Olympus 40-150 2.8 Pricing and Teleconverter Kit!

[stripedrex]

I'm beginning to find I'm a big fan of tele zooms after getting my hands on the Panasonic 35-100 2.8. Looking back at my older pictures I love getting in tight and I'm really excited about the 40-150. I was eventually considering getting a 100-300 but the recent news linked below of a 1.4 teleconverter will bring the focal length to 210! For those who have existing Olympus teleconverters are they decent quality? What is lost when using one? I used to balk at any lens coming in at 1k but after using the 35-100 I understand the premium cost translates to. I'm thinking instead of having a 35-100 and a 100-300 I can just get away with a 40-150 + teleconverter. With the 35-100 going for about 950 used these days the 1500 is hard to swallow but the tele might push me over. Thoughts from those with teleconverter experience does my strategy seem sound?

http://www.43rumors.com/ft5-olympus-40-150mm-f2-8-price-in-japan-will-be-160000-yen/

Either case interesting news =).

 

[nstelemark]

I don't think anyone can comment on the TC until it arrives, but in general TCs have weaker performance on zooms than on primes. The EC20 works well on my 150 f2, and is marginal on the 50-200. Even with the EC14 the 50-200 is noticeably softer.

I am glad to hear a TC is coming, this was a big gap in the lineup.

 

[BobbyTan]

I am stoked to hear that there will be a 1.4x TC. Generally, the loss of IQ with a 1.4x TC is quite marginal with a good prime or zoom lens. I just hope the 1.4x TC will work with all m43 lenses or at least with the Olympus lenses like their 75/1.8 and 300/4. With the addition of this TC and the 3 new PRO lenses, I would say the the m43 format is fully mature in terms of lenses.

 

[ijm5012]

I am stoked to hear that there will be a 1.4x TC. Generally, the loss of IQ with a 1.4x TC is quite marginal with a good prime or zoom lens. I just hope the 1.4x TC will work with all m43 lenses or at least with the Olympus lenses like their 75/1.8 and 300/4. With the addition of this TC and the 3 new PRO lenses, I would say the the m43 format is fully mature in terms of lenses.

With the new Olympus PRO lenses, it's definitely becoming a mature system. I'm really hoping to see a Panasonic 150 2.8 announced at Photokina, as the image stabilization is definitely needed at that length with Panasonic cameras. I also hope that it isn't too astronomically priced either.

 

[BigTam]

43rumors puts the additional price for the TC at about 200 €/£/$, say 250-300 stand-alone. If it works with all lenses, that's an interesting addition to the range. A 2x TC would be even better. I would get one for my S60 right away.

 

[nstelemark]

A 1.4 with the 75 would be very welcome.

 

[hoodlum]

Here is the lens patent for the 1.4TC. It looks like they upgraded the TC to include a ED element.

http://translate.google.com/transla...://egami.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2013-11-25&act=url

 

[sgt08]

I know people have been clamoring for a TC for a while now, it will be interesting to hear more solid details (at Photokina?)

 

[994]

75/1.8 with a 1.4 TC would operate like a 210mm lens on full frame, and would lose one stop of light, so for exposure purposes, it would be like an f/2.5 lens???

 

[EarthQuake]

Yeah it would be a 105/2.5 then or 210mm for AOV and F5 for DOF equivalent.

The yet to be released 300/4 will work out to 420/5.6 or 840mm equiv, which is a lot of reach.

From what I understand primes generally work better with TCs than zooms because primes tend to be very sharp, sharp enough to out-resolve the sensor in many cases. Theoretically if the 40-150mm is similarly sharp, it should work with with a TC. The fact that they are planning to offer a bundle with the TC looks like a good sign, I don't think they would do that if they weren't very confident about how it performs. But I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[BobbyTan]

Yeah it would be a 105/2.5 then or 210mm for AOV and F5 for DOF equivalent.

The yet to be released 300/4 will work out to 420/5.6 or 840mm equiv, which is a lot of reach.

From what I understand primes generally work better with TCs than zooms because primes tend to be very sharp, sharp enough to out-resolve the sensor in many cases. Theoretically if the 40-150mm is similarly sharp, it should work with with a TC. The fact that they are planning to offer a bundle with the TC looks like a good sign, I don't think they would do that if they weren't very confident about how it performs. But I guess we'll have to wait and see.

It really depends on how good the zoom lens is. I know that the Canon 70-200/2.8L Mk II is phenomenally sharp and it works extremely well with the Canon 1.4x TC III. The zoom lens + 1.4x TC combo is actually sharper than some of the Canon primes within that range.

The PRO line of lenses promises to be extremely sharp and there is no question that the 12-40/2.8 PRO is an awesome lens. So I am optimistic and confident that 40-150 and 300/4 will both partner really well with the 1.4x TC.

Good times ahead for wildlife shooters who want a very compact and hand-holdable setup. Certainly no need for a big tripod and Gimbal head!

 

[OzRay]

The 4/3 1.4x TC is very good on all lenses, but the 2x TC is much less so. I have both and don't use the 2x because of the performance hit (it works sort of OK on the f2 lenses). The 1.4x is very good on all lenses (past and present), with no noticeable loss of image quality. The 1.4x TC has always been the most recommended regardless of manufacturer, because it seems to be the max that you can go without a performance hit that's clearly noticeable. There's no problem using the 1.4x TC on good zoom lenses.

 

[Carbonman]

2x For Me Please

I bought a Canon FD 2x-A converter and used it mostly with a 400mm f4.5, though I did use it with a 200mm f2.8 until I got the 400. (The 400 with the 2x-A [800mm f9.0] rocked for wildlife and aviation shots!) Results were excellent in both cases. A high quality teleconverter makes all the difference.
When looking at what I want in lens selection, I've always used the rule of thumb that a change of double or half the angle of view is most useful and cost effective. When I shot for a living it was too cumbersome to carry lenses that didn't make a big difference in viewpoint; my feet worked well as zoom/cropping tools. Going from 200mm to 400mm in a 35mm system was a noticeable change - I wouldn't carry a 300mm as well, the difference is too small.
With the ability to make fine changes to photos with one's computer in a matter of seconds, why get fussed over a few degrees of change? Go big or go home!
I really want an M43 100mm f2.0 or f2.5 and a high quality 2x converter. Once I have something like that, I'm through buying lenses.

 

[ijm5012]

The newest rumor from 43rumors.com is that the 1.4x TC will ONLY work with the 40-150 & 300 PRO lenses from Olympus. Why it won't work with any m43 lens is beyond me, but it's a bit disappointing.

I'm REALLY hoping we get some solid info (like pricing and release date) from Panasonic about their 150/2.8 at Photokina this year, Panasonic users don't have any really fast telephoto option with good image stabilization (the 100-300 is a good lens, but can be a bit slow in overcast or rainy situations).

 

[nstelemark]

I bought a Canon FD 2x-A converter and used it mostly with a 400mm f4.5, though I did use it with a 200mm f2.8 until I got the 400. (The 400 with the 2x-A [800mm f9.0] rocked for wildlife and aviation shots!) Results were excellent in both cases. A high quality teleconverter makes all the difference.
When looking at what I want in lens selection, I've always used the rule of thumb that a change of double or half the angle of view is most useful and cost effective. When I shot for a living it was too cumbersome to carry lenses that didn't make a big difference in viewpoint; my feet worked well as zoom/cropping tools. Going from 200mm to 400mm in a 35mm system was a noticeable change - I wouldn't carry a 300mm as well, the difference is too small.
With the ability to make fine changes to photos with one's computer in a matter of seconds, why get fussed over a few degrees of change? Go big or go home!
I really want an M43 100mm f2.0 or f2.5 and a high quality 2x converter. Once I have something like that, I'm through buying lenses.

This is pretty much my experience too. If I can shoot the 150 on its own then I do, the next step is the 2xTC + 150. I primarily used the 1.4TC on the 50--200, because the 2xTC was too big a hit. Realistically 300mm (ie 600mm FOV FF) is about the limit of what I can handhold even with IBIS (assuming no convenient tree etc).

 

[Edmunds]

I got an Olympus EC-20 to shoot 1:1 with the 50mm f/2 macro @ 100mm. All I can say is that you really couldn't tell apart the pictures with or without the EC-20.

But this was with the 50mm f/2 lens. That lens is ridiculously good. With zoom lenses it was an entirely different deal, and I hardly ever used it with any of the zooms I had, but I didn't own any of the SHG series, like the 35-100 f/2.

 

[EarthQuake]

The newest rumor from 43rumors.com is that the 1.4x TC will ONLY work with the 40-150 & 300 PRO lenses from Olympus. Why it won't work with any m43 lens is beyond me, but it's a bit disappointing.

Do you have a link to this? I read 43rumors and didn't see this mentioned in the rumor about the TC.

 

[mcasan]

mid of the text.....

http://www.43rumors.com/ft4-e-m1-fi...-list-of-features-and-fixes-no-4k-by-the-way/


The new 40-150 with and without the converter could be a great bit of kit on safari. The combo would get you a 420mm equivalent EOF at f4. And using the converter on the 300mm PRO f4 prime would get 840mm equivalent EOF at f5.6. Can't wait for those lenses and converter to start shipping.

I love that sliding hood on the 60mm macro. Having that on the new 40-150 will be great. You can slide back the hood, adjust the polarizer, and slide the hood back into shooting position. You don't have to reverse the hood for storage. Very good idea.

The TC only working with the 40-150 and 300 is OK with me. Having those lens plus the TC would be great for wildlife. Between them you can shoot from 40mm at f2.8 to 420mm at f5.6.

 

[EarthQuake]

Ah ok, thanks, I missed that. The 1.4x not working on other lenses is disappointing, but honestly, if I'm using a TC, I'm probably going to be using one of those lenses anyway, or perhaps the 35-100.

 

[stripedrex]

Nice, seems based on this tc being optimized for the pro lenses it's hopefully minimal loss in quality. I've never used a tc before but basically for focal length and aperture just multiply by 1.4 right? So with tc on the 40-150 f2.8 it would be a 56-210 at f4?

Also I looked at the 4/3 tc and it looks to sit between the lens and the body. Although not designed for other lenses wouldn't it technically work just hooking it up? Maybe we get lucky and it works well with the 35-100? Or will it be limited electronically not to work with them?

Oh and last thing is it seems to improve close focusing on the 4/3 model. Is that the case here as well and with tc in general?