I matched this up with the great Panasonic 14-45mm zoom to cover the short end

Pros: price, fairly compact, decent range, rubber zoom ring, smoother zoom than the kit lens, nice picture quality, fast focusingCons

I originally thought I would like to have a 25mm lens, and a 100-300 zoom

Pros: price, fairly compact, decent range, rubber zoom ring, smoother zoom than the kit lens, nice picture quality, fast focusingCons

, sometimes I feel like the lens didn't take crisp pictures, especially when zoomed

Furthermore, I've owned & /or rented the super zooms (Olympus and Panasonic and Tamron

In use, my 45-200 does not show any mechanical weakness - good zoom ring and no crawling -, auto-focuses quickly and its optical performance is better than expected in its category

Great zoom lens for the money

Absolutely stunning Zoom capability on this lens - and appears to really dampen

This lens fits my camera perfectly, and allows excellent zoom capability.

However I will miss the versatility of the 45-200mm zoom

Overall: Construction is solid and I find that zooming is a tad stiff but that will prevent from accidental zoom sliding like the bigger 4/3 lens

(the manual focus on these lenses seems difficult to use), with my use of the autofocus, with my choice of settings (the camera offers many options which I have not yet fully explored), whether the image stabilization is not giving me as much extra leeway on the shutter speed as I hoped, or whether this is just a problem inherent with most inexpensive zoom lenses

Nice zoom range and image quality, though a little soft beyond 150 or 175mm.

The sharpness is poor at any range and the colors are not as vivid as my other zoom lens.

This of course shouldn't be an issue if you're just taking pictures; it's only a problem if you're shooting video and trying to get slow, steady zoom which we don't even need much anyway

I've got a variety of fixed and zoom lenses, and of all the lenses I own, if I had to pick just one, this would be it

Similar lenses that occupy that niche include the 10x super zooms like 14-140mm or 14-150mm, which might be better if you're at the zoo because of telephoto, but most of the time, I feel like the wide angle is more useful

This is a great zoom lens for anyone starting out with the GF-1.

Hello, I use two Olympus E-M10 cameras and recently purchased this lens as a natural complement to the 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom

Also, Lens built-in Image stabilizer is very good and work well even maximum zooming range

It’s still smaller, faster and lighter than the standard kit zoom, though

The zoom is great to have for any Micro 4/3 cameras owners out there

However I will miss the versatility of the 45-200mm zoom

Overall: Construction is solid and I find that zooming is a tad stiff but that will prevent from accidental zoom sliding like the bigger 4/3 lens

Amazing range and zoom

Small profile lens, works great in at max zoom in lower light conditions

I just went through a batch of outdoor shots and it took some great zoomed shots that would have come out as blurry or with that "over-zoomed" look

i would recommend this lens to anyone on a budget, looking a good zoom lens for their micro four thirds camera

I buy the Panasonic 45-200 Lumix Vario Micro Four Thirds lens to my G3 camera to have greater zoom and works great

I buy the Panasonic 45-200 Lumix Vario Micro Four Thirds lens to my G3 camera to have greater zoom and works great

that are amazing, and I might even be able to find a used deal on a premium zoom like the 12-40mm

Absolutely stunning Zoom capability on this lens - and appears to really dampen

The zoom range is great as 14 is really not wide enough and I prefer zooms with smaller zoom ratios

In use, my 45-200 does not show any mechanical weakness - good zoom ring and no crawling -, auto-focuses quickly and its optical performance is better than expected in its category

Great affordable zoom lens.

In summary for those wanting a relatively cheap, light / compact lens with a decent zoom range (please don't go for the super zooms because the quality is really subpar), this is definitely a winner.5.

pretty damn good zoom lens

When the camera hangs by neck, the lens opens / sleeps out (zoom in) on its own while walking.

The only negative is that the zoom was not smooth at first, but it has quickly broken in and become very smooth after only a day of use

But weighing my options, I needed the best zoom lens under $500, and I think this is it

I keep it on my Panasonic G5 body all the time, while also carrying a Canon DSLR with Canon's excellent 17-55 f2.8 zoom for closer-reach shots.

It's a HUGE improvement in speed and sound compared to Olympus kit lens that comes with their u4/3 cameras.--I've had problems taking low light photos as it struggles to focus on subjects, especially when zoomed in

The smaller design of the zoom makes for easy hand holding and carrying around with a tremendous zoom available.

I've even gotten handheld video with extremely low shakiness.-Really cool circles of confusion bokeh when zoomed in more (around 150-200mm) for a professional shallow focus look

Zoom is smooth which is welcome when making video with GH2

My 14-45 is not so smooth when zooming