of the time( em5ii doesn’t have phase detection). I owned Samyang 135mm T2.2, but find this 50-200mm is almost as good as the Samyang. In the end I sold off the Samyang. May get em1 mki or MK II that can use the phase detection for the 43 lenses.
hi
i do have swd $$$ at time 10 years ago, i have it on 5 mkii its slow focus , that was at friend wedding nice shots before i got 1 mkii . then i have it on 1mkii lot better faster. i bought 3 adapters for 12-60 swd. and other for micro 50mm its great lens amazing shots. and third on 50-200.
as soon i got some $$ i will get 12-100 . but im very happy with all of them . i do have 45 m 1.8 ,i just keep it for video .video i took at wedding was on 5mk ii looked realy good . it also good on 1mkii.
Thanks for sharing.
I have 12-60, 50 macro, 50-200 SWD and 150/f2. I can say that 150/f2 are the best Oly lens. Also 50-200 + 1.4 works perfect. Wnen I asked opticallimits why they have no review for 150/f2 which are Top Pro Olympus lens, they told me that were expensive and could not find them. I bought my with scratched front lens and not working manual focus ring, but managed to send to Olympus Europe center for repairing (just before to be discounted the model). So my advice to Peter review 12-60 - they are really good lens and very - very sharp :) 150/f2 if you come to Bulgaria I will land for test.
I might get the 12-60mm lens if I can get a hold of one that is in good condition and not too expensive. It would be great to test the 150mm f2.0 lens.
I've used several Oly FT lenses / bodies for a decade & regard them very highly. Still regularly using the 50 macro, 50-200 SWD &12-60 SWD lenses on both EM-1 Mk i & MK ii bodies with an MMF- 3 adapter; also with the EC -14 which also works just fine.
I'm more than satisfied with AF speed on my MFT bodies, even using the EC-14. AF speed of native MFT lenses is faster, particularly faster than the 50 macro (which has always tended to hunt) but the IQ performance of the three FT lenses is truly excellent in my experience. Slower AF of the 50 macro is more than compensated by IQ performance of this remarkable lens (all in I would rank it among Oly's finest FT lens values, although I never tried the 150 F:2 macro or the 35-100 F:2). The 50-200 SWD hardly hunts at all (AF speed with it on the EM-1 bodies is just fine and at least as fast as on any of the old FT bodies).
Peter, I'm glad you made this review on the 50-200 as it's a very good thing to have your opinion as a professional photographer. I've written before calling for you to review one of the adapted Oly FT lenses (it was the 12-60 SWD), as it seems fine optics like this have been a bit left behind with all the, well, focus on native MFT lens offerings. Current pricing of (most of) the FT lenses provides excellent value - as you point out. Hope to see more reviews along this line.
MFT as a system is better than FT overall, with improved AF and sensor performance among many other features. However all the FT glass was of a high standard (my opinion) and the 50-200 was / is a standout. Most happily, the glass is still around (mostly) and is totally usable on higher-end MFT bodies. Added cost of the MFT/FT adapter is small compared to typical costs of moving to a different system.
While excellent the 50-200 IS BIG and with hood in place looks enormous! I stopped packing it and switched to the much smaller / lighter 70-300 which, while very nice, was of course slower, less sharp and not weather sealed. I have switched since, to the MFT Lumix 100-300 II, given this is a weather sealed lens, although it costs a lot more. With the EC-14 the 50-200 has nearly 300 mm reach but is not convenient to carry around. Besides its too-large size the 50-200 has also some amount of mustache distortion (at 50 mm) that can be difficult to correct in PP. Otherwise, it's still a great choice -
Thank you for this review!
Thank you.
I have had this lens for years. The image quality is good, and I have taken some lovely pictures with it, but it is *very* heavy and slow to focus, especially with the E-M1 mk. 1, which is my camera. I am thinking of trading up to a dedicated Micro Four Thirds lens.
The only problem is the AF speed. You will get a lot faster AF with the 40-1500mm f2.8 Pro.
I use the 30mm macro and the 14-54mm FT with a 3rd-party adapter, that replaces the mmf-3. The adapter cost 30€ and works fine. And I use a Viltrox nf-m1 adapter to adapt my Nikon lenses incl. af to my m43 cam, e.g. sigma 70-200mm HSM OS or Sigma 150-600mm HSM OS. It works good, I shot also birds and of cause in flight. It is not as fast as a Olympus lens, but it works. 600mm is equivalent to 1200mm!!!
I have this lens (the 50-200) with the 1.4 teleconverter. I thought it worked great! I don't do wildlife photography, so the weight and autofocus speed weren't an issue for me. If I remember correctly, I got for use with an E-5, the last pro-level 4/3rds body. On an E-M1 mk1, the biggest I had was using it with a smaller ball head than I usually used. I was in Iceland and tried to save weight by bringing a lighter ball head. It did work; it was a good Kirk ball head, but maybe not optimally. Another photographer had an Olympus kit and let me use his 40-150 native M43 lens. This was in early March. By May I'd purchased my own copy of that lens. As you said, Peter, for what it is, it's just fine! I was always happy with the image quality of 4/3rds lenses.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Peter, I have Olympus four thirds adapter MMF-1 and a couple olympus 4/3 ED lines the 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 and the 4/3 ED 40-150mm f 4-5.6 the lenses were reasonable priced, but the adapter was expensive. Glad to know that the focus will work better on my OM-D 1M 1 cause i do notice that the focus is slightly slower compared to a micro 4/3 native lenses, the photos still seem to compare with the ones I take with the micro 4/3.
I have used this lens with my E-M1 II and I think it produces the best images of all my Olympus zoom lenses at the long end (the only PRO lenses I own are the 12-40mm f/2.8 and the 12-100mm f4). I just got the EC-20 teleconverter but have not yet had a chance to test it with this lens.
The four thirds 35-100 f2 is the one to own followed by the 50-250 f2.8 zoom. These are still very expensive though. The best inexpensive four thirds is the 50mm f2 Macro lens - which has image quality well beyond its price. Just keep in mind it works best using manual focus- but I have managed shooting ice hockey pics with ok results.
Yes, the 35-100 f2 has been on my radar, but have not found one with a reasonable price tag on it.
I have 4, 4/3 thirds lenses that I use with my EM5, the 9-18, 14-42, 18-180 and the 70-300.
I got the 14-42 and the 70-300 with an E510 Olympus 4/3 camera in a package deal for $250, all in almost brand new condition.
I bought the 9-18and the 18-180 from Ebay for $200 each.
I use a Commlite adapter that cost about $48, way cheaper than the Olympus ones which are about $200 second hand.
I also have a FOTGA adapter because it has a tripod mount built in so the 70-300 is a little more stable.
All 3 lenses operate and match the image quality of the M43thirds lens that I have, which are 2 kit lenses and 2 primes.
The 18-180 is a fantastic walk around lens with it's reach and image quality is great.
The 9-18 is also great, although it gets a bit too 'fish eyey' at the edges at 9 mm.
The 70-300 is fantastic, much better that I expected.
The 14-42 is as good as the kit 14-42, can't see any difference.
The other thing is they look and so much better than the puny, plasticy kit lenses, and seem to be much more rugged, although they are a little on the large side, they still are very compact relative to other brands of the same focal length.
All in all, if, like me, your budget is a bit tight to shell out for the Pro lenses, these 4/3 thirds lenses are a great addition.
Getting hard to find though, especially the fast ones.
Thanks for sharing.
@@ForsgardPeter
Thanks Peter.
I forgot to add that the auto focus is a bit problematic with these lenses, it's fine if you are shooting still life with not too many distractions in frame, but if there's a lot going on they tend to hunt a bit.
I generally prefer manual focusing, I mainly do nature photo's when I'm hiking, so don't need fast AF, so it's not a big deal to me.
Thanks for the info on the later, improved AF.
Hopefully I will be upgrading to a EM1 mark ii soon, and I'll see a difference.
Cheers.
Lens's are things I can dream about.
Really liked the 9-18mm mft lens but because of budget i bought the zuiko 9-18mm four thirds with a commlite adaptor. Very slow,but is ok for landscapes and other wide angle shoots.