Olympus Zuiko Digital 50-200/2.8-3.5 SWD

Design: 9/10
Features: 7/10
Ease-of-use: 8/10
Image quality: 9/10
Value for money: 7/10

Conclusion
The Olympus Zuiko Digital 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 ED SWD is an excellent telephoto zoom lens for the Four Thirds system. At first sight, it may look bulky and heavy, but when you remind yourself that it covers an angle-of-view range similar to that of a 100-400mm lens on a 35mm camera, you immediately realise that it's actually quite compact, especially if you factor in the bright maximum aperture, too.

The Olympus Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 ED SWD is an obvious choice for those looking for an upgrade from their Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 or Zuiko 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6. The Olympus lens does certainly shine regarding its very good resolution capabilities throughout the zoom range. Distortions as well as CAs are well controlled. The vignetting is a bit on the high side at max. aperture but it's not a real problem either. A certain weakness is the quality of the bokeh (out-of-focus blur) in critical situations. However, to be honest many zoom lenses in this range have problems here as well.

The build quality of the Zuiko is exceptional. Typical for an Olympus "Pro" grade lens it does even feature a sealing against dust and moisture. Thanks to Olympus' new SWD the AF speed is significantly improved over its predecessor. All in all a highly desirable lens.

Pros

• very solid, dust/splash proof barrel,
• very good picture quality at all focal and aperture range in the frame center,
• good frame edge picture quality,
• well corrected chromatic aberration,
• low distortion,
• average coma,
• vignetting properly reined in,
• autofocus silent and accurate.

Cons

• noticeable astigmatism,
• average work against the light,
• autofocus can get lost in worse lighting.