Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Reviews & Tests

Expert review by (ephotozine.com)

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6

A compact super-telephoto lens giving an equivalent angle of view of a 140-600mm on a full frame camera.

600mm super-telephoto equivalent; Light weight; Close focus ability; Good optical quality when stopped down; Low distortion

Chromatic Aberrations at 300mm

May, 2010

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Expert review by : Szymon Starczewski (lenstip.com)

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300 mm f/4.0-5.6

The beginning of this lens's test is untypical as I decided to start it with a kind of personal reflection. I like testing Olympus lenses very much and there are many reasons behind it. Above all, most of them are very well- made devices, popular and...

solid workmanship ; acceptable image quality at the frame edge ; chromatic aberration corrected properly (apart from the 300 mm and f/5.6 combination) ; low distortion ; very well-corrected coma ; slight astigmatism ; low vignetting ; accurate autofocus

too low image quality in the frame centre ; high chromatic aberration at 300 mm and the maximum relative aperture ; slow autofocus

Mar, 2010

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Expert review by : photodo.com (photodo.com)

REVIEW: Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6

The Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300mm f/4-5.6 is ideal for nature photography due to the 2x crop factor doubling the focal length equivalent.

600mm super-telephoto equivalent; Light weight; Close focus ability; Good optical quality when stopped down; Low distortion

Poorer performance than I expected at maximum aperture; Chromatic Aberrations at 300mm

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Consumer review (lenstip.com)

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300 mm f/4.0-5.6

My favorite lens. Much better than the kit 40-150mm, especially if you don't use it past 200mm. Great for bugs and flowers because of the telephoto range and close focusing ability. It is an excellent outdoor daytime lens. Just don't try to use it...

Cheap, light, sharp from, 70-200mm, brighter then the kit lens at 70-150mm, close focusing, MF/AF switch, 600mm equivalent

Not a fast lens, slow focus, focus hunts in low light

Feb, 2011

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Consumer review (lenstip.com)

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300 mm f/4.0-5.6

My favorite lens. Much better than the kit 40-150mm, especially if you don't use it past 200mm. Great for bugs and flowers because of the telephoto range and close focusing ability. It is an excellent outdoor daytime lens. Just don't try to use it...

Cheap, light, sharp from, 70-200mm, brighter then the kit lens at 70-150mm, close focusing, MF/AF switch, 600mm equivalent

Not a fast lens, slow focus, focus hunts in low light

Feb, 2011

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Consumer review (lenstip.com)

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300 mm f/4.0-5.6

A very versatlie lens for long tele and macro (1:2). Not that heavy so it can find a space in my bag. Worthy addition to any 4/3 users. If you have the money and looking for a tele, you don't ned to think much (unless you're going for the big tuna).

For the price, it's a steal! Excellent optics compared to other 70-300s.Lightweight, allows birding handheld.Macro performance is very good, close to that of a prime

Not as sharp as most Zuikos I have used. I am probably spoilt but that's what happened when you use Olympus.Autofocus can be a bit erratic with strong backlighting.Nothing much can be done at f5.6 unless light is abundant

Jan, 2011

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Consumer review (lenstip.com)

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300 mm f/4.0-5.6

A very versatlie lens for long tele and macro (1:2). Not that heavy so it can find a space in my bag. Worthy addition to any 4/3 users. If you have the money and looking for a tele, you don't ned to think much (unless you're going for the big tuna).

For the price, it's a steal! Excellent optics compared to other 70-300s.Lightweight, allows birding handheld.Macro performance is very good, close to that of a prime

Not as sharp as most Zuikos I have used. I am probably spoilt but that's what happened when you use Olympus.Autofocus can be a bit erratic with strong backlighting.Nothing much can be done at f5.6 unless light is abundant

Jan, 2011

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Consumer review (lenstip.com)

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300 mm f/4.0-5.6

Excellent lens for the money, but to get the most from it requires that you learn its strengths and weaknesses.For best results - F11 to F16, 100-200mm, 1/200s or faster, and sunlight.

Excellent macro lens at 100-200mm - Very sharp macro shots.300mm maximum

Less than stellar resolution at the long end of the tele-range.Struggles to find focus often.Manual focusing is a little touchy and difficult to dial in.Slow lens. Performs best in sunlight

May, 2010

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Consumer review (lenstip.com)

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300 mm f/4.0-5.6

Excellent lens for the money, but to get the most from it requires that you learn its strengths and weaknesses.For best results - F11 to F16, 100-200mm, 1/200s or faster, and sunlight.

Excellent macro lens at 100-200mm - Very sharp macro shots.300mm maximum

Less than stellar resolution at the long end of the tele-range.Struggles to find focus often.Manual focusing is a little touchy and difficult to dial in.Slow lens. Performs best in sunlight

May, 2010

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Good Lens

Using lens on an E510. Good lens, was concerned about how slow it was to focus and zoom until I updated the E510 firmware for the 150mm lens, after that zoomand focus were much faster, roughly equivalent to the Canon 250mm lens we use on a Canon XS....

Decent priced lens

None

Feb, 2010

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