New Olympus super telephoto lens ideal for fast-moving subjects

Source: Olympus.

Olympus has launched the new M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO super telephoto lens designed for high mobility nature, wildlife, motorsport and reportage photography. This professional-grade lens sets a new image stabilisation benchmark of six¹ shutter speed steps through the use of Olympus’ newly-developed synchronised five-axis stabilisation technology.

With a very long 600mm* equivalent focal length, the M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO is the highest resolution lens in the Olympus Zuiko lens system, and works with all Micro Four Thirds system compatible still and video cameras. The M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO uses Olympus’ new Sync Image Stabilisation (IS) technology to achieve a world’s first six¹ shutter speed steps of stability. It is also the first Olympus Zuiko system lens with optical stabilisation.

Used with an Olympus OM-D E-M1² or E-M5² Mark II camera body, the in-lens IS system combines with the camera body’s in-built stabiliser to achieve a level of stabilisation that is greater than either component. Sync IS, the name given to this new ‘cooperative’ image stabilisation technology, counteracts camera movements along five axes. This extremely high level of stability promotes handheld super-tele photography; especially beneficial to field photographers and videographers who require their equipment to be extremely portable.

Source: Olympus. The new M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO super telephoto lens with focus limiter, IS on/off switches and customisable function button in view.

Large diameter, yet relatively thin optical elements are used for compactness and weight. The seventeen-elements in ten-groups optical arrangement contains three Super ED (super extra-low dispersion) lenses, three HR (high refractive index) lenses, and one E-HR (extra-high refractive index) lens. Combined, they help achieve very high resolution levels with minimal colour aberration. Z Coating Nano, a new anti-reflective material with optical properties similar to that of high-refractive index glass, significantly reduces lens flare and ghosting.

The M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO focuses quickly, ensuring that fleeting nature and wildlife subjects, or fast-moving sport action, can be readily photographed with high accuracy. The lens requires 400ms³ to achieve an accurate focus from infinity to a five meter focus distance with the OM-D E-M1. With a minimum focus distance of just 1.4m⁴ (maximum magnification of 0.24x), it also provides close-shooting capability.

To guarantee reliable operation in severe climactic conditions, a seventeen-point hermetic sealing system protects internal components against dust and moisture. Combined with the professional OM-D E-M1 or enthusiast E-M5 Mark II weather-sealed camera bodies, the M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO can be confidently used in wet, desert, or extremely cold environments. The compact weather-proof M.Zuiko MC-14 tele-converter (1.4x magnification) can be used with the new M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO to attain a combined 420mm focal length (840mm⁵).

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1 Measured using the standardised CIPA testing methodology
2 OM-D E-M1 with firmware v4.0; E-M5 Mark II with V2
3 Based on Olympus in-house testing condition
4 1.15m measured from front of lens
5 Equivalent angle of view in the 35mm full-frame format