I started with a 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 ii Olympus lens because it was cheap and yeah, light too. I then upgraded to a 40-150mm and a 300mm and the 75-300mm went to the bottom of the drawer, unused and... well, unloved because everyone knows that much more expensive lenses are sharper and better, aren't they? Until today, when scrummaging through the bottom of said drawer I ran into this lens and thought I'd take some photos - not only that, but also share them with the group.
I'm posting below a comparison of the Olympus 75-300mm ii at 300mm vs. the 300mm f4 pro lens and then of the 75-300mm ii vs. 40-150mm 2.8 pro at 150mm and 75mm. All photos are taken at 6.7 aperture or thereabouts (my E-M1 mk ii stops at 6.3 and 7.1).
The reason you will struggle to see any difference in the comparisons below is that... there isn't any noticeable one. I would have thought sharpness would be better for the pro lenses but at the same aperture, it's not. Also, they say that a zoom lens has worse sharpness at the tele end but that's not really the case here. Yes, as you stop down to f4 for the 300mm prime or to f2.8 for the 40-150 lens you will get better bokeh but not a lot so whether the extra money and weight is worth it... well, that's down to you.
Olympus 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 ii - what a light, undervalued jewel!
Taken with the 300mm lens x x Taken with the 75-300mm extended to the full 300mm


And then the comparison against 40-150mm:
40-150mm at 75mm x x 75-300mm at 75mm

40-150mm at 150mm x x 75-300mm at 150mm

I'm posting below a comparison of the Olympus 75-300mm ii at 300mm vs. the 300mm f4 pro lens and then of the 75-300mm ii vs. 40-150mm 2.8 pro at 150mm and 75mm. All photos are taken at 6.7 aperture or thereabouts (my E-M1 mk ii stops at 6.3 and 7.1).
The reason you will struggle to see any difference in the comparisons below is that... there isn't any noticeable one. I would have thought sharpness would be better for the pro lenses but at the same aperture, it's not. Also, they say that a zoom lens has worse sharpness at the tele end but that's not really the case here. Yes, as you stop down to f4 for the 300mm prime or to f2.8 for the 40-150 lens you will get better bokeh but not a lot so whether the extra money and weight is worth it... well, that's down to you.
Olympus 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 ii - what a light, undervalued jewel!
Taken with the 300mm lens x x Taken with the 75-300mm extended to the full 300mm
And then the comparison against 40-150mm:
40-150mm at 75mm x x 75-300mm at 75mm
40-150mm at 150mm x x 75-300mm at 150mm


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