This article shares a selection of M.Zuiko 75-300 osprey images. All were captured handheld during a recent visit to Hendrie Valley.

The M.Zuiko 75-300 mm f/4.8-6.7 II zoom lens is well suited to photographers who require a small, light, and cost effective telephoto solution.

It delivers an equivalent field-of-view of 150-600 mm in a zoom lens that only weighs 423 grams (~14.9 ounces). Given its focal length range it is also quite compact measuring 69 x 116.5 mm (~2.7 x 4.6 inches). This zoom lens is not weather-sealed.

In order to push the M.Zuiko 75-300 mm f/4.8-6.7 II to its limits, I captured all of the images in this article with the lens fully extended to its 300 mm focal length, and shot it wide open at f/6.7. Typically variable aperture, long telephoto zoom lenses are at their worst optically when used in this manner.

What follows is a selection of M.Zuiko 75-300 osprey images. Most of the photographs were cropped, with the degree of crop noted in the EXIF data.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.

As can be expected with any long telephoto zoom lens, the best results are achieved when the subject is large enough in the frame so that the photograph does not need to be cropped. Having the most number of pixels on a subject is always preferred.

I found the auto-focusing on the M.Zuiko 75-300 mm to be quite fast and accurate. Obviously with an aperture range of f/4.8-6.7 this isn’t a lens that is particularly well suited to photographing action under dim lighting.

It has been reported in a number of online reviews that the M.Zuiko 75-300 mm f/4.8-6.7 II loses sharpness on the long end of the zoom. I did notice some slight softening with jpeg images. I found working with RAW files in post posed no issues at all.

I used my standard process in post and did not do anything ‘special’ with the RAW files for the M.Zuiko 75-300 osprey images in this article. One of my standard DxO PhotoLab 2 custom presets was used for all of the photographs. Typical adjustments were made in Photoshop CS6.

In addition, I made my standard adjustments in Viveza 2 and also Topaz Denoise AI. I did not tweak any of my standard adjustments in these two programs for any of these photographs. Quite simply, I just did what I would typically do with bird image RAW files in post.

At one point both an osprey and a hawk were circling quite close to each other. The upward glance of the osprey occurred as it was keeping tabs on the hawk’s position.

The photograph above is another one that captured the osprey keeping watch on the circling hawk.

I’ve never cared much about lab testing done with lenses, as I am much more interested in how a lens performs in real life situations. We’ll be creating a few more articles illustrating how the M.Zuiko 75-300 mm f/4.8-6.7 II performs in the field.

The photograph above is one that I would not typically even bother capturing as the osprey was quite distant. It does indicate the image quality that can be expected when a severe crop is used.

The next three images are all from the same continuous AF-C run (continuous auto-focus, sequential high silent in Olympus lingo). It is important that I put the following photographs in context.

When the following M.Zuiko 75-300 osprey images were captured there were about 15-20 photographers all facing the same pond at Hendrie Valley. All of us had the sun at our backs.

Without any of us noticing in advance, an osprey swooped down from behind us, and flew in about 1.5 metres (~5 feet) over the heads of the photographers. It hit a fish on the surface of the pond and quickly took flight.

This action happened to my left. I noticed the flash of movement from the corner of my eye. All I had time to do was point my Olympus OM-D E-M1X at the osprey as it was leaving with the fish in its talons. I didn’t even wait for my auto-focusing to flash green, indicating that my camera had acquired focus. I just fully depressed my shutter release and hoped for the best.

My E-M1X missed focus on the first few images (I was shooting at 15 frames-per-second in silent shutter), but did pick it up and yielded a few usable photographs. None of the images are ‘award winners’, but they do help illustrate the speed of the auto-focus under a fast reaction scenario. Given the reaction time involved, I was surprised that I ended up with any usable photographs from this run of M.Zuiko 75-300 osprey images. Some of the photographers there that day did not capture any usable images.

Given the results of my initial outing with the M.Zuiko 75-300 mm f/4.8-6.7 II, I would have no hesitation to shoot this lens wide open at its longest focal length. When working with RAW files I found the photographs to be absolutely usable, and I would not stop this lens down to f/8. It may be another story if you are a jpeg user.

I suppose one of the questions in the minds of some Olympus owners is how the M.Zuiko 75-300 mm f/4.8-6.7 II compares to the M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 when used with the MC-20 teleconverter, since both deliver the same efov of 600 mm.

Optically the M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 f/2.8 with the MC-20 clearly outperforms the M.Zuiko 75-300 mm f/4.8-6.7 II both in sharpness and colour rendition. This is to be expected, given that the M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm f/2.8 is a professional quality lens that costs nearly three times more than the M.Zuiko 75-300 mm f/4.8-6.7 II. And, with the MC-20 teleconverter weighs about twice as much.

The image quality that can be produced by the M.Zuiko 75-300 mm f/4.8-6.7 II is certainly more than sufficient to meet the needs of many photographers. Especially those who prefer using small, lightweight telephoto zoom lenses.

We have added the M.Zuiko 75-300 mm f/4.8-6.7 II to our Olympus kit as there are many occasions when a small, lightweight telephoto zoom is needed. This will be my wife’s primary birding lens, as she prefers using a small, lightweight telephoto zoom.

Additional articles featuring photographs captured with the M.Zuiko 75-300 mm f/4.8-6.7 II will be forthcoming.

Technical Note

Photographs were captured hand-held using camera gear as noted in the EXIF data. Images were produced from RAW files using my standard process. Most photographs were cropped to taste, then resized for web use. The degree of any cropping done is detailed in the EXIF data.

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