Hey everyone!
I’m super pumped about this lens. I’ve had it for a little over three weeks, and I’m totally addicted. It’s the new OM SYSTEM 50-200mm f/2.8 IS PRO.
It actually offers something unique for my photography. A huge thank you to OM SYSTEM for sending the lens out. All they told me: be myself, be honest, and have fun.
Mission accomplished!
This isn't just a new lens: OM SYSTEM calls it "The Unique One," and that's an understatement. There's nothing else like it on the market, and after putting it through its paces with over 10,000 shots, I genuinely believe this is a system seller. In fact, I've given it my own personal nickname:
MEGATRON.
Why "MEGATRON"?
Because This Lens is Awesome.
Imagine this: a 100-400mm in full-frame terms, with that super bright f/2.8 aperture available all the way through the zoom range. That alone is incredibly powerful, but MEGATRON has so many other cool things built into it.
Built for Anything, Anywhere: First off, the build quality is great. It feels incredibly solid and well-balanced, especially with its internal zooming mechanism. And with an IP53 rating, this lens can withstand any weather. Arctic expeditions, humid jungles, scorching deserts, heavy rain without a problem.
MEGATRON also boasts switches and buttons! I found myself using the focus limiter a bunch, and the dedicated MF/AF switch is a welcome addition versus the focus clutch other OM SYSTEM lenses have. The function button on the lens can be programmed for different tasks (I set mine for quick focus tracking), and the preset and set buttons let you set and then jump to a predetermined focus point instantly.
“WOW” Factor Stabilization: MEGATRON features DUAL SYNC IS, delivering an impressive 7 stops of stabilization. In my experience, this works incredibly well, even when paired with teleconverters.
The 50-200mm accepts both the MC-14 and MC-20 teleconverters, extending your reach to an insane 100-800mm equivalent when using the teleconverters. With the 1.4x TC, you get 560mm at f/4, and with the 2.0x TC, you hit 800mm at f/5.6. What's truly amazing is that computational features work perfectly well (such as focus stacking) with both converters.
The zoom and manual focus rings are smoothly dampened, making adjustments from 50mm to 200mm quick and smooth.
Lightweight Powerhouse: Paired with the OM-1 Mark II (without you see in my photos here), this setup weighs in at just 3.69 pounds. That's over two pounds lighter than my old Nikon Z8 and 100-400mm Z lens. Considering MEGATRON offers f/2.8 throughout and works seamlessly with teleconverters, the OM-1 MarkII and 50-200 f/2.8 is a far more powerful, versatile, and user-friendly combination in a lighter, smaller package.
At $3700, it's not a cheap lens, but after using it for thousands of shots, I can tell you: I'm buying one.
Performance That Makes You Look Good
I judge a lens by three things: image rendering, autofocus, and versatility. Let's talk about these next.
1. Image Rendering: Simply Stellar
The ability to shoot at f/2.8 across the entire zoom range is a game-changer. Every bit of light matters, especially when you're out on an adventure. I've never used a 100-400mm equivalent that doesn't slow down at the telephoto end, and the freedom this lens provides is welcome.
Even better, MEGATRON's image rendering is stellar at all focal lengths, even wide open at f/2.8. The details are beautiful, and the background blur at f/2.8 is absolutely dreamy.
Critical detail is sharp with excellent contrast, even wide open.
I shoot what I love and what I want to sell, and this lens consistently makes me look like a better photographer.
It’s all about storytelling.
50mm:
111mm:
200mm:
It’s also about pure image quality - this lens has that special “it” that’s always defined the best lenses out there.
Take these buffalo shots in flat Nebraska light, for example. The bright f/2.8 aperture gave me more options with shutter speed and ISO, allowing me to transform flat light into something nice.
With Teleconverters: The image quality holds up remarkably well with teleconverters. You'll notice the quality is very good, especially with the MC14 – there were many times I swore I wasn't even using the converter.
While the MC-20 does show a small but noticeable drop in both quality and autofocus speed/reliability when compared to the MC-14, the images are still crisp, clear, and very nice, standing up well to sharpening, especially in good light.
Overall, from 100mm to 800mm (equivalent), even with the teleconverters, I was incredibly impressed with the image quality and wouldn't hesitate to use either for my photography, wide-open, in almost any situation.
For Landscapes and More: These 100-400mm equivalent lenses are renowned for landscape photography, and MEGATRON is no exception. We can zoom into a scene, tightly compress the image, and bring intimate details to the viewer from afar. The detail throughout is not just "good,"it's excellent. The critical detail from corner to corner, with wonderful contrast, gives me 100% confidence these shots will print beautifully large.
I pointed the lens directly at the sun multiple times. Perfection here:
It seems no matter what I point it at, it delivers great-looking images. Even small-town Nebraska shots from a street corner reveal incredibly rich and detailed files.
The following shot of a fence post is a personal favorite, highlighting the lens's capabilities. The details on the sunflowers are wonderful, and the focus fall-off is simply dreamy. Quick sunrise shots show sharply defined edges, fantastic color rendering, and rich contrast. Even a shot from a high vantage point, with atmospherics from moisture, maintained fantastic detail throughout the frame.
It’s great at bright and pretty stuff - but it’s also incredible at higher ISO moody shots as well:
Overall, I'm wildly impressed with the image quality this lens delivers.
2. Autofocus: Quick, Accurate, and Outstanding
Now, a caveat: I shoot for myself. I don't do weddings, I'm not a pro at birds in flight, and frankly, birds usually fly away from me! But for my style of photography, this is one of the quickest and most accurate autofocus lenses I've ever used. I'll let the extreme birders talk a bit more competently about how the lens performs for them.
However, I did shoot a bunch of bugs and butterflies!
Here are photos from my first afternoon with the lens at a local garden. I used a mix of single AF, continuous AF, and sometimes subject tracking. The results were consistent: more in-focus shots than I've ever achieved in a garden with a telephoto. It felt like the lens had a sixth sense for where to focus. Using the smallest autofocus point on an eye yielded far more hits than misses.
While it did miss focus occasionally (as even the best full-frame cameras do), I've only had this lens for a few weeks. I'm still learning its limits and my own, but for now, know that its autofocus is outstanding for the type of stuff I do.
Autofocus with Teleconverters: Adding the 1.4x TC slows things down just a bit. There's slightly more hunting and fewer in-focus shots, but it's still very, very good.
The MC-20 does show a greater loss in speed and accuracy. I'm not an expert at these super-telephoto levels, but I'm still impressed with the focus (again, for what I do). I even used it in the garden, getting a little too close to test its limits at extreme magnification, and still got far more in-focus shots than I expected.
Amazingly, I even managed a quick in-camera focus stack without a tripod using the MC-20:
The lens, even with the teleconverters, focuses as well as I could have hoped for. So while I think the autofocus is outstanding for me, I'll let some of the more qualified pros give you the definitive answer to how the autofocus handles stuff like extreme wildlife, birds, and sports.
3. Versatility: A True Transformer
I named this lens MEGATRON for a reason: it’s a transformer, much like the OM-3, which I previously named OPTIMUS PRIME. This combination opens up a world of creative options when you're out in the field.
Let me show you what I mean.
Imagine I'm shooting a wide landscape with beautiful clouds using my 12-100mm f/4 PRO on my OM-3 with these two shots:
Then, I spot a stunning combination of yellow moths and purple flowers at my feet. With the OM-1 Mark II and MEGATRON (with the MC-20 attached) by my side, I can quickly capture these intimate details - all from the same spot.
The shots are in focus, even on a windy day! Together, they tell a more complete story of the scene.
The minimum focus distance is also incredibly close; the lens alone offers 0.5x magnification, which increases to 1x with the MC-20.
I'm also excited to do more panoramic, high-megapixel stitches. The lack of any real vignetting with this lens helps me create clean, incredibly detailed panoramas. The more I take this lens out, the more possibilities I see in every scene.
It's creative superjuice.
Final Thoughts: My Next Essential Lens
I'll have to send MEGATRON back to OM SYSTEM soon, but I'm already saving up to be first in line to get one of these for myself. I'm absolutely buying this lens.
There's just so much to love. All the features packed into this lens unlock tons of creative options, and I think full-frame cultists will look twice! There's nothing else quite like it on the market: a small, light 100-400mm f/2.8 full-frame equivalent lens that's actually small and light, DUAL IS, and a lot more.
While Panasonic does have a 50-200mm f/2.8 for M43, I've used it and honestly didn't like it as much, even though it's smaller, lighter, and cheaper. The OM SYSTEM 50-200mm f/2.8 IS PRO is in a totally different category; it's a night and day difference in quality, with OM SYSTEM excelling in every way that matters to me.
And remember, I've only used this for several weeks. I've used it in ways that make sense for my photography. I'm still curious to see how other photographers utilize this lens, especially for sports, events, birding, and more advanced wildlife photography.
But for me, this lens is totally worth it, and one of the best I've ever used. And it better be, right? At its price point, it's not cheap. But I already know it's going to give me better photos in more situations, and that's worth every cent!
A Quick Comparison:
You might be curious about how it stacks up against other OM SYSTEM lenses. (These are the two I own and can comment on.)
Compared to the 300mm f/4 PRO: The 300mm has slightly better image quality and more reach, but with a smaller maximum aperture. However, the 50-200mm much more versatile and is so good with the 1.4x TC(bringing up to a respectable 560mm) that it's going to make keeping the 300mm a difficult decision.
Compared to the 40-150mm f/2.8: This comparison is even harder. In almost every way, the 50-200mm outperforms the older lens, except for size, weight, and cost – which are important factors! But the 50-200mm does so much more, and is quicker and more reliable. I believe the autofocus, close focusing, and Dual Sync IS improvements in the 50-200mm are worth it. For me, I'll likely sell my 40-150mm f/2.8 and pickup a much smaller and lighter 40-150 f/4 for more casual walks.
I imagine the ultimate adventure combination would be the 12-40mm f/2.8 on the OM-3, and the 50-200mm on the OM-1 Mark II, along with both teleconverters. All weather sealed. For me, it's an unbeatable combination for creativity. That's 12-800mm of awesomeness at f/2.8, ready to photograph anything I want, all while leveraging OM SYSTEM’s computational modes, including built-in ND filters, graduated filters, in-camera focus stacking, close focusing, and more. (And if I throw in my 7-14 f/2.8 PRO lens in a bag, that brings us to 14mm through 400mm in full frame terms, all at f/2.8 all the way through.
“Wow” is an understatement.
The OM SYSTEM 50-200mm f/2.8 IS PRO is a statement lens that’s truly fantastic.
Here is my video:
(And yes - I'm a fan. I'm also a fan of Fujifilm, Nikon, Canon, and Panasonic. I've likely shot millions of photos over the last 25 years, using film, full-frame, APSC, medium format, and micro 4/3rds. OM SYSTEM is the only camera system that has transformed the way I shoot and changed my entire philosophy around the technical aspects of photography... but that's for a later post!)
Enjoy some of the other things I photographed using the OM-1 MarkII and 50-200 f/2.8 IS PRO:
Questions? Comment here or email: jerredz@gmail.com
Visit my website: www.jerredz.com
Also - can’t forget about some cat photos taken with the 50-200:
I currently have these zooms:
8-25 f4
12-100 f4
40-150 f4
75-300 f4.6-6.7 II
That a lot of lenses and a lot of overlap.
I mainly shoot landscapes and pictorial shots. Any wildlife has been horses in paddocks and the 75-300 has been good enough (-ish). Now I'm thinking that the 50-200 can replace the 12-100, 40-150 and 75-300, eliminating the redundancy and lightening my bag. Do you think that sounds realistic?
I have my own lens, arrived just two days ago. Totally concur with the observations you make, including that using the x2 convertor requires a bit more work to get the best results. The 'icing on the cake' for me would be the presence of a focus clutch; as a long term actual user of the 40-150 f2.8 I used the clutch extensively.