I tried out the Olympus 300mm f4 lens at the Denver Zoo this weekend. The lens looks and feels like a 300mm f4 for full frame cameras but provides a field of view equivalent to a 600mm lens due to the micro 4/3 sensor size in the Olympus. The lens is, in a word, impressive. I had no issues handholding the lens due to the image stabilization built in to the lens as well as the in body stabilization provided by the EM1 I tried it out on. The end result–a lightweight combination that makes wildlife photography much more convenient. Normally, a photographer would be required to carry a 2 pound body and a 7 pound lens along with a heavy duty tripod and gimbal head. Not with the Olympus. I had no issue walking around the zoo with this set up. Using the teleconverter in conjunction with the lens I had the equivalent of an 860mm f5.6 lens!
Autofocus
The autofocus of the lens seemed quick and response. However, the one limitation of this setup is the camera. The EM1 simply doesn’t autofocus precise or fast enough to keep up with fast moving people or objects. The camera was also fooled by objects in front of or in back of an object like grass or fencing. Word has it that Olympus is working on an updated version of the EM1 that will address some of these autofocus issues, but we shall see. If it can develop an autofocus system capable of tracking wildlife, this camera and lens combination will definitely find itself in the bags of many more pros who shoot sports and wildlife. The lens is that good.
Image Quality
The Olympus 300 f4 lens produces great photos. It even focuses to a relatively close five feet which allows it to take some nice close ups such as flowers. I did not detect any major flaws with this lens during my time testing it. It produces sharp, contrasty images even shot into the sun. This lens is one of the best telephoto lenses on the market. Period.
