Olympus 18-180mm f/3.5-6.3
| Focusing distance: | 45cm / 17.7in |
| Magnification: | 0.23x |
| Filter size: | 62mm |
| Lens size: | ø78mm x 84.5mm / ø30.7in x 33.3in |
| Weight: | 435g / 15.3oz |
| Construction: | 15 elements in 13 groups |
| Accessories: | Hood |
Description
ePhotoZine review
Imaging Resource review
Eddie's take on it
Images coming out of this lens are approximately the same quality as the 14-42mm and 40-150mm kit lenses, but the longer 180mm long end is nowhere near as useful as the 14mm wide end of the kit lens set.
It is hard to say how this lens fits in. While it is a super zoom, it starts at 18mm, which, given the 2x crop factor, is a 36mm equiv. at the wide end. This is pretty narrow and the difference between it and the 14-42mm kit lens is quite noticable. At the same time, it weighs round about the same as both the 14-42mm and 40-150mm lenses together, while delivering same or, at some focal lengths, worse image quality.
If you want a super zoom lens, go for the more expensive Panasonic 14-150mm f/3.5-5.6.
The only time this makes sense is if you really want a 2 lens solution, and you're carrying a wide angle, such as the 9-18mm or 11-22mm. If it were me though, in those cases, I would just carry the 40-150mm and that's it.