Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 300 mm F4.0 PRO Lens, Telephoto Zoom, Suitable for All MFT Cameras (Olympus OM-D & PEN Models, Panasonic G Series), Black

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The subject detection autofocus of the OM-1 with the lens’s quick autofocus made for the easiest bird photography of my life! Other folks on safari were using bags of DSLR kit with gigantic lenses, which still had nowhere near the reach of our gear – all of which fitted into a discrete backpack.

If you measure the exposure trough this lens wide open on any M4/3 camera, and then the same scene with any FF 300 or 600mm lens open to f/4 and mounted on any FF camera – with same ISO you’ll get the same exposure time as on Olympus. The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a journalist and started working in the photographic industry in 2014 (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). Additionally, when this lens is paired with the newer Olympus bodies like the OM-1, the lens and camera work superbly together with excellent image stabilization and autofocus. Additionally, the video was taken with the Panasonic G-9, so no synch IS is represented in the video.

This helps limit any autofocus hunting behavior; I found it especially helpful when photographing subjects at close range. And when you add the MC-20 into the mix, it doubles the focal length yet again to give you a 1200mm equivalent lens.

It’s a distraction and unhelpful given that the point of a lens review (in my mind) is to help us appreciate the value of the lens, not sensor size. It is important to note that this video was taken with the MC-14 teleconverter, so is shot with an equivalent focal length of 840mm. Combined with the maximum aperture, this can create a very nice bokeh and a ‘telephoto look’ for portraits of smaller animals. However, keep in mind that crop factors also apply to aperture; so, using this lens is akin to using a 600mm f/8 on full-frame.

I ended up missing some photos because of this – by the time I figured out why my autofocus wasn’t working, the opportune moment had passed! And about this ‘light gathering’ nonsense – square centimeter of a sensor behind an optical instrument will ALWAYS gather same amount of light, no matter how big the sensor is.