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i'll pass one good advice i received from one top nature photographer - go for the best lens for your needs, save up to acquire it, never spend more than necessary bridge or intermediate money on inferior glass. this glass is the ultimate for four thirds, even micro four thirds (though slower af), shooters. it will take some getting used to but the fantastic jumps in image quality and faithful scene reproduction is worth all the money i saved up to get this lens, refurbished. if used properly, the lens is so sharp image output can 'cut' the eyes.
i am a nature photographer, with focused interest in wild birds. i use this lens with my other olympus gear: e3, e30 and em5 bodies; tc14 and tc20 extenders. where else can you find a 420mm f4 with the angle of view of an 840mm full frame (with tc14) or a 600mm f5.6 with the angle of view of a 1200mm full frame - all weighing around 5 kg or 7 kg with tripod? weather-sealed too if used with e3 or em5. any of these combos, i found, will still autofocus reasonably fast with very little image quality degradation.
i highly recommend this lens for four thirds shooters. it may be like having a golf course in your pockets with all the holes it will burn in them but will surely be worth all the expense.
This is my 2nd SHQ Zukio lens (also have 35-100mm f2); lens is attached to my E-5 most of the time, occassionally on my E-30. Great lens for birding, plan to use lens for cross country track at local high school. Picture quality is most impressive on both my cameras with this lens and with the EC-14 teleconverter; nice bokeh to. Quite heavy, close to 10 lbs on E-5 but I have managed to take great photos with handheld shooting. I had this lens in my cart for many months waiting for the price to come down to an affordable price (it was still expensive)...and, Christmas Day Amazon had a special price that didn't last long, new @ $4824.88!! and that included free shipping! Amazon's free super saver shipping was also great on this purchase, ordered the 25th of December and had it on the 28th.
There is very little to say about this lens except that it is awesome. As it should be. Lenses in this category, by all manufacturer are going to be the flagship of their respective brands. I highly suggest that you pair this lens with the best possible body for it. Currently this is the EM-1 with adapter running the latest firmware.
Although I haven't had the opportunity to use this beautiful lens much yet, upon arrival I was pleased to find it was exactly as described. Would definately recommend this seller.
I spend a lot of time photographing birds. They don't cooperate. You need a lot of lens and a lot of light to get a decent shot. This lens is simply terrific at both. The colors are excellent, the pictures are crisp across the entire image and there is no chromatic aberration anywhere.
The four thirds system provides very quick auto focus, crisp and responsive manual focus and relatively light weight. I say "relatively" because this is a big lens. You'll need a tripod or monopod to use it in all but the brightest conditions.
The lens is amazingly sturdy in the field. It was undamaged by a fall that cracked two of my ribs. It works consistently and reliably in very hot (90 degrees plus) and extremely cold (-45 F) conditions. I've carried it outdoors all day at temperatures below zero and never had a problem.
I photographed the NCAA Lacrosse semifinals this weekend and had rented this lens to use with a borrowed 1.4x converter. I own the 35-100mm lens and think that is the standard that all oly glass should be measured to. I have used the 90-250mm f2.8 lens and was not impressed.
However, this lens is simply amazing. If I had the cash today I would buy this lens tomorrow. It is that good. Autofocus was spot on. Much faster than the 90-250mm. For giggles, while on the sidelines of the stadium I was able to photograph a worker in the lights above the stadium.
I take a lot of high school soccer photos. Light is bad and the action fast. I think this lens is perfect. It is heavy and powerful. It gets the job done. There is almost no distortion and the it puts me on the field with action. It is not easy to use, a tripod is necessary, although if you have good upper body strength a monopod works. Nothing is like it.