Review OM-system / Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 300mm f/4.0 IS PRO.
This review is based on the real-life use of the lens, and I used the lens a lot in the last few months. All statements are my opinion and are based on my style of use. This review is categorized into four sections, and after that, I give you my final thoughts on the lens. Let’s get started with the lens’s build quality. Also good to know is that I don't have any sponsorship I buy all lenses or gear reviewed with my own money.
Build quality 5/5 stars.
When you take the Olympus 300mm f4 pro out of the box for the first time, you feel the quality. It is made to a high standard of fabrication. It has a nice weight to it, and everything feels premium. The focus ring turns nice and smooth. The built-in sun hood also retracts very quickly, and when locked, it's strong enough to protect the front lens element. The inside of the sun hood is covered with a felt material that minimizes the chance of flare in you're photo. The buttons on the lens give a very satisfying click. To sum up, the lens build quality section is a gorgeous build lens. It feels substantial, and it is made to the standard of a professional photographer. For build quality alone, it's a 5 out of 5 stars.
Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 300mm f/4.0 IS PRO
Handling of the lens 4/5 stars
When someone uses a lens like this for the first time, it could have a steep learning curve. The Olympus 300mm f4 pro has an effective 600mm field of view on an MFT camera body. It is a 300mm lens, but with a 2x crop factor with an MFT camera body, it gives a field of view of 600mm. This makes it more crucial to dial in the correct camera settings. Every slight movement will be multiplied, and there is a learning curve. When you couple this lens with an Olympus body, especially a camera body like an OM-1, Em1x, or Em1 mark 2 or 3, it has very effective stabilization. On an Olympus em5 mark3 body, it will work great, but for me, it is not a good match for ergonomics, and a bit more weight on the camera stabilizes the setup even more. Of course, the lens works perfectly with a Panasonic MFT camera body, but it doesn't sync IS (The camera body and lens stabilization work together. That is what they call sync IS). I hope that Panasonic and Olympus can work together to make the systems even more backward-compatible in the future. But for now, this lens works the best on an Olympus body. Now, I talked a long time about stabilization, but I've your shutter speed is high enough that it doesn't make a difference, only that it makes the viewfinder a bit less nervous to watch.
Furthermore, what I like is that the tripod foot of the lens has an Arca Swiss connection built into the foot. For me, they could make this a little bit longer for carrying the lens/camera combination. The tripod color is removable to save some weight. And to make cleaning a bit easier. The knob for securing the tripod color is a bit cumbersome. It is very close to the lens barrel, so when you want to tighten or loosen the knob, it's not the easiest thing, but yet again, this is a minor problem.
Now, there are three buttons on the lens and one lens function button. This is customizable in the menu of the camera. I have this set on AF mode selection. The next button is for stabilization, and it's just straightforward on/off. The next button is the focus limiter 1.4-4m 1.4m-infinity and 4m-infinity. This is great because it speeds up the AF process quite a bit. For example, when you have a bird in flight circa 10 meters from where you stand, you don't want the lens to focus closer than 4 meters, so you set the slider button on 4m-infinity. This makes the lens much faster to focus because it doesn't need to start at the start point, but it's already minimal at 4 meters. It’s so great to have these options right on the lens barrel. The minor issue is that the slide buttons are lying inside the lens barrel, so searching for them is tricky with the camera to your eye. The Function button sticks out a little bit, and the IS (stabilization) switch/button also sticks a bit out from the barrel. More importantly, I've Olympus made the focus limiter button stick out more. It will be easier to identify when I have the camera to my eye. This button lay really into the barrel, and when you search with your fingers, it is tough to find it fast.
Further, with the focus ring on the barrel, this is made well and is easy to find. It's nice and wide and smooth to operate when you want to focus manually. It's simply pulling back the focus ring, and it is in manual focus mode. It is excellent when you need to switch fast from AF to MF. There are situations where a small animal is hiding between some branches, and it's much easier to focus by hand with focus peaking than to rely solely on the Autofocus. The downside is when you carry the lens/camera combination on your shoulder strap; the ring is sometimes accidentally bumped into manual focus mode. This isn't very pleasant because when you put the camera to your eye to take a quick photo of a speedy bird, it doesn't focus, and in the beginning, this is something to get used to. There is two option for this; one learns to deal with this, and whenever you bring the camera to you're eyes, push the ring to the front. Second, turn off the function in the camera's menu and set manual focus on a function button.
When we come to the front of the lens, we see that Olympus builds in a retractable lens hood. This is wonderful because you can never forget to bring your sun hood and, therefore, always protect the lens front element from hitting something, and of course, it protects against lens flare. It's effortless to operate the hood. It just turns and pulls and turns again to lock it. This also brings a bit of a cumbersome cleaning aspect. There is a tiny bit of sand between the hood and the barrel. It's a nightmare to get it out. The hood is not removable, so there is a point where you can't clean the lens. Luckily, the tolerance gaps between the hood and the barrel are minimal and protect it this way from sand or other small dirt. I have on my lens a lens coat. This is a great way to protect the lens and let the lens look new for reselling value, so when you buy this lens, I highly recommend a lens coat. Also, the retractable hood makes it easier to remove the lens cap or put it back on the lens. The only thing is that the lens cap from Olympus is easy to take off. For example, if you retract the hood and put the lens in your backpack, the lens cap hits the underside; therefore, press one of the lens cap release buttons, and the lid falls inside the bag and has the potential to damage the front lens element. The solution to this problem is simple, but you must remind yourself to do it. Rotate the lens cap 90 degrees so it's more challenging to press the release buttons when you slide the lens into your bag. Also, keeping the hood out is an excellent idea. Instead of seeing this lens cap design, I would rather see the lens cap from the Olympus 12-40 f2.8 pro; you can't press on the side but only in the middle. Overall, the handling is excellent. The lens has a nice weight for balancing with an Em1 body. The lens is very compact and great to carry around the whole day.
Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 300mm f/4.0 IS PRO
Optical performance 5/5 stars
I can't say anything wrong about this part of the review. It's a stunning lens on the image quality aspect. The photos are razor-sharp and have beautiful colors and excellent contrast. Olympus has nailed it on image quality with this lens. Together with the f4 opening of the lens, it can create a gorgeous smooth bokeh. Also, because of the sharpness of this lens, cropping is not a problem. It gives more possibility to frame your image/photo how you want without losing much quality. Even the corners are sharp, wide open. It's an absolute 5 out of 5 stars on image quality. This opinion is formed over thousands of photos in real life. I don't do scientific testing, and I don't make shots from brick walls. It's based on seeing many great photos and comparing them to other lenses in the same category. I tested almost all telelenses out there, and I can tell you from my own experience it's at the top of the list.
AF speed 5/5 stars
The speed of the Autofocus in this lens is instant. As far as speed goes, there is nothing to wish for. Combining this lens with a high-end body is a great sport and wildlife option. I only recommend the high-end camera bodies from Olympus and Panasonic with a slight edge to Olympus. The OM-system OM-1 and Olympus Em1X, Em1mark3, Em1mark2, and the Em5mark3 OM-5. Have contrast and phace detection autofocus. It means it's not only relying on contrast-based detection like some Olympus bodies and most Panasonic bodies (only the new Panasonic G9II has a hybrid focus system). They have a system called Depth From Defocus. Also, it is pure contrast-based. Therefore, I've you want to make the most out of this lens; the earlier named Olympus bodies are working the best with it. With the right combination of the body and this lens, it's almost easy to catch flying birds, or I've I say it; otherwise, it's not the gear that can’t do it. So, AF speed is also rated 5 out of 5 stars.
Conclusion
The #Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 300mm f/4.0 IS PRO is a fantastic lens with exquisite image quality. Paired with suitable camera bodies, it provides the user with a competent wildlife/sport setup. Mind yourself for a steep learning curve when you use this kind of lens for the first time. It takes a while to get the most out of this lens and learn to handle the handling issues. The lens is perfect for the Olympus MC-14 teleconverter, but this is for another review. So when you seek professional teleprimelens, this is the cheapest option to get a field of view of 600mm and the gathering capability of an f4 lens. It's a truly professional piece of gear.
