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dPreview review of Oly 14-150 - pricing shock horror!

Brian Mosley

New member
Good review, it's cheaper than a PanaLeica 14-150mm f3.5-5.6, comparable quality and a heck of a lot lighter, faster and more compact for Pen users.

If you have the PL 14-150mm f3.5-5.6 - you know what to expect from this lens.

The hardest thing is going from daily shooting a fixed prime 40mm EFL lens to a 28-300mm EFL zoom... it does your head in! :eek: :banghead: :ROTFL:

Cheers

Brian
 

Terry

New member
Good review, it's cheaper than a PanaLeica 14-150mm f3.5-5.6, comparable quality and a heck of a lot lighter, faster and more compact for Pen users.

If you have the PL 14-150mm f3.5-5.6 - you know what to expect from this lens.

The hardest thing is going from daily shooting a fixed prime 40mm EFL lens to a 28-300mm EFL zoom... it does your head in! :eek: :banghead: :ROTFL:

Cheers

Brian
My PL 14-150 is a noticeably better lens than my 14-140. The review shows the Oly and the 14-140 to be on par (except for CA and perhaps IBIS vs OIS) I'm not sure how you draw the conclusion that it compares favorably to the PL 14-150.

Faster???? Oly 4-5.6 vs Panny 4-5.8
 

jonoslack

Active member
Hi There
I'm rather partial to these huge range zooms for casual use. Which is the excuse for playing with the vlux-20. That starts at 24mm which is more attractive (I wish there was a 12-60 mft lens, it was my favorite on the E3).

But even though this lens is splendidly small, it's hardly pocketable on a pen. I was really intending to get it . . . but that price is pretty dreadful - even without VAT it's much more expensive than it is in the states. :thumbdown::angry:
 

Annna T

Active member
Hi there - for information:

http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/olympus_m_14-150_4-5p6_o20/

Generally a pretty good review, what really shocks me is the pricing:

US $600
UK £630 (that's $940 at current rates)

:eek:
It seems that dpreview made an error here. For instance at Camera world it is offered at 499£ http://www.cameraworld.co.uk/ViewPr...e=2&Subcat_Code=203&MANU_CODE=4&Minisitetype=

If you take the VAT away (how much is that in the UK ? somewhere between 18-21% ? let's make it 20% for easy computation, then the lense costs 400£. Convert that in USD : 596.214$ . US customer do also have to pay a VAT. It is not indicated because it is different from state to state.

I've looked for the prices announced here where I live and I'm very near of the price indicated in USD too. From what I see here, the Olympus prices are much fairer than the Panasonic prices, where yes, the difference between the US and EU is much bigger. Same for the Adobe products, where we have to pay between 25-30% more than in the US even if we get an English version and download it.

I have looked at Olympus website, but they don't seem to have an official price, or at least I didn't find it.
 

photoSmart42

New member
US customer do also have to pay a VAT. It is not indicated because it is different from state to state.
There's not always a state tax being charged for online orders, just shipping. Our state sales tax doesn't work exactly the same as the Euro VAT.
 

Diane B

New member
There's not always a state tax being charged for online orders, just shipping. Our state sales tax doesn't work exactly the same as the Euro VAT.
In truth i think we are supposed to pay sales tax for online purchases, at least in North Carolina, but most don't. NC is coming down hard on Amazon about this since the state feels its missing tax revenue as well it is. I find i'm paying ST more and more for online purchases but some are based on whether the online store has any bricks and mortar in state like Landsend with Sears stores.
 

Brian Mosley

New member
My PL 14-150 is a noticeably better lens than my 14-140. The review shows the Oly and the 14-140 to be on par (except for CA and perhaps IBIS vs OIS) I'm not sure how you draw the conclusion that it compares favorably to the PL 14-150.

Faster???? Oly 4-5.6 vs Panny 4-5.8
I said it was comparable to the PL 14-150mm f3.5-5.6 - i.e. in the same ballpark IQ / build wise and faster as in faster to focus on an m4/3rds body. Maybe you have a poor copy of the Lumix 14-140? It usually gets great reviews.

I'm afraid I don't have the Lumix 14-140... although I certainly would have if I had the GH1 - it looks like a great combination for video (especially with the Hack recently developed)

Cheers

Brian
 

Terry

New member
I think the consensus from everyone with both lenses is that the PL 14-150 is a better lens (stills IQ) than the 14-140. If you reread your post it reads as though the review compares the new Oly lens to the 14-150. I didn't see that. There are no lens test widgets for the PL lens. They did compare the Oly lens to the 14-140 where they found them comparable.
 

Brian Mosley

New member
I think the consensus from everyone with both lenses is that the PL 14-150 is a better lens (stills IQ) than the 14-140. If you reread your post it reads as though the review compares the new Oly lens to the 14-150. I didn't see that. There are no lens test widgets for the PL lens. They did compare the Oly lens to the 14-140 where they found them comparable.
Oh yes, sorry - I meant by personal experience. :)

Cheers

Brian
 
B

boyzo

Guest
I think the consensus from everyone with both lenses is that the PL 14-150 is a better lens (stills IQ) than the 14-140. If you reread your post it reads as though the review compares the new Oly lens to the 14-150. I didn't see that. There are no lens test widgets for the PL lens. They did compare the Oly lens to the 14-140 where they found them comparable.
Terry if you use the DPR widget and compare the Oly 14-150 to the Pany 14-140

I think you will find the Pany appreciably sharper than the Oly and especially out to the edges.

At f8 onwards diffraction makes both similar and less good

CA etc if better with the Pany

The PL 14-150 is still the king for 10X even rivals some of the best DSLR 10x zooms.

The new Oly fits a niche but the Pany 14-140 / PL14-150 are my favourites
 
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ptomsu

Workshop Member
What help all these lens tests, you cannot buy this lens yet. Was in SFO this week and could find it NOWHERE!

Maybe better if I read through these posts here anyway :)
 

Brian Mosley

New member
I find that carrying a camera in my left hand, secured by a wrist strap for safety keeps it ready for action and when I'm walking all day sometimes through the country the weight and shape of what I'm carrying balanced with IQ I'm able to get becomes critical.

The last long walk I took, I had the PL 14-150 attached via 4/3rds adapter to the E-PL1 and 20mm f1.7 attached to the E-P2. I had to take a small backpack to carry the camera not being used. The PL 14-150 ended up in the backpack because I much preferred carrying the smaller camera by hand.

Today, I would take the mZD 14-150mm f4-5.6 on that walk... It's hand-carryable all day without becoming a pain, and the flexibility - as anyone who uses the PL 14-150 makes it a Swiss-army knife for those day out treks.

YMMV, I'll be doing about 10 ;)

Cheers

Brian
 

RichA

New member
I find that carrying a camera in my left hand, secured by a wrist strap for safety keeps it ready for action and when I'm walking all day sometimes through the country the weight and shape of what I'm carrying balanced with IQ I'm able to get becomes critical.

The last long walk I took, I had the PL 14-150 attached via 4/3rds adapter to the E-PL1 and 20mm f1.7 attached to the E-P2. I had to take a small backpack to carry the camera not being used. The PL 14-150 ended up in the backpack because I much preferred carrying the smaller camera by hand.

Today, I would take the mZD 14-150mm f4-5.6 on that walk... It's hand-carryable all day without becoming a pain, and the flexibility - as anyone who uses the PL 14-150 makes it a Swiss-army knife for those day out treks.

YMMV, I'll be doing about 10 ;)

Cheers

Brian
I'd rather carry the kit lens on the camera, and a 45-200mm in a small bag than compromise with any of the wide zooms out today. There were slews of Nikon buyers who flocked to the 18-200mm (remember when people were paying $1200+ on Ebay for it?) only to dump it a month down the road and go back to 2 lenses instead.
 

Lili

New member
Know I am late to the party but I just got this lens.
I love the range and the IQ
at 14mm

at 150mm

For HD Video, the AF is dead silent!
With my E-PL1 the whole kit is smaller and the same weight as my beloved Fuji S6000fd with far higher IQ.
 
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