written by simples on 07/03/2010
Slow, slow, slow, slow, slow, about sums it up. Oh, and soft. I'll let others more knowledgeable give the technical details, but these are my thoughts having used this lens for two weeks photographing birds in my garden.
It's also way too heavy for my little Olympus E-410, causing the camera body to flex unless you keep a good grip on the lens itself at all times. £300 isn't a fortune, especially by Olympus lens standards, but there must be a whole lot better than this - sorry I don't know where, but this lens is appalling.
Autofocus is next to useless unless shooting a still object in bright sunlight, which is maybe why they handily put the manual over-ride switch on the barrel. Same goes for sharpness - lack of light seriously affects this lens. Unless you want to photograph snails in the desert, don't waste your money on this as a wildlife lens. The much cheaper and shorter 40-150 outperforms this lens in every respect, and even if the lack of length means cropping the picture by 3/4 you still end up with a sharper image.
I can see no practical use for this lens - save up for the 200 or 400mm if wildlife is your thing, or stick with the basic kit lens 40-150 f/3.5-4.5.