Wow. Talk about reach. In my wildlife photography, I try to disturb my subjects as little as possible. Being able to fill a frame with less distance gives you lots more options. As you can tell, I like the ability of this lens. OM Systems recommends this lens for birds, field macro, low light, macro, nature, sports, astrophotography, moon, travel and wildlife. I’ll take exception for the travel unless the travel is for wildlife such as a safari. Astro would have an asterisk for me with this lens as you would need a heavy-duty star tracker as the maximum aperture is only f/5.0. This lens carries a bit of weight.

More about the lens handling and abilities below.

Note: I received the 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 lens from OM Systems for the reviews of the OM 1 Mark II and the 150-600mm lens. All comments are my own. See my review of the Mark II here.

four of the lens controls. AF/MF, Image stabilization on/off, Focus limiter and programmable soft button (X3)

Pros

  • Long reach
  • Long reach (yes I listed this twice)
  • Multiple settings for zoom/slide friction
  • Quality of build
  • Weatherproof when matched to OM 1 camera

Cons

  • Weight
  • Short built-in Arca Swiss plate

OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 lens — Tech specifications

All technical comes from the OM Systems website:

  • Construction – 25 elements / 15 groups – 2 ED / 4 Super ED elements HR elements 6 HD lens elements 1
  • Closest focusing distance – 0.56m (wide) / 2.8m (tele)
  • Minimum field size – 49.4 x 37.1mm (wide) – 88.6 x 66.6mm (tele)
  • Angle of view – 8.2 – 2.1°
  • Focal length – 150 – 600mm – Focal length (equiv. 35mm) 300 – 1200mm
  • Compatible with – Tele Converter MC-14 Tele Converter MC-20
  • Maximum aperture – F5.0 (wide) / F6.3 (tele)
  • Minimum aperture – F22
  • Number of aperture blades – 9 Circular aperture diaphragm for natural background blurring
  • Image stabilization – Effective Compensation Range Up to 7 EV steps* 5-axis Sync IS (wide)-
  • Up to 6 EV steps 5-axis Sync IS (tele) -Up to 6 EV steps (Lens IS) (wide)
  • Length – 10.4 inches (264.4mm) Extended 14.4 inches (365.76mm) extended with Lens Hood 17 inches
  • Filter diamater – 95mm
  • Weight – 4.53 lbs – (2065g) (without Lens Cap, Lens Rear Cap and Lens Hood)

When I first brought the lens out of the box I thought, “This thing is a beast!” It had to do with the weight. Is this lens a bit too heavy for Micro Four Thirds? Turns out, it’s not. It’s a beast in a good way. It balances well with the camera body. It is very well built with quick, smooth operation of the zoom lens. The zoom can be tailored for the job with smooth (looser), tight (firm) and lock settings.

As with all long lenses there are settings for limiting the focus range so you don’t end up hunting to lock focus. In addition, you can turn the image stabilization off and on. There an additional three soft buttons which will lock focus independent of the camera. The buttons can be programmed for different uses but all three will be the same whatever the setting.

The lens hood is about four inches. With a 95mm front element surface you need to recess the lens to prevent reflections.

OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 lens — In use

Handling

You can handhold the 150-600mm mounted on the OM 1 Mark II camera with good results. It’s great to be able to have that capability. But I don’t recommend it long term. I can go about 15-20 minutes and still achieve solid images. Maybe I need to get to the gym to increase my handholding time. Instead, I recommend using a mono-pod or get that baby mounted on a gimbal to have a more enjoyable experience.

Cardinals in my neighborhood be skitzy. Being able to capture from a long distance is helpful. Handheld at 600mm (1200mm FF equivalent field of view)

I mentioned weight as a downside to this lens but I’m not sure how you could get this amount of reach without this weight when you think about all the glass that is involved in getting this long reach. If you are not using a tripod and want to handhold for a long period I recommend the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm f/5-6.3 IS Lens. While you end up with an 800mm full frame equivalent field of view, the lens only weighs about 2 1/2 lbs.

Handheld at almost 1200mm Full Frame equivalent with the bee way up in the tree blooms.

Mounting

The built-in Arca Swiss modeled lens mount works fine for most uses. When mounting on a gimbal I recommend getting an add-on Arca Swiss plate to better balance the lens when it is fully extended.

150-600mm mounted on my Fotofocus gimbal. Note that I attached an extra Arca Swiss plate extension for better balance of the camera when the lens is fully extended.

Bird autofocus

Bird subject selection is pretty slick. I was pushing the feature trying to find difficult situations such as finding the target through a very busy environment. Worked like a champ. The birds were targeted even in deep shadows or tight branches. The autofocus will even look at multiple birds in the same view and allow you to choose which will be the favored target.

Handheld, example of one of many, of the Birds auto-focus Mode. I found the birds were tracked through branches when in the past I would have lost focus.

Long lens love

I’ve written and done programs about long lens love for photographing landscape or flowers with a long lens for the compression and/or creamy bokeh you can achieve. Essentially if you can get far enough away from your subject and zoom in you can get a macro-like look that I enjoy.

Pintail flight capture.
Using the long lens in the studio to compress the subject.

Pro Capture

The camera achieves the Pro Capture. But, the long reach of this lens lets you get behavior of birds in flight and different wing positions because of its ability to “shoot into the past.” Pro Capture records a scene with a half shutter button push. The images are not saved until you push the shutter button all the way down. Then it saves the files that are in the buffer. I get fewer ‘bird-butt’ photos and much stronger wing position choice with this method.

Pintail duck. Being able to have a long reach combined with the OM 1 Mark II captures behavior without disturbing the wildlife.
Long lens paired with OM 1 Mark II and Pro Capture allowing the ‘Shoot into the past’ pressing the shutter after the eagle has left the perch. No blackout when following the bird from the tree.

OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 lens — Pricing

While 150-600mm lens has an approximate $2,700 price tag, it gives an incredible reach for wildlife photographers. I saw a lot of chatter on the price being too high compared to a full frame model. So I quizzed OM System for their comment, and here’s what they had to say. “Our pricing reflects the value-added features and benefits our lens offers, including weather sealing, sync-IS compatibility, fluorine coating, and compatibility with MC-14 and MC-20 tele converters. We strive to provide premium quality products that enhance your photography experience and offer long-term value.” Nuff said.