Hands-on OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro review: The world’s only 100-400mm f/2.8 equivalent lens!

You know a lens is special when it’s white. And the OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro is a very special lens. Like so many Olympus / OM optics, it’s unique on the market – being the world’s only 100-400mm f/2.8 lens (in equivalent 35mm terms). More than that, though, it’s a lens that will make amateurs better and will make pros more money.

I didn’t know that I’d been waiting for the OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS, but it turns out I was. I’ve been using the brilliant Olympus M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro for over a decade, and I’ve never had any issues with it. But this new lens simply sets new standards for speed, sharpness, stabilization and especially reach.

OM is pushing this as a do-it-all lens for nature photography – from 1:1 telemacro to environmental photography, wildlife and birding, and even sports shooting, all with a constant f/2.8 aperture and up to 7 stops of stabilization. Does the OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS live up to the hype?

OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro: Specifications

OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro: Price

The OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro carries a retail price of $3,699 / £2,999 / AU$4,999.

For comparison, the existing Olympus / OM System M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro is priced at $1,499 / £1,299 / AU$1,899 (though there are regional discounts in certain territories). It’s a much older lens, released in 2014 and is obviously slightly wider but much shorter in terms of reach.

Panasonic’s direct competitor, the Lumix G Leica 50-200mm f/2.8-4.0, retails for $1,897 / £1,499 / AU$2,699. It’s newer than the 40-150mm but is still a 7-year-old optic, launched in 2018, and isn’t a constant aperture lens.

OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro: Build & handling

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This is the second white lens in the OM lineup, after the hulking M.Zuiko 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25x IS Pro – which is colloquially being called the “big white”, while the considerably smaller and lighter (and cheaper) OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro has earned the decidedly unofficial moniker of “small white”.

I actually love that because, while it’s not a small lens, the 50-200mm is nowhere near as obscenely sized as lenses like the “big white” or the 150-600mm – both of which felt at odds with the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) ethos.

And the white finish isn’t just for show; it’s there for heat dispersion purposes while shooting in the field, so that the lens doesn’t overheat and physically distort. It’s also IP53 weather sealed – as all future OM System lenses will be, again speaking to the adventure-ready outdoor nature of the brand.

It’s a long lens, at 225.8 mm, but the internal zoom mechanism keeps it feeling balanced even at the telephoto end. Speaking of, if the equivalent 400mm reach isn’t enough for you, the OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro is compatible with teleconverters – giving you a long end of 560mm f/4 with the MC-14 and 800mm f/5.6 with the MC-20 (and you retain the maximum 7 stops of stabilization even at 800mm!).

It’s also a weighty lens, at 1,250g, but you can remove the tripod collar and foot to trim it down to 1,075g. That actually balances really well with the OM System OM-1 Mark II, creating an outfit that’s just 1,674g – remarkable, for the focal range and trinity aperture with all the other bells and whistles this lens has.

Handling the lens feels incredibly familiar if you've used any of the OM / Oly telephoto lenses. There are four customizable function buttons surrounding the barrel, though note that these serve the same function (as in, there are four buttons for positional convenience, but they all activate the same single custom function).

Above the tripod foot collar, which is completely removable (even with the lens on the body), you'll find the usual focus limiter, auto / manual focus and image stabilization mode switches. Ported over from the "big white" you'll also find a Preset switch, which works in tandem with the Set button to save the current focal position for later recall – something that's incredibly welcome when shooting in the field.

Also welcome is the filter operation window on the lens hood, which slides open so you can make adjustments to things like variable ND filters without having to remove it entirely.

OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro: Performance

Where do I even begin with this lens? Like I said, I've been using the 40-150mm f/2.8 for over a decade and it's an absolutely brilliant lens – which is the reason it's consistently been OM's second-best seller (behind the perennially popular M.Zuiko 90mm Macro).

But the OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro is just in another class entirely. Unfortunately our lab manager was on vacation while I had the lens for review, so we weren't able to run our battery of tests in time for publication (though we will update this review as soon as we can). However, just from having used the 40-150mm for so long, I can immediately see that the 50-200mm is so much sharper.

I don't miss the extra 10mm at the wide end, but the benefit of an additional 100mm (equivalent) at the long end makes all the difference in the world. Again, this is an effective 100-400mm lens with a constant f/2.8 aperture – a world-first with incredible real-world results, particularly for Micro Four Thirds cameras.

This is the longest Oly / OM telephoto lens with an f/2.8 aperture – and the amount of additional isolation you can achieve is a revelation for the format. OM isn't pushing this as a sports lens, but it is absolutely perfect for the genre – particularly indoor sports like basketball, where you're often working with terrible light, but also general sports where you really get good subject separation (an area where Micro Four Thirds lenses have historically fallen short).

However, it's no good if the lens can only take wildlife or sports portraits when the subject is sitting still. Thankfully, the OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro is just as special when it comes to its performance speed. Whether it's birds in flight or human beings charging at each other, the lens keeps up with all of OM's cleverest tricks – whether it's C-AF tracking with algorithmic subject detection, or the lightning-fast 50fps bursts of the flagship bodies.

The stabilization, too, is unreal. Obviously this is an area where OM has historically ruled the roost, and its expertise really shines through with telephoto technology. I've used a lot of cameras that promise a lot of stops of stabilization, but never has 7 stops felt more stable than it has on this camera when shooting at an equivalent 400mm. And the fact that it performs just as well with a 2x teleconverter, giving 7 stops of rock-solidness at 800mm is utterly wild.

Another point I want to zero in on is the 50-200mm's close focusing and telemacro capability, because it truly transforms the usefulness of this lens. Anyone who's been birding will know the pain of sitting in a hide and waiting for a bird in flight somewhere on the horizon, only for another bird to pop up just a few feet in front of you.

So many telephotos don't focus close enough to be able to get those spontaneous close-up shots – and they're absolutely galling to miss. But with a 0.78m close focusing distance across the range, combined with its lightning-fast VCM autofocus, this lens enables you to go from far-to-near in a heartbeat.

Now combine that with the lens' magnification. Most full-frame 100-400mm lenses have something like a 0.35x magnification, but here it's 0.5x – which in itself enables you to capture fantastic telemacro shots. But throw a 2x teleconverter on the lens and suddenly you get true 1.0x macro performance. It even supports in-camera focus stacking! It's lenses like this that make MFT bodies arguably the best cameras for macro photography.

OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro: Image samples

OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro: Early verdict

Again, we've yet to run our full lab tests on the OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro. But you can see for yourself just how sharp this lens is – and having used the 40-150mm Pro for over a decade, I can feel just how much sharper, stabler and just plain faster this new lens is.

There's a reason the 40-150mm has consistently been OM's second biggest-selling lens; it's bloody good. It's been a workhorse trinity lens for pros, and a staple of kitbags for wildlife and sports shooters. Heck, my review was literally called "this lens makes me money", because it's such a good lens… but the 50-200mm is even better.

I'd go as far as to say it's the best telephoto lens you can buy for this camera system. Where else are you getting a constant f/2.8 aperture, 7 stops of stabilization, teleconverter compatibility, true 1:1 macro, focus stacking support and this degree of sharpness? The OM System M.Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro is a true unicorn lens, not just because it's the only 100-400mm f/2.8 equivalent on the market but also because of the wealth of features and functions it offers.

Unless something goes horribly wrong in the lab tests, this lens is an instant purchase for any MFT photographer who uses telephoto zooms.