I haven't been keeping tabs on the zooms covering to 40ish to around 150 to 200mm range and there are a number of options in this category.

What seem to be the very best models in this category for image quality?

I expect the 35-100/2.8 will be a stunning performer, but what else might be at that high level of performance, or close to it?

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Don

I would have said the 45-175 pana, but the new 45-150 might trump it if you look at the mFT chart in the other thread

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oly e-pm1 with 14-150 (wife's now)
GX1, 14/2.5,14-45,45/1.8 ,45-175 & 7.5/3.5 soon
25/1.4 1" Pentax CCTV (for sale)
OM adapter, 50/1.8 & OM 135mm prime

flickr

The 45-175 seems to suffer from some of the same double-vision effects, at least with IS on, that the 14-42 does. I'd wait to see how the 45-150 performs before making any decisions, unless you need something right now.

The 45-200 is quite good, I think, up to about 150mm. It gets a bit soft at the long end, though. I have no experience with Oly's 40-150.

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I'm not lazy. I'm energy efficient.

The 45-200 pulls away hands down at 176-200 mm ;)

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E-M5 | M. Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 | Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm f/2.8

Flickr

I'm in no hurry to pull the trigger on such a lens yet... And do want to see how the 45-150 turns out.

I had a 45-200 for a few days and wasnt happy with what I was getting from it, my keeper rate was abysmal, so I returned it. Not sure if that was because I had a bad copy, or pre-firmware update or what. It left a bad impression on me for the lens... But that may be an aberrant impression.

If the 45-200 is considered to be about the top lense in this category, it would seem there is great opportunity for new contenders in the market.

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Don

I don't know of any complaints against the 40-150mm. Incredibly light and quite sharp imo. I've seen tests on dpr where it performed better than the 45-200mm even when cropping to an equiv focal length. Cant beat it for the 150-200$ range imho.

Sent from my iPad using Mu-43 App

Check this guys shots out on the 3rd , 4th and 5th pictures in the set.. with Oly 40-150 .. I like..

OMD shots - SD trip [Page 1]: Micro Four Thirds Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

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It's all good - I didn't do it - no one saw me do it!
Doug - Boise, Idaho USA

Those are very nice images, Doug, primarily due to the subject matter, composition, and the lighting itself. It is very difficult to determine the IQ of the lens from these images, though, due to the tiny screen resolution displayed.

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Don

Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5, FTW.

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Olympus E-3 | Olympus E-PL2 PEN | Olympus E-PM1 PEN | Zuiko ED 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 SWD | Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 | Vivitar 100mm f/2.8 Macro | Carl Zeiss Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 | Konica Hexanon 50mm f/1.4 | Konica Hexanon 85mm f/1.8 | G.Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 | Zuiko 35mm f/3.5 Macro | Zuiko 25mm f/2.8 | KMZ Jupiter-3 50mm f/1.5 | E.Zuiko 200mm f/4 | Zuiko 75-150mm f/4 | Olympus EC-14 teleconverter | VF-2 and VF-3 Viewfinders | EMA-1 Mic Adapter | Olympus FL-36R and FL-50R speedlights

cyclopsphoto.ca

Wouldn't it be nice if they designed a m4/3 version of that lens!

It seems like all of the tele zooms for m4/3 are a just a bit short of really top performance... though it looks like the Pany 35-100 may well edge up into that level of quality.

I do find the IQ from the Pany 14-140 to be surprisingly good for the extremely broad range of focal lengths it provides.

Any indication how the 45-150 will compare to the 14-140 for IQ?

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Don