Olympus M.Zuiko 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 IS lens zooms in on what's important

One of the advantages of an interchangeable lens camera is not being stuck with the capabilities the camera came with, presuming you bought one bundled with some lens in the first place. If you need to take a closer look at wildlife without disturbing dangerous animals or need to get up close and personal with critters, you can swap out your normal lens for a zoom lens instead. Fortunately for photographers, Olympus has a new compact and lightweight M.Zuiko Digital ED super-telephoto zoom lens exactly for that purpose.

Take that "compact and lightweight" description with a grain of salt and a pinch of relativity. Compared to other zoom lenses, the M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm f5.0-6.3 IS lens' 1.12 kg weight and 205.7mm length is still manageable. It isn't without reason, of course, as the lens boasts of four ED lenses, two Super HR (high refractive) lenses, and two HR lenses hermetically sealed for peace of mind when shooting in any environment.

The M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm f5.0-6.3 IS lens has a focal length of 200-800mm equivalent but that's when its by lonesome self. Slap on an M.Zuiko Digital 2x Teleconverter MC-20 and you can reach up to 1600mm equivalent! But if you're the type the prefers to zoom in on the small things, the lens' closes focusing distance is a mere 1.3m with a 0.57x magnification, making it an ideal companion for telemacro photography.

Beyond its direct telephoto capabilities, the M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm f5.0-6.3 IS lens is also advertised to have superb autofocus thanks to its rear focus system. Four switches are made available for handheld shooting, including one that can select AF operations. There's also a switch for in-lens image stability also designed for handheld telephoto shooting.

The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm f5.0-6.3 IS lens will be available on September 8 for $1,499.99. That's a rather hefty price for just a lens but it is, indeed, a piece of pro equipment that Olympus promises will be worth its cost. You will, of course, still need a camera to use it with, perhaps Olympus' new mirrorless Micro Four Thirds entry-level interchangeable lens camera, the OM-D E-M10 Mark IV.