Castellarenpositiu blog

Outstanding lens with a surprise. This Zuiko lens, like all their lineup, is superb and a great value for the cost. This particular lens is an “ED” and assembled by hand (as opposed to the kit lenses, which still deliver excellent results) and delivers outstanding images with sharp details.

Here’s the surprise (at least Olympus Zuiko 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 ED was to me); the lens also possesses a macro feature that is not (to my knowledge) advertised. Switch it to MF mode and rotate the focusing ring and the lens extends beyond the 300 mm point to indicate other markings on the inner tube. It gives you a pretty convenient macro lens function that is in focus at about 20″ from the subject.

I have the 35 mm macro and wouldn’t trade it away now that I have this, but for convenience, this is a nice combo– plus you can capture an insect on a flower, etc. while maintaining a distance that won’t scare it away.

Oly should let people know about this more so than they do, but it is a nice little surprise I wasn’t expecting (or seeking). If you really want a faster tele, then Zuiko makes those too (e.g, 50-200) or a fully dedicated long lens with better optics still (300 f2.8), but bang for buck, this one’s tough to beat.

Highly recommended.

Great lens, good depth, low loss… I have one of the original e410’s from Olympus and was happy to get this lens as I do a lot of nature pictures as well as performance pictures for a local dance group. For external shots, it’s great. Inside, there are usually issues with light loss as you zoom in, but there was very little with this lens, especially with the FL-50 flash. It is a little cumbersome on the e410’s smaller body, but using a monopod helps tremendously. A great “reach out and touch” lens.

Right lens at right price. This is the first lens I bought outside the kit lenses. It really scales up to my expectations. Takes very sharp pictures. Bit bulky, if you buy this you would need a very robust tripod. But you will be completely satisfied by the result!

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