The first full Olympus 100-400mm reviews: “Olympus has produced a superb lens””

Preorders:
Olympus E-M10IV at Adorama, Bhphoto. GetOlympus. Amazon.
100-400mm at Adorama, Bhphoto. GetOlympus.

Photographyblog writes:

With fast and accurate auto-focusing for both still and moving subjects, 3-stops of built-in image stabilization, full weather-proofing and decent close-focusing, this lens is well-suited to the life in the field, despite not even having the PRO billing that Olympus bestows on its very best optics.

This is backed up by the excellent optical performance. Detail is sharp throughout the zoom range, with both the center and edges of the image proving to be excellent even when using the lens wide-open. Chromatic aberrations are not really an issue, distortion is automatically corrected on Olympus bodies, and bokeh is appealing thanks to the 9-bladed aperture.

Bird, wildlife and sports photographers looking for a big zoom lens that doesn’t have a massive price-tag will love the new Olympus 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 lens.

ePhotozine writes:

First off, there is no doubt that Olympus have produced a superb lens, both for ease of use and for features provided. Performance is also excellent, better than the bald figures suggest. The IS system works well, extending the usefulness of the lens as the light levels fall. The price is also excellent, just over £1000 being a very fair price point for such a long lens.

For those who are already using the Olympus system this could just be the wildlife lens you have been waiting for – I personally would not hesitate. Those who are looking to lighten their load may well be tempted also as similar lenses for DSLR are generally much heavier and bulkier.

Olympus have re-asserted themselves in the marketplace with a very strong offering indeed and their splendid new Olympus M.Zuiko ED 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS lens is Highly Recommended.