Olympus 75 300mm f4.8-6.3 Lens - Worth it in 2022?

Olympus 75 300mm f4.8-6.3 Lens - Worth it in 2022? - In Use Review

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Күн бұрын

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Пікірлер: 50

@RonaldBrown59 Жыл бұрын

Great review of this zoom lens. And it seems very useful, considering the cost and size. Thanks for sharing.

@AndrewOudin 2 жыл бұрын

I purchased a well-used one of these with some scratches on the elements. Such relatively poor condition allowed me to get it very cheap, and it suits my application perfectly. One day perhaps I will get a superior telephoto, but my long zoom photos are the most recreational and least important aspect of my photography, so this lens is perfectly delightful.

@scstudios8 7 күн бұрын

I just got this lens and I got it because I could not find a panasonic 100-300mm. I find this lens can shoot really good images, but it is very hard to get sharp images due to stabilization. I think the newer Panasonic 100-300mm is worth the extra money because the struggle is the stab. With dual stab, it has to be better. I dont have the panasonic, but all the reviews all indicate its better and I think the stab may be why. At the long end, it is very hard to hand hold and rely only onIy on IBIS. I have a Pana G9 body and its great, but 300mm really is pushing it with IBIS. You really need that dual stabilization. I also think the 40-150mm f4 may really be better if you just crop for any shade or indoors stuff, because you could get the ISO back into normal ranges for stuff in shade. I cannot believe but I see ISO hitting 5000 sometimes and that means you will not be getting a good image regardless of the glass. If you get a shot at a wider focal length at near 2 stops faster, you probably will have a better image. So, I am a bit torn. If you are nailed down on a tripod with nothing moving, sure, its fine, but even on a tripod, things are moving. I guess all I am saying is, this is a tough focal length to shoot 300mm at f6.7. I have the model ii also. Some of my shots I am very impressed with the sharpness, which means the glass is totally fine, but many other images just look horrible. I think there is a range of shutter speeds that you cannot use due to shutter slap. Its tough and I am leaning towards swapping out for the 40-150mm f4 pro lens.

@thegreatvanziniphotos5976 2 жыл бұрын

Just got mine about 2 weeks ago. Great little (by comparison) lens.

@armanddimeo6575 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing lens at a great price. Considering the 600mm equivalence in such a small package, I can live with the slow aperture.

@samwang5831 Жыл бұрын

Got this lens, works well with E-m5iii as a wildlife combo. The whole system weighs in at slightly over 800g. The IBIS of Olympus is excellent. With a bit of practice, one can capture 1/30 shots with ease. I cannot imagine doing this with a heavier lens. Of course it would be nice to have a f2.8, but when you have to carry it all day there is no fun any more.

@smkunder1 2 жыл бұрын

Wish you would’ve indicated the focal length of the images you posted, helpful video.

@salvadorcamps887 3 ай бұрын

Thanks a lot Mr. James for your excellent explanation….

@ThatMicro43Guy 2 ай бұрын

You are welcome!

@nightowl660 2 жыл бұрын

I think you had some resolution problems, while publishing the images taken with this zoom, because if they were really the ones you see in your video then that zoom, which I myself have with great satisfaction, would really be thrown in the trash. : I don't understand how it can produce such poor images when I get magnificent, very, very sharp shots at all focal lengths: despite your words of appreciation I fear that, with your review, you have really made a bad advertisement for this excellent zoom.

@petepictures 2 жыл бұрын

For what I payed for mine , second hand, is absolutely worth. The only issue I find, is IBIS doesn't work well on the G9 with it. With GH5 is fine, though.

@TomReichner Жыл бұрын

I could have really used some info and insights about the minimum focus distances at various focal lengths, and maximum magnification ratio, for close-up shooting of subjects such as lizards, butterflies, and flowers. It would also have been helpful to know about the specifics of the focus breathing at 600mm at very close distances, This type of info is really important, and what I watch review videos for. Hopefully you can start to incorporate these details in future lens reviews.

@gordon3988 10 ай бұрын

Interesting timing for me… I’m looking for a bit more reach was considering a used Rx10iv which is a wonderful bridge (do it all) camera 20-600 mm (more if you use clear image zoom), but a bit bulky and heavy to me (around 1.1 kg, which of course isn’t bad for a good camera and a series of lenses up to 600mm). My other thought: get something that goes up to 300mm to go my G9. Photos I’ve seen look similar (the RX is quite amazing…very good 1 inch sensor), and think stab quite good. Less so perhaps on video, at least in 4k on the Rx but not sure how well the panny (or Oly) would be either. At effectively 600mm you likely need to be on a tripod…what do you think with regard to the Panny lens and stab in video? Always enjoy your videos btw!

@mariaxeniaallen 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Brian! I got this lens soon after I acquired my EM-1 (mark 1.) At first, I was uncertain about the quality considering the price and that the body is plastic instead of metal (as all the old OM Zuiko lenses.) While still thinking that metal is better, I appreciate it being light-weight and I have been very pleased with this lens...hundreds of thousands of shots. About a year ago, the auto-focus was not working well; was told it needed a cleaning. A reputable camera store in Seattle told me that they could not repair it in-house and that it needed to be repaired by Olympus. I asked if it was worth the $200 repair bill for a $550 lens? Their Olympus expert assured me that it would be worth it. Now, a year later and many more shots, it is still holding up well. Infact, it is the lens that stays on my camera because there just might be a BIRD (like a dog with a squirrel) out there when I walk out the door! I believe that carrying my camera with me when I go out is as important as carrying my keys and my wallet. :) Finally, I agree that Olympus should have been including a lens hood with each lens, as they did in the old days; a lens case would have been nice, too, however that probably would have been too much to ask.

@johnstephen2869 Жыл бұрын

Maria, I think you have a great attitude as to 'just as important as wallet and keys', well done. We should all take a leaf from your book. Love to see your shots too.

@jeffslade1892 Жыл бұрын

One trick to reduce noise on MFT is to under expose rather than use higher ISO, and boost it in post. What does this do? As the ISO goes up the Dynamic Range comes down. If we can keep the higher DR we can boost brightness in post. It does not always work. It does work where there are a few bright points but the meter is asking for an unacceptably high ISO. If bright spots blow out they are unrecoverable.

@ProRace1 2 жыл бұрын

Many of the images looked noisy and out of focus.

@dawidwolnik628 2 жыл бұрын

at low iso it is so good lens, did used for people, animals, moon, flowers,... nice

@xmeda Жыл бұрын

I dont understand why Olympus/OMD is not providing this lens with lens hood in package. Lens hoods are quite important for telephotos like this as it eliminates light impacting frontal element from side which affects contrast.

@ianyorke2617 2 жыл бұрын

The biggest problem with long lenses is holding them rock steady/stabilising/subject movement at the long end. A lot of the unsharpness observed is actually micro-movement. You need to use high ISO's with long lenses. That gives noise with MFT. The answer is to use DXO Photolab Elite which has DeepPrime noise reduction. You literally get a 2 stop improvement in noise performance with a simple single slider adjustment. Coupled with this DXO provides lens modules that provide very accurate correction for the lens distortion plus sharpening that is varied across the frame to match the lens characteristics. Typically lenses are sharper in the centre of the frame and sharpness falls off towards the edges. DXO varies the sharpness to match the lens characteristics as determined in their optical labs. Using DXO is effectively a camera/lens upgrade :-)

@MrReadboy 3 ай бұрын

DxO definitely makes average lenses look anything but, deep prime noise reduction is simply amazing I can use ISO 12,800 and get clean detailed results on EM1X.

@keithspillett5298 2 жыл бұрын

I recently purchased an EM1 and an EM5mk2 from MPB. The EM1 cost a princely £170! It was supposed to be in 'good' order, but is WAY better than that.

@jeffcassar8062 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Brian I enjoyed your video on the 75 - 300mm lens. I am only a beginner would you be able to add settings of photos you displayed in future. Also with this lens I would like to be able to shoot airforce air craft at speed if possible. I have a omd-e-m10mkii. Regards Jeff from Australia

@ThatMicro43Guy 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your reply. Being honest, no, I don’t put the settings up as I find them to be misleading in reality. If I were doing a direct comparison review between two items them maybe yes. But there are so many more variables which can affect how a photo looks than purely it’s aperture, shutter speed and iso so as to make them only minor factors in the shot. Light intensity, light direction, colour temp, back lighting, distance to and relative distances between objects, framing, dynamic range and much more have a huge impact on the shot and many of those things can be far bigger factors than the “big three”. By altering how I take a shot I can make things look very different. Also, by the time a shot is compressed and messed about with by KZfaq it often bears little resemblance to the shot on my machine so I only put shots up as a guide. My personal advice, if you are as you say a beginner, it to not get hung up on the numbers game, don’t get drawn in by the social media and advertising hype. Instead, go out and photograph something specific but mess around with all of the variables I mentioned above. Stand closer with a wide lens, further away with a long, open the aperture, close it down, and do the same with the other things too. Go back at different times on different days in different seasons. Then compare your shots, look at the object of interest, look at the foreground and the background. Do they look different? What makes them look different and why. This way you will build up an experience which figures alone will never give you and you’ll use that experience in all of your shots in the future. Check out my videos on the “witches hat” an timer/bulb mode. I photograph the same building over several years at different times and seasons. Without looking at the photos I don’t think I would have a clue at the settings….I’d give it a reasonable guess but it I was more concerned with the light conditions. Where the settings become most important for me are when I’m taking portraits where my DOF can be very important (not too much but enough) and sports where fast shutter speeds are important. I think this lens would be excellent for aircraft photography, especially because it is so light A bit of a long winded answer but I hope this helps. Regards, Brian

@jeffslade1892 Жыл бұрын

I have had the GH4 and the E-M5ii for a long time now. I have had the mark.1 45-200 (Mega-OIS) since before the mark.1 100-300 (Mega-OIS). I have long found the 45-200(i) worked better on the E-M5ii with its IBIS but that the 100-300(i) wanted its Lens IS operating on the GH4 because on the E-M5ii it would be fuzzy at the long end. The elderly 100-300(i) now goes lens/body (Dual-IS) in the G9 and works well enough not to upgrade to the mark.2 but the old 45-200(i) is still poor on the G9 whereas the 45-200ii (Power-OIS) is excellently stabilised and Dual2. It would seem not all Lumix Lens-OIS are built the same, and the longer the lens, the more they want Lens-IS. And you are right about the wide end, I usually find the wide end of the 45-200 more useful than the extra length of the 100-300. The PL100-400 is too big for casual carry.

@eamonnthatcher Жыл бұрын

I've been thinking about getting this lens where do you think I could get a good second hand one from in UK please,love the videos you do keep up to good work 😁

@ThatMicro43Guy Жыл бұрын

I get all my used gear from either MPB.Com or my local dealer but wex are also supposed to be excellent although I’ve never used them

@eamonnthatcher Жыл бұрын

Thank you you for replying 👍

@victorbastos5859 2 жыл бұрын

Sharper than the Pana 100-300 mk2. Specially at 300mm.

@kevinridley8883 2 жыл бұрын

like i said the other day mines ordered & on the way.

@robertverbeek8187 2 жыл бұрын

hi, im looking at purchasing this lens my camera is a panasonic G95 ,whats your opinion on this ,would this be compatable.

@ThatMicro43Guy 2 жыл бұрын

If you want super small size the yes, get this one. If you want better quality get the 12-60 f3.5-5.6 as it is better and has a larger range but is so much larger

@johna5624 2 жыл бұрын

If you were not concerned about the 75 - 99 bit of the focal length which is the better lens in terms of sharpness and contrast?

@ThatMicro43Guy 2 жыл бұрын

Honest answer, if you were to put photos taken with either side by side I don’t think I could tell the difference, or at least if there were differences I don’t think I could name which was which. Again I stand on what I said at the end, if you shoot mainly Olympus bodies get the Olympus, if you mainly shoot Lumix go for the lumix

@johna5624 2 жыл бұрын

@@ThatMicro43Guy Thanks Brian, much appreciated.

@Leptospirosi 2 жыл бұрын

Do you think the 1/3 stop of difference between this and the Lumix makes any worthwhile difference? At the long end?

@ThatMicro43Guy 2 жыл бұрын

Not in the least bit in reality. And if you shoot raw you can easily recover more than 1/3 of a stop in post production without any real penalty

@theWZZA 11 ай бұрын

It's more like 1/2 stop between 5.6 and 6.7

@malcolmwright6948 2 жыл бұрын

Great review. I bought the 75-300 secondhand and am delighted with it. I've since bought the 100-400mm. Like you quite rightly say the 75-300mm lens is one to put in your camera bag just in case, as you won't know it's there. The 75-300mm goes in my messenger bag and gets taken into towns. In comparison the 100-400mm is a lens to take when you've planned your trip, such as to the countryside, or a park and know you'll need it for wildlife, sports, also revisits, where the long end of the 75-300mm didn't quite cut it. The 100-400mm lives in my rucksack camera bag. I'd like to hear your views on either of the 100-400mm lenses as I don't think they're a replacement for the 75-300mm or 100-300mm lenses.

@ThatMicro43Guy 2 жыл бұрын

I’ll be honest, I’ve only used the Lumix/Leica one. It is fabulous and a noticeable improvement over the 100-300 in build quality and image quality across the board but it’s also considerably heavier, larger and pricier too. I think you summed up the operational differences as well as I could. Excellent lens though.

@imcoop13 2 жыл бұрын

I agree with Nightowl660, on the basis of your images I’d never have purchased this lens. However I did 9 mths ago & Im very pleased with the image quality even at300 mm. You are quite correct that it is not at its best in low light & I personally find that my bird photos have too much noise at 6400 ISO. That said even on a dull Scottish May afternoon I was able to get sharp images of Great spotted woodpecker using Raw at f7.1 1/20 ISO 200 at ranges 240- 300 which cropped well.

@yizhao3736 2 жыл бұрын

チャンネル登録しましたよ！ from JAPAN

@theWZZA 11 ай бұрын

There is an error in your title, it is f/6.7 at 300mm. I wish it was 6.3.

@kennynvake4hve584 2 жыл бұрын

Is the 150-300 f;4-5.6 Olympus lens close to the same as the one here?

@ThatMicro43Guy 2 жыл бұрын

I honestly cannot say as I have not used it. Obviously you are losing a lot of usable focal length at the wide end but gaining a small amount of speed at the 300mm but as it’s only 1/3 of a stop it’s not much

@kennynvake4hve584 2 жыл бұрын

@@ThatMicro43Guy Im sorry, I made a mistake it's a 70-300, not a 150-300.

@kenrobinson9989 Жыл бұрын

Hi Brian it's Ken here again. I have the above Olympus 75-300mm Mk2 as you have here. Question, can you tell me what is the latest firmware for this lens and how to get the latest version of firmware, my version is 1: 1.0 is that the latest firmware, also I use this lens on my Panasonic's GX8 and G9. regards Ken

@ThatMicro43Guy Жыл бұрын

According to the OMDS website there has not been a firmware update for this lens. You can find a link to this page in the description for most of my videos and to the Lumix firmware page too.

@kenrobinson9989 Жыл бұрын

@@ThatMicro43Guy thank you very much

@cmartin_ok 2 жыл бұрын

Really very poor that Olympus do not include a lens hood with this lens (and many of their others), it puts me off buying especially at the ridiculous prices they charge for the hoods - I end up buying third-party hoods as they are so much cheaper, yet as you say it would cost were pennies for them to include it as standard. I've already got a used Panny 100-300 but somehow Olympus lenses seem to work better on Olympus bodies so am contemplating buying a used copy of this lens. I think all the manufacturers are getting "lazy" now using slow aperture values and relying on more responsive sensors to still deliver a good result, instead of going for a fastest aperture of f/5.6 at the tele end. F/6.3 and even f/8 are becoming too common now :-(