Thanks for the info, if I am not wrong a handful of the 4/3 lens that have a bigger F-stop (F1.x ~ F2.0) and there generally more expensive than the other brands (Nikon & Canon) given the same focal length right? :think:
Olympus has f/2lenses in the range of 14-150mm (28-300mm equivalent). Of these, only two are primes, a 50mm and a 150mm. Leica and Sigma makes other lenses as well but I am not familiar with those. I know both Canon and Nikon has a very few 50mm with larger then f/2, which are fairly cheap but that's all. As far as I know those aren't exactly high quality lenses, but you are right, they are cheap. I can not say much about Canon and Nikon lenses since I don't have those cameras so I don't have much information about their lenses.
I have just recently decided to stay with Olympus a little while more and bought the 50-200/f2.8-3.5 SWD lens for over US$1200 (here in Sweden). My other option was to get rid of all Oly I have and get a D700. I did not do that because I realized that the weight and the prices of the Nikon lenses would have killed me, and while I could get razor thin DOF with the D700, I would struggle to get the reach I need and would break my back carrying those lenses. I see no point in having a system with such limitations. While it may be fine for studio use but it is not exactly a travel companion. While I many times wish Olympus had many more primes, the only range I really wish they had is the long one, 400mm (800mm equivalent) or above. Below that range I think their zooms cover what I (and most others) need in any quality we are prepared to pay for. Their lenses come in three grades, Standard, Pro and Top Pro and cover the zoom range of 7-300mm which is 14-600 in 35mm equivalent terms. Of course, you can also get TCs to extend that range 1.4 or 2 times if you want. Apart from the Olympus digital lenses, you can also buy the Sigma 50-500 and in that case you have a full 70x zoom range from 7-500mm (14-1000mm) which should cover every need.
But if that is still not enough you can turn to use manual film lenses, of course only in manual focus and aperture control mode is available with those. Having an Olympus means you can use almost any old film lenses, primes and zooms. A few exceptions are Minolta Rokkor and Canon lenses but about any other lens are OK. You even have Image stabilization for these lenses, since Olympus supports legacy lenses in that matter. Of course, metering works as well. In this case you can use all the fast primes as well, and actually even the modern digital Nikkor lenses can be used because these have focus and aperture rings.
So, indeed the when it comes to lenses, I think the Olympus system is the most well equipped system, no other system gives you all that range. But not many sales men are able to give you that information, nor are they interested in giving a more unbiased view. They are interested in selling cameras with as little effort as possible, and selling a Canon or Nikon is normally easier.
