In summary
The M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 IS lens will be sought after by wildlife photographers, especially birders. Its 150-600mm zoom range covers the equivalent of 300-1200mm in 35mm format and the lens is compatible with OM System’s MC-14 and MC20 teleconverters, the latter pushing the range out to the equivalent of 2400mm. IPX1 splash- and dust-resistance (which is less than the IP53 rating of the latest OM cameras and some lenses) plus a fluorine coating on the front element enable it to be used in the harshest environments.
This lens will also be of interest to sports and motor racing photographers. The combination of its solid build quality, long reach and weather resistance will be the main motivators – along with the assurance from OM Systems that the lens supports hand-held shooting.
With a weight of just over two kilograms, this lens is the heaviest in the OM Systems range. That’s partly due to the complex optical design, which includes large, heavier glass elements and makes this lens the second most expensive in the line-up. It also has the longest zoom range, with or without a teleconverter.
The excellent stabilisation systems in the camera and lens delivered a high percentage of sharp images in our tests. In addition, superior autofocusing – aided by in-camera subject recognition AF – meant very few shots were missed due to camera shake, even in low light levels.
Full review
Announced in late January 2024, a month ahead of the annual CP+ trade show, the M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 IS lens will be sought after by wildlife photographers, especially birders. Its 150-600mm zoom range covers the equivalent of 300-1200mm in 35mm format and the lens is compatible with OM System’s MC-14 and MC20 teleconverters, the latter pushing the range out to the equivalent of 2400mm. IPX1 splash- and dust-resistance (which is much less than the IP53 rating of the latest OM cameras and some lenses) plus a fluorine coating on the front element enable it to be used in the harshest environments.
Angled view of the M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 IS lens in use on the OM-1 Mark II camera. (Source: OM Digital Solutions.)
The optical design of this lens contains 25 elements in 15 groups and includes six HR (High Resolution), four super ED (Extra-low Dispersion), two ED and one HD (High Definition) elements. Z Coating Nano has been applied to individual elements to suppress surface reflections and prevent ghosting and flare, while a fluorine coating on the front element repels dust, moisture and grime.
Cutaway view of the M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 IS lens showing its internal structure. (Source: OM Digital Solutions.)
Despite its non-removable tripod collar, this lens is designed for hand-held shooting. The built-in VCM (voice coil motor) driven 5-axis sync IS is compatible with the OM-1 Mark II’s sensor-shift system and provides up to seven shutter speed steps of shake correction at the 150mm focal length or six EV steps at 600mm.
You can see the centre of the frame constantly re-setting around a set of marks in the viewfinder. These marks move constantly when you’re using the lens hand-held as data is fed into the AF and shutter release mechanisms indicating the IS has full flexibility to move in any direction. We found it to be very effective.
The diagram above shows the extent of the dust- and moisture-resistant sealing in the lens and camera. (Source: OM Digital Solutions.)
While some commentators have described the 150-600mm as ‘ridiculously large’, we think it’s better suited to the new OM-1 Mark II camera we used for our tests than the smaller and lighter models from OM Digital Solutions. But it’s still very heavy for an M4/3 lens and the heaviest in the company’s range. Together, the lens and the OM-1 Mark II with battery and cards weigh 2.664 kilograms.
Although it can be difficult to hold the lens totally steady at longer focal lengths, the stabilisation makes it quite do-able. Being able to eliminate the need for a tripod in many situations will give you greater flexibility to shift position quickly to capture ‘decisive moments’ on the fly – as long as your shooting technique is up-to-scratch.
The lens is supplied with front and end caps plus a cylindrical lens hood that attaches with a screw clamp and a with an Arca-Swiss foot. A robust carrying strap that attaches to large moulded lugs on either side of the tripod collar is supplied with the lens.
Who’s it For?
Birders are likely to be the main purchasers of this lens, followed by other wildlife photographers, with sports and motor racing photographers also having incentives to buy. The combination of its solid build quality, long reach and weather resistance will be the main motivators – along with the assurance from OM Systems that the lens supports hand-held shooting.
The built-in optical stabilisation mechanism can work with the camera’s sensor shift IS to provide up to seven stops of shake compensation at 150mm and up to six stops at 600mm. But, while this helps keep the viewfinder image steady, you’ll still need to use fast shutter speeds because of the high magnification.
For extra magnification you can extend the effective focal length further by adding a teleconverter – although it could make it more difficult to locate subjects and keep the viewfinder image steady. The MC-14 teleconverter narrows the angle of view to the equivalent of a 210-840mm lens, reducing the maximum aperture to f/7.1-9.0, while with the MC-20 the effective focal length range is 300-1200mm with maximum apertures from f/10 to f/13.
With a weight of just over two kilograms, this lens is the heaviest in the OM Systems range. That’s partly due to the complex optical design, which includes large, heavier glass elements and makes this lens the second most expensive in the line-up. It also has the longest zoom range, with or without a teleconverter.
Build and Ergonomics
The M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 IS lens is made from a combination of magnesium alloy and high-grade industrial polycarbonate. It looks and feels very substantial, although it’s certainly somewhat smaller and lighter than an equivalent lens would be for full-frame cameras.
One noteworthy feature of its design is its extending inner barrel, which adds 100 mm to the overall length of the lens when you zoom from 150mm to the 600mm focal length. There’s little or no barrel rotation during this process, which makes using angle-critical filters and other attachments hassle-free.
Interestingly, you can adjust the focal length by either turning the zoom ring or ‘pumping’ it by pulling the inner barrel forwards or pushing it back (depending on whether you want to zoom in or out). This can be convenient when you’re using the lens hand-held as it’s quicker and easier than having to rotate the zoom ring through about 120 degrees when you shift between the 150mm and 600mm focal lengths.
The front element is a little over 80 mm in diameter and surrounded by an 8 mm deep threaded filter ring, which accepts 95 mm diameter screw-in filters. This ring has a rubber buffer around it to absorb impact shocks. The cylindrical lens hood, which is 84 mm deep, is clamped onto a narrow band of hard polycarbonate below the buffer ring.
Below is a 12 mm wide section of the inner barrel with no markings, followed by a 23 mm wide section that is rubber coated. It slopes inwards to meet with another unmarked section about 7 mm wide, which slopes steeply inwards to end in the retracting section of the inner barrel.
The outer barrel, which surrounds it is 150 mm long before stepping inwards to a 14 mm wide section that carries the name of the lens, which is stamped in white. The barrel then slopes inwards for about 40 mm to end in the metal lens mount, which is surrounded by a narrow rubber ring for excluding moisture and dust.
The zoom ring is located just behind the 8 mm wide branding ring at the front of the outer barrel. It is 60 mm wide and carries four bands of thick rubber ribbing for provide a secure grip. The unribbed trailing edge is about 8 mm wide and marked with focal length settings for 150mm, 200mm, 300mm, 400mm, 500mm and 600mm which are lined up against a white mark on the 32 mm wide section of the barrel behind.
There are three programmable L-Fn buttons on this section of the barrel, interspersed with slider controls for the focus limiter, AF/MF adjustment, stabilisation on/off switch to the left of the barrel. On the right of the barrel is an S/T/L control that adjusts the zoom tension between Smooth (S) and Tight (T) or locks (L) the lens to the 150mm position. (It will only lock at 150mm.)
Behind this section of the barrel is the focusing ring, which is 28 mm wide with a 16 mm wide grip band that is thickly ribbed. Focusing is driven from the camera so this ring turns through 360 degrees when power is off.
The tripod collar slots into a 30mm wide section of the barrel behind the focusing ring. It’s non-removable, which is a bit of a nuisance when you’re using the lens hand-held, but has a large screw clamp that can be loosened to allow rotation through 45-degree arcs. Index marks on the barrel and collar make it easy to align.
The foot on the tripod collar has an Arca-Swiss fitting for maximum compatibility with professional tripods and monopods. The supplied lens strap attaches to solid moulded lugs on each side of the tripod collar – and you’ll need it if you’re using the lens hand held – if only to shift the weight from your arm muscles to your shoulder when you’re carrying the camera and lens.
Performance
We were unable to perform out normal Imatest tests because of a lack of space in our testing set-up. However, subjective assessments suggest this lens produces very sharp images with good contrast and colour saturation and beautiful soft bokeh.
Although this lens isn’t the heaviest lens we’ve tested, its weight requires consideration, especially if you plan to use it hand-held and you’ll be lugging it around a lot. If you can manage the weight, you’ll find it has a positive side as it’s easier to keep heavy gear steady than light gear.
The excellent stabilisation systems in the camera and lens delivered a high percentage of sharp images in our tests. In addition, superior autofocusing – aided by in-camera subject recognition AF – meant very few shots were missed due to camera shake, even in low light levels. However, if you wanted to record video with this lens you would definitely need a tripod to ensure your footage remains steady.
With all corrections disabled in Adobe Camera Raw, which we used to convert the ORF.RAW files into TIFF format, we found the lens to be free of both vignetting and rectilinear distortion across the zoom range. We also found no signs of field curvature, coma or chromatic aberrations, which is as you’d expect for all these aberrations when the camera is recording with the central part of the lens.
Conclusion
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SPECS
Picture angle: 8.2 to 2.1 degrees diagonal
Minimum aperture: f/22
Lens construction: 25 elements in 15 groups (including 6 HR, 4 super ED, 2 ED and 1 HD elements) Z Coating Nano and fluorine coatings
Lens mounts: Micro Four Thirds
Diaphragm Blades: 9 (circular aperture)
Weather resistance: IPX1 certified weather sealing
Focus drive: MSC High-Speed Imager AF micromotor-driven internal focusing
Stabilisation: VCM driven 5-axis sync IS; 5-7 EV steps of shake correction
Minimum focus: 56 cm at 150mm; 2.8 m at 300mm
Maximum magnification: 0.35x (wide) – 0.20x (tele) | with MC-14: 0.50x (wide) / 0.28x (tele) | with MC-20: 0.70x (wide) / 0.39x (tele)
Filter size: 95 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 109.4 x 264.4 mm
Weight: 2065 grams
Standard Accessories: Front and rear caps, LH-103 lens hood, carrying strap
Distributor: OM Digital Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Ph: 1300 659 678
SAMPLES
All test shots were captured with the camera and lens hand-held – and no additional support.
Vignetting at 150mm f/5.
Vignetting at 600mm f/6.3.
Rectilinear distortion at 150mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 600mm.
150mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/1000 second exposure at f/6.3.
Crop from the above image enlarged to 100%.
600mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/800 second exposure at f/6.3.
Crop from the above image enlarged to 100%.
150mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/800 second at f/11.
Crop from the above image enlarged to 150%.
Close-up at 150mm, ISO 200, 1/200 second exposure at f/5.6.
Close-up at 300mm, ISO 200, 1/200 second exposure at f/5.9.
Close-up at 600mm, ISO 200, 1/160 second exposure at f/6.3.
Close-up at 473mm, ISO 200, 1/500 second exposure at f/6.3.
Sunstars at 9mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/320 second at f/22.
Moon shot at 600mm focal length; ISO 200, 1/1000 second at f/8.
600mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/500 second at f/6.3.
600mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/640 second at f/6.3.
500mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/500 second at f/6.3.
500mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/500 second at f/6.3.
500mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/500 second at f/6.3.
600mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/800 second at f/7.1.
600mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/250 second at f/6.3.
600mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/11.
600mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/80 second at f/11.
300mm focal length; ISO 200, 1/10 second at f/6.1.
Rating
RRP: AU$4499
- Build: 9.0
- Handling: 8.9
- Image quality: 9.0
- Autofocusing: 9.0
- Stabilisation: 9.2
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