Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25X IS PRO Lens

[Pitachu]

I don't think it is "dare" or "dare not" answer.
I think they do not sure at the moment, given the changes Olympus is going thru.

It could be Vietnam, China or Japan (when they cannot find a Outsource partner that can pass all the QC).

Personally (and I asked a few photographer friends as well), I don't think it matters, as long as JIP can
provides the same reliability as the previous Olympus Pro Lens. If the outsourced manufacturer fails JIP,
JIP can always find another manufacturer and offer a replacement for the faulty item.

After all, Apple has replaced my Airpods after 3 months (FOC) and Samsung has replaced my brother's
Galaxy Note Mobile & Battery even after the warranty period when their manufacturing partner screw them up

Ask 1 simple question that they dare NOT answer, so far, which is very strange. [ Where is this lens made? ]
Even a SGD$200 lens states clearly where they make it.
Some fans rush to defend not telling or to deflect from the question - and attack the person asking.
It is sad.
This is a SGD$10,000 lens.
The lens could very well be made in Japan.
Or in China.
Or in Vietnam.
Or Malaysia.
Or Taiwan.
Or Thailand.
Or other country.
Not unreasonable to ask the manufacturer to say so firmly.

 

[JW73]

Mmmm.. Why don't you ask JIP or Olympus directly if interested to buy? OR are you really interested to buy in the first place?

I do not know you personally because you don’t use real name. I am pointing out the contents. So dun be sad.

So those who already place order without asking where its made is kind of silly? To u and me 10k is alot. But maybe not to some. They see it as quality and good glass as it is and what it can do to their photos..

Why not assume it’s made in Vietnam? Case close for you(you can start to buy from other brand that are made in Japan and after all Olympus is dead after 24Jun2020) or you continue to attack that Vietnamese dont deserve to be paid for their precision work or another wrong move by JIP?

It‘s a good question to ask where it is made. Some like you based on the country of origin to see if your money is well spent. Nothing wrong.

You can ask. But after receiving no confirmation, you started to come out so many unfound theories like how Oly/JIP “threaten” the reviewers & feel “ashamed” etc . Why do you attacked on the brand reviewers and made them look bad and as if there is something to hide?

But to me you have your own personal agenda to mount an attack on all fronts to the brand. Sorry to be direct.

 

[ricohflex]

Red35 Photography has kindly answered.
Quote
[ Hey, they will be very proudly replied, this lens is MADE IN JAPAN. I said it at the end of the video. Same for the 25mm 1.2 Pro, also made in Japan, and some others. ]
UnQuote

ONE reviewer out of so many dares to confirm. He did emphasise that he did not have the physical lens with him.
Many other reviewers are timid and fearful to say so. Maybe because they actually have the physical lens to test.
And they cannot find the [ Made in XXXXX ] label /imprint or engraving on the thing.
Unfortunately the detailed official announcement by Olympus was also silent on this aspect.

Monitor this. If and when some one locally actually buys the lens and does a thorough physical check, that person can feedback here.

 

[JW73]

I have asked BHphoto ..here’s the reply

 

[Blu-By-U]

Now that it's made in Japan, @ricohflex will you be buying one? Oh I forgot, you don't own any Olympuss camera.

 

[Pitachu]

Ha Ha..... @ricohflex is a FF believer, focusing all his attention on Megapixels.
He is just upset that M43 has now some unique benefits which he cannot embrace
and just want to nitpick on a small little consideration.

Dpreview and B&H has one of the largest database of lenses specifications and they
do not include the country it is being made in, simply because it was not important
to most users and like B&H says, the country it is being made in can change.

From what I know, lenses are mainly manufactured by robots and jigs, with
very little manual human labour. It does not matter where it is being made,
as long as the assembly line is being set up properly according to the required standards.
It does not matter whether a Japanese, German or Vietnamese stand beside the assembly
line to press buttons.

Leica is now manufacturing its lenses (some selling above US$4,000) in Portugal instead
of Germany, and the quality and brand image did not drop.

 

[ricohflex]

Notice that Olympus is handling this announcement and not JIP.

If it is true as claimed by Olympus that this lens is only made to order.
That means there is no massive unsold stock of this lens in the warehouse to sell at reduced prices later on if there is no demand.

Technically there is no need for Olympus to reduce prices in future.

There is no pressure to reduce inventory. Because there is no pre-made inventory.

If buyer is not willing to pay US$7,500 then Olympus does not make the lens.

Olympus may decide that a lower price (say for example US$7,500 less 30%) is not commercially viable.
There is no need for Olympus to manufacture this Make To Order lens just to lose money.

In addition, slashing the price soon after launch will alienate the early buyers of this lens who paid full price of US$7,500.

If the demand is very low after waiting an appropriate period - and no new orders are incoming, Olympus may at some point in time announce that this lens is Discontinued.

Olympus is not likely to keep waiting for 10 years for orders.

By divesting the camera division to JIP, Olympus has already signalled that it is no longer interested to make photography cameras and lenses for consumers.

It wants to cut and cut cleanly.

Olympus may wait 1 or 2 years.

Perhaps to coincide with what JIP will do if it is NOT able to make OM Digital Solutions profitable within 1 year.
That is in that scenario, JIP may wind up OM Digital Solutions and sell the pieces.

Wait and see.

 

[JW73]

This lens officially selling in Jan 2021. Thought you are so well versed with timeline with Olympus m43 birth to death. Jan 2021 , JIP will take full charge. Can Oly make more decision then?
Not sure what you are writing is true. Let’s wait and see.

 

[Pitachu]

I personally believe that the lens available for any camera system is always the most important.
Just like I just bought the 40-150mm F2.8, I will happy if I can use it for the next 3 to 4 years.
If I go and look at what country it is being made in or whether JIP will close down after 1 year,
I either miss the chance of being able to have fun with a lens I like to try
or force myself to use a bigger and bulkier lens than I like
or end up not taking any photos at all.

Don't worry so much....just go and shoot and have fun.
If you think the 150-400 are able to cover an area of photography you like to explore,
and you can afford it, just go for it

 

[Pitachu]

Looks like there is more demand than expected....

Olympus announcement: Because of higher than expected demand there will be a shipment delay on the 150-400mm lens – 43 Rumors

www.43rumors.com

 

[JW73]

To some it may be a conspiracy

 

[swifty]

How can there be demand when Olympus are conspiring to hide where the lens is made? /S

 

[Pitachu]

Olympus is going thru a lot restructuring with JIP and need the flexibility to change the place of manufacturer.
For the first batch as B&H has replied, it will be made in Japan and subsequent batches may change.
Maybe that is why there is a rush for it.

Over-demand is either an old Apple iPhone trick or poor planning or production issues (eg. cannot get raw materials etc).
Apple always pull this no stock trick for every iphone release and yet there is a huge surplus a few months later!!!!

 

[swifty]

/S means sarcasm btw.

 

[JW73]

Some may not agree with the comparison. But to me..it’s not too bad.

800mmf5.6 vs M.Zuiko 150-400mm f4.5

This is not about R6 size vs EM1x size.

Olympus 150-400mm f4.5 Pro Review (vs Canon 800mm f5.6) - Mirrorless Comparison

The Olympus 150-400mm f4.5 Pro is the largest and most expensive micro four thirds lens released to date. It was highly anticipated by wildlife professionals and enthusiasts before the official price cooled the hype. Has Olympus gone too far, or is this a “one of kind” lens that you won’t ...

mirrorlesscomparison.com

 

[Pitachu]

Yes, the above is a good comparison review acknowledging the pro and cons of both camera body and lenses.
1) The Canon R6 is a very capable camera (DPreview Gold Award) even though it only has 20mp. Canon probably realize that there is a huge group of photographers who do not need beyond 20mp
2) The Canon R6 is much lighter at 680g compared to the 997g of the E1mx. But it can only shoot 360 shots compared to the Em1x @ 870 shots, so if you add the weight of 1 battery, the gap is closer. Anyway, I prefer to carry extra batteries than to have a heavier camera body. I must say, given a choice, the R6 is my choice.
3) The Olympus 150-400 price tag at $7500 suddenly does not look expensive when compared to the Canon 800mm @ $13,000. Weight and size aside, I still prefer the Olympus 150-400 as there are times when a bird or wild creature pops out nearby and I do not like to rush to change lenses, especially lenses of the size and weight of the Canon 800mm F5.6

All in all, I will still go with a Olympus system, until I need the extra resolution to do cropping, for creatures even much further away than the reach of 800mm with 2xTC.

 

[ricohflex]

Since Olympus wants to impress the world with how much in demand MFT is .
Then it is a natural to boast about sales figures of their
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25X IS PRO Lens
Up to now they are dead silent.

Suggested data Olympus/OMDS can reveal:
Number sold in 2020.
Number sold in 2021 up till 18 Apr 2021.
Number with confirmed orders but not yet delivered.
Number projected to sell within next 5 years.

My cheap and old Nikkor 50mm F1.4 lens proudly states it is Made in Japan.
As far as I know, Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25X IS PRO Lens has no indication on the lens where it is made.
This lens cost SGD$10,000 and they are afraid to tell you where it is made?
Something is seriously wrong.
Almost all the so-called reviewers are mysteriously incapable of highlighting this glaring failure.

Olympus keeps saying orders are beyond expectations.
If 1 is expected and you get 2 orders, then technically that is "beyond expectations".
A lot of marketing gushing big talk but no solid substance.

 

[Pitachu]

Do you have the data for your Nikkor 50mm F1.4 or the Nikkor Top End 600mm F4?
Manufacturers do not publish such data, be it Sony, Nikon or Canon, even though there is nothing to hide, for the simple reason that they have so much other things to tell the world on their latest developments, why dwell on such data which has no relevance except for people who want to nitpick like Ricohflex?

Photographers do not buy equipment based on how many units are sold, unless you do!

Photographers also do not based their buying decisions on there the lenses are manufactured, because almost every product can be made anywhere in the world. Do people really care iPhone is made in China and India?

Not sure why you are bring this up again where the Olympus 150-400mm is made in. It has already been replied and explained here and in other forums. Go and google it!

Photographers are only interested in how well or restricted this lenses perform, not you constant raving on it being made outside Japan. If you like to do things like this, you can also go to the Leica forum and bitch on their lenses are made outside Germany and now in Portugal and still at such premium prices!

Since Olympus wants to impress the world with how much in demand MFT is .
Then it is a natural to boast about sales figures of their
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25X IS PRO Lens
Up to now they are dead silent.

Suggested data Olympus/OMDS can reveal:
Number sold in 2020.
Number sold in 2021 up till 18 Apr 2021.
Number with confirmed orders but not yet delivered.
Number projected to sell within next 5 years.

My cheap and old Nikkor 50mm F1.4 lens proudly states it is Made in Japan.
As far as I know, Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25X IS PRO Lens has no indication on the lens where it is made.
This lens cost SGD$10,000 and they are afraid to tell you where it is made?
Something is seriously wrong.
Almost all the so-called reviewers are mysteriously incapable of highlighting this glaring failure.

Olympus keeps saying orders are beyond expectations.
If 1 is expected and you get 2 orders, then technically that is "beyond expectations".
A lot of marketing gushing big talk but no solid substance.

 

[ricohflex]

This lens from other manufacturer seems to cost less than half of the Olympus 150 to 400.
It gives very sharp full frame images of that other system.
And it is proudly labelled Made in Japan on the lens barrel. Just saying.
So that OMDS knows what is the standard of the competition they are facing.
Better than Olympus at less than half the price - and the manufacturer dares to proudly state for whole world to see - where it is made.

Credit for photo: kenrockwell.com

 

[Pitachu]

Why you missed out the most important detail, which Canon lens is that?
If it is the Canon 100-400mm, you are not comparing apple to apple.

The Olympus 150-400mm gives a 35mm equivalent of 300mm to 800mm without TC
and 375mm to 1000mm with the built in TC.

Obviously, you are not into birding and have not tried using a 100-400mm lenses for birding.
Your birds will end up pretty small in the photo and you will need to crop, which degrade the image.

Even if you attached a 2x TC to it, you only get 800mm @ F11.2
compared to the Olympus providing 800mm @5.6.

I have tried a few camera brands and despite manufacturer claims, auto-focus sucks at F11
and make it very difficult to shoot jittery creatures like birds at F11.

The Olympus 150-400mm is a breakthrough for a Mirrorless lenses in terms of range and aperture.
Instead of looking at what the lenses can do, you keep harping on it being not made in Japan in the future.

After reading your post for a few months, it seems that you like to leave out certain critical info
to skew the opinion to your favor to condemn Olympus. Don't do that. The readers here are not dumb.

This lens from other manufacturer seems to cost less than half of the Olympus 150 to 400.
It gives very sharp full frame images of that other system.
And it is proudly labelled Made in Japan on the lens barrel. Just saying.
So that OMDS knows what is the standard of the competition they are facing.
Better than Olympus at less than half the price - and the manufacturer dares to proudly state for whole world to see - where it is made.

Credit for photo: kenrockwell.com